Sleeping in Pop up and misc

[spima3]

Have been thinking, seriously, about buying a used pop-up.

First, any advice on that? Looking at ebay, sellers within short driving distance from us. One local seller seldom has used and we are looking for something under $2500 or we can't buy.

Two. when it states, sleeps 6, does that mean a comfortable 6 or is that a packed in like sardines 6?

We have 3 kids, ages 12, 10, and 7. The oldest is going to want her own bed. Hubby and I can share, and I think once I get use to it, I will be taking the kids alone.

Any advice would be great. Thanks,
lori

 

[campingcorgi]

Hi! Sorry, I can't help you at all with the pop-up questions but I wanted to say not to worry if you don't get many responses right away. This board has been realllllllly slow and I think many of us are out camping this weekend.

Not me.......But the next long weekend (Columbus Day weekend! FW here I come!)

 

[magicforever]

I would look for one that sleeps six but is big. You will be cramped with that many big kids. It is definately worth it though. Especially if you spend most of your time outside.

 

[LegoMom3]

Can't help too much with the buying part. We got ours from a local re-seller who frequently has used models - he picks them up from dealers who took them as trades but they're too "old" (as in more than just 2 or 3 years!) to bother with I guess.

As far as sleeping 6: unless you are getting one of the newer larger models, the set-up is likely to be two on each end and two on the table, which converts to a bed. I've found that the table-bed really only holds one comfortably (maybe for your oldest?). Obviously the larger the pop-up that you get, the less cramped you'll feel, but most of them work as I just described as far as where people sleep. We also have 3 kids but they are younger than yours, and besides my DH snores so loudly that he is usually banished to the back of the van!!!!

You will really just need to go and try them out. Esp. buying private sale, make sure you test EVERY thing - crank it up and then down again. Check the canvas/vinyl for mildew, rot, holes, etc. Small holes can be patched, larger holes not so much. Look inside for tell-tale signs of leaks (stains, damp spots) because nothing ruins a camping trip worse than a leaky roof on your tent or camper!!! Get down on the ground and have a look underneath at the floor - is it solid? If possible, have the seller hook up the water and electric on it and make sure it all works. If there is a furnace, test that too (same with A/C if so equipped). You just want to try to cover all your bases and know exactly what you are buying before plunking down any cash.

Hope that helped a little!

And no, sadly we are NOT camping this weekend due to rain, rain and more rain (thank you Ernesto-remnants....).

Good luck and most of all, HAVE FUN!

 

[ftwildernessguy]

Sleeping six means two in each of the end bunks and two on the dinette converted to a bed. It will be cramped. This becomes a real issue on rainy days - gets real cozy. It either brings families closer or splits them up. Storage space is at a premium in pop ups. My family learned to travel light.

 

[HeatherPage]

Try:

popupexplorer.com

or

popuptimes.com

 

[tim5055]

Check out my Pop Up camping Frequently Asked Questions

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, and which hitch should I purchase?". 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 safely 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 the limits of your particular vehicle.

Please, do not take someones word for what you can tow, figure it out yourself.

 

[minkydog]

Great advice, ya'll The only other thing I would add is, go visit your local camper dealer so you can get a feel for what you really need. Don't start looking at pop-ups until you do that or you may regret your decision. Pop-ups can be basic or fancy. Heavy or light. Their floorplans make a big difference in who sleeps where.

When we wanted a pop-up we spent several weekends just looking at campers. Just looking and deciding which features appealed to us. As a result, when we found "the one" we knew it instantly and bought it on the spot.

Your three kids are only going to get bigger, so be sure everyone has enough space. You may not need a pottie--unless you are a very close family Be very sure there is NO MILDEW. If it smells musty, there's mold in there and it won't get better without a lot of work and money. And most important, make sure your vehicle can tow it. I dropped one transmission due to towing in the beginning. And expensinve mistake. don't rely on the camper dealer to tell you; call your manufacturer.

 

[jima53]

Try:

popupexplorer.com

or

popuptimes.com

You might also the popup forum on this website. rvnet.


Between the three you will get many suggestions but the best on I can say is to go to the local dealers that sell the travel trailers and also new popups and see what they have that is used. Popuppers seem to graduate upward but not too far in the budget, thats why I suggested the TT locations also.

