Another New Member ------

[TexasTravco77]

Hello all ,\n I am now an owner of a 27 foot Travco, 1977 model. Purchased outside of Denver and driven back to the Austin area, We had been looking for a rv for about 2 years and a Travco specifically for about 9 months. We had looked at many ....MANY rv's in our price range and all had problems, system failures, leakage, water damage ranging from cosmetic to "don't step there, it's a little soft" --- ugh. Plus the safety factor of traditionally built rv''s , just aluminum,2 x 3's and paneling didn't instill alot of confidence. The Travco having a -- more or less a single shell with a steel frame below it reinforced the belief that this was the one to get. We plan on replacing the carpet and upholstery and headliner ( age and wear) , other than that its in great shape. It's powered by a big thirsty 440, strong like an ox ....but thirsty like a camel. The only thing it lacks , that I need to find, is the swing out part of the bunk bed, I have the couch back rest but the part that is attached to it and pivots around and attaches to the ceiling is missing. The only thing not working was the furnace, not a big deal since we are in Texas, I plan on getting a small ----small propane heater for remote camping and electric while in town or campground.\n I have 3 kiddos that weren't exactly in love with the Travco pictures I found on line.....but have really come around once I got it home. And now can't wait to do a few shakedown trips , the first being to grandma's house -- go figure. It's only that grandma lives about 2 or 3 miles away, lol, yes the kid's are quite the "adventurers'". We'll plan on doing a trip to the coast and a couple of local State Parks then plan in May or June to go to Boise, and to and down the west coast, and back to Oklahoma City on Route 66, then back south to Austin. . Already my daughter wants to paint a mural on it, hmmmmm not sure about that. But general consensus is the door will become a TARDIS, with the crack on the front and Bad Wolf on the back ( Dr Who fans will get it) , with scenes along the sides, but we'll see how that all progresses.\n As for me and mine, I work at UPS and my wife, Karen, of 20 years is a stay at home mom we are both 55 , we home school, and are kayak/canoe enthusiasts. I do alittle woodwork on the side www.bluebonnetwoodworks.com. Our kids are 17 , 16, and 14 (we got started late) all want to be animators, hence the mural idea. We hope to use the Travco in compliment to home schooling, it should open alot of possibilities for us. We are sure glad to find this forum and the facebook pages for Travco hopefully we can glean and spread nuggets of info and wisdom while we head down this Travco trail. We'd love to hear from other greater Texas area Travco owners ---- Louis and Karen

[77Travco]

Welcome to the forum from a fellow Texan!\nI am 100 miles west of you in Kerrville. Me and my wife have kiddos ranging from 6 to 13 and our story is very similar to yours. We looked for a Travco 270 for several years before finding ours just recently.\nDid you buy the one near Denver with the Mercedes emblem on the front? Did you see the "mint condition" Travco near Orlando, Florida? I almost flew out to buy that one. We had slowed our looking to a crawl and almost had given up the search when ours just sorta fell into our lap!\nI ripped out all the carpet and we are currently painting and remodeling the interior. The outside paint will soon follow. We have plans to go down to the Port Aransas area as we like to go surf cast fishing. We will also be hitting some state parks around here. When the kids are older me and my wife plan to tour quite a bit on our own.\nPost a pic of your Travco!

[Acesneights]

Welcome !!\nThe furnace it pretty simple so when you get around to it post up a thread in the 270 section. I was also thinking about adding an Appliances section. Maybe I will. Start a Thread in the 270 section and post up your pics !!

[TexasTravco77]

Yes, Travco77, the Travco with the Mercedes emblem LOL. ---- but if you really want to stretch it..........yes it is a Mercedes, Dodge/Chrysler was bought by Daimler-Benz and they make Mercedes so..............it's a Mercedes by marriage lol. From the pic he posted it looked really clean, we spoke for several hours about it and he sent me more pics,of those areas I requested, they were pretty much what he said and what I expected. So my buddy and I drove out in his Kia Rio to Denver ( 82 dollars in gas from Austin) and we looked at it. First thing, when we drove up seeing that Mercedes emblems, we were thinking was CHEZZY. But it's strange ---- it kinda looks like it belongs there. The old man that had the Travco first had put it on for s**ts and giggles, and it does get some strange looks. On the way back the amp meter lost it's light and became warm ....then hot to the touch. Well figured we better stop to check it out in Bangs Texas (outside of Brownwood) I grabbed and twisted the meter..........mistake. Everything shut down, we lost all power at 3 am with nothing open. So we pulled out the sleeping bags and got up the next morning, bypassed the amp meter and took off. We happened to breakdown, in front of the "Bangs Automotive" a two gas pump, single stall repair shop in a one horse town. I apologized for parking in front of their shop and then the questions came about our Mercedes rv. Well I had to admit it wasn't a Mercedes and in the meantime they had come to the conclusion we were hunters and that this was an old german military officer's transport/CP converted to a rv. So thats gonna be my story from now on. LOL We plan on a shakedown trip to the coast, Enchanted Rock and in April to Fredricksburg for the VW Bug In for the weekend.--- Maybe we can see ya there. The interior except for just wear and age is in really good shape. I think we got really lucky with it. I didnt see the one in Orlando --- I just started here in Austin craigslist and then just went out from the center , I saw this one and one in Oregon that looked nice, but just too far. There were several closer, but none in the price range we wanted to spend.

[77Travco]

So you're the one who bought it!.. LOL\nI was going to buy it but was waiting until this weekend... but then I found the one I ended up buying so it all worked out. It's ironic that I am sitting in the Ramada Inn in Denver at I-70 and I-25 as I type this right now. I had also thought that a big "VW" or "Peace" symbol might look good with the right paintjob but I am going for the "original" look when I do get around to paint.\nSounds like you made some road trip memories in it already! I was talking to my wife just now... maybe we will take our Travco and see you at the VW show in Fredericksburg!

[Acesneights]

Texas, Get a thread going with some pics...Now I really wanna see it...

[PrivatePilot]

Welcome.