Advise for first time pop up owner

[Deffenm]

We just purchased our very first pop up camper on Saturday. It is a starcraft Centinial 3610. I absolutely love it however I am very scared. I don't remember anything they told us at orientation when we went to pick it up. I thought how hard could this be, yeah right. This is more complicated then I thought. Any tips or advise you would like to share or mistakes you made when you first you had yours? Am I just over worrying?

 

[ftwildernessguy]

Read the manual, practice putting it up and taking it down a few times, find an empty parking lot and practice backing it up.

 

[PolynesianPixie]

I'll ask my husband!

seriously, I'd be lost! He sets it up and I do the housekeeping type stuff! The beds are made beautifully inside!

If you get to a campground and get confused, most campers are more than willing to lend a hand!

 

[BigDaddyRog]

Great tip I learned right here on the boards is when backing up a trailer(or popup) keep your steering hand on the bottom of the wheel and move your steering hand in the direction you want the trailer to go.

 

[Deffenm]

Well DH has read the manual, we have practiced setting it up and putting it down, and I have only driven the the truck with pop up attached about 1 mile. DH has driven with trailers since he was 18 so he is the expert there. I guess I need to read the manual as well. My main fear is the propane appliances, using the water and lighting the hot water pilot light, the electric etc.. When we tent camp, I don't have electric appliances, no propane or water to worry about. I am sure after a few camping trips we will be pros at it. DH and I make a great team and once we get into a routine of who does what it will go much smoother. You should have seen us put it up and take it down the first time by ourselves. It was funny to watch us - but 40 min later we got it done. Thanks for all your advise.

 

[loriandmatt]

don't crank it up too much. have one person keep an eye on the tension cord (or whatever your make/model) has and tell the "cranker" to slow down and then stop when that thing gets taught. (we snapped ours before and then over extended the lift system. not a fun camping trip.


keep her dry on the inside. get yourself some damp-rid and keep it in there when you aren't using the camper. damp = mildew = nasty camper.

go get yourself a cheapo bubble level and keep it in the camper. when putting down the leveling feet, have that sucker on the top of the camper. we spent more than one camping trip half sick because we were sleeping tilted.

 

[PanFanAL]

All great advice, but i would add, just go camping. Don't worry about making a few mistakes(as long as no real damage is done) that is how you will learn and get better at it. It doesn't take but a couple of trips to become pro's.

 

[ftwildernessguy]

As part of my dewinterizing, I always check the gas connections with some really soapy water. This involves crawling under the trailer, but sure beats a gas leak. Since you have a water heater, be sure to drain it after each campout so it doesn't get all funky. I always do this right at the campground as I am packing up.

 

[kmurawski]

Ours came with a DVD. The kids putting it up made it look so easy.

Practice, practice, practice and practice some more. I'm sure our first time out this season we will need some reminders again.

 

[tim5055]

This is one I can help with, check out my Pop Up Camping Frequently Asked Questions.

If you have a few minutes, then check out other pages on the site.

 

[LarryJ]

All great advice, but i would add, just go camping. Don't worry about making a few mistakes(as long as no real damage is done) that is how you will learn and get better at it. It doesn't take but a couple of trips to become pro's.

If you're able to have it at your house, just light everything up and at least go out there and cook, etc. right in your driveway to learn what to do or not and you can even get advise here or on sites like RV.net to work out any issues before you hit the road so to speak. You could also just do a driveway camping trip to find out what you might have forgotten to pack and live in it for like 24 hours. Unless you plan to go to a dump station, I wouldn't use the toilet since you don't want that setting undumped for weeks at a time. Also, you could use some sort of tub/container to dump the grey water in and check it often and you can find out how to conserve and use your water to make the holding tanks last as long as possible.

Larry

 

[akamom]

Read the manual, practice putting it up and taking it down a few times, find an empty parking lot and practice backing it up.

Yup! That's what we did! GL and have fun!!

 

[kmurawski]

There's nothing like driveway camping. We would have done that if we had a driveway.

 

[bama_ed]

I've made sooooo many mistakes with my pop-up I'm lucky it still travels! The big FW mistake back in May 2006 was I didn't slope my awning enough (one corner higher than the other) and when it rained the water puddled in the awning rather than ran off. The water was so heavy it ripped the awning. We came back from Trail's End to find our awning ripped and collapsed around our front door.

Then there was the time at the Gulf Coast the awning blew (gusty winds) up over the roof and poles went flying)....

Now I bungee the awning cross rod to the pop-up frame on both ends and set one corner somewhat lower.

Take your popup out for a weekend somewhere close to home where you can experience the setup, takedown, and livein issues without the pressure of being at FW on vacation. My kids still laugh at me for the things I overlooked but if you work it out beforehand, taking the popup to the Fort can be a wonderful vacation.

Bama ED

 

[abbdrey]

Hello and welcome! I actually set up our pop up for the first time this past trip. My husband had to go back to the house to pick up our golf cart, so I got started without him. He graded me a "C", until I went to make the bed and it clunked down (meaning I had not secured it properly), so I was downgraded to a "D". I have seen him put it up so many times, but obviously still do not know how to do it myself.

The inside appliances are a snap to use. You should not have any problems!!

Take care and have fun.
Kim

 

[CaptKen]

As soon as reasonably possible, practice hooking up and towing the trailer. You never know when something might happen and the hubby might not be able. I have the wife pull our 5er every chance I get. That way she's comfortable with it if she needs to tow. Now if I can train her to back it in and set it up, I'll have it made.

 

[mdoc]

Go visit one of the popup message boards (like popupexplorer.com or popuptimes.com). The folks there are really helpful and you'll get great advice.

 

[Deffenm]

Thank you all for the great advise. I agree I do need to practice driving the truck with the camper. We want to go to Myrtle Beach this summer camping but I don't know if DH will be able to drive the whole way by himself. I read the manuals last night, man that was a lot of reading. I feel more comfotable today. I do have to share a funny story. We setup it up last night again for practice but we couldn't figure out why the battery would not kick on and work - we did not have camper pluged in. Well to find out the dealership did not hook up the battery. Oopps! You should have seen us reading the manual, looking for a switch, anything to make the battery work. We have an electric winch so we just assumed the battery had to be hooked up as the winch was working.

I will check out some other forums and websites. I wish we could set it up in our driveway however our driveway has a huge slope to it. We have a nice dead end street at the end of our culdasac that we use to practice setting it up and tearing it down.

I can't wait for our first trip to the Fort. I love camping and WDW so I can't imagine doing both together. We are planning a trip for sometime next year. I can't decide if we want to go at Spring break or Oct.

 

[MomofPirate&Mickey]

I can't decide if we want to go at Spring break or Oct.

I vote October! Not as crowded & generally a little nicer weather, although it is hurricane season. Plus you get MNSSHP . (Although this year they extended the P&PP through to the beginning of June, which IMHO, has the BEST fireworks show MK has ever put on --WDW too for that matter. ) Lots of candy at the HP. They stopped giving candy/chocolate this year the P&P. Gave "jems" instead, and they were really stingy w/ those!!

 

[Flametamr]

One serious issue to watch during set up and tear down is the canvas. Take your time sliding the bunk ends out and back in so you don't cut the canvas. It's best to have two people but if you have to do it alone go slow. The end of mine was torn by the dealer before I bought it. And I'm sure they have plenty of experience. It was replaced by the warranty but still proves my point.