Where's all the Starcraft owners?

[Detroit_Iron]

I see from reading many posts on this forum it seems to favor Coleman/fleetwood pups. As a kid my dad always bought Starcraft , my first pup I bought was a Starcraft. When we became able to upgrade to a newer pup we went with a Starcraft again , my sister has a centennial also. In all the years I never had a problem with the brand myself. I know a lot of people hold the Coleman's as "the best" but I was wondering why? Are they built with different materials than other pups? Even when we camp it's a rarity to see another centennial , I mostly see jayco, Coleman and a few camp lites around here. Every pup that's ever passed though my family now or as a kid has always been garage kept and taken care of and have never had issues, so I'm happy with my choice of the centennial and have no regrets . Just wondering why I don't see them very often? Do they have a history of issues?

 

[ric66]

My dad also had a starcraft not sure what model it was so when I was looking for one at first I didn't,t really have a brand in mind but when I saw the starcraft I bought it just felt right.

 

[ptthefanman]

Hi, 95 Starcraft Spaceflyer 1221 here! Absolutely love it, when i got it, it had been jack knifed and the front end storage box had to be rebuilt. looks brand new now! very pleased!

 

[West Coast Canuck]

Had a 1994 Starcraft Starflyer, great pup, but we decided to join the dark side last Feb last year. We had it for almost 10 yrs and it had many more years left in it. We hope that the new owners take as good care of it as we did.

 

[bburgcamper]

Proud owner of Starcraft Centennial 3604. We bought it used in December 2012 and based on what little time I have time to tinker, I have been impressed with the build quality. I will give a better review after we take it on its maiden voyage (for us) in a few weeks. We went from a Jayco Quest 10x to the Starcraft and is a definite step up.

 

[Starcraft Away]

Bought our 2411 three years ago, it's been fun making it our own.

 

[ghacker]

You have to remember that Coleman/Fleetwood was THE dominant market maker holding as much as 40-45% of the market. Only natural that there'd be a lot of Coleman owners. Part of this was because the "Coleman" brand became synonymous with camping because of their lantern and stove line so it had great name recognition. But also because Coleman did have a slew of unique features.

Don't know if they were the 1st, but for many years their frame was built from box channel as opposed to "C" channel which made for a stronger frame. Other manufacturers took awhile before some followed suit. And with their whiffletree lift system, you don't have to worry about overcranking the roof too high as in some other makes. In their later years, The Coleman brand used steel framing for the body instead of wood so no chance of rot. And the floor was built up to, but not under, the box. So they could leave an opening under the lift posts. Water could run right down and through to the ground. For other manufacturers, that would lead to a rotting wood floor since it ran under the box. They have to have skirts around the posts to deflect water off to the side. One of the most important advantages on the later models is the Sunbrella fabric used for tenting. #1 in the marine industry, it is very UV resistant and breathes exceptionally well which minimizes condensation. The 1 pc. screen door was designed to hold the roof up in case of failure so no outside backup columns were necessary unlike other PUPs. Finally there is the stepper door which is probably more a question of personal preference although, of course, Coleman promoted it as an unique advantage.

 

[Big_kid]

Our first popup was a '68 Starmaster 8. We loved it, and it served us well for a camper that was bought- literally- with pocket change (I'd been saving my quarters for a while). Eventually it was time to upgrade, we went with a 97½ Starcraft 1224 (Starlounge?). In between I bought a very beat up old Viking that was advertised as having lift trouble and could be a utility trailer, or possibly restored. Yeah, given enough resources the Titanic could be restored too. That ended up being a parts/scrap metal/utility trailer that I sold for what I paid.

Then there was the Coleman. That one was between the Viking & the newer Starcraft. We originally bought it thinking it was 12 years newer than what we had, and we'd go with it. That was until the canvas began to fall apart, then the lift system broke. I fixed it and when I went to sell it, it broke again while I was showing it- on 2 separate occasions. I took that to mean that it wanted to be my utility trailer, so that's what happened to it.

Having worked on the old Starcraft & the Coleman lift systems, I'm a fan of the Starcraft. They don't use a whiffletree setlu like Coleman did, they use what is essentially a winch. The lift arms are essentially the same basic design. I'd been bitten by the Coleman, thankfully it broke BEFORE I sold it. I'd have felt like a bum had it broken on someone at the campground.

 

[jack83153]

We own a 2008 StarCraft Centennial that we bought new and we love it. No problems with construction. The main reason we bought it was that it had everything in it that we wanted. We downsized from a motorhome to the popup and don't regret it at all

 

[inthedirt]

My first Pup was a Coleman Sequoia, but I have since sold it and moved on to a slightly larger Starcraft Starstream. My first real boat a 1966 Starcraft Holiday 18ft with the original 100hp Evinrude outboard. That boat is gone, and my current boat is a 1978 Starcraft Capri tri-hull with 80hp Merc. Kinda diggin' the Starcraft thing, here!

 

[DigitalGuru]

Proud owner of 2005 Centennial 3606 and love it! We bought it used in 2011. We were looking for a high wall pup and fell in love with the look, features, and amenities. I'd defiantly consider another Starcraft.

DG

 

[Fordiesel250]

Our first popup was a 1973 starcraft that I bought from my inlaws for $800.00. I put new cables and new tires on it. We kept it for several years and traded it off for a Sportsman fifth wheel. We broke cables several times and had a blow out in the rain once. Rough changing a flat when you can only turn the lug nuts a quarter turn at a time plus I had a hangover too. Well made unit and it served us well the time we had it even though several times I cursed at it for the break downs we had. I can laugh at these looking back on them now but at the time I was'nt.

 

[neighbormike]

Picked up my '94 Stardust last June and absolutely love it! It was super clean from the P.O. and ready to camp in. Grew up with an '86ish Starflyer so I knew what I was looking for!

 

[bburgcamper]

Videos of a Starcraft Centennial being set up and the various features.

Starcraft Movie Part 1
Starcraft Movie Part 2
Starcraft Movie Part 3

 

[RotnMom]

Howdy! We purchased a 1997 Starcraft Spacemaster 1224 in December 2010. Twelve foot box, ~24-25' long opened up. The slide out dinette is spacious and the gaucho couch is a wonderful asset for my dogs to be able to jump into the bunk!! It's also a nice place to curl up at night and watch a movie or read, or whatever.

 

[campindaddy78]

So far the only 2 PUP's we've owned have been starcraft. I have no complaints about them. But I can not compare either. The first one was a 84 starcraft and it made it through "super storm" sandy. can't complain at all...lol

 

[zjrog]

Came into it quite by accident. A friend had this 1972 Starcraft Starlite 6 for $80. The roof was mushed in and one of the lifts was out. But in good shape otherwise, even the tenting is in decent shape. But between money issues, illness', injuries and life in general, we haven't got the silly thing on the road still. But since we both now have had serious back injuries (not related), tenting on the ground might be a bad thing. I had rebuilt the roof once, but need to do it again, since I really didn't have a clue what I was doing. But hope to have it ready for its first outing before the end of May.

 

[astronomynv]

I have a 98 1021 Constellation and my family and I love.

 

[novagirl]

I too am digging the Starcraft thread on here. We own a 1986 Starcraft Nova 24 as in my avatar. We also own a restored 1962 Starcraft Premier runabout. Great boat and great pup. Both are well made and we'd do it again.

 

[CampQuinn]

Hello!

We are proud owner's of a 2005 Starcraft RT 11. We bought it in October and can't wait to take it on its maiden voyage in a couple weeks. We love it since it is the off-road model with a large front deck for cargo and four-wheelers. We popped it up this weekend and are learning how everything works. Happy camping!