Upgraded from a tent to a Popup!

[davettewellmaker]

Hi all, I love to camp at the Fort and have camped there in a cabin and twice in a tent. After several years of trying to convince dh to get a pop up camper, he has finally said yes! We purchased a 2001 Coleman Sedona pop up and are in the process of renovating it. (Its in very good shape was garage kept by 1 owner) so we don't have much to do. My question is for current pop up owners, what are some set up/organizing tips that you can give that work for you while at the Fort? We have our first trip scheduled for June and I want to make sure I have things in order before we go. Thanks in advance!

 

[tina.tina]

I was thinking that if I had a pop up (or even a tent I guess) I would pack stuff in totes- like cooking stuff & non-perishable food in the same totes, sleeping bags/blankets and pillows in totes together. You could stack the totes inside of each other so they wouldn't take up too much room.

Congratulations! I would love to be able to afford a pop up right now but I've gone back to school full time and we're remodeling the house, too. Could you answer a question for me? If you have any experience tent camping at FW in the summer with an AC, could you tell me how it was for you?

 

[davettewellmaker]

Thanks for the tote tips. All of our trips have been taken in September and had no issues with being overly hot in the tent. My ultimate goal for the pop up is to be able to keep the things that I will re-use packed in the pop up to where we will only have to bring food and clothes.

 

[bama_ed]

Congrats on the new-to-you Pup!

As far as setup goes, I would offer three pieces of advice when camping at the Fort.

1. Ant Protection. I sprinkle ant powder around every pup wheel and surface touching the ground (reach around the tires good). Have an aerosol can of ant spray and use it on your main electrical cord and water hose near the camper. Don't ask me how I know how to do this.

2. Buy about a 2-inch dense Memoryfoam mattress topper for the pup bunks. Standard pup mattresses leave a lot to be desired for a good night's sleep. My roof will still come down and latch over my 2-incher.

3. Slant the canopy! I had an awning left up while we were gone at the Fort and it rained. The awning, even though slanted, had enough sag in the material to collect a big puddle of water which ripped the canvas. It is expensive to replace $300-400 with an OEM awning. Now if the weather is in question I drop my awning (leaving anything to keep dry on the underside) when heading out for a while or to the parks.

Here is a picture from April 2013 when I was at the Fort in site 127 putting #1 and #3 into action. (#2 is on the inside)



Never put the camper away with wet canvas. I always keep a container of DampRid inside the door while in storage to absorb moisture and keep mildew away.

I like dropping the window coverings and having a 360-degree view of the outdoors from my pup. Not many other trailers can offer that.

Enjoy your pup!



Bama Ed

PS - I also like to say my pup is my cabin in the woods, my condo at the beach, and my DVC.

 

[Bearikens]

My question is for current pop up owners, what are some set up/organizing tips that you can give that work for you while at the Fort? We have our first trip scheduled for June and I want to make sure I have things in order before we go. Thanks in advance!

First, I recommend practice trips. 1) camp driveway/backyard - set up the PUP in the driveway or backyard and actually camp in the PUP. You can experiment with different setups and combinations. This will also give you a better idea of the available space you have for living and storage. 2) take a weekend a take the PUP to a local campground (KOA for us was good as they are fully willing to help newbies). This will give you an idea of how the PUP will tow, how to back up, how to setup and tear down. Additionally, the trip will show you what items you brought that you don't need and what items you didn't that you will need.

Second, we have found that those large plastic 3 drawer totes work wonderfully for our kitchen gear and clothes. Other items to bring - try to include those that can serve several uses. Bring some standard tools, flashlight, spare fuses, roll of duct tape, ensure your PUP has a lug wrench and that you have a jack that will fit the PUP. I also bring a folding plastic step to help me to reach up on the PUP once it is fully raised. Water: bring a pressure regulator for your drinking water hose and also have a way to deal with your grey water (One of my last mods was to make an adapter to allow me to connect a sewer hose to my drain).

Tips: if you have an awning and intent to use it for your stay, remember to open the bag BEFORE you raise the top fully. The awning poles can also help you lay the canvas flat inside the PUP when you are packing up...use the rubber capped end to GENTLY push the canvas inside. Remember to bring keys to the camper and your hitch locks Be sure to park your PUP in the campsite where your utilities can reach the services (electric and water).

This should get you started and I hope this helps.

Welcome to the world of being a PUP owner

 

[Bearikens]

Here is my sewer hose and homemade adapter

Here is our setup at the Fort, October 2010

 

[loislane]

Here are some of the ways we organized and stored things. For our trip to the Fort (11 nights) we packed in duffel bags. If you roll your clothes instead of folding, you can fit a lot in. And the empty bags are much easier to store!


