I am new to the board and am looking forward to learning from you all! We have not bought a popup yet, but we are looking at some used units. We have one that we are interested in from the ad, and we plan to look at it Friday if it is still available. My hubby is out of town this week, so Friday is the earliest we can see it.
Anyway, I just wanted to introduce myself. We have two childern. Our son will be 2 in August, and our daughter is 3. We have been tent camping, but we are ready to move up to the world of popups.
Any suggestions you might have will be read with great interest. In the meantime, I will be reading the boards to see what I can learn.
~Ann Marie
Ann Marie WELCOME!
Ask about anything, we are always happy to help out. Do you know what features you want in your PU? There are a lot of choices out there. What area are you from? :)
You should check out Tim's website. It will answer many of your questions and give you several ideas.
http://www.title-3.com/
Well, I'm always happy when someone plugs my websie :D
What area of the country are you from??
There are pop up clubs all around the country. You may want to jump into a campout so you can look at different pop ups in action.
Glad you are here!
Welcome Ann Marie!
This place is filled with helpful people, so ask any questions that come to mind
Welcome to PUT ! We looked at almost every PU for a period of two years and ended up buying what we could afford :)
Make a list of what you need, what is nice to have and price compare ...Some people already have comparison charts, maybe they will share ?
Welcome, Ann Marie, glad to see new faces. I hope that the PU you end up with gives you as much enjoyment as ours, and that you find as many good friends here on this board as we have.
T
;)
Welcome and glad you found us. This is a great community of members that will help with anything you have a problem with. We care about our PU families and wish you the best family times you will ever have.
Welcome to the board, Ann Marie. If you have already been tent camping with your young children, then Popping Up will be a breeze!
As Tim has already said, there are several camping clubs that spawned from this board. We can put you in touch with them. Group camping with people that you (get to) know is very fun.
Larry
Welcome Anne Marie!! This group is awesome with all their knowledge and help. We've certainly had our share of questions answered both before we bought our PU last year and since!! Hope you find a PU for your family soon!! :>
Wow, y'all are great!! Thanks for the warm welcome. I love the idea of checking out PUs at a camping trip!
Let's see... I live north of Atlanta. We would like a PU that we won't outgrow right away. I really like the idea of a toilet so the kids can go potty without having to rush across the campground. You know how kids are - they get so involved in something that they forget to mention they have to go potty until it is time RIGHT NOW! :)
I would like an A/C. At first I did not care one way or the other about the A/C, but last August we met my family in Birmingham, AL, for a camping trip, and I would have paid big bucks for A/C in our tent that weekend. So hot!! Usually we don't camp during the summer because it is too hot, and if we have A/C, maybe that trend would change. And shower would be nice for the kids, but that is an option that we would like but not an absolute must have. But it would be great to have it. We met my parents for a weekend, and they have an RV with a shower/tub. It was great to be able to bath them there.
There is a Coleman Niagara that we are going to look at this weekend. It is a 1999, and I have been warned of ABS roofs? I did a little research, but not much yet. Do newer Coleman's have the ABS roofs also?
Thanks again. I know I am going to really enjoy it here!!
~Ann Marie
You're in Tim's neck of the woods now. He just moved there. I THINK!!!
Welcome to the board. You will find a wealth of information here! Everyone is family oriented and FRIENDLY! All you need to do is ask your questions and we will all respond! ;)
As for the ABS roof... Yes, I would be concerned with a 1999 Niagra. You should ask the owner if they ever had any problems or had it replaced. Look for bubbles, the gasket not lining up to form a seal and cracks -- all known problems with that roof. Unfortunately, Coleman does not honor their warranty to second owners -- just the primary owner of the camper. They have been known to cover the cost of the roof replacement with you paying for shipping which can be around $800! Still, you should get out there and look at as many pop-ups as you can to get a better idea of what you want or don't want to live with. The Niagra is a nice camper other than the possibility of roof problems
Good luck! I look forward to hearing from you more!
Someone correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't think the '99 Niagara has a slideout either. It would be much better to spend a few more bucks for a slideout with small children. I believe the '00's and newer Niagaras have the slideout.
Larry
PS: We have a busy club at tpuc.com (Tennessee Popup Campers). We have campouts at least monthly, mostly in Middle TN and East TN. Not TOO far for you to join us sometime!
