The PUP's we love. (A LOOOONG COMMENTARY)

[Rustyone]

I'm going to guess most of us started out camping at an early age and just continued through as adults, I know I did.  We all have our personal reasons for camping but if I had to guess again I'd say the majority of us now camp to get some R & R, peace and quiet away from the rat race, or just to "commune with nature." or maybe a combination of all three.

Now when you think about it only a small part of this site is really about camping isn't it?  It's mostly about pop-up's.  Those tents on wheels everyone likes so much. I guess that could be why they call it "pop up times" and not "camping times".  You seldom see anyone post questions about camping but just look around and you'll see thousands about those PUP's and I do know for certain that there is a real "have you hugged your pop-up today" mentality here and that more often than not I get the feeling a lot of the people here could be almost as happy camping out in thier driveways and backyards as they would be in some prime spot in the woods. and I think I may know one big reason why.

I grew up in an old farm house in Illinois.  That big old house had a dozen or more crooks and crannies to hide in for some one of my ten year old stature.  Up in the attic behind the chimney, or in the crawl spaces between the roof rafters, or in the closet with the hole in the back that I could squeeze in between walls from.  It was fun, cozy and secret, but most of all it was just plain neat to be in those places.  To this day I don't know the reason why I loved my little hide-outs, but I got the same feeling in a tent from my days with the boy scouts all the way into adulthood.  Sitting in that tent at night or in the rain was just so neat I could sit for hours in complete fascination.  No other explanation was available then or now.

Please fast forward to some forty years later, and just this last month.  My wife and I went to the local Fleetwood dealer to inspect a new Niagara.  Having lived on Fleetwoods website and gazing at brochures for the last week I was fairly prepared for what was in store.  She, on the other hand had never seen even a picture of this behemoth of a tent on wheels.  After spending ten or fifteen minutes looking unhindered by a saleperson at the things I had questions about I was satisfied with this first of several trips to come and plopped down on the dinette bench seat watching my wife, wide-eyed, mumbling to herself and occasionally asking me what this was for and what did that do?  Finally, after some time, she sat down at the dinette with me wearing a great Cheshire cat grin.  After a few moments of silence as we both took in our enviroment, and me feeling ten years old again, I asked her "well, what do you think?"  Her answer sent me back to those farm house years and the reason why I think we all want to hug our pop-ups as she almost whispered "man! this is just so neat!

My 2 cents.
Russ

[BaysideBruce]

Russ that is one of the reasons why you married the woman you did!  Congratulationsn on making a good choice once again.  I did not grow up camping as a youth, unless you want to include the times my best friend I slept outside on the patio.  (Yes we were "city" kids growing up in St Louis!)  But I do like to "play" with things like campers and do all the mods I feel comfortable doing.  I get a great sense of accomplishment from it.  Plus I agree, I love the time away from work, the TV, the phone, to spend time with just my family.  We may not have deep converstions but it's quality time with them.  Time were I don't have to worry what the problem is when my kids say "Hey Dad.."

Wish you best with you new camping experiences and making new wonderful memories with your wife.

[Metro]

It's an adult fort, remember building forts when you were a kid? Multi-stories, secret exits, running power out from the house and walkie-talkies for communications to agents out in the field.

Metro

[OC Campers]

I grew up camping.  First in a rented popup, then my parents bought an Apache tent trailer.  Then they moved up to a tt.  I always new I wanted to continue camping.  When I met my husband our first dream together was to own a popup.  Not a house but a popup.  It took us 10 years but we finally did it.  Now we have the yern to move up to something bigger (like a hybrid).  This past weekend as we went on a longer camping trip we both looked at each other and said "lets just get a larger popup".   One of the best parts about a popup is it fits in the garage.  The other day I found my 4 year old out in the garage talking to the popup.  That to me is priceless.  
 
Have you hugged your popup today?  I have.
 
Jacqui

[Kelly]

Have you hugged your popup today?  I have.
 

 I wish.  
In 11 days I will give my new-to-me PU a great big hug, though!!  

It's both ~ the PU and Camping.  For some of us girls it's our own little house to play with (not a fort kind of kid!), but I love the camping.  Something about being outside enjoying the wonders of nature that brings a lot of peace to a person's soul.

It's so awesome watching your kids learn to appreciate those things as well.  

[GeorgiaBoy]

Wow, Russ ... that story almost brought tears to my eyes!  Happy tears, that is.  I, too, have fond memories of growing up ... finding the crawl space beneath the house the coolest place to play.  Then came the simple blanket-over-the-chairs fort ... where my dad and I could play without my bratty sisters bothering us.  The tent was next ... a little 2-man set up in the backyard for sleep-overs.  Finally the trips around Wisconsin and Illinois in a huge 8-person canvas tent with friends and neighbors ... all part of a canoe club.  Eventually Dad splurged and we got a Jayco PU ... way too cool!!!  It was all the fort mentality ... a safe haven from all the stress a 10-year-old kid experiences.  Don't get me wrong - the camping and hiking was all fun, too, but sitting inside that tent (and the camper in later years - out on the extend-a-bed with the privacy curtain closed) was like being in my own little world.  I wouldn't have traded the feeling I got for anything - especially during a good thunderstorm.

