Pop up campers....

[ACooper]

Who has one, or has owned one?

Did you like it? Was it a pain in the rear? How was it to set up?
Towing, crazy all over the place or didn't really notice it going down the road?

We camp. We normally use our big tent (10x10 and 6ft high) and like it just fine and definitely wouldn't get rid of it, but I would like to try a pop up! Just from glancing around Craig's list, it looks like we can get a reasonable used one between 2-4k.

Kevin's not really wild about the idea, but I'm confident I can convince him if I gather enough positive information Or I can talk myself out of it if I gather enough negative information, LOL.........either way works I guess!

 

[LostAndConfused]

My parents have a pop up they bought....maybe early 2000. They have hauled it as far as OH to Yellowstone, which is about 25 road hours. I think it pulls really well. If we had something to pull with I would definitely get one

 

[Beanie]

I think I'd be more inclined to save up for a mini-camper, but it seems like whenever I go camping the weather is terrible and not well suited for tenting. Like winds that can rock a BIG camper back and forth. If I was going to bother hauling something, I would want it more substantial than most pop-ups seem to be.
OTOH if you are only camping when the weather is good (like you only go out BECAUSE the weather is camp-worthy) a few grand for one isn't bad at all!

 

[ACooper]

I see your point about inclement weather beanie, we've only ever gone camping in good weather. I'd say mostly because we still have school aged kids and go during summer break. Also, Kevin is more of a hotel kind of guy and camps because me and the kids want to........I highly doubt we could nag him into going in less than great weather though!

Pop ups do come with heaters/furnaces (propane?) but I've often wondered about that due to the screen/canvas sides, LOL

 

[LauraLeigh]

We had a Coleman, I think it was a 2002? It was a great camper, easy to put up and down ( I could do it alone in about 15 minutes) and the new material is not canvas anymore (Cant remember the name?) and takes rain well (no leaks though you still have to dry it, we would pop it up at home if it rained at the end) they do have heaters in some...

Biggest issue for us was mice over the winter, they seemed to find their way in no matter what I did... if I had been able to store it inside that may have solved it..

They also have gotten fairly pricey, a small lightweight used camper may be no more expensive though our pop up had more room that many smaller campers..

 

[CaliTerp07]

Do you want one? My parents have one in their garage they'd like to get rid of.

Of course, it's from the '50's. My grandparents bought it used to camp with my aunts and uncles, and then we inherited it and camped with it growing up. We towed it all over, from Santa Barbara to Seattle to Montana/Utah/Wyoming/Denver/etc. Basically the whole western part of the country.

It's much nicer to tow than a trailer, because you maintain full visibility. It was fairly spacious for our family of 4. Sometimes we even dragged Grandma along and slept 5 in there. There were a few times when it was raining that we got stuck in it all day and it was a bit small for that, but it was otherwise good.

We never cooked in ours--we had a propane stove that we always set up outside for cooking.

 

[ACooper]

I talked to Kevin about it again last night and he still says no! He says we wouldn't use it enough to be worth 'having it in the way' PHOOEY!

I told him I was getting a camper or a puppy.............he said NO CAMPER. I guess that means I should be thinking about what kind of puppy we should get, LOL

 

[96 GTS]

We used to have one when I was in middle school and high school and I loved it! We camped in it rain or shine, all across the country, and never had any issues. Pop up campers are, IMO, a nice mix of RV and tent. You're up off the ground, on a real mattress, they have a heater, ours had running water and a decent size stove, and some other nice features like that. You still get the sounds of birds in the morning when you're waking up, and I think you feel a lot closer to the outdoors in a tent camper than you do in an RV.

We towed ours from MN as far as Georgia, Utah, Nevada, Vancouver, and Washington State, never really had any problems. We even took a 3.5 week driving vacation all across Canada and back though the northwestern part of the US, and stayed in the camper every single night, and it worked great.