Metal 3-shelve unit from Lowe's. Costs about $20 and gave us tons of space to store kitchen items we wanted quickly at hand including the toaster.

Over the door shelving unit - we got it either at Lowe's or WalMart (can't remember) and it was probably $10 or $15. We used it to store food items - boxes of cereal, Pop-Tarts, drink mixes, pancake syrup, etc. all fit well on there.

We also had a camping caddy that we installed and a hanging organizer that we used. The caddy held the clothes for the two boys, while my DH, DD and I used the hanging organizer.

 

[davettewellmaker]

Thank you for all of the great ideas and pictures! I hadn't thought about a lot of these tips and they should make our camping experience at the fort that much more enjoyable!

 

[PixieCamper]

Reflectix cut to fit the tops of the bunk ends (attach them with binder clips from office depot or walmart) and Reflectix inserts cut to fit inside the window zips of the canvas are a GOD SEND in the summer (winter too) the bunk ends become like ovens and the Reflectix stops that entirely. It also makes the bunks a little darker for sleeping which we like. Tried the popup gizmos but they didn't work nearly as well.

We made bunk end skirts with weatherproof material to go all the way around the outside of the bunkends to make two big nice storage areas for totes, dirty clothes, etc.

We bought an add a room for our awning when we had the hybrid and LOVED IT!
with all the flaps down and the portable ac on in the add a room, the temp was a nice non humid 74 degrees at the Fort even though the heat index outside was 94.

having a table set up under your awning to hold things like the coffee pot, crock pot, toaster oven, etc really helps control traffic jams as well as clutter inside the camper.

A nice big 5 day cooler out side for drinks and cold stuff is great for cutting down clutter and traffic inside the camper as well.

We like to use the mesh hanging shoe bags for toiletries and odds and ends.

Congrats!!

 

[sippican]

Congratulations on your new pop-up. Although it's been awhile, and we've been through a string of "camping abodes" from tents to a class A, our Coleman pup was one of our absolute favorites! We really love our new rig, but miss being able to just open everything up (as bamaEd point out).
As stated in another post, I'd like to reinforce to never leave it closed if there is even a hint of dampness, once you have mold it is almost impossible to remove completely - when in doubt, open it up. (We did end up replacing the canvas, and we were already experienced - on our 2nd pup!) We loved the mattress in ours - the only unit we never needed a topper in. We also added the screen room onto the front - the best outdoor space ever.
Others have already offered some great ideas. Enjoy!

Bearikens - love your adaptor but I have a question, Is there a way you can stop the gasses from the sewer drain from backing up into the pup?

 

[storyteller]

Congrats on the new-to-you Pup!

As far as setup goes, I would offer three pieces of advice when camping at the Fort.

1. Ant Protection. I sprinkle ant powder around every pup wheel and surface touching the ground (reach around the tires good). Have an aerosol can of ant spray and use it on your main electrical cord and water hose near the camper. Don't ask me how I know how to do this.

2. Buy about a 2-inch dense Memoryfoam mattress topper for the pup bunks. Standard pup mattresses leave a lot to be desired for a good night's sleep. My roof will still come down and latch over my 2-incher.

3. Slant the canopy! I had an awning left up while we were gone at the Fort and it rained. The awning, even though slanted, had enough sag in the material to collect a big puddle of water which ripped the canvas. It is expensive to replace $300-400 with an OEM awning. Now if the weather is in question I drop my awning (leaving anything to keep dry on the underside) when heading out for a while or to the parks.

Here is a picture from April 2013 when I was at the Fort in site 127 putting #1 and #3 into action. (#2 is on the inside)



Never put the camper away with wet canvas. I always keep a container of DampRid inside the door while in storage to absorb moisture and keep mildew away.

I like dropping the window coverings and having a 360-degree view of the outdoors from my pup. Not many other trailers can offer that.

Enjoy your pup!



Bama Ed

PS - I also like to say my pup is my cabin in the woods, my condo at the beach, and my DVC.

sorry I'm off topic but this is when I met bama ed.. Great visit.. that's all thank you... sorry for the interruption.

 

[bama_ed]

sorry I'm off topic but this is when I met bama ed.. Great visit.. that's all thank you... sorry for the interruption.

Steve,

I'm sorry we will miss you and the kids this go-around. Your youngest boy was talkative and your niece was sweet.

Hopefully we can meet again in person at the Fort sometime.

Ed

 

[storyteller]

Steve,

I'm sorry we will miss you and the kids this go-around. Your youngest boy was talkative and your niece was sweet.

