Pop Up Campers

If you ever contemplate buying a pop up camper, I strongly encourage you to check out the hard-sided A-Frame design ones made by companies like Aliner and Chalet. They do not have as much floor space as the canvase sided ones, but have several advantages:

*One person can erect one in under a minute and have it fully set up with stabilizers down in about 3 minutes.
* The sides and roof have insulation, making them quieter, easier to heat and AC or fan cool, and somewhat more bear-resistant than canvas ones.
* They can be "put away wet", without much concern about mold.
* The very high ceiling peak and clear/hard plexiglass windows prevent claustrophobia.

They come in a variety of sizes and configurations and offer a wide list of optinal features. I've really enjoyed mine!

They also don't have a shower, toilet and limited cooking facilities. I have seen some and talked with their owners. They are defiantly not for most folks.

It seems you're not contemplating buying a pop-up.:D I don't think I am either but if you were.........
Just joking around
Peter

I liked my pop-up. That is until I was awakened at 4 in the morning and told the rain has caused a flood and I have to evacuate. My fishing stuff had been in the car so I quickly dressed, got my dog in the car and went to the Roscoe Diner. Soon a lot of folks who also had to evacuate where they had been showed up. A day later, after the flood waters had receded, I went back to campgrounds and found my camper wrapped around a tree. I think that was 2004 and the first of I think 4 floods that were considered 100 year floods. Oh well.

Allan

Why even bother having to set anything up ... just simply park this little bugger and open the door and your in business!

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h2...al_tie-dye.jpg

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Originally Posted by DaleW

Why even bother having to set anything up ... just simply park this little bugger and open the door and your in business!

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h2...al_tie-dye.jpg

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How tall is this inside? I have been thinking of building a teardrop trailer to pull behind my little truck but I have to be able to stand up inside to pull my pants up! :eek: This looks like it might be a bit larger than the average teardrop with the kitchen in the back end.

Narco, my post only applies if you are thinking of buying a pop up camper --not a Class A, 5th wheel, or full sized trailer. You can get hard-sided pop ups with showers (inside or out) and permanent bathrooms. Mine has a furnace and AC, H&C running water, a 3-burner gas stove, a refrigerator and a small porta-potty. I carry a microwave in it for when I am hitched up to an electric outlet. (Also needed to run the AC.) There's a double bed in back and a small dining table with benches in front that converts to a sleeping bag-sized bed. I can tow it with a mid-sized SUV, easily see over the top of it in the rear view mirror, and suffer relatively little in reduced MPG.

Dale, I'm sure your camper is perfect for you and I am definitely not knocking it. It wouldn't work for me because I am both tall and claustrophobic. Conversely, I've seen others in RV parks happily camping in rigs that look much like yours, but 1/2 the size. We all find the one that is right for us and rejoice in no longer sleeping in a tent --even as others think tenting is the only way to go.

Oldfrat, well said. We have a fabric sided popup and the wife loves it. I still yearn for nights in a tent. Especially my one person single wall... camping styles are much like rod and reel choices. Very personal.

5'10" interior height, since I'm 5'11" that's no problem. The kitchen is in the front on this model but some have the kitchen aft and on the outside.

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Dale, I'm sure your camper is perfect for you and I am definitely not knocking it. It wouldn't work for me because I am both tall and claustrophobic. Conversely, I've seen others in RV parks happily camping in rigs that look much like yours, but 1/2 the size. We all find the one that is right for us and rejoice in no longer sleeping in a tent --even as others think tenting is the only way to go.

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Has as much floor space as an Aliner or Chalet so it would not be any more claustropobic then those. Don't know how tall you are but I can manage just fine. But in the final analysis the reason for going smaller is to sleep up off the ground and provide a shelter from the elements. If space is the major concern then maybe something like a 30' TT or 5th wheeler would be the route to go. Also, if towing size and weight are of the primary concern, then a popup camper outshines them all for interior space when opened up. AND ... I've not heard of (of course it may have happened), of a bear dragging someone out of a popup camper like I heard happening with a regular tent.

OF just stating what I have been told by owners. The first one I encountered was with a couple in RMNP they were cooking out in 40* weather because they had no facilities inside.

Personally I have a Lance TC with has everything, except for a/c and I can park it wherever the four wheels fit.


I just got back from four weeks in the Catskill's and did not park in one CG.

Just a word of warning about bears. I work as a camp host for the Forest Service in Wyoming just outside of Cooke City, MT. I have twice had Grizzly try to get into hard sided trailers. We tell the folks having those type of pop up's they are NOT BEAR PROOF for food storage purposes.

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Originally Posted by Kytroutbum

Just a word of warning about bears. I work as a camp host for the Forest Service in Wyoming just outside of Cooke City, MT. I have twice had Grizzly try to get into hard sided trailers. We tell the folks having those type of pop up's they are NOT BEAR PROOF for food storage purposes.

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Considering the pics I've seen of where bears tore doors and trunk lids off cars, I should think prying and tearing open a hardside camper would be not much of a problem for a bear who really wanted inside. RV's are made of light stuff - most walls are of light wood framing with maybe a thin plywood and light aluminum siding to cover that.

aww, the joys of camping/rv'ing, etc. Wife wants one, but I think it would just be more work for me in the long run. :rolleyes:

I chose the word resistant, instead of proof, carefully. I have a friend whose large trailer (not pop up) was demolished by a bear. Closest I've come was at Great Sand Dunes. They had bear warning signs out so, after microwaving my dinner, I left the "aromatic" microwave out on the picnic table and put my garbage bag out in the fire pit. In the morning, the microwave was on the ground and the garbage bag was gone.

Thanks to tips received here and elsewhere, I can camp without an electric hook up for about a week by starting out with two fully charged batteries. I prefer RV parks when available, though, for the hook ups, bathrooms and showers, WiFi, etc. I've been pleased to observe the lack of snobbery among the people there. Folks in the huge Class A's seem perfectly friendly to those in much smaller rigs like mine. I haven't made any lasting friendships with the folks I've met in RV parks, but have had some interesting conversations with nice people. And, I have yet to experience any serious breaks in campground etiquette at RV parks, with everyone trying to be good neighbors to the other campers.

I'll stick to the van when I am out on my own, with the girl friend its a 34 ft. motor home.
Attachment 12063

DaleW, do you have any pictures of the interior of your camper?

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Originally Posted by MAC in NEOhio

DaleW, do you have any pictures of the interior of your camper?

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No pics (my camera is about at the end of it's life cycle ... the next INVESTMENT!) ~

But here's what the different floor plans look like .... mine is the "U" floor plan. The camper has the AC/heating unit, the 3-way frig, two burner cook stove and a ceiling vent fan.

http://tab-rv.com/floorplans/

Dale, Thanks for the link. I mostly tent camp with the scout troop now, but in a few years that just might be the ticket to get my wife to join me again. Very nice little camper. Sugercreek is just a couple hours south of me. I will have to try and check out the factory on one of my trips south.

Like most things, I think our tastes and "wants" change with experience.

My family and I started out with tents. Moved to a Pop-Up camper. I always dreamed of a Scamp. A small fixed camper with bathroom, kitchen, etc. I think they are the perfect size.
My wife then told me I could stay in a motel room a lot cheaper...........
So, this a pic of someone else's Scamp...

http://i1101.photobucket.com/albums/...ps122611c5.jpg

I have an Aliner classic for the past five years and it is great for me and my wife. Very easy to pull and can be set-up in less than a minute. I let my wife hold onto the fantasy that it is bear proof and just make sure nothing that would interest a bear is in the camper overnight.might take it out west next year before we make the move to a small Class B RV.
Best,
Steve