Hi from Ohio!

[jtriggs1941]

My husband & I just bought our first camper tonight! We don't even have the title yet but we are so excited! While looking for info on the camper, we ran across this site. Boy, do we need you folks!

We've owned an older pop-up once years ago, but this is our first "real" camper. It's a 1996 or 1997 (no one seems sure which) Sunline T26C Saturn camper. It's in good shape but it has no paperwork with it, so we are a little lost right now. We've never dealt with the whole septic tank system, appliances or winterizing stuff before. I guess I'm going to be doing a lot of reading this winter! At least you guys seem to have some really good files on here that should help a great deal.

Well, hello all! If anyone has any advice, please feel free to share!

Terri & John

 

[rebellious78]

Welcome to the SOC forum Terri & John! Congratulations on your Sunline purchase! Sunline Coach Company made some excellent campers. You will find some excellent information here on the forum and files section, and please feel free to ask away with questions. We have some real knowledgeable people about anything and everything Sunline.
Again...Welcome!

 

[JohnGB]

Welcome Terri and John

Gee some fellow Ohioans to join the club. Great! There are not too many of us and seeing another Sunline here in an Ohio campground is a rare event. It does happen from time to time, just not often. Are you North, South, East or West? We are central.

You have a fine coach there. We too where Pop up campers, had some great times too. However the Sunlines have spoiled us big time and heads up, camping is a Sunline can get very addictive....

Our kids (now 26 and 28 ) say to us, you going camping again you just came back? Well yeh, why not? They seemed to have gotten over it, they are not so surprised now...

Good luck with your new camper and ask away any questions on the camper or camping. We also like pictures... Seeing Sunlines in action is just an all time high...

John

 

[JohnGB]

If anyone has any advice, please feel free to share!

Terri & John

Terri,

Do not know if you found this section yet. It has a lot of standard questions about Sunlines and camping in general. It is a good place to start.

Sunline Owners Club FAQs (Frequently Asked Questions) - Sunline Coach Owner's Club

 

[jtriggs1941]

David & Mary Ann: Thanks for the welcome! I agree with the "real knowledgeable people about anything and everything" you mentioned. I just spent the last 3 1/2 hours reading Frank's posts showing how he & his brother built a camper from the bottom up! I can't believe they were able to do that! And here I am still trying to figure out how to use our camper! WOW! What talent!

JohnB: Thank your for your welcome also! We are central Ohio also. Just southeast of Columbus, between Reynoldsburg & Pickerington. And our kids are grown also. The last still lives at home but he is 19 & in college. The other 2 (26 & 2 each have families & are on their own now. I'm looking forward to getting to know some Ohio campers. Do you have any place you camp regularly?

 

[Sunline Fan]

It's a 1996 or 1997 (no one seems sure which) Sunline T26C Saturn camper. It's in good shape but it has no paperwork with it, so we are a little lost right now.

Welcome Terri & John,

If you can get me a VIN for it, I can tell you the year it is.

Jon

 

[rebellious78]

Terri & John,

I actually grew up in South East Ohio, in Little Hocking. Near the OH/WV border. So I know exactly where your from! It is great to see other's from Ohio. Even know now I live on the other side of WV.

Have you been to Salt Fork State Park in Lore City? We like it there.

A good site we find useful is
RV park Reviews
and
Ohio Camper

~Mary Ann

 

[JohnGB]

JohnB: Thank your for your welcome also! We are central Ohio also. Just southeast of Columbus, between Reynoldsburg & Pickerington. And our kids are grown also. The last still lives at home but he is 19 & in college. The other 2 (26 & 2 each have families & are on their own now. I'm looking forward to getting to know some Ohio campers. Do you have any place you camp regularly?

Well, we are "almost" neighbors... LOL We are in North west Columbus, actually southern Delaware county. About 1.5 miles north west of the Columbus zoo.

Here in Ohio we are on the state park circuit camping. We are blessed here in Ohio with so many state parks, several open for camping all year round that offer camping and we camp year round when the snow cooperates. Here are some of the Ohio parks with Sunlines in action from one of the 2 Sunlines we have/had. There are more... but this a sampling of the parks we go to. Remember I said we like pics, here are some. They go a long way in explaining verses the words. Enjoy the show.

These are the weekend get a way ones we do: Indian Lake is just up Rt 33 to Lake view. About 50 miles from here, (again north west Columbus)

Summer with the present Sunline

Summer with the prior Sunline same site

More Summer

Spring

Fall

Now to head more west, Lake Loramie near Minster in the Summer

Day after Thanksgiving

Early Spring

Spring

Summer with friends from Fort Wayne next to us

Now down southern Ohio, Cowan Lake near Wilmington

Spring. It was 60 F on Friday night, but you know how the weather is...