Jump forward to just after college.  First "extra" I bought, aside from the Jeep and furniture, was a tent.  North Georgia Mountains with the guys for Oktoberfest ... North Georgia Mountains with whatever girl I was dating at the time the rest of the year.  Drinking beers downtown Helen with my buddies during the day  :!  then sitting around the campfire making repulsive bodily noises until all hours of the morning. Leaving the trails and discovering secluded waterfalls with my date and ... well ... yada-yada-yada :-()  ... i was beginning to appreciate the camping side more and more.  But still, at night, crawling into my sleeping bag, total darkness, hearing the wind rushing through the trees ... it was me in my fort.

Jump forward to about 8 years ago when I started dating my wife.  She's one of those who always has to have makeup on and her hair perfect - definitely not the "outdoor" type.  I had a business trip in Vancouver, BC., and she accompanied me.  On a free day we drove up the coast and she marveled at the views - crystal clear streams, snow-capped mountains, pines reaching the sky.  She finally agreed to try camping.  I took her to the Blue Ridge Mountains in early Fall - the leaves were in full-color - she loved it.  Despite her materialistic tendencies, she was in awe as we hiked along trails and climbed waterfalls.  She was pointing out things I normally would never have noticed.  I was maturing ... i was beginning to really appreciate the beauty of the Great Outdoors. :#

Jump to now - 40 years old with a beautiful wife and adoring son.  I find myself building the blanket forts with my son and loviong the way he cuts himself off from the rest of the world behind the privacy curtain of our PU.  His own little fort while mom and dad enjoy camping.

I pitty the soles who never get out and enjoy the wilderness.  I'll never forget when one of my step-brother-in-laws, a flaunting self made millionaire with the huge mansion and barbie-doll wife with the fake ... well ... everything, asked me casually if I had ever been to Monocco.

"No," I answered.  "Have you ever been along the Appalachian Trail?"

He just sat there with his mouth hanging open, unsure how to take my response.  The poor sap will never know what he is missing.

[TheViking]

It's an adult fort, remember building forts when you were a kid? Multi-stories, secret exits, running power out from the house and walkie-talkies for communications to agents out in the field.
 
Metro

I remember the forts.........they didn't seem to cost as much as these adult forts do.

[Johnowolf]

I have to agree ... it's the camping AND the PU! I have a feeling many of us share the same background in some fashion. I was the 5th of 5 kids ... for me, going out to the fort was MY way to escape from everyone. We built "forts" in our bedroom when we had the old army bunk beds (how else do you get sleeping space for four boys who all have to share a bedroom?) so that we could each have our privacy. We had "forts" in the attic made up of boxes and other "stored stuff". Built a tree house in one place. Built a tree tent in another because the tree wasn't big enough for a real treehouse, so we had a sheet of plywood suspended between two trees with canvas to make the tent out of (amazing we never "quite" killed ourselves in that one). Made forts out of hay bales until the farmer chased us out of the field for destroying too many bales LOL

Then I went into the Army (Infantry, of course [] )... everyone else grumbled about bivouacs and maneuvers, but that's when I was happiest because the ridiculous garrison BS went away and we were "in the wild".
 
Back in "the life", and living in Oregon I always had my fishing pole with me, and a kit with tent and minimal gear packed in case I got the yearning to go camping (it was REALLY nice to live in the foothills of the Cascade mountains ... easy to just take off and GO). Then, because of job situations, I moved to Illinois. I'm not a "city folk" type, but I live in the Chicago Suburbs. Made the mistake in my first marriage of marrying someone who thought "roughing it" was a hotel that didn't have 24 hour room service. One of MANY MANY mismatches in that marriage! But, as they say, "this too shall pass".
 
Got lucky and did it right on the second go around ... DW loves camping as much as I do! DD loves it too! Not only that, but they can both FISH!!!!! Camping now is the REAL escape! When we need to get away, it's to the campgrounds. Started out tent camping. We love the more primitive back-to-nature type camping. The only problem ... our dog figured out how to unzip the tent in the middle of the night. NOT a way to win friends and influence people in a campground at 3 AM, trust me! We decided maybe it was time to consider a popup ... still get to camp, but have a door that locks.
 
Our first was a '83 Coleman Jamestown (20 years old at that point). Basically it was a "tent on wheels" ... only one bedwing, and a dinette that made up into a bed. No Galley, a single 12V light, a single storage cabinet (plus the underseat storage). Pefect! Got it from the original owner (including all paperwork) for $500. We still have all our tenting gear, including cooking gear, so that's all we needed! Put a shower curtain rod in with tab curtains to give DD her "private space" in her dinette/bed area. 3 dogs can sleep under her bed or in bed with us. A door that locks! Extension cord and a power strip run through one of the bunkends for when we need to plug in heater, fan, etc. That was awesome for us for two camping seasons.
 
