I love to camp - but at age 55, I will now be camping (mostly) alone. Can a middle-aged, out of shape woman set up a pop-up all by herself? I have a 6 cyl. Nissan Xterra and am new to trailering - what is the best affordable pop-up choice for me?
Quote from: Debbie KingI love to camp - but at age 55, I will now be camping (mostly) alone. Can a middle-aged, out of shape woman set up a pop-up all by herself? I have a 6 cyl. Nissan Xterra and am new to trailering - what is the best affordable pop-up choice for me?
Pop-ups are relatively easy to set up. The hardest thing for you may be the cranking of the top.
My wife is older than you and she can do it. However, I decided to get an electric drill to run the top up. That makes it really easy. I have a bad shoulder and that makes it really tolerable for me. The first time that we went camping with our PU, I spent half of the time with a sore shoulder.
On my trailer, the crank takes 70 turns from bottom to top. No one says that it has to be a race and there are plenty of other things to do. There is no rule that says you couldn't run the top up a little at a time.
Other than that, there isn't much physical effort to setting up.
For a single person, an A-frame PU might be ideal. Check this out:
http://www.chaletrv.com/http://www.arveeclub.com/showthread.php?t=56941Get yourself a PU and go camping. You'll love it
Oh Ya........Welcome to PUT :D
Quote from: Debbie KingI love to camp - but at age 55, I will now be camping (mostly) alone. Can a middle-aged, out of shape woman set up a pop-up all by herself? I have a 6 cyl. Nissan Xterra and am new to trailering - what is the best affordable pop-up choice for me?
Yes, just do it at a pace which seems comfortable. You will encounter situations where more than one person would be better (hitching your camper up comes to mind, as well as very windy days for popdown), but one person can do it.
I won't address the affordable popup question - that's a personal choice of price, age, size, comfort that only you can answer.
Buy a six pack of beer, unpack that first and invite a few neighbors over. Along the way, ask "BTW, can anyone crank for me?" It might be sexist, but I'll bet it would work.
Contact Azuzateach. She's a single gal and has a small popup. She manages to go everywhere.
Moose
I'll have to agree with Wavery, A frame hands down. Tows easy,Fast easy set up. I set ours up alone often, both camping and in the yard.
Quote from: dthurkBuy a six pack of beer, unpack that first and invite a few neighbors over. Along the way, ask "BTW, can anyone crank for me?" It might be sexist, but I'll bet it would work.
You are right, it would probably work.
You can also see if some of the kids running around the campground want to earn a couple bucks putting it up for you.
I've only ever put up our Fleetwood and it's not too bad. Fleetwood has a ratcheting system that keeps it from going back down when you don't want it to go down. I'm sure the other manufacturers have something similar. I was at an RV show a couple weeks ago and the Jayco dealer had a 807 in the middle to show how easy it was to set up. Even had a couple kids put t up for him.
I recommend you take a look at what you really want to get and then jump right in.
SIMPLE, just go to a PU dealer near you and pick out one you like. Then ask the dealer if you can set it up yourself with only them telling you what to do. If you can't do it there your going to have trouble everywhere else.
Sure you can do it. Look at new/used PUs in your area. Ask other campers about good dealers in your area. Check out floor plans and options and then crank the PU up, and set it up on the lot. It isn't that hard and once you get a pattern of what to do when. The basic set up only takes about 10 to 15 minutes. The more stuff you want to take along, AAR, screen room, awning, chairs, tacky lights, etc., the longer it will take to set up and take down. Good luck and happy camping.:)
Quote from: oldmooseContact Azuzateach. She's a single gal and has a small popup. She manages to go everywhere.
Moose
Awww, shucks! Thanks, Moose! Yup, Debbie, it can be done. I always work up a good sweat, and am grateful for the workout when I'm done. I turned 50 this year, and am so delighted that I can still manage everything by myself. My biggest problem is getting one of the roof poles in by myself -- just not tall enough, so I grab a guy & it's in in 2 seconds.
Don't know what a Nissan can pull, but once again, I will sing the praises of my Rockwood 1950. It's got everything -- including the toilet & shower, and I can literally push/pull it by myself. Very easily done. But heck, that's what guys are for! There's always someone around to help, and they're glad to.
Go for it! And enjoy your time.
P.S. Feel free to e-mail me if you have questions. Too bad you're on the "right coast" -- we could do a bit a caravaning!
I love it when she asks for help. She's got this look on her face that you just can't resist.
Moose
Quote from: oldmooseI love it when she asks for help. She's got this look on her face that you just can't resist.
Moose
Does it look like this ....?
:eyecrazy:
I didn't notice that you are from Maryland. I highly recommend Charlie's Camping Center on Liberty Road. They treated us great. We just bought our pup from them and I would buy again from them. Feel free to drop me an e-mail if you want someone else's view. My wife would be glad to answer any questions you have.
As for the Xterra, I think that it is rated at 3500#. Since you would probably look at some of the smaller pups, and may be camping on your own, I would think that Xterra would handle just about anything you look for. If you get a WDH, take a look at the single bar WDH. It's so easy to connect and engage.
I will be 50 this summer and can put mine up by myself as well. Of course when DH is around I don't always let him know that!
I met a retired school teacher this summer camping with her daughter who was about me age, maybe a little younger. They hit a snag with the door, and walked over to our site to ask DH for help. He was happy to do it.
Camping people are great, and if you do have a problem someone will be there to help.
Sherry