Summer

Hocking Hills State Park
Winter

Spring with Daughter, SIL and grands kids

Old Man's Cave near the park

Delaware State Park just up the road. We go here a lot for a weekend escape
Winter

Spring

Fall

Summer

Now some other Ohio Parks
Paint Creek. South west

Mt Gilead, A little North

West Branch, near Akron

Pymatuning, North West, on the edge of PA

North towards Lake Erie

Northeast, Again on Lake Erie

 

[kanyonkitty]

Terri & John,


Welcome to the group and congrats on your Sunline purchase. This group is so choc full of friendly, helpful folks you will have no trouble learning all about using, maintaining your Sunline. So, if you have any questions/issues, just make a post, and someone will be along to help you out.

You'll also see many opportunities to attend a Sunline GTG (get to gether), so you can meet folks in person, and get tours of other Sunline. We all love seeing each others Sunline, whether it is totally still 100% original, or has had modifications made to it, it's a Sunline we we want to see it .

Kitty

 

[jtriggs1941]

Jon: Thanks for the offer! I'd love to find out as much about my camper as possible. It was advertised as a 1996 but one of the fellows at the lot said it is a 1997. One sticker on it says it was manufactured in Oct 1996. Where can I find my VIN. I don't have any paperwork for it & I won't have the title until next week sometime. Is there a place I can look for it on the camper itself?

Mary Ann: No, I haven't been to Salt Fork State Park. I've heard of it though. Thanks for the links. I'll check them out.

JohnB: Wow! What can I say?!?! I bow to the expert! I'm not sure I've even camped as many times as you are showing in your pics & I thought I'd camped quite a bit! And even in the snow! Wow! I've only camped in the hot summer months. Which CG allows all year camping around here? I'd like to take my "new" camper out to try it out.

 

[jtriggs1941]

Kitty: Thanks for the welcome! I'm finding out really quickly how friendly the people are on this site! It's great! I love to make new friends!

I've been spending a lot of time downloading files from here. I'm going to put them in a notebook & once I read them I'll put the book in the camper for reference. But there are so many interesting & helpful files, I'll probably be reading ALL winter long!

 

[JohnGB]

JohnB: Wow! What can I say?!?! I bow to the expert! I'm not sure I've even camped as many times as you are showing in your pics & I thought I'd camped quite a bit! And even in the snow! Wow! I've only camped in the hot summer months. Which CG allows all year camping around here? I'd like to take my "new" camper out to try it out.

Wow gee, thanks. I'm not the expert, more of a camping nut....LOL

Camping in the snow, well no, not on purpose. Friday night is was 60 F out and over night is snowed a bit. Come noon time on Saturday it was all gone. While we do cold weather camp, I'm not up for towing in the snow. Last few years we had to take a month or more off as we had some much snow on the ground.

Camps that are open all year round in our area. Here are 2, there are more just further drive for us.

Right up off of Rt 23 north of Delaware. They have 1 area open for the winter and a heated shower house/bath room open until Dec 31. After that they put in porta potties until around April when they open back up again for full season. We go often as long as the weather is at least above freezing during the day and we have a fair weekend. It can and does go below freezing at night.
Ohio State Parks - Delaware State Park

Another one is: Ohio State Parks - Alum Creek State Park
Again up RT 23 to Lewis Center Road then north on Old State to the camp ground. Same type of setup in the winter, only one area is open. However they use to have a heated shower house/bath house all winter long. Don't know if they changed that as we have not winter camped there in a few years. They have the festival of lights set up there too. We went one year, they had them setup in the camp ground and you drove around the CG looking at the lights setups. Never camped there when this was going.

In the off season there is no one in the camp office. It is a self registration system. First come first serve on the camp sites, just go pick one in the area that is open and setup. Then you go back to the camp office and drop in your money and registration in the drop box. The ranger comes around every so often to check on things and will bring you your receipt. There is not a lot of campers this time of year so there is not a problem finding a spot. The last few weeks was bow season and the camp grounds where fuller then normal but after bow season is over there may be 6 to 8 campers in the entire park... and maybe I'm one of them...LOL

If you go this time of year, I'm assuming you will dry camp. Meaning not using your on board water tanks. Having the heated bathrooms takes care of those problems. When we dry camp we just bring drinking water from home in jugs and keep them in the camper so they won't freeze. You can get fresh water at the park as well. May have to search for where the spigot is but both parks have winter water sources.

Any thing else you or hubby need help with, ask away.

Here is the parks link for all parks that are open for camping in the winter and what services are open. Key is look for the heated shower houses until you get the hang of winter camping. Then the outside porta potties are not so much a problem

Ohio State Parks - Winter Camping

To make sure a park is open for camping and the bathhouses are or at least a porta potty, call the park office during the week. There is usually always some in in the main park office that can help tell you the current status. Or go check it out a weekend or 2 in advance to find everything.

John

 

[Sunline Fan]

Jon: Thanks for the offer! I'd love to find out as much about my camper as possible. It was advertised as a 1996 but one of the fellows at the lot said it is a 1997. One sticker on it says it was manufactured in Oct 1996. Where can I find my VIN. I don't have any paperwork for it & I won't have the title until next week sometime. Is there a place I can look for it on the camper itself?

The VIN should be on the same sticker that you saw the manufacture date on. If it's unreadable there, it would also be on an aluminum tag on the tongue rail, on the left side below the LP tank. It should start with "1LC" and is 17 digits long total.