RE: Reason for purchasing your popup

[Foxyladies]

 byrdr1
I use to camp sometimes with my sister in her TT and at the end of the camping season, I decided that I wanted something of my own. I asked her to stop by where she bought hers and there was a 1996 Flagstaff pu sitting there. It came with a shower (which I love) furnace, water heater,  awning and screenroom, sleeps 8 and its a 12 ft box. The great thing is that it cost only $3200. I checked other places and for the price and what came with it.....I couldn t give it up. Would I go with this model again.....for sure. Would I buy another pu....no, I really would like a hybrid. I camp by myself unless I take someone with me. My husband is a non-camper. He will go sometimes. When you have a back that sometimes goes out, you really don t want to open it up always and go under the pu to put down the stabilizers.
 
 This is all I can remembe to answer......is there a way to see the orginal post so you can read while your posting. I liked the other forum better.

[MtnCamper]

 byrdr1
Raoseann, A couple of ways to see the other post. If you re just posting a reply, click on the originial screen, the one under the reply window you are typing in. It will minimize your reply window, and allow you to see the originial post. Then click on the reply box in your taskbar, it will open back up.
 
 Or you can hit the Quote the original message button above. That opens the original post in the window where you are typing. Now you can go up and down to read it. If you don t want it in your post, highlight and delete it before hitting the OK button.
 
 Hope this helped and not too confusing.
 

[4Galvs]

 SactoCampers
[font=" tahoma" ]We orignally bought the pop up so we could easily camp with our little guy.  Now there is a little girl too!  We took it out once last year and had fun even though it was cold and wet.  We both tent camped BC (before kids) and wanted to share the experience with the kids.
 
 I did some fairly extensive research before we bought.  I found Pop Up Times during my search and have continued to find many useful ideas, hints, tips etc. from the people here!
 
 At the time, it looked to me like the Colemans were silghtly over priced.  We decided on a Jayco based on a neighbor s recommendation and walk throughs at the dealer.
   
 Cost was not a major issue.
 
 Tow vehicle was available, however it is a little long in the tooth, 135K mianly highway miles.  It tows the trailer just fine - but it has to work a little.  We are currently considering a new family/TV.
 
 Did we pick the right one?  I think so, the first night sleeping in it I though maybe we bought way too big.  Then the rain started and the temp dropped to 30 Degs. F.  We had 6 kids holed up in the slide out watching TV and eating pop corn while the dads hung out outside!
 
 One thing I noticed on our maiden voyage, we end up with a lot of stuff waiting to go into the front storage area.  I end up piling up stuff in front of the camper and waiting until I lower the roof to load it up.  That might be an issue if it rains during takedown.
 
 The length became an issue even with a four car garage (2-1/2 wide X 2 cars deep).  The 12FSO is 18 -10   long stem to stearn.  Another unit without the front storage would have made it easier to fit a car/truck in front of the camper.  I would defintely get a front storage unit agin.  I think Jayco could find a better way to access it while popped up.[/font]

[TheWallRocks]

 SactoCampers
We really got back into camping last summer and tented it almost every weekend.  We had a big tent for the kids and a small one for the adults.  Roughing it was kind of fun.  In fact, I used to make jokes about the people that pulled in with the big motorhomes, trailers, and even PU s.  I made a comment to Sherri that if I EVER plug anything into an electrical outlet we are done camping!!!
 
 Towards the end of the summer I started realizing that we spent an awful lot of time putting a camp together and taking it down at the end of a weekend.  Also, when the weather would get bad it was a nightmare for the kids... not much to do but stay in the tent.  
 
 On the way to a restroom at the state park campground I saw a PU that had a slide out on one side and part of the awning pushed out on the other.  The attached screen room also caught my attention.  I thought to myself, that looks really sharp.... and simple!  As I walked by I saw it was a Coleman Bayside.    I said to myself again.... if I ever buy a PU that s the one I want.
 
 As fate would have it, driving home from the campground on a Sunday I saw a PU for sale in a driveway and it looked like the one I had seen at the campground.  Sure enough, it was a Bayside.  I looked at it closer a week or so later and it was a done deal.  I was a little worried about the TV I had, but since we only camp 20 - 30 miles from home I justified my concerns.  Note that I am not telling you what I pull it with!  When my lease is up I will get something more suitable.
 
 Cost was a factor, but the deal on the 2001 Bayside which looked virtually new, was being sold for about $2,000 less than I could find another one for, so I beleived I was getting a really good deal.  
 
 Are we happy with it?  Well,  after laughing histerically the first time I plugged in that 30-AMP cord (remember my statement above?), we popped in a video for the kids and everyone was happy.  It came with the add-a-room so the big people had there place to relax.  Having a furnace made for some very late Fall comfortable camping.
 
 Funny as it may sound, the significant other and I still sleep in a 2-man tent and let the kids take over the PU.  We put it about 3 feet from the campfire and that s our space!
 