Hopefully we can meet again in person at the Fort sometime.

Ed

I'm sure we will.

 

[JanL]

My pop up is only a bedroom, so I don't need a lot of storage items. I open a folding table between the two bunk ends and cover it with a table cloth. Two big bins fit under the table behind the cloth. From them, I remove the bedding and lamps, electrical outlet strips and extension cords and set up house. Then I use the empty bins: 1 for our duffle bags that hold our clothes and one as a dirty clothes hamper with a large laundry sack inside. When it is time to go, I remove the duffles and laundry sack and repack the bedding, etc.

I have one of those plastic woven under-awning mats as carpeting inside the pop up. It matches the blankets. When stuff gets tracked in, we just roll it up and shake it outside and it is clean again.

 

[rbork]

Set up and organizing tips...
Owner of a 2001 Coleman Sante Fe here. Congratulations on your purchase.

Set up tips.
A. Unzip your canopy and take your level off the roof before you crank up the roof.
B. Slant and tie down awning REALLY good otherwise you will be doing the awning dance during storms in the middle of the night. We use a screw type (pet anchor) for the awning ties.
C. Take a mini tool box with level legos, duck tape, tools and spare lights and fuses, cable hook up, and Y hose adaptor for the water hook up. This way one part of the Y gets your marine hose and the other can be used as a faucet for handwashing etc.
D. I open and pack the p/up before big 10 day trips. Making sure the weight is distributed well for better towing.
E. If your p/up doesn't have a hot water heater: we use a coffee pot to run a pot of plain water through for hot water to add in the sink to wash dishes if needed.
F. I would like to include taking your p/up off the tow ball before unhooking the chains on an unlevel site. Don't ask You should be fine at FW, it's a nice level campground.

I have teenagers now, so each of us gets a duffle to throw in the towing vehicle. I use the hang up organizer in the p/up like others have shown. We also use a screen tent for only the long trips. We use a cooler outside along with the fridge inside. Bread gets moldy quick in a hot p/up in florida. We don't keep trash inside the p/up rather use a small trash can outside with a secured lid.
Lastly, We lock our items prior to leaving the site for a long period, even at FW.

Have a great time. And if you need help at a campground, don't hesitate to ask. Your fellow camper is helpful and probably has the tool you forgot.

 

[mrcotton73]

This is an old thread - but I am trying to make a similar fitting for my starcraft centennial - can you provide the details of the parts used to connect the 3" hose to the camper drain outlet (assume that is 1.5")?

Thanks!

Here is my sewer hose and homemade adapter

Here is our setup at the Fort, October 2010

 

[Pookasaurus]

Set up and organizing tips...
Owner of a 2001 Coleman Sante Fe here. Congratulations on your purchase.

Set up tips.
A. Unzip your canopy and take your level off the roof before you crank up the roof.
B. Slant and tie down awning REALLY good otherwise you will be doing the awning dance during storms in the middle of the night. We use a screw type (pet anchor) for the awning ties.
C. Take a mini tool box with level legos, duck tape, tools and spare lights and fuses, cable hook up, and Y hose adaptor for the water hook up. This way one part of the Y gets your marine hose and the other can be used as a faucet for handwashing etc.
D. I open and pack the p/up before big 10 day trips. Making sure the weight is distributed well for better towing.
E. If your p/up doesn't have a hot water heater: we use a coffee pot to run a pot of plain water through for hot water to add in the sink to wash dishes if needed.
F. I would like to include taking your p/up off the tow ball before unhooking the chains on an unlevel site. Don't ask You should be fine at FW, it's a nice level campground.

I have teenagers now, so each of us gets a duffle to throw in the towing vehicle. I use the hang up organizer in the p/up like others have shown. We also use a screen tent for only the long trips. We use a cooler outside along with the fridge inside. Bread gets moldy quick in a hot p/up in florida. We don't keep trash inside the p/up rather use a small trash can outside with a secured lid.
Lastly, We lock our items prior to leaving the site for a long period, even at FW.

Have a great time. And if you need help at a campground, don't hesitate to ask. Your fellow camper is helpful and probably has the tool you forgot.

My level sat on top of my roof for the entirety of my last camping trip lol

 

[Maggie at the Fort]

Other people have said it but tie that awning down good! On our first trip to the fort my husband and I woke up in the middle of the night to it flipped into the roof in a thunderstorm. Holding the metal poles and trying to wrestle it down in the pouring rain and lightning was not our best moment. Pretty foolish in retrospect. Enjoy your pop up! I think it is the best way to camp.