Pop-up, like sardines?

[spima3]

We have been looking at old pop-ups on ebay. There is one from a dealer not too far from us. Bidding ends soon. It looks to be in great shape and the dealer has really prepped it for sale. A good buy, however, I worry about the size, especially for sleeping.
Dealer has it listed as: sleeps 6.
NADA has it listed as: sleeps 7.

It is a Coleman Chesapeake. We are a family of 5, 3 kids, two girls 7 and 12, and one son, age 9.
Are we looking at packed in like sardines? or is it doable?
TIA
lori

 

[proudmomof4]

What are the bed sizes? does it have a sofa which can turn into a bed?

Also think about the future for when your kids get older (and bigger) and try to picture them sleeping in the pop-up.

We are a family of 6 (4 kids aged 9-20, see signature) the 2 oldest boys don't always come with us as they have their own lives now but when we bought our Fleetwood Utah I wanted to make sure there would be room for all of us. So, DH and I on one king bunk end, DS20 on the other king bunk end, DS18 on the convertible sofa, and DS14 and DS9 on the dinette bed.
We try not to spend too much time with all of us inside except while sleeping otherwise it would be way too crowded.

Hope this helps.

 

[jtdl]

For us being used to having a 5th wheel, we wondered the same thing when looking to buy a tent trailer which would be more convenient to tow long distances. We are a family of 4 - DD15 and DS5. We ended up buying one that has a king bed on one end, queen on other, "double" dinette (although I'd say single) and a u-shaped dinette which also folds down to at least a large double. With this one, we can put ds on the small dinette and leave his bed down and use the u-shaped dinette for eating, sitting, whatever. That's what I like best - I hated having to put his bed down each night and then back up in the morning. If the one you are looking at doesn't have the 2nd dinette it would still be roomy enough I think - you and dh in one end, the 2 girls in the other end and your son on the dinette.

 

[TheGreatGonzo]

This should sleep all of you with no problem. It will have a Queen bed in one end which Coleman says will sleep three, but in reality it sleeps two, and a Full bed in the other which should sleep the girls if they can share a bed. The table will fold down to make a third bed which will be slightly smaller than a full for the boy. The table will probably only seat four or five. There will also be a sink and stove with cabinent space. If it is raining it will be cramped unless you have an attached awning or a seperate shelter or dinning fly to set up. If you want more space for sleeping you could always set up an additional tent on the campsite for someone to sleep in.

 

[emoose]

I strongly agree on the tent issue.

We are 2 adults and 1 child in a popup with at 12 foot box (big for a popup)

Given this I still set of a screen house right outisde the popup with a picnic table in it.

Spend your time relaxing and eating in the picnic table and your time in the popup cooking, changing clothes or sleeping.

Also Pack Carefully. Leave your suitcases in the back of your tow vehicle if you can. I have had 5 adults and two kids in my popup -1 NIGHT ONLY! - and we lived.

I don't know about the box size that your prospective camper has but IF it is an 8 ft I would worry - 10 maybe - 12 foot no problem. The Box is the only part of the camper where people cam move freeley so 8x8 is 64 sq feet. 8x10 is 80 and 8x12 is 96.

Foodo for thought

 

[LegoMom3]

The only way you are really going to know if you'll be comfortable is to go and try them out. I would especially be wary of buying a pop-up without actually seeing/inspecting it myself (as in buying on auction). There are just too many things that can be wrong!! Just speaking from pop-up buying experience - we've never gotten burned but we've answered ads for units that sounded just great, even looked good in the pic, but once inside...blech! Also, one thing you can NEVER tell from an ad of any type is what condition the floor is in (as in get on your knees and look underneath, on the outside). VERY important!

Anyway, back to the task at hand. If you can go to this dealer, or another, and get everyone inside - see how it feels, try to visual all your "stuff" in there, and get a feel for it.

Best of luck!

 

[minkydog]

I agree with all of the above. You have to actually stick your nose in the door to know if it's gonna work. If you catch even a whiff of mildew, RUN! Don't think you can bleach it out--you can't. Crank it up, crank it down, slide out all the beds and slide-outs. Take the kids with you and have them lie on the beds where they will be sleeping.

