Pop-Up Camper

[Iott Family]

This might not be the place to post this. Maybe it belongs in the community boards but I have a campers question and I thought I should start in a campers forum!

We are looking into buying a pop-up and "upgrading" our camping from a tent. DH is not a camper so its just been the kids and I with my family BUT he swears he will camp if we get up off the ground. He wants AC/Heat, satelite TV/Radio and comforts. The man thinks motel 6 is ruffing it

My mother has a small pull behind camper that sleeps 4, my aunt uses a pop-up that has two full size beds. We are a family of 6 so obviously need something a bit larger. I know nothing about the world of pop up campers. Is there a dummies guide out there to bone up on before we go into a dealership and get a salesmans pitch?

Thanks!

 

[stefa70]

Maybe find an rv show in your area? There will be tons of different rv's that you can look at without really being bothered by sales people. There are tons of people just browsing at the new stuff! I remember seeing pop-ups they call "the brady brunch" (i think) that will sleep 10 people! Just a warning though, we also started in a tent, then went to a pop-up, and finally bought a 23 foot TT with flat screen tv, surround sound, heated matresses....... ya know, "roughing it" Good luck!

 

[retired and happy]

I can't say I blame him for wanting to get off the ground. I used to be a scoutmaster and I always slept in the back of my truck while the boys were in their tents. We're now in a MH.

While considering what you want to stay in, also consider what you will need to tow it if you go that way. Don't let your tow vehicle be underpowered or undersized for the rig behind you. Check the ratings. Don't rely on the salesman to give you the straight scoop. They want to make a sale and may fudge on the facts, which you may not discover until you are trying to pull that hill. For safety and continued use, check it all out before you buy.

 

[Solamom]

We spent months researching pop-ups. Originally we wanted one to keep in our garage since we live in a deed restricted neighborhood. We are a family of 5 and borrowed a smaller Coleman to take to the fort last Sept. for 7 nights. Very quickly realized we were too large for it and would need at least a high wall with a slide --- keeping meats in a cooler wasn't a lot of fun. High walls have larger fridges and a lot more counter space.

My hubby was laid off and during that time we kept researching for "when" the time would come. We went to every RV show in town just to look. Now we have decided to forgo the pop-up for a travel trailer (even found a place to store it). We have a trip to the fort planned for this Sept. and will have the camper by then - if not really soon!!! We are heavily leaning toward a Keystone Passport 2910BH.

So we never actually bought a pop up but in all our looking, we really liked the Fleetwood Niagra and Avalon. If we bought a pop up, it would be one of those two (however, the Avalon wouldn't fit in our garage so it would need to be stored off-site). Flagstaff has some nice high walls too. They would work well w/ a family of 6 if you have a tow vehicle that can handle them. We also liked the Coleman Utah as a non-high wall but after our 7 night trip knew we would have to have a high wall.

Sometimes Craigslist has some good deals on Pop Ups also.

 

[WdwforLife]

I used to camp in a pop-up all the time when I was little! They're awesome! You won't regret. Such an improvement over a tent.

 

[anolefan]

We are a family of 5 and are new to camping. When we originally started our search for a camper we were looking at Travel Trailers. We quickly found that for our needs (sleeping capacity) and my lack of towing experience that we could get more bang for buck with a larger popup. We ended up finding a very nice Fleetwood Avalon (like solamom referred to) at a small dealer and immediately knew it was for us. It is one of the larger pup's with a 16ft box and 2 king size beds (77x70). It has all the amenities of a travel trailer such as grey holding tank, black holding tank, cable, heat, A/C, and a hardwalled potty/shower area. We could probably sleep 8-9 if we needed too. We are very happy with our purchase and feel we made the right choice for our new camping adventure. I would search craiglist like another poster mentioned and also ebay. You will know when you find the right one for your needs.

Good luck!

 

[Disney Peach]

We've had 2 Pop Ups and loved them both. We have now moved on to a Hybrid Travel Trailer. The website below is the best site on the web for information about a pop up.
http://www.popupexplorer.com/
I've used this site for 5 years now and the members on it have helped me countless times. It is a free site so check it out.
Happy Camping!

 

[cranleys]

We just recently purchased a new pop-up.

Originally I was looking at the Fleetwoord highwall trailers, but we didn't go that way for 2 reasons...Fleetwood recently went out of business, so I didn't want to be buying a trailer that we might have warrant problems with later, and we also realized we wanted to store it in our garage and the highwalls were too big. We ended up going with a Flagstaff 823D which has 1 king, 1 queen, 1 double and a slide where the dining table is. It will comfortably sleep 7 adults or 8-9 adults/kids. We picked it up a month ago and love it. Flagstaff has trailers to suit everyone and their website is excellent.
Happy shopping

 

[tim5055]

The first question I would have is what are you going to tow with?

Checkout my Pop Up Camping Frequently Asked Questions

 

[DonnaBelle2005]

We are a family of 4 and have moved up from a Popup (2000 Starcraft Venture which just slept 6 with bathroom) to less than a week ago a 2000 Aero Cub Hybrid which will sleep 8 comfortably.

I had the Fort in mind when pickin' my camper as a matter of fact. I knew I wanted to be able to bring my twin sis and nephew so wanted to sleep comfortably 6-7 -people and have the ability to hook up to a full site with bathroom/etc.

We bought from Craigslist both times and were not upset at all - great experiences both times.

Our car to tow is a 2007 Ford Explorer that only had a class II hitch which we upgraded to a Class II hitch with electronic break ($400 last wk). Def need to know the limit you can tow with your vehicle BEFORE you purchase.

