I have heard of '79 model campers called "franken campers".... they were using up anything laying on the shelves at the time due to the company going on hard times.
They also sold some as 1980's that were really 79's but were left over so they retitled them as 1980s before being sold.
Raccoon has a '79 Royal. and there are differences in it just being a 79.
I have a 78 Ramada at present. and having owned a couple of other Apaches, plus having seen others' units at the Roundup (all years not just comparing '78 to '79 here) 79's are just weird.
I had a 79 Ramada II that I had gotten w/o a title and having been thru a bad storm, and missing lots of parts besides, I parted that one out. It did have particleboard throughout, floor, cabinetry, everything. It also did not have the metal framework of previous models making up the cabinet skeleton. Just a much much cheaper built unit.
Also like Raccoon's 79 Royal, its back bezel did NOT have the indentation and provision for the spare tire like my 78 does and my 76s did. the back bezel was more like the ones on the 72s and 73s but still slightly different from that. I do still have quite a few leftover parts and pieces left from that unit. some of which will get used in making my current 78 a usable camper again. I wanted to save more of it but given the ant infestation in the front bezel and front cabinet adjacent to the door, plus the differences in construction techniques and materials, things were not as compatible between it and my 78 as I had hoped. This 79 also had one of each size bed end on it, those being 1-54" and 1-48" bed end. I have never seen that before in an Apache.
fast forward to 2 weekends ago. I found a 79 Ramada (not a Ramada II) on Craigslist, and went on a road trip for a look see. The seller was using it that weekend at a campground about 12miles north of Davenport Iowa. BEAUTIFUL park by the way, and this was "only" a county park.... if the county parks and campsites are this nice I wonder what Iowa's state parks are like?
Anyway, the seller had invited me to come out at that time since he had it set up "anyways" at the time to save time of re setting it up at his home. It was an attractive price, and I told the guy that I would not leave him camper-less right then and there, that if I bought it I'd come back for it later. I snoozed and lost. I should have said I'd take it right then and there. I came home and talked to the wife and due to a medical emergency having to do with my wife's brother, it was a couple days before I was able to try to make contact with the seller to tell him I'd be back for it.... but he wasn't taking or returning my calls at that point.... oh well..
but; details about the camper itself, in comparison to the 79 that I'd previously parted out// and other 79s I have seen in the past, it was more like my 78. It was '79 tan, yeah... but the bed end window panels were made slightly differently, they had a different looking indent pattern pressed into the bed end wall, where the older ones are smooth and flat from the inner edge of the wing wall channel to the edge of the window frame, this 79 had a vertical indent on both sides that went from top to bottom of the panel about 1/2-5/8" deep... kind of like the indented quarter panels on a 69-70 charger or Mustang if you get what I mean.... It did have the heater on the door side instead of the road side, that seems the only "standard" thing I have seen about a 79 besides the switch to tan body color. but the cabinets layout and such seemed much more like a 78 or older. and unlike any other 79 I have seen it still had the indented rear bezel and spare tire mounted there, just like my '78.... It was missing the spare tire cover at the time but the seller said he had it in his storage unit and was included. as was an original Apache awning and all the books on the camper, the heater and everything else to go with.
This from what I could tell being piled with blankets and such as the seller had rented 2 adjoining sites and had his "new" camper and the Apache side X side. the Apache was the "kid's camper" with 8 kids sleeping in it while the adults were in the "new" camper. which was a much much newer looking unit, didn't catch the brand.