Our pop-up is a small Dutchmen, a 10ft box which is fairly small. There is a King bed on one end and a full bed on the other, a couch which makes a twin bed and a small dineete which also makes a twin bed. We can easily sleep the 5 of us(oldest is 6'1",middle 5'3", youngest is 5'0") We have slept 4 adults and 2 kids in it,but we were very good buddies by the end of the week

When we bought our pop-up it was with the intention that we would use it primarily for sleeping. Therefore we didn't need a lot of floor space. We don't take a ton of extra stuff with us--everything has two purposes. We don't cook in there or eat in there unless its freezing outside. We don't allow the kids to play in there during the day. If it's raining we go find something to do or take a nap in the pop-up, but otherwise we are outside all day, just like with tent camping.

So for us, yes, that size pop-up would work. You may have a different style.

 

[spima3]

I strongly agree on the tent issue.

We are 2 adults and 1 child in a popup with at 12 foot box (big for a popup)

Given this I still set of a screen house right outisde the popup with a picnic table in it.

Spend your time relaxing and eating in the picnic table and your time in the popup cooking, changing clothes or sleeping.

Also Pack Carefully. Leave your suitcases in the back of your tow vehicle if you can. I have had 5 adults and two kids in my popup -1 NIGHT ONLY! - and we lived.

I don't know about the box size that your prospective camper has but IF it is an 8 ft I would worry - 10 maybe - 12 foot no problem. The Box is the only part of the camper where people cam move freeley so 8x8 is 64 sq feet. 8x10 is 80 and 8x12 is 96.

Foodo for thought

Looks like the box size is 12 feet. I thought it was a good size also. Really I don't see us living in there, just roomy enough to sleep comfortably. My kids are pretty adventerous, even though we have never camped with them. I have only ever tent camped and my husband has camped, tentless; just threw a sleeping bag on the ground.

The camper we were looking at is relisted; didn't hit the reserve price. I now have the time to drive to the dealer and maybe see it in person. Our finances are very tight right now, home repairs, but I don't see us getting a better deal and still being able to afford to do it. Has to be under $1200. I don't want the bells and whistles and no way a potty or shower, or anything like that. Just more comfort than sleeping on the hard ground in the rain. My bones are getting too old for that anymore!
lori

 

[Escape Artist]

I don't want the bells and whistles and no way a potty or shower, or anything like that. Just more comfort than sleeping on the hard ground in the rain. My bones are getting too old for that anymore!
lori

Yup, that "too old for sleeping on the ground" thing was what got us to buy a popup, and now we're crazy about it!

I bet you'll soon be addicted to camping in your pup, too! One of the best parts is, when money's tight, it's a cheap vacation! We *love* KOA's and state and national parks! Just the amount you save on food (prepared in the trailer vs. restaurants) is incredible, let alone the savings of campground vs. hotel.

I can't wait for our first FW camping trip in May. I'm hoping this will be a new all-time favorite camping experience, but it's going to be hard to top Yosemite!

Sue, now in TX

 

[spima3]

Yup, that "too old for sleeping on the ground" thing was what got us to buy a popup, and now we're crazy about it!

I can't wait for our first FW camping trip in May. I'm hoping this will be a new all-time favorite camping experience, but it's going to be hard to top Yosemite! Sue, now in TX

Don't forget to post about your experience. I think the only way we will ever get to Disney again is via FW camping. The activities at the campground seem to be terrific as well as having the parks. Plus, we could take the dog if we needed to.

lori

 

[jtdl]

Just more comfort than sleeping on the hard ground in the rain. My bones are getting too old for that anymore!
lori

That's actually what gave us the final push to buy a pop-up. Our 5th wheel is just too costly in gas to pull much more than a couple hours from home. This summer we went tent camping in Algonquin Park. When I crawled out of the tent the first morning after not sleeping most of the night, I declared we were getting a pop-up and about 6 weeks later we had one! I too have always wanted to camp at FW so now that's our plan after our trip to Alberta

 

[ynottony99]

We had a popup for a few years, but there were only 3 of us. We know a couple of families with pop ups. As the kids grow they usually seem to be happier in a tent of their own. So if you don't mind that, space will probably not be an issue.

