Jack tells me you are intersted in a pop up camper for your fishing get-aways? I have one and have been using it for about 3 years and am looking for a small camper instead. Just my experience. Want to pull in and be set up and get to the fishing, etc…asap. Late nights aren’t a lot of fun getting set up when it is cold and rainy. Loading up and unloading is also a pain at times. I keep most everything in my camper ready to go but then have to work around that. Guess I am getting old. Sure know that I don’t like to sleep in a tent anymore than I have to. Good luck!
Hey Karla… thanks for the feedback. I come from an ultralight primitive camping background and still do that… solo canoe, camping hammock or small backpacking tent. I have no driveway, no garage, no place to store a trailer of any kind. I also have only about $2000 max to put toward an alternative to this primitive gear. The thought of spending a possibly rainy week in a backpacking tent doesn’t appeal any more. I’m too old, too sore, and too cranky for that anymore. I’ve got a Chevy Blazer and don’t want to get anything bigger and don’t want to tow anything that is too much of a challenge to that vehicle.
So I guess what I’m saying is that a tent trailer sounds like a luxury to me at this time, would be easier to find a friend to store it in their field than a larger trailer, and just might be in the budget. Anything else… not so sure.
Keep the advice coming! And thanks.
Diane
Then a pop-up is probably just want you want. If I find the camper I am looking for I will certainly let you know. It’s an 8 footer and very nice. Stored inside Sept-March. Would accomodate 3 comfortablly and 5 if needed. Would sell for that price too. You can rent campers in Cadillac, MI at Kelseys Auto Barn…toll free number 866-985-2277
Diane;
Karla’s pop-up is very well maintained and she has added an awning. Something to keep in mind for those warm rainy days.
Diane,
I’m a die-hard tent camper. My fishing partner is not a big fan of sleeping on the ground and would rather stay in a motel.
To make his nights more comfy he got himself one of [url=http://www.campmor.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?productId=39196320&memberId=12500226:0bbc9]these[/url:0bbc9].
3 1/2 inches thick and on sale
Friends don’t let friends drive gas hogs
Diane:
Ever considered a Land Rover Dormobile conversion? I don’t have one but that’s the way I hope to go in the future. Here’s a link to some pics of them:
[url=http://www.expeditionlandrover.info/Dormobile/pictures.html:15703]http://www.expeditionlandrover.info/Dormobile/pictures.html[/url:15703]
Mick
Hey Diane, I do have tents also and air mattresses etc… They are comfortable and keep you off the ground. I sometimes just put the seat in the back of my jeep forward and use that for a “bed on the move”. It’s works great if you are alone. Seldom happens that way though as camping and fishing are a favorite of my friends and family. Good luck!
Diane,
If your primary needs for a fast, secure roof over your head plus having the normal amenities stowed close at hand for rapid access, then have you considered just setting up shop inside your Blazer?
Probably you have, and rejected that idea for some reason. I’m not familiar with the interior design of a Blazer, but don’t the rear seats fold down flat enough to offer a good sleeping surface that you can soften with an inflatable pad?
Last fall I outfitted my Toyota Tacoma’s 6-ft. bed with a cab-high fiberglass Astro shell. Then I set up the interior with various storage boxes, an ice chest, my cook box, etc. I’m a longtime ultralight canoe camper just like you are, and living in this fiberglass shell “micro-apartment” has been very nice indeed. I’m 6’1" so when sleeping I have to angle my body slightly in order to fully stretch out, but other than that it’s just like being inside a good tent except I never have to put up a dry tent then wait for an hour next morning for a wet tent to dry before bagging it: in the evening I just crawl inside the shell (cook my evening meals there most nights) then go to sleep. Next morning scoot out foot-first and do another day.
If your Blazer is paid for, shoot, you’re free to trick it out any way you like if that idea boils down to your most cost-effective option.
Joe
“Better small than not at all.”
Hey, folks. Thanks to everyone for the ideas. More than a fast place to get dry, what I’m looking for is a place where it’s comfortable to hang around in the rain or the evenings, tying flies, playing a board game with up to 2 other people. With my current setups, either I’m all alone in a hammock reading a paperback via headlamp while the rain pounds down or I’m with another person in a very small tent with barely enough room to play a card game, forced lying down while the rain pounds down. I keep imagining the following scenario: It’s evening, rain or bugs are getting to us/me so inside the tent trailer we go. We sit around the table playing a board game or if I’m alone I sit at the table and tie up some flies, anticipating the morning hatch. All high and dry with a bit of light and a little space.
There, that’s what I’m aiming for. But folks, I’ve got to hold off on making a purchase. Some health issues have me being a bit less adventurous until I get them cleared up, hopefully in a couple/three months.
Thanks for the great ideas… I have to say that that Landrover setup is awesome!
Diane
two words: volkswagon bus 
Dave,
Two good words! Question: is VW still making those buses? I haven’t seen a new one on the road for some time.
Joe
I just got rid of my VW westfalia( Westy) a camper van. Has two full-size beds,pop-up top ,sink, stove & refrig.
I had the 4cyl.,automatic w/ ac. It was a fantastic way to camp streamside and be self-contained. The drawback is that they have a lot of mechanical/electrical problems.people either love them or hate em–I loved mine ,my wife hated it.
Check out [url=http://www.westy.com:35203]www.westy.com[/url:35203]
the new ones have a 6cly. engine(highly recommended) 81’ and older have a 4 cyl.Some of my best nights sleeping were in that streamside or in the Beartooth mtns.
best,
Steve
best
i just bought a 68, mechanically sound, needs some body work. they have a lot of idiosyncracies, and you’re right, you love em or hate em. i love em myself.