Pop-up questions

[jwo1976]

July was our first trip to the fort. We try to go to WDW as often as we can but have never camped there. Now I can't wait to go again. We are tent campers but want to upgrade to a camper. We hav a kia rondo wagon/crossover so towing capacity is limited. I'm. Thinking pop-up. My questions are: which one/brand? Also what features are a must other than AC? We are a family of of, mom dad and 2 girls (7 and 1).
whta do you have and what do you pull it with?

 

[parrothead64]

July was our first trip to the fort. We try to go to WDW as often as we can but have never camped there. Now I can't wait to go again. We are tent campers but want to upgrade to a camper. We hav a kia rondo wagon/crossover so towing capacity is limited. I'm. Thinking pop-up. My questions are: which one/brand? Also what features are a must other than AC? We are a family of of, mom dad and 2 girls (7 and 1).
whta do you have and what do you pull it with?

What is the towing capacity? What year Kia? You also need to factor into the tow rating people, and luggage in the vehicle as well as the pop up.

 

[DisCamper]

Sorry I hate to break the bad news but your Kia only has a tow rating of 1,000 pounds and most pup-up wt. are right at 1,000 pounds or more and thats without anything add like an A/C and other things needed for camping

 

[jwo1976]

I've read the towing capacity is 2,000 pounds with the use of trailer brakes. I have seen picture of people towing quite large travel trailers with the rondo. It is similar to the Mazda 5.

 

[DisCamper]

I've read the towing capacity is 2,000 pounds with the use of trailer brakes. I have seen picture of people towing quite large travel trailers with the rondo. It is similar to the Mazda 5.

Car companies calculate the towing capacity this way 1 driver ¼ tank of fuel and that is the max the vehicle can handle. Trailer brakes is not the problem it’s all the hard work to get up and maintain speed on their vehicle. And you only want to use 85% of your towing capacity at any given time

 

[tim5055]

Sorry I hate to break the bad news but your Kia only has a tow rating of 1,000 pounds and most pup-up wt. are right at 1,000 pounds or more and thats without anything add like an A/C and other things needed for camping

Emphases on "or more". Mine weighs in at 3770 pounds and the smallest in the former Coleman line was 1,200.

To the OP, sorry but your Kia is really not rated to tow anything in the camping world. I hate to be cold, but you need a new tow vehicle or stick to tents.

Please check the towing limits of your vehicle and always stay within those limits! Read and understand your owners manual and any additional trailering supplements provided to you. FAILURE TO HEED WARNINGS AND FOLLOW INSTRUCTIONS MAY RESULT IN VEHICLE CRASH, PROPERTY DAMAGE AND PERSONAL INJURY.

One of the most confusing areas for anyone considering a new pop-up is the aspect of "what can I tow?" Before you go any further, get your vehicle owners manual, and determine what your limits are. Easier said than done! As towing capacities of vehicles are based on several factors including the vehicle frame type (unibody or frame), engine, transmission, rear end gear ratio, tires/load range, engine cooling capacity, transmission cooling capacity, alternator capacity as well as several other things. Woe is the camper who went out and purchased a pop-up without reviewing what their tow vehicle weight ratings were. The deal you find on a pop-up can quickly fade when you find out you need a new tow vehicle to move it!

Check with your manufacturer to see if they have a separate towing manual. Many do not include all towing information in the standard manual. It will probably take less than an hour, but with the manual and probably a few trips to the car/truck to read equipment stickers you will be able to determine your real ratings (remember to subtract the passengers weight as was pointed out above).

If you start "shopping" for a pop up please Do NOT assume the person trying to sell you a pop-up will know the limitations of your vehicle. Remember what their job is in this situation! And if you are talking to professional RV salesman remember if their lips are moving half truths and lies are probably being said.

 

[Twitterpated Dad]

Here is a handy link for towing capacities.

You might want to check out the Sylvan Sport Go. It's not really a pop-up, more like a utility trailer/tent combo. It's only 800 pounds. At about $8,000 it's expensive, but, oh so cool.

 

[tim5055]

You might want to check out the Sylvan Sport Go. It's not really a pop-up, more like a utility trailer/tent combo. It's only 800 pounds. At about $8,000 it's expensive, but, oh so cool.

Sorry, but even at 800 pounds they would be over weight to safely tow. As DisCamper pointed out car companies calculate the towing capacity based on 1 driver and ¼ tank fuel. Subtract the weight of mom,the kids, full tank of gas, luggage and coolers and we are now over weight. Any way you look at it a vehicle with a 1000 pound capacity is not safely towing any trailer when the vehicle is loaded to go on vacation.

 

[bama_ed]

Your owners manual will specify tow numbers and azzumtions that go into them.

But you do sound underpowered and I would NOT tow any popup with this configuration. To do so would put your loved ones in jeopardy.

We towed a pup with a minivan that had a 3500# tow limit and we paid the price (literally) with early brake repairs etc. I upgraded to a used Suburban.

Dont deny the facts. You need to upgrade the tow vehicle if you want to get a pup.

Bama ed

 

[fendstrat4]

There's a tent on wheels model from viking. it weighs about 500lbs, and can be towed by pretty much any car. ( I would post the link, but I'm new and it won't let me post a link) check out there website. I think it's called the Viking Express.

 

[Running_Bell]

We have a 2005 Kia Sorento EX 4x4. It has a towing capacity of 3500lbs and we have a 5000lb hitch & ball.... however, with that said.... we have never towed anything over 1000lbs. We have a larger trailer that we tow our motorcycles... but we always use the truck which is made for towing.... the mileage is awful though. Regardless of what the manual says... I just don't feel comfortable putting more weight on the Kia ... it's just not a "tow" vehicle.

