RE: Pop up Newbie

[SactoCampers]

 Guest

Dave,
 Hmmm... I d love to go to one, but when/how often are they? I m sorry to ask such newborn questions, but I am soooo green and want to learn!

 Come here to learn, go to an RV store to look/buy.
 
 There is a big RV show at Alameda County Fairgrounds (Pleasanton) from Sept 5-14. Word is that popup representation is poor. When I used to go to it there were lots of popups.
 
 And the grandaddy of rv shows Oct 10-19 in Fullerton:
 
 http://www.carvshow.com/
 
 There is usually one in Sacramento about 2-3 times a year, but I only find outdated links.
 
 If you don t want to wait for an RV show, your best bet is to start looking at manufacturer websites:
 
 www.starcraftrv.com
 www.forestriverinc.com
 www.jaycorv.com
 www.palominorv.com
 www.vikingrv.com
 www.thorindustries.com
 www.foldingtrailers.com
 
 and visualizing floorplans that you think will and won t work for you. Then go to dealerships and start looking. No matter what you buy, it will be a tradeoff of desireable features. Such tradeoffs typically include:
 
 1.) Counter space vs. seating space
 2.) Slideout vs. interior storage space
 3.) Slideout vs. refrigerator access vs. bathroom
 4.) Front storage trunk vs. storage space in your garage
 5.) Cost vs. convenience
 6.) Swing-level galley vs. starage space on the floor
 7.) Quality vs. cost vs. weight
 
 Other things to consider:
 
 1.) Do you want to access the interior of the popup while the roof is down?
 2.) Do you want to access your refrigerator or are you okay with using a cooler?
 3.) Do you want a cassette potty and shower?
 4.) How about air conditioner, heater, hot water, water pump, etc?
 5.) Do you plan to dry camp or camp with hookups? If dry camp, how willing are you to conserve on energy (i.e. battery) conservation? If not much, then determine your needs (we ll help you).
 6.) Do you want to have to climb over a sofa to get into your bed? Some floor plans have a u-shaped couch or gaucho (or both) in front of the beds. Many people don t like climbing over them to get into and out of bed, especially if a table is set up.
 7.) How close is your dealer? and more importantly how GOOD is he/she? Will they be there after the sale?
 8.) Do you know it takes work to set up a popup? Setting up camp (doing everything, not just popping up) can easily take 1.5 hours or more. About the same amount as a tent. The popup itself takes about half an hour for the basics. But the reward is so much greater. Be realistic. It takes effort and some time to set these babies up, so just be prepared for that.
 
 Those are just a few things to consider when looking at purchasing a popup. Probably one of the reasons why your in-laws considered it a mistake was because they underestimated the time and effort involved as well as the critical nature of the sequence of events that must occur. It requires planning and thought to set up and break these things down. Anyone can do it, you just have to commit yourself to doing it and thinking a lot every time.
 
 Bottom line is we all love our popups and setting them up is part of the ritual. It *should* require some effort to make these magic little boxes expand the way they do!
 
 Hope that helps.
 

 gsm x2

As a suggestion, go open and close a few of them and see which one works for you. Then make your decision based on what is important to you.
 Hope to see you at a Rally soon.
 
 gsm x2
 

 gsm x2,
 
 After this past camping experience what s important to me is a cassette potty & shower combo (without going into too much graphic detail.. a child o  mine had what I termed " Diarrhea 2003"  WITHOUT a campsite shower or solar shower)!  
 
 I vowed: Never Again.
 
 Thanks for your help,
 Pilar
 

[Calstate361]

 Guest
Great note Sacto.  Pilar, he just about said it all with what you need to consider as far as the pop-up goes.  THEN, you need to consider the couple thousand dollars you need to spend after you get the pop-up.  You need to purchase a gray water tank, extra water hoses and electric cables, extra batteries (if you dry camp), water filter, all the pots and pans, bedding, towels, etc. you want to keep just for camping.   Camping World loves all of us, but check out WalMart before you go to Camping World because you can usually get it for less at WalMart or even another RV parts place.  Don t get discouraged, we will help you through it.
 
 Joan

[SactoCampers]

 Guest

After this past camping experience what s important to me is a cassette potty & shower combo (without going into too much graphic detail.. a child o  mine had what I termed " Diarrhea 2003"  WITHOUT a campsite shower or solar shower)!

 Oh, yes, that must be the second cousin of " Diarrhea 2001"  with his sidekick " Vomit 2001"  that tormented Sactocamper in July of that year up near Mt. Shasta. I was indeed grateful for having the cassette potty and shower on that trip.

 Calstate361

THEN, you need to consider the couple thousand dollars you need to spend after you get the pop-up. You need to purchase a gray water tank, extra water hoses and electric cables, extra batteries (if you dry camp), water filter, all the pots and pans, bedding, towels, etc. you want to keep just for camping. Camping World loves all of us, but check out WalMart before you go to Camping World because you can usually get it for less at WalMart or even another RV parts place. Don t get discouraged, we will help you through it.
 
