New to Pop-Ups

[dsw3131]

My wife and I are trying to decide whether to purchase a pop-up or a travel trailer.  We have tent camped in the past, but are new to RVing.  The cheap side of us says "pop-up" because they're (duh) cheaper and my wife liked the one her parents had growing up.  The comfort side of me says "travel trailer" because they are roomer (usually) and seem to be more durable and comfortable in bad weather (rain, cold, and heat) and in traveling.
What are your opinions on the downside of having a pop-up.  Do they leak much, to they wear out easily (canvas and cranking mechanisms)?  Does a furnace really provide enough heat during the cold months and does the A/C really keep you cool during the winter?  I like popups, I just want to make sure I'm getting my money's worth.  What else is bad or good about them.  Any info would be appreciated.  Thanks!

[tlhdoc]

My wife and I are trying to decide whether to purchase a pop-up or a travel trailer. We have tent camped in the past, but are new to RVing. The cheap side of us says "pop-up" because they're (duh) cheaper and my wife liked the one her parents had growing up. The comfort side of me says "travel trailer" because they are roomer (usually) and seem to be more durable and comfortable in bad weather (rain, cold, and heat) and in traveling.
What are your opinions on the downside of having a pop-up. Do they leak much, to they wear out easily (canvas and cranking mechanisms)? Does a furnace really provide enough heat during the cold months and does the A/C really keep you cool during the winter? I like popups, I just want to make sure I'm getting my money's worth. What else is bad or good about them. Any info would be appreciated. Thanks!

Welcome to PUT.  I enjoy having a pop up and would not want a TT.  A PU gives you a roomy outdoors feeling.  For me a TT seems too closed in.  A PU is to tow=better gas mileage and easier to store too.  If you get a PU with a slide out it adds a lot of room.  With the beds pulled out you might be surprised at how much "living" space you have in a PU.  A PU should not leak (neither of mine have leaked) and yes a furnace and AC will keep you comfortable in cold and hot weather.  The AC and the furnace will run more than it would in a TT though, as the cool air/warm air will be constantly leaving the PU.  There are also high sided PUs that don't require folding the galley, dinette and other stuff down before you can pop down.  Trail Manor makes a hard side PU.  Aliner and Chalet both make hard side A frame type "PU" trailers.   Hybird or Expandable trailer are sort of a cross between a TT and a PU.  They are a TT with ends and/or sides that bump out like a PU.

[AustinBoston]

My wife and I are trying to decide whether to purchase a pop-up or a travel trailer.  We have tent camped in the past, but are new to RVing.  The cheap side of us says "pop-up" because they're (duh) cheaper and my wife liked the one her parents had growing up.  The comfort side of me says "travel trailer" because they are roomer (usually) and seem to be more durable and comfortable in bad weather (rain, cold, and heat) and in traveling.

Travel trailers often require larger tow vehicles, and so are more expensive than the pricve tag might suggest.

What are your opinions on the downside of having a pop-up.  Do they leak much, to they wear out easily (canvas and cranking mechanisms)?  Does a furnace really provide enough heat during the cold months and does the A/C really keep you cool during the winter?  I like popups, I just want to make sure I'm getting my money's worth.  What else is bad or good about them.  Any info would be appreciated.  Thanks!

The biggest down side of a pop-up (IMHO) is that they are not 4-season.  There comes a point where it is too cold (or too hot in southern climates) and you have to put it away.

Most pop-ups are fairly durable.  Ours is 5 years old, and has about 25,000 miles on it.  We have used it several hundred nights, including one trip that was 8 weeks long, and for 5-6 weeks when we were between homes.  It shows some wear, but the canvas is in good condition and all of the major systems (electrical, water, heat, lift, and gas) are in good working order.  The only major repair was when I had to replace the power converter.  I was in a bind, and so got soaked for $220 (same converter sells on-line for $130 or so).

I don't have A/C, so I can't speak to that, but I figure the furnace extends the camping season about a month and a half on each end.  We can't always take advantage of that because of school schedules.

If you want to camp in the dead of winter, and temps go below about 30

[rccs]

I agree that popups are eisier to tow and store. Also I would say that a popup is probably eisier to back into the campsite than a TT or even a HT because many of them you can see over the top of the trailer when backing up so you don't need mirrors in order to back up. One other thing I found in my owners manual for my last vehicle was that the tow rating of the vehicle also took into consideration the frontal area of the trailer being towed, in other words how tall and wide the front of the trailer is as far a wind resistance when towing. A friend of mine went from a popup to a TT and even though the TT was not much heavier than the popup he had he had to get a bigger tow vehicle to tow the TT which also meant he gets poorer gas milage than he did with his last tow vehicle.

