We are planning on full timing in the near future. My question is are there any campers out there who full time in a pup?
Thanks!
I've seen threads in various forums of folks who have, but they stayed in one place for more than a week, headed south for winter, north for summer. Complaints were pretty much the setup/take down time, packing/unpacking.
If I were to full-time, I might very well try it in my PUP as it has all the amenities, but, lacks the storage.
I saw a fulltimer with a popup last year. He was at the beach. He had an old truck with an older popup. His popup was beat up, to say the least. It was him and a dog. He seemed quite happy.
We met a couple fulltiming in an Aliner a few years ago.:yikes:
I wonder if they're still married. I love our A, but wouldn't want to full time in it unless I were single.
Quote from: DrayI saw a fulltimer with a popup last year. He was at the beach. He had an old truck with an older popup. His popup was beat up, to say the least. It was him and a dog. He seemed quite happy.
Bahaaaaaaaaaaaha! This made me laugh. :D
Back when we had our Coleman Cape Cod pop up we ran into and even set up next to another couple with the same pop up. They were full timing in it and enjoying themselves immensely. We got a few very good storage/mod ideas from them. It was great to see their joy.
Cheryl
Quote from: CherylWe got a few very good storage/mod ideas from them. It was great to see their joy.
Cheryl
Would love to know what those ideas were, including pics if you have some.
Well when we sold our last pup, one of the people who called wanted to know if they could LIVE in it. I choked back a laugh, and said yeah I supposed you could.
I don't think I would want to live in it full time. I guess if we were doing construction onthe house, and needed someplace short term maybe. But ours doesn't have a proper shower or toilet, so we would need a bathroom accessable.
I've not ever seen anyone full timing. My running joke is that when my DW kicks me out of the house I'll probably live in the PU :eyecrazy:
Well it's been about 10 years ago so I don't have any pics and the memory is rusty but the best tip we got was a way to hang shelves around the perimeter of the roof just above the curtain line. This was using white wire closet shelving and the same clips that would be used in a closet install but using existing pop-rivet holes. We had a deeper roof line than the average pop up and this gave us soooooo much storage space. Don't know if the current roof lines are deep enough but this was a great use of space. We used light chain and "S" hooks to hold up the front edges of the shelving and everything came down and laid across our gaucho couch for fold up and travel. This probably isn't too helpful but for the 5 years we used that pop-up it was a godsend.
Happy camping,
Cheryl
Here in Cali the weather is nice enough to that. but some campgrounds like the one near me won't allow full timing in a PU they actually have size and age requirements. not sure the length they requiring but I believe nothing older than 10 yrs old. They allow tenting and PU's just not long term.
We met a guy and his wife and two large dogs full timing in their pop up last summer at the mojave Narrows. I don't think it was their first choice but it's all they had and were making the best of it. They had to pick their camp grounds and couldn't stay in places like Canyon RV for extended stays, etc. They too had a beat up trailer and Van but I must say they seemed happy and seemed to be making it work. They used the Van for all the extra storage. He was a retired Marine and his wife did crafts and sold it at the camp ground for extra cash. So I guess it can be done not my first plan of action however........
Fulltiming in a popup? All I can say is that you have to really like your roommate. That pup is going to get small after a while.
While I think it would be fun, for a while, I think younger folks might be happier doing that than dw and I at our stage of maturity.
About 16 years ago, DS, DD, DW and I did a 49 day trip in an 8 foot popup. That was a fun trip but we knew there was an end to it and we would be able to use the bathhouse in our home in the future. Always using campground facilities would not be at the top of my list especially if your site is a good ways away.
There are always people that like to be adventerous and I tip my hat to them because sometimes I envy them and sometimes I just wonder what they are thinking about but then that is what makes this world go around.
People thought we were crazy doing the 49 day trip.
I think when it comes time for me and my wife to fulltime, I'm gonna have to invest in either a motorhome, or a TT. Don't get me wrong, I'm not giving up on canvas sides and sleeping under the stars, for that I will most certainly have my tent, air matress and all my tent camping gear, kayaks and the such on board with me. I will simply use my (RV, TT) as a base camp and still enjoy the experience that only a tent or pop up can provide when I choose. There would also be times that we would want to stay exclusively in our (RV,TT) when visiting different parts of the country, to me this would give us the best of both worlds.