 Joan

 I have the all of my camping pots and pans, utensils & towels, etc... It s just a matter of taking them out of my garage and placing them in the PU.  I would just need to purchase all items to make the PU camp ready.
 
 See this leads me to the new vs. pre owned...
 
 There is a 1999 Coleman Santa Fe for sale with EVERY darn thing imaginable -except the cassette shower/potty combo- for $5000.  The only reason I am considering it is because it has the outside shower with a surround..  I will have to look it over for symptoms of the dreaded roof sag, but since the man is willing to give me EVERYTHING (all hookups, grey water tank, a SOLAR panel for charging the battery) I am having a hard time deciding new vs. pre owned.  
 
 Everyone, any thoughts?
 
 Pilar
 

[SactoCampers]

 Guest

ORIGINAL:  Guest
 
 

THEN, you need to consider the couple thousand dollars you need to spend after you get the pop-up. You need to purchase a gray water tank, extra water hoses and electric cables, extra batteries (if you dry camp), water filter, all the pots and pans, bedding, towels, etc. you want to keep just for camping. Camping World loves all of us, but check out WalMart before you go to Camping World because you can usually get it for less at WalMart or even another RV parts place. Don t get discouraged, we will help you through it.
 
 Joan

 I have the all of my camping pots and pans, utensils & towels, etc... It s just a matter of taking them out of my garage and placing them in the PU.  I would just need to purchase all items to make the PU camp ready.
 
 See this leads me to the new vs. pre owned...
 
 There is a 1999 Coleman Santa Fe for sale with EVERY darn thing imaginable -except the cassette shower/potty combo- for $5000.  The only reason I am considering it is because it has the outside shower with a surround..  I will have to look it over for symptoms of the dreaded roof sag, but since the man is willing to give me EVERYTHING (all hookups, grey water tank, a SOLAR panel for charging the battery) I am having a hard time deciding new vs. pre owned.  
 
 Everyone, any thoughts?
 
 Pilar
 
 

 My heavily biased opinion is to get what you want but here s why I would avoid it if I were you:
 
 1.) It has an ABS roof. Should that thing *ever* sag and/or not seal properly leaking rain water into your popup, the value in buying used is lost, as you will be out ~$3000 for a new roof. Some in our group have had good luck with the ABS roofs, others haven t. They are original owners and covered under warranty (at least the roof, not the shipping after the first year), you would not be.
 
 2.) It doesn t have a shower or cassette potty. You indicated that was a must. I wouldn t compromise. There are lots of used popups out there for sale that meet your criteria, so don t settle simply because you ve found one that appears to be a good deal. Get the one YOU WANT, not the one HE S SELLING. IMO, I don t think the outside shower is a good substitute for an indoor. If you re going to actually shower out there, you may as well use the campground facilities. How do you actually plan to use the shower? If only to clean little feet, then it would be okay, but if YOU want to shower, imagine doing so at the end of a hectic day, in the dark, while it s getting cold on the NON-DOOR side of the camper. Now, visualize taking that same shower in the well-lit privacy and warmth of your popup camper without getting dirty the feet you just cleaned. Bottom line: If you want a shower, and you actually plan to use the shower, get an indoor shower.
 
 3.) Hookups are cheap. Ask 6Quigs how to set you up with a 14-gallon grey water system for <25 bucks. Or take a peak at mine (some adjustments of course, for Colemans  different drain pipes):
 
 http://sactocampers.tripod.com/sactocamperswebpage/id17.html
 
 The solar panel is nice, but it would have to be over 45 watts to be of any real use. You could always ask him if he ll sell you just the solar panel. If he ll do so CHEAP, let  me know  cause *I D* like to buy it [].
 
 Have you tried www.rvtraderonline.com?
 
 A quick search yielded the following results:
 
 1998 Jayco Heritage Laurel (Los Angeles): $7800 shwr/cassette, slideout
 http://adcache.rvtraderonline.com/3/5/6/49672756.htm
 
 1997 Viking 2460 (Cathedral City): $5000 shwr/cassette
 http://adcache.rvtraderonline.com/3/6/0/49313260.htm
 
 The Viking is in the same price range as the Santa Fe, has no roof sag issues, has cassette potty & shower, and you can probably talk the dealer down. Make sure it has brakes.
 

 SactoCampers

SactoCampers said way too much for me to quote it, but I thought I d show who I was replying to..

 Guest
Oops.. hit send to quickly.
 
 Anyways, I was about to say:
 
 Sactocamper, who the heck are you and has ANYONE ever told you how awesome you are?  Holy moly!  Thanks for all the links, and insight!  
 
 Of the two of us, I am the  cheap one  and my husband is the  spender .  I wanted a pop up, but already I am noticing that I have definate opinions about what I want (I do not want to have my kids crawl over another kid to get out of bed [for instance no end/u shaped dining areas], I d like more floor space, ergo the slide out option, the fridge, and shower/potty but what I want is turning out to be rather expensive.. I really thought I could go cheaply and my desires would be fulfilled. HA!
 