[meriflower1985]

Welcome to PUT!  We just bought a popup and it is stored away in our garage for the winter so really can't tell you anything until we have starting to actually camp with it.  But we did come from a TT (2002 Trail-Lite 7270S).  Of course it's more "insulated" from the outdoor elements.  Why we went to a popup were primarily is that we didn't want to keep the bigger tow vehicle (a.k.a. the gas guzzler) needed to tow it and the other is the way we like to camp.  We like to camp in state and national parks in pretty secluded, smaller sites.  We do not like the to "RV" campgrounds where they pack them in and you and your neighbor are practically bumping elbows!  

Each has it's own pros and cons.  One pro that we love about the popup is the towing part.  Compared to the TT well, there is no comparison!  The popup tows like a dream!  What you could try doing is renting a popup or buying a cheap, used one.  That way if you decided you absolutely hate it you wouldn't have already invested a whole lot of money on it.

Nancy

[wavery]

My brother and I go camping together a lot. He and his wife have a 30' TT, we have a 12' PU (at least for the last 4 trips). We're fairly new also.

Of course, when we visit while camping, it is outside, mostly. However, when it gets cold or hot, we head inside of our PU because the view and sounds are much nicer and frankly, we have more room to move around inside.

My brother hates pulling that monster with his Lincoln Navigator @ 8MPG. I don't even notice the PU behind my .......(un-mentionable) vehicle @ 18MPG. As has been mentioned before, that TT is a real beach to back into a space. I can pull in and get situated, then I have to go and spend 30 minutes trying to get his monstrosity backed into a space. One time, we couldn't get his trailer out because of the way the guy next to him parked. He had to stay an extra day because his neighbor was no where to be found.

The PU can be pushed around into almost any configuration by hand. I unhook mine from the... (Uh-hem).... vehicle and push it into the absolute best corner or position in the campsite, by hand.

We love going to sleep with the sound of the ocean as others have mentioned. I also found that the extra insulation blankets, that you can get for the bunks, make a big difference when heating or cooling.

Having said all that, I am sure that if you were to go to a web-site that caters to TTs, you will get a much different story. To each his own. You have to do what "Fits" you. For the moment, we love our PU  :p .

[dsw3131]

It sounds like you all love your Pop ups.  I love tent camping and grew up with it, so I like feeling closer to nature.  I agree that the closed in feeling of most hardshell campers ruins that.  The great thing about pop-ups is that it offers that close to nature feeling with some of the comforts of home (soft bed, heater, A/C, power outlets, etc).  Pop-ups also allow us to camp further into the heat of the summer and cold of the winter in comfort.  I think we will start out with a pop up, and later on when it's time to get another camper, we can go the TT route if we want to.  Thanks for all the great advice.

[flyfisherman]

I've been down sizing over the years for some time now. Started out like a great many of us have, as a tenter. Then went to a 28' TT! Had no idea what I was really getting into and soon found out that I had been enjoying the places I had been getting back into with the tent were more enjoyable then the places I was frequenting with the big trailer. Plus these were the days of much cheaper gasoline, but that rig ate my lunch! Sold that 28 footer and then tried a smaller (single axle) 17' TT - and that thing was a bear to tow, just naturally unbalanced and trailer sway was a way of life! Really did'nt like that rig, so I sold it and went back to being a tenter! Then one day we had a popup pull into the site next to us. It had been raining, like one of those all night and all day drizzles. This guy popped up that popup and in and about 45 minutes invited us over for a hot cup of coffee. I can still recall how cozy and warm and dry that camper was ... and surprised at the amount of room inside! I'm now on my second popup and I get a lot of use out of it, visiting a lot of old favorite fishing holes. Got it set-up just about the way I want it for the things I do. The popup can be comfortable down to about freezing and then as the temp drops further, you really notice it. About the coldest I've camped in it was about 25 degrees. The good things about the camper is how easy and economical it is to pull. The downside is you cannot pull into a rest area, pop it up and take a little nap. Although I have poped it up in the back parking lot at Cabelas in Dundee, Michigan. And there was a truck stop where I did likewise, way to the back of the lot, off to myself. I had gone about as far as I could go and stay awake.

I like my popup. And I still have the tent and from time to time just take it on an overnighter.


Fly

[edsplace707]

Have you given any thought to what brand of PU you might like to get. We have only had ours for a short time ,but we love ours. We like the layout of the Jayco Jay Series. " //www.Jayco.com ". Have fun shopping around......Ed C. :sombraro: