the wife and I are starting to look at purchasing a pop up camper. She has her demands. Like shower/toilet and a.c. Has anyone had experience with brand names? Is there one that lasts and some that are junk? Any info and opnions will be appreciated.
shawn

You missed it. Wife and I were looking at new campers at the RV, Camping, outdoor expo in February and we saw a lot of cool campers with lots of amenities. There were some that you could unload from the truck and live in it real easy. Very posh. Some even have storage areas about 12 inches tall between the bed of the truck and the floor of the camper. Those make for some tall campers though. There were some campers that had slide outs on the sides as well as out the back with the entry door on the side near the rear instead of out the back. Kinda weird at first glance but they were very roomy.

I have always been leery of the pop ups because I didn't know how durable the canvas would be or how much heat would get let out in the winter. Yes, we load ours up and live out of it on the weekends in the winter for out-of-town swim meets. We spent a weekend in Springs in December with a low of 12 Degrees. It appears that the fabric used is a very durable vinyl and it is insulated. Its almost like it has two layers of fabric with an insulation between the two layers. The only problem I would still have with a pop-up camper is that the door is still only about 4 feet high. You climb up the stairs from the ground to truck bed level, which is 38 inches on our 1 ton 4x4, then you bend over to go through. I can see my self planting the top of my head into the door header. I am very aware of the pain that inflicts after spending 4 years doing that on a rocking submarine. If you can get over that, the pop-ups are nice, seem lighter, and I think they are less expensive. Personally, I am going to go with a fiberglass all hard side camper when we decide to upgrade from our '78 Aspen 9'. We are going to stick with a fairly short one so we can still pull the ATV trailer behind the truck and go on weekend ride expeditions with the family. Hope that might help. I know that Kettlesons Campers down here at Kipling and I-70 Frontage road has a huge selection of campers. Most places just have motorhomes and trailers.

Hope that helped some.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: adrenaline_junkie_ff,

I've had a Four-Wheel pop-up truck camper and a Coleman Destiny pull behind pop-up. We liked both of them but they do have there limitations. Space was one of them and taking down camp when it's wet outside seemed to happen way too much. Those obviously meant having to set it up and let it dry out before putting it away for a spell. I personally wouldn't go that way again as having a hard side sure makes it nice to just stop and use your kitchen or just spend the night at a Wal-mart or a couple hours. As far as cost, the pop-ups cost close to the same as some hard siders but the permanent amenities you gain in my book make them worth the extra cost and even the extra effort it takes to pull them!

Oh, I forgot to include that most AC units for campers, trailers, and motorhomes are units that set into the overhead vents after you take out the roof vent and screen. I imaging some of the uper end units come with them but you can also buy a little unit and install it yourself if you have the gumption to do it.

Having used both much as Rockbanger I would spend the very few dollars more and get the hard sided camper. Pop ups are fine but your always taken them down in the rain and havng to put them back up once you get home to dry them out. You have more room in a full sided one and when you get home if you set it up right you just unhook and your good to go till the next time you use it.

I was checking last year on the prices and it was like less than $1,000 diferance between a 13' pop up trailer and a 19' hard sided. So in my mind why go pop up with that kind of deferance. Plus you can always find a good used hardside but hard to find a good use soft sided one.

We've had a Coleman pop-up for 15 years and had very few problems with it other than normal wear and tear (decals peeling, warped paneling inside, etc.) The canvas is still in great shape.

The upside to pop-ups: lightweight (we pull it with a V6 Tacoma), inexpensive, small- so you can take it anywhere, and there is nothing like the feeling of unzipping those windows and having the breeze on you during an afternoon nap.

The downside: We have two ATV's now, so we have to take two vehicles to tow everything, setting up/packing it up in the rain (that seems to happen more often then not), limited camping season (because of temperatures), and the storage space is extremely limited.

We're also considering other options this year - and I really like the hybrid trailers (all the conveniences of a hard side, but with slide out beds like a pop up). I get a little claustrophobic in a hardside, but the slide out beds seem to help. And if it looks like rain, you could always slide in the beds and sleep on the fold out couch. They make hybrids (and popups) with decks to tow your ATV's too, which is what we're looking at. We'll have to upgrade our towing vehicle too though.

KZ, Starcraft and a few others make the Hybrid Toyhaulers. Starcraft and Fleetwood also make the Popup/toyhaulers too.

Just a few other options to think about.

Truck camper or trailer?

Last year we purchased an untraditonal toy hauler. It is a Cherokee Wolf Pack made by Forest river. It has an 18 foot hard sided camper with a bathroom, stove, oven, fridge, freezer, microwave, a/c,stereo with inside & outside speakers and open 8 X 8 deck up front for 2 full sized atv's. There are other options like the fuel station and stuff. We actually purchased ours in Rapid City, South Dakota. I believe there is a place in Greeley (Evans) that you can get them also. If this works here is the link to Cherokee at forest River, http://www.forestriverinc.com/nd/default22.asp?nav=rec&...cher&choice=brochure
They advertise it as 1/2 ton toyable. It is close when you are loaded. We had to get the equalizer hitch.

I was thinking popup, so we can get to some places besides standard campgrounds. I don't think I would like trying to take a big trailer down a forest road. I think I could man handle a popup if the need arose, just enough to get it turned around. We have a ford expiditon for a tow vehicle. My truck is a 4cyl, 5 speed so I can't haul much with that. I like the idea of the popup/toyhauler, I just need to find one that the wife would approve of.
shawn

If the Expy has a 5.4L you can haul decent stuff with it. If it is a 4.6 then it may have the small auto tranny. Those mountains can be hard on engines and brakes. A fixed side hauler may be too much wind drag for you. We had a little A frame pop up in our club for a while. The owner towed it with a Jeep. It was a 2 person rig or one couple and one guest. I am a little weary of the soft sided varieties. They also make a Work n' Play which is a cross breed enclosed trailer. They are lower height than toy haulers or campers.
The shortest is 18ft though which is a little heavy for a half ton and you would have to park on the fenders to fit side by side.
http://www.forestriverinc.com/nd/default22.asp?page=wor...ice=brochure&nav=rec
C&L RV in Muskogee Oklahoma will custom build about whatever you want through any Forrest River plant. I had them build mine and picked it up fresh from the Waco, TX location.
Depending on how fancy you wanted it you could build your own. We did that with our first trailer. We took a plain 24ft car hauler and added, shower, sink and A/C. We slept on air mattresses and cots. We poohed in a Homer bucket with toilet lid and trash liners.

Watch the tongue weight on trailers with the platform up front, they can get heavy in a hurry. Maybe one of the Evolution by Fleetwood or the previous model, Scorpion, I think...like this one on Craigslist

These things get heavy quick. Even just 40 gallons of water adds 320lbs! We haul dry and get water before we get there. Also even on a half ton you can buy a good E rated tire and a set of Firestone Airbags to help level the load. I ave the Ride Rite's on my F250 and Sport Rite's on the lowered Lightning.
http://www.fsip.com/riderite/
Here is our old C&L RV custom hauler. It started as a 28ft V nose car hauler. We could carry 4 full size and two kids ATV's. We also used it to haul a 71 Camaro for drag racing. We are looking at a new Toybox and even the 30ft units won't fit 4 ATV's. We never go out of town with less than three ATV's

My top gauge is my airbag system. The two black buttons control inflate and deflate.

A friend of mine is in need of some quick cash. He has a popup camper that is about 5 years old. I know it has A/C, 3 way fridge, and a little bathroom. I'll try to get some more information. He mentiond something under $5,000 last time I talked to him. He lives a little way off I-25 and 136th ave.

I see this thread is a month old but I'll throw my 2 cents in .

I have a 1998 Jayco 12' with front storage , also 3way fridge , propane heater , shower and chem toilet .

The pluses are 3 way fridge is nice , shower with hot water and toilet also .

The front storage locker is great to have especialy if towed with a car ( grand Marquis ( good tower).
A full size car can tow a popup ( I added an oil cooler) and I pulled it thoughout the Rockies .

Smaller SUV type vehicles can tow popups and I think were all going to head that way sooner or later .

The insulated top keep the insides fairly cool so I never felt the nead for AC , just run a fan if needed .

Minuses are soft top doesn't feel are comfy in cold weather even with heat . If you use the propane heater it will go through gas fairly quickly . The 12V battery hold up fairly well.

If you have the luxury of electric hookup you will run a electric heater I guaranenty it ( lots quieter and more even .

Soft top not so great in bear country .

If I would trade I would look into the high/low type of camper .

But the way the price of gas is going I may be going back to tenting LOL .

Anyone know if a ford focus would pull a couple of sportsmans . LOL.

I think the supercrew is going to be put in storage for a while .

I have a PINTLE HITCH just like this I want o sell if anyone is interested. I have a 2 5/16 ball for it may also have a 2 inch. This is a safe way to haul your trailer without worry of having it come off the ball. I want $75 they sell well over a $100 I am thinking close to $150. Suker is heavey so shipping is out of the question must go local. Priced to sell no haggle.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Cob,

I had a pop up truck camper for a while, upside is not as tall driving into the woods. I had a snap in insulater blanket type thing that would cover the canvas in the winter and it was plenty warm. One downside is some campgrounds, last I knew Yellowstone being among them do not allow popups. If you're still in the market, PM me as my MIL has a real nice Coleman that I think she wants to sell. It's located in Co Spgs, but if you're interested I could go down and take some pics, or even pull it up to my place in Louisville.

Side question, is there a blue book or similar for used camper prices?

NADA has listings, however the hard part is knowing what exactly you have or are looking at!

Hey old Cob, Why would a park prohibit a pop up?

Yellowstone does in several campgrounds because of the high prevalence of BEARS!

I looked over their website and it said nothing of pop up campers. Heck, if you can sleep in a tent...