Believe it or not, I always have my tent and air matress as well as our tent camping gear with us on most trips we take in our pop up. I have been known to reserve a site for my pop up and a primitive site for my tent at the same campground or different campgrounds, depending on the campgrounds and availability. Although if a campground is booked pretty close to capacity, I would never book two sites, I would hate to think another family couldn't get a site because I was being greedy.
CajunCamper
I met an older couple at the KOA in Ashville last year. They spent there summers in their hardsided camper (not a pop-up, but could be done). KOA has a work program. All they have to do is spend a few hours working in the campground. No heavy work, mainly helping campers to their site, backing in, etc.. In return they get a free site and some cash. They told me it wasn't much but with the free campsite and a little cash they lived all summer there without needing to spend any of their savings.
There's something I think I cold do, but I don't think I would do a whole summer in a pop-up.
Quote from: Old StarcraftI met an older couple at the KOA in Ashville last year. They spent there summers in their hardsided camper (not a pop-up, but could be done). KOA has a work program. All they have to do is spend a few hours working in the campground. No heavy work, mainly helping campers to their site, backing in, etc.. In return they get a free site and some cash. They told me it wasn't much but with the free campsite and a little cash they lived all summer there without needing to spend any of their savings.
There's something I think I cold do, but I don't think I would do a whole summer in a pop-up.
There are a lot of opportunities for "camp hosts" in state and national parks also. Generally, a camp host will get a free full hookup site for his labors. I don't think there is money involved with the state or national parks.
Quote from: GeneFThere are a lot of opportunities for "camp hosts" in state and national parks also. Generally, a camp host will get a free full hookup site for his labors. I don't think there is money involved with the state or national parks.
We met a retired couple from upstate New York at Manatee Springs State Park in Florida several years ago on our way to Disney World. They were the camp host andwere given a free full hookup site for their 5th wheel. She was a retired teacher and she conducted educational tours of the park and it's ecosystem. Her husband was retired from the same school system where he worked as head of maintenance. His main job at the campground was to organize and oversee maintenance projects at the park. They said their kids thought they were nuts, because they only came back to their home in upstate New York for may a couple of months out of the year. But they told me they were in their mid seventies and enjoying life like they never had before. When summer comes, they pack up and head out west somewhere to work as camp host out there.
Sounds like we all have something to look forward to.
CajunCamper
For anyone even considering fulltiming in a PUP, Popping Up Across Ameica is a must READ . Written by Arlene Trainor Corby, it is a Travelogue and How To Guide; available on line at www.poppingup.com well worth the minimum cost and an encouraging read. I was so seriously interested that DH sold the PUP & bought a Hybrid, just in case I want to do this in retirement. Recommended the book to the new owner of pup, he was makin a cross country trip with friends who were bicycling cross country. :book:
I also recommend the book "Popping up across America". We have traveled 33,700 miles thru some 28 states camping for 177 nights in the year and a half we have owned our camper. Yes, we have storage problems, however we manage quite well. We go for four weeks at a time, return for the DW doctor's appointments and go back out. We have traveled over many small narrow back roads and stayed in out-of-the way places that I cannot imagine anyone could bring anything bigger than our pup, as well as many KOAs. We have been asked a few times if we were interested in being campground hosts or in work camping. Our reply is always: "Are you nuts?". We have the Pacific Northwest to visit then we will entertain the thought of parking in our favorite spot for a season. Right now our favorite spots are in southern Utah with all those national and state parks, and also close enough so we can go hear the "World's best Choir".
Last year when we went to Kartchner Caverns SP here in AZ I pulled over by the main gate and went up to the office. The guy inside asked me, "Is that a Plantation?" I told him that it was and he told me that he and his wife had owned one and had full timed in for 2.5 years. I think he said that they went to 125 different places including spending a couple of months in Mexico near the beach. He said that they just needed to be a half days travel away from a water source and they were good. They had figured out how many gallons of water a day they needed per person for cooking and for showers. He said that they loved it.
I love my pup but I don't think I'd want to full time in it.