Ot - pros and cons of campers

[SheriN]

While my question isn't about camping at Disney it's about camping...that will hopefully lead to Disney...so guess not to OT after all.

We've been looking at several campers, and never having *had* a camper it's harder to figure out which one's better.

I've slept in a pop-up, but never set one up. I've slept in a pull behind (travel trailer?) but never had to set one up or pull it, and I've slept in an all in one (class C?), but again, never drove one or set one up.

For our needs a pop-up probably wouldn't work, although you can typically sleep quite a few people in them. Are there pros for going this route? What are some of the cons?

What's the pros of going with a travel trailer vs going with a pop-up? How do those 2 differ?

And are there times when you'd just rather have a Class C vs the other 2?

So far going with a Class A is way out of our budget and a Class B is way to small.

For some info, we're a family of 5 (90% of the time) with a family of 8 the other times (that we'd be camping). Mom, Dad, 5 boys and 1 girl. 3 of the boys are 12 or older, so could go into a tent outside no matter which camper we got. They'd probably prefer that either way we went. The other 3 kids are 4, 7, 9 but no matter which route we'd go sleeping with the rest shouldn't be a problem. But then again, since we only have all 8 on a limited time <longest obviously being during the summer> having to find something that sleeps more then 6 isn't a huge requirement.

I've never driven anything beyond a U-Haul trailer behind my car, so not sure how different a pop-up or travel trailer would be...especially in the backing up department. Course with that thought I don't know if I ever backed up the U-Haul for that matter! LOL

And we'd probably only use the camper for weekend trips, with *maybe* a Disney trip in there somewhere, but want to have the option of living out of a camper if we needed to. <ie longer then overnight>

Thanks for any info, or BTDT's.

 

[1derfultigger]

There are several basic questions you have to ask yourself before you can decide which way to go. Here are some that I can think of:

How often will you use whatever you purchase? If only a few times per year, perhaps even a Class C, and certainly not a Class A is practical considering the cost, the insurance, and the leaving something with an engine sitting around for much of the year.

How much can you tow? You can't tow most travel trailers with a car or minivan or even some SUV's. If you can't tow a typical travel trailer and aren't willing to buy a new vehicle that can, then you can rule the travel trailer out. On the other hand, you'd be surprised how much travel trailer you can get these days and stay within a reasonable weight. But you still typically need a pickup truck or fairly large SUV to comfortably tow them.

No need to even think about a 5th-wheel if you're on the fence on the previous question.

How much "nicy-nice" do you want? You can cram a lot of people into today's popups but then where do you put everything else. When you put that many people into a popup or small travel trailer, you usually have to use the sofa and/or the dining table to make a bed so that means unmaking and making the beds everyday. How long before that becomes a pain? Popups are now as nice as travel trailers used to be but many travel trailers are now becoming as nice and comfortable on the inside as motorhomes used to be. Especially when you get into models with slideouts, etc.

Then, probably the most important question, how much can you afford? Even a Class C motorhome is significantly more expensive because you now have an actual vehicle with an engine, etc. Also, most people with motorhomes want to carry transportation with them for when they arrive at their destination. They call them towables, toads, or dingy vehicles and there are some models of smaller cars that are better suited for this than others. So that's something to consider as well.

Just a few thoughts but hopefully they will help. When we were shopping for our first travel trailer a few years ago, I first worked out how much we could tow. Then, we went to the manufacturer's websites and looked at the models and floorplans until we found some we liked. Then, we found the dealers for those models and actually went to look at them.

Another tip - don't buy something that is at the upper edge of what your vehicle is rated to tow. For example, if your truck can tow 7500 lbs., don't look for trailers that weigh 7400 lbs. The rated weights of trailers are what they call "dry weight" and don't include the things you will pack or even the weight of the propane in the gas tank(s), etc.

 

[CottontailCurl]

I'm sorry, I can't help you because we keep going back and forth with what we'd like to move up to but keep coming back to our tent.

I did want to mention that you're from NC and there are several RV shows in the state in the next few weeks. You could check them out to see what the different types have to offer, go inside with the group of people who will be using it the most and see how it fits. Don't forget in a matter of months (seems like it!) those little guys will be huge. I always thought a pop-up would be fine for us considering we are active out and about people and don't spend too much time at our campsite. One step up into an open pop-up with my 6 foot son and I decided that could be considered (overgrown) child abuse!!