 Still pondering all of the options, and ready to ask more questions,
 Pilar
 

[g-whiz]

 Guest

 

ORIGINAL:  Guest
 
 
 
 Sactocamper, who the heck are you and has ANYONE ever told you how awesome you are?  Holy moly!  Thanks for all the links, and insight!  
 
 Pilar
 
 

 Sacto, are you signed in as guest in another window??  I know this can be done as Nick proved it last night. []
 

 Guest
Depending on the age of your kids, they will be climbing on something to get in the bunks.   My 5 year old still uses either the cabinet or couch in our Utah.  But with 3 kids, I strongly encourage a slide out.  Floor space becomes a premium if it rains.  
 We normally camp by a lake and " dry"  camp.  We have only used the outside shower twice, and this is our fourth year of ownership.
 
 But this is just my experience, as others have stated, set your must haves, nice to have, and whatever priorities.
 
 When you did the " last ever"  tent trip, where did you stay?  Were there showers there? Are these the types of places you usually go?  
 
 I m rambling.....time to hit the hay.
 
 Campinggeek
 AKA Jon
 99 Utah behind 03 1500HD
 

[Hybrid Holly]

 Guest

Grant it, they are about twice the price of a Pop-up, but it is something to think about.

 I got my hybrid for about the same $$ as some people pay for their popups...and it does not weigh much more either!  
 
 Give  em a look see....Go to an RV show and see it all!...or stop by one of our rallies and go door to door.
 
 Good luck

[griffsmom]

 g-whiz

ORIGINAL:  Guest
 
 
 
 Sactocamper, who the heck are you and has ANYONE ever told you how awesome you are?  Holy moly!  Thanks for all the links, and insight!  
 
 Pilar
 
 

 Oh brother! [: (] I think vomit 2003 is about to hit... []
 
 (Pilar, please don t feed the Sactos) []

[Calstate361]

 Guest
Sounds like a pretty good deal to me, but I m no expert.  As I stated before, we didn t have the potty and shower in our Starcraft and we enjoyed the space more.  We just had a port-a-potty inside and most of the places we camp have restrooms with showers.  Actually, the port-a-potty came in handy when doing the dishes.  Since I am a bit tall, trying to do the dishes in the sink killed my back, so I would scoot the port-a-potty over to the front of the sink and sit on it (of course with the lid down!) to do the dishes.  That really saved my back.  You can purchase the port-a-potty at WalMart for about $50-80, not to bad considering how much more they cost at Camping World.
 
 Joan

[OC Campers]

 SactoCampers
Pilar, I agree with Sacto Brian, don t settle for less than what you want.  Chances are you will own it for a long time and you will always wonder what it would of been like to get the potty/shower combo.  As I mentioned in the So Cal Newbie forun, I have 3 kids and the potty/shower was my main requirement.  You are the one who has to get up at 2am and truck to the potty with the kids.  If it is in the popup, the only one up is the child.  I have to admit I have never used the shower for myself but I do shower my 2 youngest boys in it.  A 2 year old all soaped up in a regular shower is like a " greased pig" .  The basin in the popup is pretty deep and it is almost like giving him a bath in a tub.  
 
 I know you said the Santa Fe was a good deal but with 5 people in it, you will probably feel kind of cramped.  We have the Westlake which is the largest popup Coleman makes without the slide out and with the potty/combo.  We really like it a lot but do wish we had gotten a slide out.  When we are all in it together, you practically trip over each other in the aisle when trying to move around.    But it is still WAY better than a tent.  
 
 We ended up buying new because 1) the warranty issues and 2) we couldn t find anything used that would of suited our needs.  Actually, our new popup wasn t much more expensive than a used one.  
 
 Jacqui

[6Quigs]

 Guest

Sactocamper, who the heck are you and has ANYONE ever told you how awesome you are?

Don t worry Pilar,
 every time I ve met Sacto,
 I ve told him how awesome he is[&:]
 
 Actually, everything he said is correct, and I know he did a lot of research before he bought his popup.
 
 We are a family of 2 adults and 4 kids, 10,7,4 & 2.
 We opted for a Coleman, and chose the 12 foot Niagara, with Toilet & Shower and have no regrets.
 We use them every time we go out.
 When the kids need to go, it s pop in the trailer, instead of escorting them to the restroom.
 For those midnight potty trips, both my wife & I really appreciate it, especially when camping in the winter, and not having to get dressed and leave our toasty warm trailer.
 Shower time is great also. We just lock the door, and my wife washes them one at a time, while I dry and dress them, all inside the popup.
 
 One point though on the u shaped dining areas, it does make climbing into the end bunk a bit easier, as it is quite a drop from the bunk to the floor, especaially for our 2 year old.
 
 Kevin