Jim

 

[disneylovinmom]

We don't have a pop up so can't help you in that area but I wanted to echo what minkydog said and do your homework. It really stinks to buy something and now find out that you can't haul it because you don't have the right tow vehicle. Sellers what to make a sale so some of them tell you anything. The first camper we bought was a slide in truck camper. We looked at a few campers and the dealers told us a 250 is perfect for the one we were looking at. The Ford dealer also told us the 250 was what we needed. So we buy the truck, we buy the camper and we go to pick up the camper. I leave and my husband comes home an hour later and the back end of the truck was very very low. Obviously the camper was a too heavy for our truck. We put in air bags and they got the back of the truck off the ground but I still worried knowing we were overweight. Three months after we bought our brand new truck we were trading it in for another brand new truck. We also looked at a second hand unit and found one that we thought was perfect. Looked it all over and everything looked great until something over the bed caught my eye....movement. There was water in the light cover. Whatever you buy definately look it over well before deciding and trips to dealerships to get an idea of what you what is a great idea. We just traded in our camper on a fifth wheel. We had been looking at floor plans for travel trailers for 2 years and decided we would buy a travel trailer next year. We found some we liked but nothing that said take me home. What eventually said take me home was the fifth wheel and way earlier then what we had planned but the deal was right. : Good luck in your search and enjoy the hunt. I love wandering around the RV lots.

Lisa

 

[bama_ed]

We have a pop-up and camped with it at FW this past summer for a week with three kids, DS 13, DS 11, DD 8. We use a system that may not last too much longer. Our pop-up has a king on one end and a queen on the other plus a slide-out dinette. My sons sleep on the queen side and my wife and daughter on the king side. If I stay up later so I can have a little by-myself-daddy-wind-down time, I sleep on the dinette folded down. Problem is, although I'm only 5'11" I have to sleep diagonally to stretch out full length. If I sleep on the king with my wife, I got to push her over. Everyone complains about me keeping a light on to read the paper, balance the checkbook (necessary on a trip to the Mouse! ), or making up the grocery list for the next day while they're trying to get to sleep. Blah, blah, blah! Oh sure, they drop the curtains to block the light and then the cold air conditioner air can't reach them. They either fall asleep and I have to roll them all up or they keep saying "DadDYYYYYYY....."

Some pop-ups have a small couch with a bed that might slide out from underneath, sort of like a trundle bed. This set-up is called a gaucho in some trailer floor plans. No, it's not an oversized Mexican burrito. Ours does not have this.

Think realistically of who will go to bed in what order. In addition to the advice above, we bought a (new) pop-up with a built in potty/shower combo which we love. Although we only camp in state parks, FW, and other places with "facilities", hopping out of bed in your jammies and not having to go outside and still having a little privacy is very nice. Some folks say bring a little stand alone potty inside at night (no privacy) or put it outside in a shelter (say what?) or run all the way to the bath house (nuh uh!)

I've learned lots along the way. Oh, also if you go used get a brand that can be serviced locally by a reputable dealer. Good luck!

Bama ED

 

[VAN]

First consideration should be your tow vehicle. This will give you the weight you can max out on. Your tow vehicle owner's manual will state weight, but make sure you take into account the # of passengers and weight of luggage in coming up with a weight you can safety tow.

Once you have decided that, then you may want to consider how often you will use it as to how much is reasonable to pay. If you are only planning to camp a couple weeks each year, you may want to start with something on a smaller/less expensive scale. Also keep in mind that you will need to store it somewhere. Our camper requires the wheel bearings to be repacked every 2,000 miles - so we need to have this done in the years we go to WDW. This runs about $80. Good tire pressure and tires in good shape (especially sitting all year in storage) can be key - we've had a blow-out on the highway and it is not fun!! [camper tires are smaller than vehicle tires, so will take more wear-n-tear] When we had the smaller camper, I would just have new ones put on after two trips to WDW to be on the safe side.

We have two kids and had a small pop-up for 10 years. When our kids had friends camp (when it was nearby), we would just put up a small tent and they would sleep out there. If you did decide to go with a smaller pop-up you might want to keep this in mind as the kids get older.

Anyway, enjoy!

 

[corve77t]

Dont forget to look at the name brand. Some brands are not as well built as other ones. I think their are about 4 or 5 realy good ones and the rest go down from there. remember sometimes you get what you pay for.