If you're anywhere near western NC I have a dealership to recommend. We were driving through Concord NC once during a horrible storm that was dumping rain in buckets and we weren't able to see out our window. We tried to find a place to stop and settled on an RV dealership across from the Speedway there. I'll have to do a search to find the name. I spent some time talking to a salesman there and decided from one comment he said that if we ever need an RV we're getting it from there, no matter where we live. He said at their dealership they never let anyone leave with an RV that can't be safely hauled by their tow vehicle. He said their crew in the service area checks out your TV and if it's not enough for the weight of your RV, no sale. He said he's had people come in with their heart set on one type of RV because they read in their vehicle's manual that it was Ok but to have it nixed before the sale could go through. The dealership might be losing the sale of a larger RV but I'm guessing they make it up with customers who come to them more because of it. I've read so many horror stories about people who've bought RVs that were too heavy and had to go buy a new tow vehicle or even some who stick with the combo and driving on the freeway became a nightmare.

Here's the dealership: It's Tom Johnson Camping Center, the card I have says they have one in Marion and one in Concord (don't know where Marion is, but Concord is right off I-85). www.tomjohnsoncamping.com The salesman I spoke with was Bobbitt (don't know if he's still there, but I'll never forget his name!). This company might be at some of the RV shows I mentioned.
http://agievents.com/shows/display.cfm?showID=47&showtypeid=1&src=49&sfid=77
http://agievents.com/shows/display.cfm?showID=49&showtypeid=1&src=50&sfid=77
Those were the only two that came up in a google search.

 

[stacktester]

I think Tigger has gave a great answer. I am somewhat new to RV'ing being I bought my first toy hauler in 04. When looking at one you've got to be realistic about what is going to work for you. Unless you've got a ton of extra cash sitting around to waste (doubt you do or you wouldn't be asking ?'s on here) you have a big decision to make. A driveable camper unless you're going to be in it a lot is not a good choice. Even though the mileage stays low on these units they depreciate like crazy. I have 2 friends that have bought Class C mh's. The first to buy one got it to go to horse shows so they could stay at the showgrounds. When they didn't show anymore they sold it. They got about half what they paid for it. BTW, it was a $60k unit. Class A and C moho's are very expensive to repair and maintain.

Not to say pop up's and tt's are a bed of roses but I pay about $240 a year for full coverage ins. and I did buy a cover for about $300. If you do anything, buy a cover for your rv as it will save you $$ on items that the sun tends to get to. I had to replace the vent covers and the fridge vent cover on my 1st rv after 1.5 years because the sun dried them out. Not to mention the fiberglass had to be buffed to get the shine back.

Pop ups are probably the most economical way to go. They even sell toy hauler one's now with a big front deck. I personally like having my enclosed toilet and shower so I chose the tt model.

No matter what model you pick, you're going to probably like and dislike some things and then when you're ready, you'll probably get one that meets all the things your first one didn't.

At any rate I will say that since I bought my camper, I've developed a better relationship with my daughter than ever. We look forward to FW trips the most and going on just little weekend trips whether it be to a state park or the forest to ride 4 wheelers.

 

[1derfultigger]

I agree with Cotton. Great way to go is a RV show. There just didn't happen to be any nearby when we were looking to buy. From what I've seen and what I hear, Tom Johnson Camping Center is almost like going to a RV show anyway. They have a huge inventory and are a well known dealer for customer service. However, there are other good dealers out there and I strongly recommend trying to do business with someone fairly local to you. You have to consider getting your rigged serviced or repaired and you don't want to have to take across the state to do it. I live in a small town and bought from a dealer over an hour and a half away. That's pretty far just for service/repair but that's about as local as it can get for me. When I was ready to buy, they had what I wanted in stock and they were the only dealer I spoke with that was willing to give me an "out the door price" over the phone.

I got a flyer in the mail just within the last day or two that I tossed because I'm not interested in anything new yet. But, it mentioned 2 RV shows coming up in NC over the next 2 or 3 weeks. One was in Raleigh and the other was in Charlotte. Check one out if you can.

 

[1derfultigger]

Stack reminds me of a good option - the toy hauler. These are becoming more and more popular and, if I could change anything, I would have somewhere to carry my toys. We own a golf cart, a 4-wheeler, my son has a motorcycle, and I recently bought my first Harley. We can get the 4-wheeler or the motorcycle in the back of my truck but not both at the same time. However, we'd love to be able to take our own golf cart and, now that I have a motorcycle, I would really love to be able to carry that on a lot of the trips we go on. So, keep that in mind. If you have any "toys" you'd like to take with you, consider one of these. Many of them that I have seen have beds and carpet that flip down to convert the toy space into living space once you've arrived and removed the toy(s) from the back. As Stack said, they have popups now that can carry toys and they also have small TT's that have the big deck in the front for toys as well. Again, though, keep in kind that your toys add to your gross vehicle weight and have to be taken into account when you are comparing your tow vehicle with what you want to pull. Most dealers will be very good at helping you work that out but there will always be the one or two bad apples that will try to sell you the biggest, most expensive thing they can and let you worry about how to tow it on your own.

