Hi I just joined here. How is everyone doing?

I am thinking of buying a Coleman Ram x15 15 year old canoe on ebay for 357.00 euros. Actually i won the bid, i am currently living in Germany so I have to pay in euros. Well anyone, the pics make the canoe look good. Is this model from so long ago good? he says its in very good condition and pics look so. we are planning to go pick it up on Sat but wondering what you all have to say back home about this. i know I paid a lot for it, but to get American made goods here is quite difficult.

First off, is this model good, second is this age of a canoe a rat trap? is this canoe able to be stored outside in wintertime or summertime with some kind of cover as I dont have a garage for it. Will storing it outside during winter with say some make shift galvanize cover protect it? But basically, is this age of a canoe made by coleman a good choice its about 70lbs. thanks.

The Coleman RAM-X is good canoe for general use. I had one some years ago and it took more then it's fair share of abuse. The canoe is very stable and does not roll easy.

The drawback with these canoes is that they are heavy and it is good idea if you have 2 people if you are going to pack the canoe on top of a car. This gets old fast and we ended purchasing a used trailer for towing the canoe around when we could.

For 357 Euros, you really can't go wrong and will get many years of use from the RAM-X.

As for storing outside, we just covered the canoe in a large tarp and it was fine though summer and -40F winters.

On a related note, Coleman no longer manufactures canoes, they sold this division off to Pelican Canoes.

If you want more info, head over to Paddling.net. This link takes you directly to the reviews of the canoe. I occasionally hang out in the forums on the website there and find that there is a lot of good info on canoeing in general.

I have had one of these for many years. As others have said, they are very stable once you get out on the water, but will feel a little tippy at first. The canoe is a little heavy but nearly indestructable, and holds up well when occasionaly bashed against a rock. As with any plastic or polymer, you should not store it in direct sunlight. The cold will not hurt the canoe if it is safely stored elevated off the ground and covered with a tarp.

Hi Guys

Thank you all so much for this wealth of information. My husband was about to murder me when he realized I had bid on this canoe. We have a Zodiac 340 inflatable boat and he said we didnt need any more boats. But I love the feeling of a canoe and the peace and quiet it gives when out on the water. Back homein Oklahoma I used to do a lot of float trips and missed that so much. I have been looking for a canoe for years, this kind in particular and I just stumbled upon it on german ebay. The fellar bought it off a US soldier who was stationed here. I actually had one back in Oklahoma and yeah, its a monster to load on and off a car. It will be two of us so I think it will be ok. The side of the Canoe does not say Pelican but Coleman, made in Texas, USA so perhaps its older than 15 years? It looks really good. Let me see if i can find pics of it for you pros.

let me see if pics will load,

Zodiac, Very, nice canoe!. It is in pristine condition and is more then worth the investment.

For me, seeing that canoe evokes sentimental memories of many days and weeks of paddling the lakes in our old Coleman RAM-X and I am sure that you too will also have many memorable trips with your canoe.

Thank you guys. The fellar who had it on auction said he bought it at one year old from a Soldier. then he has only used it about 6 times and it has been in his garage for the past years, in all totalling 15 years including the year old from the soldier. I cant wait to get it. I have always loved canoes and especially the coleman brand. I had a fiberglass coleman back in Oklahoma and I used to do many float trips which were the BOMB. Since I moved to Germany I have been longing to go back in a canoe. They have some funky stuff here and I dont like kyacks at all.

I am glad you canoe pros see what you see cuz that makes me feel confident on the find.

Now my next stupid question, i was at the home DIY store equivalent to Home Depot or Lowes etc. I wnat to build my own trolly or slip wheels. Can you tell me how? I saw the bare wheels and not sure what piece of piping or tubing i need. I bought three garden plastic stools that is elevated off the ground which I will use to rest it on with some foam or styro between the gunwhale and the stools. Then I want to get some home made canoe wheels made. Any ideas? I am a pretty good DIY type of gal.

Nice find! You can tell it wasn't used for whitewater...

I googled 'canoe trolley' to see what they are, and here's one on Amazon.

Sue

There are several DIY canoe dolly/trolley/cart plans via a Google search.

Are you sure you want to go this route though as there are many canoe carts for almost any price range. For example, we have a cart similar to this one here that we picked up second hand for $40.00. I am sure if you looked on Ebay, there would probably be some that will fill your needs. Also you can search on the Paddling.net classifieds section.

Hi Sue

I dont want to buy one, but I can use this pic to try to make one for the canoe. I will pick it up on Sat and we will go to a river called Blue Adria and do a float. I cant wait. my pommies as in Pomeranians will love it and so will I

Pomeranian river dogs! I love it.