 

[Whosemom]

HI, we have a popup with a king bunk that I and my dds 11 & 8 sleep on, and a queen the DH and DS 5 sleep on. We have the same setup someone else mentioned with two dinettes. The U-shaped one is good even for a grown up, the two bench dinette is too short even for my 5'4". We have plenty of room. I think we could stay all 3 on the king for a very long time, but we can move one down to the dinette if we need to.
We don't spend much time in there either. If we are going to be somewhere for a long time, or buggy time, or rainy time, we have sides to add to our awning - this is called an add-a-room, and put up a separate screen room.
I can't tell you how we love it

 

[T. Lynn]

We had a pop-up and grew tired of it. I hated to wait for DH to pop it up to take inventory on what's inside.

We were able to find a used 23ft travel trailer for $1,500 in EXCELLENT condition. We have a cute bed and actually a private bedroom. Now my daughter and I can put all our camping clothes and such in there (plus her toys) for the trip. Our car is cludder free. Also has AC and heat, nice bathroom and stereo system. We got a great deal and I'm in love with my girl camper.

We kept the pop-up as it is now the guys camper. If DH goes on a fishing trip, he has to take HIS camper. Pretty bad when you have HIS and HER campers, huh?

 

[Escape Artist]

We were able to find a used 23ft travel trailer for $1,500 in EXCELLENT condition...

We kept the pop-up as it is now the guys camper. If DH goes on a fishing trip, he has to take HIS camper. Pretty bad when you have HIS and HER campers, huh?

Wow, what a deal!

But I just had to tell you what a kick I got out of your "girls" and "guys" campers! LOL! Maybe it's a good thing we live on such a small lot, or I might be tempted to do that, too!

Sue in TX

 

[T. Lynn]

Hey, it's the way to go and I highly suggest it.

In my camper...everything has it's place.
In his camper...nothing has a place, just where ever he decides to put it

We were going to sell the pop-up after we purchased it. The very next month, DH wanted to go on a fishing trip with the guys. I remember what my pop-up looked like on the inside when it came home. I then suggested "hey why don't you take the pop-up. You could strap your little boat on top of it." It worked and he loved the fact that I didn't care if anything was put back right since I didn't want to use the pop-up anymore. He now has it stocked with guy things. More power to him!!!

Here are some pictures that I took the day we dropped it off behind our garage. At this point, I didn't clean it or anything yet - it's how we purchased it. I really think it was meant to be...we found and purchased it on our anniversary. After we got it home, I thought that something was very familiar with it. I was right, the kitchen has the same pattern floor as the kitchen in my house. It was very spooky.

My Camper

 

[loriandmatt]

OMG! that camper you got on a super deal is adorable!!!! i want one. we too have a pop up that i am currently still in love with. just a basic tiny 9 foot box with no frills. (OK, we went and had AC put into it a few years back and that was a frill, but so worth it, especially when camping in Fla. in August!)

we do need to step up in size soon though. the boy is 12 and growing by leaps and bounds. the girl is still small, but all 4 of us in there is a bit snug.

i was dreaming of a hybrid, but what you have there is awesome, especially for the price.

 

[T. Lynn]

Thank you. We weren't really looking for one that big. We wanted like a 19 or 20 ft and nothing brand new because I didn't want payments. Once we found this, we couldn't resist - especially for the price. We used it for the first time in August at Knoebels. It was nice for my daughter and I to be able to get everything ready inside, putting her toys in, and packing our food and clothes. All of our camping supplies can stay inside afterwards (chairs, lights, etc) Once we got there, the only thing my hubby had to do was level it. He was so happy that it wasn't as time consuming as the pop-up. The A/C was also an added bonus. Can't blame you for wanting that. Our pop-up didn't have one either.

On our last vacation with the pop-up, the cable broke and luckily we had friends there who could hold the roof up while we put the safety bars in. That was the boiling point for my hubby. He fixed the cable and thinks it's perfect for him and the guys. I feel the same way - I'll say anything just so they don't take the "girl" camper.