I would do due diligence on your own though regarding the weight you can tow. It's usually in your owner's manual or you can ask your car dealer's service department. I did talk to one or two dealers that told me my previous truck could tow more than it actually could. They claimed to have looked it up in a manual but I found it to be incorrect - very incorrect - off by about 1000 pounds. I felt like they were giving me the information in good faith but they were wrong nonetheless. The last thing you want is to be overweight going down the interstate at 65 mph and have something break.

 

[DisneyFanatik]

We just purchased a Trailmanor travel trailer. It collapses sort of like a pop-up, but it has all hard walls. There are several different models to choose from. We like it because we can tow it with our mini-van. You can check them out at www.trailmanor.com

 

[SheriN]

Wow thanks everyone for the replies. We're in the Triad, and I think they just finished up an RV show here a few weekends ago, but neither Raleigh or Charlotte is too far away. And Concord isn't too far away so we'll run by there and see what our car will tow. We have a 99 Expedition. And we had a Class 3 tow bar installed cause you do not pull with the bumper hitch according to U-Haul.

A friend of mine has a really nice pop-up, with what's been mentioned maybe we should look into going that route! Would be cheaper, and not so hard to maintain.

Again, thanks for the responses! I'll run these by hubby and we'll see where we go from here!

 

[cyberdeb]

I would have to second all the responses that you have gotten. We started out with a tent, upgraded to pop up and then 22 ft hybrid with a slide out. I have to say i really liked our pop up. However, i did not like having no bathroom. At my age, I get up a couple times a night and it is a pain walking to the rest rooms. Another draw back is that there i little room for your stuff when you have a few people with you. Our pop up could sleep 8 but we usually had 4-5 and it was cramped. We hated it when we had to break down the dinnete. Then we had to find somewhere to put the stuff that was on the table. I also hated that we couldnt keep it fully loaded and ready to go. When we got our hybrid, it was like heaven. We could pull over at a rest stop and eat in the trailer, use the bathroom, and even sleep in it without opening the ends if we wanted to. Having a full fridge and freezer saved us a lot of money on ice when we were gone on vacation for a couple of weeks. I can keep this trailer almost completely ready to go with the exception of persishables.

Drawbacks to our hybrid - takes just as much time to set up as a pop up. My dh hates it for that reason and is now looking for a completely enclosed trailer. THe tent ends really get damp (not wet) when you have a lot of rain.

With a motor home, you would either have to tow a car or break down camp every time you wanted to go somewhere.

I would look for storage space. When we bought our trailer, we were waiting for the salesman to get off the phone so we could sign the papers and walked through the lot. We found a left over that was much bigger and had a slide out and ton of storage space for 200 more than the one we were planning to buy. I have to say that i just love having room to put things instead of havng to go back and forth to the car.

 

[1derfultigger]

Don't buy on price alone. Consider the other things. You'll be surprised at the TT's that are out there that won't cost you much more in dollars or in weight. I saw a lot of popup models approaching the $10K range and I bought a 29 foot TT ultra-lite with a slideout for around $15K out the door (that included tax, fees, hitch package, etc.) The Trail Manor is a great way to go but, from what I've seen, you will pay ($$) for that capability. I recently saw one advertised for about $24K that is smaller than mine. Worth it probably if weight is a concern and you still want more of a TT and I think it's great on gas mileage too. You can probably tow quite a bit with an Expedition but, if you get something that's even close to your max tow weight, I'd suggest investing in a transmission cooler in addition to your hitch and be sure to get a weight distributing hitch package with the trailer - most dealers will set this up for you when you take delivery.

 

[auntie]

We have a travel trailer..didn't want to go the pop up route..(the bathroom..even when they have one..well..it's right there..not much privacy). So we went to the travel trailer. We also towed with a 99 Expedition a 26.5 foot unit. I wouldn't advise on too much bigger given the wheel base of the Expedition is short. It should also have a tow package.
We have a slide out unit..a Jayco Eagle. It is a 2000, but we are now looking for a larger unit, since our tow vehicle is changing also.This gives you more room..especially if it's raining and kids are inside. Has more the feel of a little cottage. You will no doubt have to change the hitch on the Expedition to tow a travel trailer..at least that was our experience. It wasn't really an big deal we had the RV dealer do it. They handle this all the time. As far as motor home..we didn't like the idea that we were "stuck" once we got ot our destination. Unless of course you pull a small car..and then you are back to towing something anyway..so we went with the travel trailer. We are happy with our choice. Like the options. First we trailered ...again on weekends..but living on Long Island, my husband soon started to hate getting on and off the island for just weekends..too much work for a Fri. night to Sunday..between the traffic and the setting up once we got to our location. We then started to seasonal camp. Meaning we left the trailer on site in a particular resort or campground and it was set up for the season. We are able to get upstate on a Fri. evening and not have to work..just open the door and enjoy. We do pull out for a trip here or there..but for the most part, the last three years we stayed seasonal at a camping resort the whole family enjoys. Often they offer spring or fall season..that's how we started..especially with the price of the gas the last couple of years, we were happy not to be towing. However...we do plan a trip to FW..yes indeed, we will be "pulling out" for that. I look forward to it as FW is the best campground we've been too, and my husband doesn't mind the tow if we are going to stay for a week or more. Hopefully we will be able to do this in the coming year!