We have not looked at campers... we love tents . However... a friend of ours just found a camper and truck combination for sale on craigslist. In today's economy... it's unfortunate... but you can find some pretty good deals.

 

[chartle]

When we got my wife's Saturn Vue with 4 cyl engine we read it had a 1,500 lb towing limit.

Growing up my family had a pop up (forget the name) that had a dry weight of 900 lbs so I thought OK they are out there.

I knew about the real towing limits from a lot of reading on another pop up newsgroup so i knew I needed it to be this same weight.

We went to the RV show and started research online and I really couldn't find anything real that was even close. I really only found one that was stripped and only had one foldout.

I'm with the "there really isn't anything out there that you can pull".

And yes you may have seen others with the same car pulling larger trailers. Well that doesn't mean they are doing it safely. You don't want this to happen.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=05ru1l2gN88

You may want to also see if you can find the movie "The Long, Long Trailer" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nxx4ijz3aig They started out buying an $ $1,800 trailer and once they then bought all the "accessories", including a new car. it was more like $6,000 (1950's dollars)

 

[chartle]

Here is a handy link for towing capacities.

You might want to check out the Sylvan Sport Go. It's not really a pop-up, more like a utility trailer/tent combo. It's only 800 pounds. At about $8,000 it's expensive, but, oh so cool.

Yea really cool and I was semi interested until I saw the price (missed it in your post), $8,000

 

[chartle]

OK since we are talking Pop Ups and what to pull them with.

My wife's car may not be with this world much longer or we may give it to my sons this summer if they do an out of state Co Op as part of their Engineering Program at Pitt.

So It seems the best vehicle for towing that's in the same class so to speak as my wife's VUE is the Jeep Liberty. Its rated towing capacity is 5,000 lbs with the right dealer installed equipment.

We would maybe be looking for something that sleeps 6 and really isn't that fancy.

Growing up we never used the sink in our pop up and mostly used the stove out side (it could be hung on a bracket on the back). So no toilet, shower , etc.

The most we would get is some sort of air conditioning.

So am I correct that I should be able to get something under or around 2,000 lbs, packed with stuff, and still tow with this vehicle without killing anyone.

Also we live in South West PA so a lot of hills. The road leading to the campground we like has a hill that they test truck brakes on because of how steep and long it is.

I know we don't want a truck or a truck based SUV.

 

[jwo1976]

July was our first trip to the fort. We try to go to WDW as often as we can but have never camped there. Now I can't wait to go again. We are tent campers but want to upgrade to a camper. We hav a kia rondo wagon/crossover so towing capacity is limited. I'm. Thinking pop-up. My questions are: which one/brand? Also what features are a must other than AC? We are a family of of, mom dad and 2 girls (7 and 1).
whta do you have and what do you pull it with?

Thanks for the info on towing. Trying to talk the wife into a larger vehicle capable of towing. But what about the rest. What brand do you prefer? What options are a must vs a like to have? Pop-up or travel trailer? I grew up with a small Jayco with no frills and no AC. I am now overloaded with information. It also seems like the dealers around here (central Alabama) don't have many pop ups on their lots to look at. Are they going away?

 

[DisCamper]

Thanks for the info on towing. Trying to talk the wife into a larger vehicle capable of towing. But what about the rest. What brand do you prefer? What options are a must vs a like to have? Pop-up or travel trailer? I grew up with a small Jayco with no frills and no AC. I am now overloaded with information. It also seems like the dealers around here (central Alabama) don't have many pop ups on their lots to look at. Are they going away?

I would start with looking at the hybrid rv trailers they come with a lot more option than a pop-up and are lite. Then look at a pop-up write down the pros & cons of both.

 

[bama_ed]

Thanks for the info on towing. Trying to talk the wife into a larger vehicle capable of towing. But what about the rest. What brand do you prefer? What options are a must vs a like to have? Pop-up or travel trailer? I grew up with a small Jayco with no frills and no AC. I am now overloaded with information. It also seems like the dealers around here (central Alabama) donhave many pop ups on their lots to look at. Are they going away?

No brother.

I am in birmingham like you. What you choose depends on new or used, tow vehicle, how you store, and camping plans.

do u insist on being able to camp 24 x 7? Or r u a fair weather camped like myself? What does DW want or expect?

Do u want to camp in the back woods with no hooks or at state parks and the fort? (hint gulf state park in gulf shores)

Sure will you have room to grow and take more stuff over the years? My pup is 7 years old and still like new and able to accomodate us all.

So think about what you want to do. PM me if you want to talk local details.

Bama ed

 

[WDW1979]

If you are looking for a very light pop-up, a company called Livin Lite sells ultra-light pop-ups made almost entirely from aluminum (other than the canvas tent part, the tires, the axel and the tow hook-up):

http://www.livinlite.com/

Here are some details:

10.0 pop-up: sleeping capacity 6, dry weight 1020 lbs
8.0 pop-up: sleeping capacity 6, dry weight 865 lbs
6.0 pop-up: sleeping capacity 4, dry weight 636 lbs

I don't know why they picked 10.0, 8.0 and 6.0 as the names for their pop-ups because they are all longer than the number of feet their names would suggest. Also I don't know what kind of prices these pop-ups sell at, but they are light. Though these look neat and I will be in the market for a pop-up about 2 yrs from now, I probably won't buy a Livin Lite unless they add an option for a small shower/commode mainly because my little ones may need to use the washroom at night and it would be easier to let them use a commode in the pop-up.

Livin Lite also has fully-enclosed aluminum trailers starting at a dry weight of 1400lbs, though that's probably above the weight limit you're looking for.