[Opie431]

 SactoCampers
We looked for about six months and eliminated some brands because we had heard of problems. We picked the brand that we had rented and been plesed with and because we liked the dealer...he died but we still have good service.
 I had not wanted a TT or 5th wheel because I had not enjoyed going camping and spending all of my time doing housework.  My husband did not want a MH. All that was left was a pop-up or to stick with our small tent.
 Cost was not a factor but the one we bought was a model from the year before and so much cheaper.
 I wanted storage space so we went for a small eating area, we wanted the AAR and the front storage area.
 Our TV is large enough so it was not a factor in our decision.
 We are very pleased with our Pop-up but we used to put our tent and gear on a plane or Amtrak and fly off to wherever we wanted to camp for three weeks and now we cannot do that. When we go to Utah next fall we are going to have to add  travel time to our vacation.

[jeec0450]

 byrdr1
I, like everyone else loves to talk about their favorite things.  
 We come at it from a different angle.  Neither me of my wife are campers but we love to take weekend trips.  As hotels got more and more expensive we ended up driving 2 or 3 hours to a location early in the morning and turning around and driving back that night.  We were looking for a more leisure way of traveling.  DW brother had a PU and we rented a PU and camped with them at a SP.  We loved it and set out looking for a PU.
 Niether DW or I are into roughing it so we knew we needed a camper with certain luxeries such as AC/Heat, hot and cold running water, and we thought a shower/toilet.  We went to a couple of shows in the fall and DW fell in love with the Coleman s in general.  We waited until the Spring shows to buy one.  We again looked at all the different PU s and again decided that Coleman was the best.  I thought DW wife wanted the Niagara and started to negotiate on that but DW wife came over and said she wanted the Bayside because she would prefer the extra floor space over the shower/toilet combo.  Bayside has the kitchen sink/stove pop out the side where the Niagara doesn t.  
 We had the best summer last year with 28 nights in the PU spread over 8 different trips from Maine to Virginia Beach.  This next year hope to have as many nights but still debating for the big family vacation between Maine, Florida, or New York.
 We have talked aout getting a TT but like the PU s ease of storage and the openess of PU versus the TT enclosed feeling.  The heat/ac keeps the PU comfortable in the weather we camped in.  We have also learned when at loud campgrounds that the fan drowns out most of the outside noise.
 
 Love our Bayside,[]

[RamblingWreck]

 byrdr1
1.) What were you looking for in a popup? Room for a family of 4, effecient galley, tall ceiling.  Refrigerator access with top down.
 
 2.) How much did you research prior to your purchase? Started looking in July and purchased the following March.  Went to three RV shows , visited dealers in two states and got a lot of valuable advise here.
 
 3.) Why did your brand and model of popup meet that need and not others? Did this differ from what you *thought* you were looking for? We studied a lot of floor plans and thought we had to have a slideout dinette and shower/potty console.  In the end, we liked the Starcraft Centennial 3600.   The in/out ice chest meets our need for access to refrigerator access from outside.
 
 4.) How much did cost factor into it? Just figured I would buy it once and do it right.  Dealer offered us an attractive price for what we purchased.
 
 5.) How much did your tow vehicle/popup weight factor into it? I have a full size GMS pick up truck so not very much.  Though the popup now has us considering what to purchase to replace DW s car when the time comes.
 
 6.) Did you pick the right one? That is, would you buy the exact same brand and model again? What did you think was important, but after owning it, really isn t?
 
 We haven t taken delivery yet, reserve the right to edit this posting at a later date.
 

[whippetwrun]

 SactoCampers

 

ORIGINAL:  SactoCampers
 
 1.) What were you looking for in a popup?
 A place off the ground that could fit our family and 2 dogs more comfortably than a tent[]
 
 2.) How much did you research prior to your purchase?
 I researched on and off for 4 years.  It took that long to convince DH that it was a great idea.
 
 3.) Why did your brand and model of popup meet that need and not others? Did this differ from what you *thought* you were looking for?
 We had looked at 4 brands total - 2 didn t seem as well made (DS pulled a handle off one and a cabinet door off the other[&:])
 
 The Coleman Mesa was solid and I am able to set it up on my own in a reasonable amount of time(DH usually meets at the cg after work).  DH found the U sofa more comfortable than the Gaucho type.  I liked the way the sofa seemed like a seperate room from the table and kitchen area.  It really works out well when I have to cook inside. The kids and DH stay on the other side and play while I cook.  We wanted the 2 King beds for more play space for the kids and sleep space for us.  I didn t want the slideout, but do like the kitchen bumpout.  I could go on but I ll stop here with this.
 
 4.) How much did cost factor into it?
 It was a factor in that DH refused to spend more than a certain amount for it.  I tried a couple of dealers and then found one that agreed to our price.  we needed to buy new since DH isn t very hands on, and I don t have the time I d like with taking care of the kids.
 
 5.) How much did your tow vehicle/popup weight factor into it?
 That was important since the Mesa is a heavy popup.  The dealer checked the specs and I also called Dodge to make sure we d be okay.
 
 
 6.) Did you pick the right one? That is, would you buy the exact same brand and model again? What did you think was important, but after owning it, really isn t?
 I would get the same brand and make again.  The only other PU I would want to look at though would be a Palomino.  We didn t see them before we made our decision.  But of the others we saw, we d stick with our Coleman Mesa.
 
 On a side note - I also couldn t imagine not having a sway bar and electric brakes.  I do the towing and really appreciate how both making towing less stressful.