Larry
Quote from: brainpauseSomeone correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't think the '99 Niagara has a slideout either. It would be much better to spend a few more bucks for a slideout with small children. I believe the '00's and newer Niagaras have the slideout.
Larry
I have the 1999 Coleman brochure and the Niagara does have the slide-out dinette. The toilet is in the front passenger side of the PU and the door is toward the back. :)
Quote from: RuffinItI really like the idea of a toilet so the kids can go potty without having to rush across the campground.
We have a cassette potty and love it. I don't want to have to take a walk in the middle of the night, let alone take kids. We did have portapotty but we like the built in cassette potty more.Quote from: RuffinItI would like an A/C. At first I did not care one way or the other about the A/C, but last August we met my family in Birmingham, AL, for a camping trip, and I would have paid big bucks for A/C in our tent that weekend. So hot!! Usually we don't camp during the summer because it is too hot, and if we have A/C, maybe that trend would change.
I added AC to my PU 2 years a go. I don't regret it. I don't like the heat and we do camp more in the summer with the AC.Quote from: RuffinItshower would be nice for the kids, but that is an option that we would like but not an absolute must have. But it would be great to have it.
We have both an indoor and an outdoor shower. I think we use the outdoor one more, but there are times I am so happy we have the indoor shower. If you get a PU with an outdoor shower you can get an outdoor shower stall to shower in. If you look at my webshots albums you will see my shower stall that I hang from the roof rack of the PU.
Welcome to our little addiction, once hooked it's harder to give than smoking was!!!
I'm kind of curious though, you haven't mentioned what you're planning on towing this trailer with (unless I missed it somewhere?!?!). The Niagra isn't a small trailer and you'll need something capable of hauling it. Just curious as to what you'll tow it with.
Quote from: Gone-CampingThe Niagra isn't a small trailer and you'll need something capable of hauling it. Just curious as to what you'll tow it with.
Good point, Cliff.
Thanks, Tracy, for righting my mistake.
Larry
Wow - you've been given so much good advice already - all I can say is Welcome! I hope you find all the ideas and info you need! We have an older Starcraft now, with four children! This will be our first year actually trying out four in it. We had a baby girl last August, and we have three boys as well. We just got a porta-potty last year and it really helped (me from going to the bathroom, uphill, in the middle of the night three times) The kids used it too! The shower isn't really something I miss, but I've never had one either! I hope you find just what your looking for!
I feel lucky to have found such a great board :)
We have two vehicles. We have a 2003 Honda Odyssey that we origianlly thought of using, but now that we are looking at bigger campers, we won't use it. We also have a Dodge Ram pickup that should pull it with no problems. If we end up with a smaller camper, we will probably get the van setup to tow, but otherwise we will just use the truck.
We are still looking, but I am so ready to get something! We have been looking for about a year now, on and off to see what was out there, but now that we are seriously looking, I am anxious to find one. We are going camping in July with my family, and I would love to bring our new PU on that trip, but I am not holding my breath. We aren't anxious enough to jump on one unless we feel like it is a pretty decent deal.
~Ann Marie
We all can understand how exciting it is getting a camper, but be sure you are happy with what you are getting. If you don't see something or don't like the price, wait until the fall/winter.... prices tend to be lower then. Although you still may find a deal now.
Welcome! If you use the van to tow, be sure to always remember to turn overdrive off while towing (some say except on flat roads, but to me it's easier to just keep it off so you don't forget), and you will probably need some kind of weight distribution device so the back end of your van isn't too low while towing.
We have towed our large '00 Starcraft with a slide-out dinette (Starcrafts are lighter weight than Colemans on average) with our '99 Windstar for 3 - 4 years now, through the Smoky Mountains, through the Rocky Mountains (twice), and everywhere in between and it has been wonderful. We will probably trade it in next year for a conversion van if we can afford the higher payments so that the kids have a bit more room. One definate thing to check is that your Odyssey has a tow package with the extra transmission cooler to bring the tow capacity up to it's maximum 3500 pounds. The only newer minivans that I know of that still have that capacity are the Freestar, Kia's minivan, and the Odyssey, so if you do need to use your van you should be in good shape unless it's a large Coleman with a slide-out.
Our kids are older, but still love to camp. I think your toddlers will love the pop-up as much as you will, and you'll have the added security of a door you can lock to be sure they don't wander outside.
Good luck on your purchase, and ask any questions you want. There are a ton of knowledgeable people on this board that have helped all of us when we were newbie pop-up owners! :)