Sleeping in Pop up and misc

[kmccain]

Just wanted to thank all who took the time to respond, lots to think about, more than I realized!
I checked on one of the recommended web sites and found an RV and boat business, supposedly rather large, I think is actually called Boat n RV. It is about an hours ride from us, but probably worth the ride just to look around. Hopefully, they will have some older models as well.

I don't want all the bells and whistles. I'm thinking more along the lines of advanced tent camping, so I'm thinking our main criteria would be room and dependability.

Someone mentioned 4 or 5 good brands, any list out there?
Thanks,
lori

Lori, if you want an opportunity to look at them all and compare them all why don't you consider going to the RV show in Hershey next week. Every RV imaginable will be there. Here is a link: http://www.prvca.org/largestrvshowp.html

 

[Camping Cat]

Lori, whatever brand or floorplan you buy, make sure your pop-up has a trunk in front for storage. When my husband and I bought our pop-up, we were complete newbies and had no idea what to look for. We bought our pop-up from a neighbor so there was no shopping around. After our first camping trip in it, we were thanking our lucky stars for that trunk! When we see a pop-up without a trunk, we wonder how on earth they manage to store everything. I don't know if all pop-ups are like our's was, but our trunk could be accessed from the top when the camper was closed up and from inside and also from the side (outside) when the camper was in use. It was a real lifesaver.

 

[spima3]

Lori, if you want an opportunity to look at them all and compare them all why don't you consider going to the RV show in Hershey next week. Every RV imaginable will be there. Here is a link: http://www.prvca.org/largestrvshowp.html

Checked out the link and it looks like it would be fun. If we take the twilight tickets, after 3 pm, we could have the whole family go for $10---seems like a good deal.

I have been wondering, besides the initial expense, (we are going w/ the no-frills), what other type of expenses occur with a pop-up? Anyone like to ballpark the expenses for an average year? how often would you say you camp in a year (not just Disney)?

My husband is thinking we won't really use it much, but I can see taking weekend trips and maybe Disney every two or three years. I think it would be a great experience for everybody, and definitely getting our money's worth, but maybe I'm wrong there.

thanks,
lori

 

[minkydog]

We use our pop-up at local parks about 6-7 times a year. We camp from April to December. We have the wheel bearings packed and new tires put on every 3yrs(about $150 total). License costs about $12. Insurance is $20 a year. We outfitted the whole thing for about $30-40 from the thrift store--and the sheets actually match We paid about $4500 for ours used(it has a/c,heat,stove, sleeps 6 comfortably, no potty). It was in tiptop condition and it still smells new.

I figure, if we have gone camping 20 times in the last 3yrs, it's costing us about $253/trip. Each trip lasts at least 4 days, so thats $63/day. It will cost us less and less the longer we keep it. We like to camp, whether we're in a tent or in a pop-up. It doesn't matter whether it's cold, raining, hot or windy, we're game for a camp-out.