 

[DisCamper]

I'm in the market for a new Rv the local dealer had toy haulers we are also looking to get a golf cart so the toy hauler would fit both needs after looking at them very very plan no thrills on the 5 models we saw are all toy hauler that way? I saw a fifth wheel I loved.

 

[twins4disney]

With the number of kids you have going, check out bunkhouse models, there are some untis that have four bunks in the front or back of the travel trailor. We started out with a pop up, then went to a pop up with a dinette slideout, both had showers and toilets, which was great. The downfall was no matter how much you had the air going at night, it was hot, also during the day. We live in the St. LOuis area and most of the time we camped in our area, nothing like camping in very humid weather. We now have a 25 foot TT, with air and ducted furnace, the heat is great since we start camping in March and end the season usually in NOvemebr. I would never go back to the popup, but I am a little spoiled, and realize we are not "camping" as much as we would be in a tent or popup. We did like the popup, but with the addition of twins we needed more room. We had the largest popup at the time, but still found it to be a little cramped with all of the baby stuff. The first time we took the kids there were 6 weeks old, froze them at night! I do not know how they survived.
Like everyone has said, check your tow rating, and go from there. We are looking to upgrade to a bunkhouse model, FLagstaff, by Forest River. The inside is very well built, cabinets are real wood, etc. Check out webistes for all the makes and models. You will be amazed how much research you can do online. We constantly are looking.
Good luck and happy camping.

 

[campingcorgi]

Safari Simba FD STS:
http://www.safarimotorcoaches.com/models/safari.aspx?content=index&model=simbafd

We just checked this one out at the Tampa RV show. It's a toyhauler and has lots of sleeping space, but the part I was really interested in was the 4 forward facing seats up front. Finally, an rv company that made safe seating for a family! The interior was very nice, too. I think this is my new 'dream rig' and maybe, soon........

 

[1derfultigger]

Safari Simba FD STS:
http://www.safarimotorcoaches.com/models/safari.aspx?content=index&model=simbafd

We just checked this one out at the Tampa RV show. It's a toyhauler and has lots of sleeping space, but the part I was really interested in was the 4 forward facing seats up front. Finally, an rv company that made safe seating for a family! The interior was very nice, too. I think this is my new 'dream rig' and maybe, soon........

At $142K, it should have seats configured any way I want them. These are nice. There's just no way to justify the cost unless you are able to use it A LOT!.

 

[campingcorgi]

Using it a lot--yep, that's my plan!!

 

[Napria]

Check this out:
http://www.tigermotorhomes.com/overview.htm

They're in South Carolina. I've heard of people buying these and using them as "daily drivers" And you can get the option of a crew cab (seating for 4)

But...

I wouldn't recommend this to someone who is just testing the waters of RVing. You can now rent pop-ups at some dealers. You can also rent trailers and motorhomes. I HIGHLY recommend renting a pop-up before buying one if that's the way you're thinking of going. Many people love their pop-ups, but talk to trailer/hybrid/5th wheel owners and ask them if they had a pop-up and if so, how long. We bought a beautiful, top-of-the-line, brand new Fleetwood pop-up with a hard wall shower and toilet. It slept 9. We have four in our family and we found it cramped. We also didn't like the idea of having to pack it up wet in the rain then bring it home and have to open it to air it out (what if it's raining for a few days when you bing it home?!)

We kept our pop-up for 4 months then traded it in for a fifth wheel with bunkhouse. We also traded in our GMC Envoy for a Chevy one ton truck to haul it. DH loves his manly truck (he calls it the "Deathstar") and I love my big, comfy cottage on wheels! Space galore, and a bunkhouse for the kids with a real door and floor space for them.

Btw, towing a pop-up vs. a travel trailer vs. a fifth-wheel is very different. I was a champion of backing that pop-up. DH couldn't back it into a parking lot. Now he backs the fifth-wheel like a champ and I freak out whenenver I try. I'm working on that though...