The hybrid only weighs empty 3040 lbs.....and with the sway bars actually pulls easier than the popup which was just over 2000 lbs.

Wishing you the best of luck with whatever you decide! I also say AC is a must btw....esp in the hot temps of FL.

The Campin' Coheys in NC

 

[Iott Family]

Thank you for all the great responses!


BTW, we will be towing with our suburban.

 

[CSHaydt]

We upgraded to a pop up when our son was 2 - best investment ever!!! WE love it!! highly recommend going to a RV show and seeing all the options - we bought ours off craigs list after attending a few shows- it was 2 years old and it was a steal. Our plan is to be in that for a few more years and then upgrade again.


Do it - your whole family will love it. Tell your husband - with practice you can have your entire campsite set up in 45 minutes.

 

[TOGA]

We love our 2001 Coleman Bayside Elite and it has made our vacations a lot more affordable and fun. To me, it's the perfect combination of small comforts and 'roughing' it. Enjoy!

 

[Iott Family]

Ok, I thought I had saved it in my favorites but apparently it didnt and I have looked at so many different floor plans so I am fustrated and too lazy to go back and dig thru it all again, but maybe one of you will know the maker/model of this particular floor plan. It has three fold out beds, 2 kings and a full and a U shaped banquet type table/seating area. AC/heat and all the other typical amenties found in newer pop-up/fold out campers. I am so frustrated that this didnt save itself and I really wanted to show it to DH for his approval. Can u help me locate it again?

 

[Esteri]

Here's another vote for popupexplorer.com . They're a free forum, much like this one - but with a pop-up bent. Super nice people over there and tons of good advice. Kinda like here.

 

[Millermouseketeers]

Ok, I thought I had saved it in my favorites but apparently it didnt and I have looked at so many different floor plans so I am fustrated and too lazy to go back and dig thru it all again, but maybe one of you will know the maker/model of this particular floor plan. It has three fold out beds, 2 kings and a full and a U shaped banquet type table/seating area. AC/heat and all the other typical amenties found in newer pop-up/fold out campers. I am so frustrated that this didnt save itself and I really wanted to show it to DH for his approval. Can u help me locate it again?

Is it maybe the Fleetwood Avalon. We have the Fleetwood Niagara and really like it for our family of 5. 2 kings, slide out dinette/bed, potty/shower with an add a room. We use a tent to store suitcases, extra food, etc and this gives even more room. Good luck!

 

[kc5grw]

We just recently purchased a new pop-up.

Originally I was looking at the Fleetwoord highwall trailers, but we didn't go that way for 2 reasons...Fleetwood recently went out of business, so I didn't want to be buying a trailer that we might have warrant problems with later,

Congrats on the new pop-up. I camped in one when I was younger and it was the first RV I bought for my family. Have a 5er now and would not consider a pop-up again. I've actually begun to give serious thought to a Class A now. Only thing stopping me is a serious lack of funding.

As far as Fleetwood goes, Fleetwood Enterprises declared bankruptcy 3/10/2009. The RV assets were sold to American Industrial Partners L.P. 7/17/2009 and are now doing business as Fleetwood RV, Inc and it looks like they're only building motor homes now. Keystone bought 2 of their Oregon travel trailer manufacturing plants. Lazy Daze bought their finished travel trailer inventory that existed at the time of bankruptcy (154 units at an average of $14,600/unit). Certain travel trailer trademarks and intellectual property were purchased by Heartland RV. There were several other sales of travel trailer manufacturing assets sold to other companies. FTCA, originally a division of Coleman, was acquired from Fleetwood by Blackstreet Capital in 8/2008 prior to the bankruptcy.

 

[Iott Family]

Is it maybe the Fleetwood Avalon. We have the Fleetwood Niagara and really like it for our family of 5. 2 kings, slide out dinette/bed, potty/shower with an add a room. We use a tent to store suitcases, extra food, etc and this gives even more room. Good luck!

Thank you

 

[Iott Family]

We spent months researching pop-ups. Originally we wanted one to keep in our garage since we live in a deed restricted neighborhood. We are a family of 5 and borrowed a smaller Coleman to take to the fort last Sept. for 7 nights. Very quickly realized we were too large for it and would need at least a high wall with a slide --- keeping meats in a cooler wasn't a lot of fun. High walls have larger fridges and a lot more counter space.

My hubby was laid off and during that time we kept researching for "when" the time would come. We went to every RV show in town just to look. Now we have decided to forgo the pop-up for a travel trailer (even found a place to store it). We have a trip to the fort planned for this Sept. and will have the camper by then - if not really soon!!! We are heavily leaning toward a Keystone Passport 2910BH.

So we never actually bought a pop up but in all our looking, we really liked the Fleetwood Niagra and Avalon. If we bought a pop up, it would be one of those two (however, the Avalon wouldn't fit in our garage so it would need to be stored off-site). Flagstaff has some nice high walls too. They would work well w/ a family of 6 if you have a tow vehicle that can handle them. We also liked the Coleman Utah as a non-high wall but after our 7 night trip knew we would have to have a high wall.

Sometimes Craigslist has some good deals on Pop Ups also.

What do you mean by high walls? Is that a type/model? Thanks!

 

[Solamom]

A highwall is a type of popup that has about a foot or so taller solid walls. It allows for larger appliances, storage, and generally speaking the main section of the unit is longer (12-16ft) than a regular popup (8-12ft).