Last year we didn't get to camp much ... FIL went through a long lingering battle with cancer, and we lost him at the end of the year last year. This year, we started planning for camping season and realized with DD getting older that she'd be wanting to bring friends camping with her. Also realized that MIL was going to need some distractions, and thought maybe if we had the space she'd be willing to come along. So we upgraded to the Nu2Us Jayco Qwest 10V. Heaven on wheels!
 
We re-learned something else this year ... coming up towards our first camping trip there was a LOT of stress in the Harden household. Too much yelling and fighting. Too much work. Too much stress. Almost ripped the family apart. A half step away from the "big D". Two days before the first camping trip of the year, I looked at DW and asked "do we even want to bother with this trip?" Her response "We might as well ... we already bought the new camper and got everything. Besides, at least we can do THAT together." Well what do you know ... we hit the campground and all the stress and trouble melted away! When we first hit the CG it was raining and we had to really scramble to get things organized. Of course, being the shakedown cruise, we forgot a few things (I forgot the bag with half our bedding in it ... sitting in the garage!). First night, we only had one blanket each, and that because we happened to have an "emergency" blanket in the TV. Furnace was mis-behaving (DW set something in front of the thermostat without realizing it ... first time we ever had a thermostat in a camper! LOL). All sorts of silly disorganization. We loved it! MIL even had a blast, on her first camping trip in 30 years and half-frozen the first night. It was a marvelous weekend! We had fun, and relaxed. Got home, and the stress and strain of life was still there waiting for us, but just didn't matter as much anymore. I honestly feel that camping has saved our family. When things get nuts, we KNOW we can hook the PU to the TV and GO, and everything will be alright. Second camping trip of the season was as good as the first. We still love our old PU, but love our new PU even more.
 
Have I hugged my PU today? You betcha! And every day since that first trip!!! Is it the PUP or the camping? All I can say is "Yes!"

[4campinfoxes]

I grew up camping with my family in an old PU.  Canvas sides that you couldn't touch in the rain, add-a-room that was very roomy (I found out later it was custom made), and all our stuff piled into it.  There wer 4 of us kids & my parents.  Usually at least one dog too.  We loved those times.  Didn't take it very many places as my parents had a site in a private campground (still have that site too).  I have great memories of playing cards in the nighttimes when it rained (and in the daytime too), splashing in puddles after the rains, campfires each night.

After I was married my DH & I tent camped, but I looked longingly at PU ads & brochures.  I think we were married about 12 years or so when I finally wore him down & we bought our first PU, a Jayco 10UD.  What drew me to this camper?  Well the price for one but I realized later the layout was almost identical to my parents old PU!  We're now on our second PU, a bigger model.  DH & DDS love to camp, DH only complains about all the sh** I bring with.  One of these days I need to pare that down..... :rolleyes:

Camping in the PU is about the camping, about the outdoors, about the gadgets.  It's also, for my family, about making memories for my girls to have when they get older.  Maybe someday they'll be pestering a spouse for a PU.....

Sharon

[ilovecamping]

I never camped when I was growing up but when we got our first tent and went on vacation it was so natural to me, I loved it.  We later got a small PU that was all canvas top on poles with 2 bunks and nothing else.  My present DH and I started out in tents and we loved it.  The kids were fine with them also but we quickly outgrew them and after a bad rainy wknd with a leaky tent we got our first small PU.  Then we got a larger PU, still quite old but we loved it and used it til this year when DH finally wore me down to getting a new PU.  It was like starting all over again.  We never had water hooked up to the old ones, no A/C, furnace, HWH or any extras.  We now have all of those plus a slide out and a potti/shower.  I am still adjusting as it is just almost too fancy to be considered camping.  But with us not getting any younger we are enjoying all the luxeries.  I think for me it is camping and not the PU, but the PU makes life so much easier.  Thanks to all of you for sharing your stories, I enjoyed them all.  My children are all grown now and I miss them being young and all those memories we made.  Enjoy your families while the children are still young.  Life goes by too fast, slow down and enjoy it all.

[veryolddog]

For my wife and I,camping is a very enriching experience. The pop up is a means to that end and a much more enjoyable alternative to tenting and sleeping on the ground for an old guy like me.    The funny thing is that we moved away from camping when we purchased fifth wheels and travel trailers in the past. We were RVing not camping. When we were young, it was the tent, cooking outside, campfires, and lots of hiking and fishing in places where there was seclusion and privacy.

We really rediscovered camping a few years ago after I had a stroke which severly limited my mobility. Thanks to the VA hospital in our area, I was able to fight back, and frankly, I feel better today, for an old guy, than I did years ago. My wife and I decided to get back to basics and right size our life style to become more active and move about more than I did before. Funny thing: after 23 years in the Marine Corps, Recon, I became a couch potatoe. Not anymore. Basic camping with our pop up became a means to an end and an excuse to move about and get out and visit our country and the lands that are around us....not in a very luxurious way, but in a way that forces me to move about and get off my butt.

We really appreciate camping in it's basic way, we enjoy each other's company, the sound of silence at night while the campfire is crackling, and the privacy and solitude that the land has to offer.  

Watch your blood pressure guys and take it serious.

Later. The Very Old Dog