 

[spima3]

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

 

[jennifer293]

We have a pop-up and camped with it at FW this past summer for a week with three kids, DS 13, DS 11, DD 8. We use a system that may not last too much longer. Our pop-up has a king on one end and a queen on the other plus a slide-out dinette. My sons sleep on the queen side and my wife and daughter on the king side. If I stay up later so I can have a little by-myself-daddy-wind-down time, I sleep on the dinette folded down. Problem is, although I'm only 5'11" I have to sleep diagonally to stretch out full length. If I sleep on the king with my wife, I got to push her over. Everyone complains about me keeping a light on to read the paper, balance the checkbook (necessary on a trip to the Mouse! ), or making up the grocery list for the next day while they're trying to get to sleep. Blah, blah, blah! Oh sure, they drop the curtains to block the light and then the cold air conditioner air can't reach them. They either fall asleep and I have to roll them all up or they keep saying "DadDYYYYYYY....."

Some pop-ups have a small couch with a bed that might slide out from underneath, sort of like a trundle bed. This set-up is called a gaucho in some trailer floor plans. No, it's not an oversized Mexican burrito. Ours does not have this.

Think realistically of who will go to bed in what order. In addition to the advice above, we bought a (new) pop-up with a built in potty/shower combo which we love. Although we only camp in state parks, FW, and other places with "facilities", hopping out of bed in your jammies and not having to go outside and still having a little privacy is very nice. Some folks say bring a little stand alone potty inside at night (no privacy) or put it outside in a shelter (say what?) or run all the way to the bath house (nuh uh!)

I've learned lots along the way. Oh, also if you go used get a brand that can be serviced locally by a reputable dealer. Good luck!

Bama ED

I am with you on that potty deal..We have a potty/shower combo in our camper and I wouldn't have it any other way...When you got to go you got to go and I will be darn if I am gonna get fully dressed and run to a bath house nearby for nature's calling!!!

 

[minkydog]

I am with you on that potty deal..We have a potty/shower combo in our camper and I wouldn't have it any other way...When you got to go you got to go and I will be darn if I am gonna get fully dressed and run to a bath house nearby for nature's calling!!!

My kids would roll over and die. They're 20, 13, & 11 and they don't want to know what goes on in the bathroom, let alone hear it. We are much more content if we all take it downtown

OP, we have a small Dutchmen camper. It is basically beds on wheels. Ease of set up was my main criteria and it's a breeze to pull. THere are many different floor plans and the only way to tell what you need is to go in and try them out. We realized that our kids can't bunk together, so we needed 4 separate sleeping areas. Our "Little House" has a King on one end, a full on the other end, a gaucho sofa which makes a twin, and a small dinette which makes a full twin. No space for a pottie and we don't cook inside. It's very cozy and very much like a tent on wheels. We spend most of our time outside, just like we did with our tent. Except we sleep off the ground

 

[ftwildernessguy]

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

Boat n RV is a high pressure organization dealing mainly in RV's they have purchased as leftovers from other dealers. Just be careful when you go there.

Some good brands of Popups: Jayco, Coleman

 

[susancl]

If you can tow it, buy a bigger popup. We have a Starcraft Galaxy (2001) that sleeps 6-7. One bunk is a queen (for me & dh), one bunk is a king (for threes ds's ages, 7,7,4), the table folds to hold two children or one adult, and a couch that folds out to hold one adult. For your family, you could put one of the kids on the couch and everyone else could sleep on the bunks. You may not need to fold the table.

 

[Whosemom]

You are so right, you don't need bells and whistles

We started with a 20 yr old jayco, and had a blast, saved up money and bought a new one. Folks that tell you you HAVE to have a potty, or a/c or be miserable are wrong. Big deal, walk to the toilet, buy a box fan! LOL! Heck, we barely use the fridge! Old tent habits die hard.

I know when you are looking for used < $2500 you can't really be too choosey about layout. That being said...

there are two dinette layouts, one is bench/table/bench, and not really long enough for most grown people to sleep on. The other has a U shaped bench around the table. Generally has to be climbed over to get to one bunk end. This kind is plenty big.

But for now if Miss12 is not too tall, anything will do for a while Then if you find it enhances your family life as much as we did, maybe later you will be able to invest more. So for now, the most important thing to look for is NO SMELL!

by the way, take a drive, this is a good time of year for Popups to be for sale in yards - much cheaper than through a dealer. Heck, there are three just on our road! (too far for you though )

 

[OK GRUMPY]

We did about the samething. We purchased a use Jayco it must have been about 12 years old had ac and was one of the bigger pop ups. Had a couch a dinnete and two slides out and easy to pup up! We purchased this for about $2300.00 and used it alot. Know we are in a Fifth Wheel.
Good luck!