In terms of setup, it really depends on how big of a camper you get. You can get a tent camper with slideouts along the side that add more space but take a bit longer to set up, but it's all pretty easy I think. Ours was fairly large with a lot to set up, but even then, it took our family about 15 minutes from pulling into the campsite to getting everything fully set up and dinner cooking.

 

[CaliTerp07]

Wow! I didn't know the newer ones had electricity and running water! Ours definitely didn't have heat or water in it. Geez, my parents kept me in the dark ages.

 

[ACooper]

We used to have one when I was in middle school and high school and I loved it! We camped in it rain or shine, all across the country, and never had any issues. Pop up campers are, IMO, a nice mix of RV and tent. You're up off the ground, on a real mattress, they have a heater, ours had running water and a decent size stove, and some other nice features like that. You still get the sounds of birds in the morning when you're waking up, and I think you feel a lot closer to the outdoors in a tent camper than you do in an RV.

We towed ours from MN as far as Georgia, Utah, Nevada, Vancouver, and Washington State, never really had any problems. We even took a 3.5 week driving vacation all across Canada and back though the northwestern part of the US, and stayed in the camper every single night, and it worked great.

In terms of setup, it really depends on how big of a camper you get. You can get a tent camper with slideouts along the side that add more space but take a bit longer to set up, but it's all pretty easy I think. Ours was fairly large with a lot to set up, but even then, it took our family about 15 minutes from pulling into the campsite to getting everything fully set up and dinner cooking.

Thanks Ryan! I am definitely using your post to show Kevin

Sounds like you guys who had one growing up have a lot of awesome memories to keep........THAT is what I'm thinking for the boys. We have 2 left at home, they are the perfect age to camp more and if we had a pop up we might go more!

 

[-bogart-]

ah the heck wit camping , get the puppy!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Dekka]

Back in teh dark ages lol. My parents and I camped all the way to the west coast, down to SanFransico and then back up through the centre of the US in a pop up (not amenities. Good times were had My parents still drive and camp all through the US every summer for months on end. Their last trialer was a partial pop out, it was like a regular camping trialer but the beds popped out for more room inside. I don't know what the fabric was but it wasn't canvas.

 

[Taqroy]

Who has one, or has owned one?
Did you like it? Was it a pain in the rear? How was it to set up?

We had one when I was a kid. Ours had a stove, heat, running water and a little mini fridge. I loved that thing and I'm still kind of mad that my parents sold it to my cousin a couple years ago. It didn't take too long to set up - maybe 20 minutes? Ours was kind of old school, it had the canvas sides that snapped/velcro'ed down. I can only think of one time that the sides actually came loose and it was in the spring time in Wyoming and I honestly don't know WHO thought it was a good idea for us to go camping at that time, in that place. Lol.

If Matt and I were in the market for upgrading from a tent I would totally go for a pop up. I think they're the perfect mix of tent and camper and you still feel as if you're actually camping - a feeling I don't get in an air conditioned RV. We took ours all over the place, N. Dakota, S. Dakota, Wyoming, Nebraska, New Mexico, Colorado (before we moved here), Kansas.....and often for a week to two weeks at a time.

Towing, crazy all over the place or didn't really notice it going down the road?

When I was learning to drive I actually drove us back from New Mexico with the tent trailer attached and it really wasn't so bad. It's no worse/better than any other trailer.

 

[-bogart-]

AND THIS

AND THIS

 

[ACooper]

All right bogart, you are being very naughty! :nono: LOL

As great as a puppy sounds, I doubt my son would be ready to accept one and Orson is an asshat about other dogs.

I'm still chipping away at Kevin about the camper! LOL, I will be victorious through sheer annoyance if need be :rofl1:

As to the pop ups, I do agree........I don't think I'd care much for camping in a RV, too much like a hotel room. I camp because I WANT to be outside and 'rough it' I'm getting older and a pop up is enough mix of 'comfort and rough' LOL