Persuading my wife why to pop up?

[wavery]

The funny part about that story is that popping down in a hard rain is all too common and all so, not necessary (in some cases).

Most of the time, when it rains, it is a cold front coming through. The leading edge of the front usually has the hardest rain. If it starts raining, that's usually not the time to pop down. It's often best to wait until the heavy rain hits then slows. The key is the color of the sky. If the sky gets dark.....wait. It looks like it is going to last all day but most of the time, the sky will partially clear, just behind the initial frontal band.

The heavy rain will usually slow to a drizzle within 15-30 minutes (about the same time that it takes to get the top down). Once it slows to a drizzle, it may be time to get the top down. If there is a lot of rain coming, it may well pick up in about 15-30 minutes, increase slowly and not stop for quite a while.

[brainpause]

The funny part about that story is that popping down in a hard rain is all too common and all so, not necessary (in some cases).

Most of the time, when it rains, it is a cold front coming through. The leading edge of the front usually has the hardest rain. If it starts raining, that's usually not the time to pop down. It's often best to wait until the heavy rain hits then slows. The key is the color of the sky. If the sky gets dark.....wait. It looks like it is going to last all day but most of the time, the sky will partially clear, just behind the initial frontal band.

The heavy rain will usually slow to a drizzle within 15-30 minutes (about the same time that it takes to get the top down). Once it slows to a drizzle, it may be time to get the top down. If there is a lot of rain coming, it may well pick up in about 15-30 minutes, increase slowly and not stop for quite a while.

True. I can usually tell when it is about to rain. The air changes, the sky of course changes, and it just feels like a heavy rain is coming.

However, this particular cg was in a hollow (it was Happy Hollow CG, matter of fact), and trees surrounded and virtually blocked the sky in all directions, upwards towards the hills. Besides, we were in the middle of breaking down, and would have gotten just as wet had we reversed the process and put things back into place. We just kept packing up.



Larry

[harleywolf]

Same story here as others have said. I grew up camping, the DW didn

[TheViking]

I'm new to pop ups and I'm attempting to persuade my wife why we need to buy a used pop up. The problem is she's never really been into camping and wasn't exposed to it as a kid (whereas I was). She's also weary of how clean campground showers are (based on a bathroom encountered on a camping trip we took in Lucerne, Switzerland). Although she's not a primadonna, this is a real concern for her. Not having frequented many RV campgrounds, I have no idea whether this is a well-founded concern.
 
Is there anyone out there who was reluctant to get into pop up camping and subsequently warmed up to the idea? If so, I'd like to hear about your experience and how/why you came to like it?
 
(BTW: By way of background, we've got two kids ages 1 and 3 and live out in Sacramento, CA.)
 
Thanks in advance,
 
JR

 
This is an easy one.  Just tell her that you want to show the kids how fun camping can be in the great outdoors, and you would Love her to experience it with you.  Then say that "Since you are not a big fan of camping, i want you to be comfortable, so instead of getting a pop-up let's go get a 36' Fifth wheel trailer and an F450 to tow it, it would be like you're at home honey".  Once the math is done and she see's the $80,000.00 savings, the pop-up is in the bag.  Piece o cake

[weathermaker]

Hmmm. It seems that if most of our forebearers wifes had the same attitude then (about 150 years ago) as they do today...the majority of us now living in the west would still be living in the east.

Wonder what happened to that good old American pioneer spirit.

[jgr]

Some great insight here.  Thanks.  In response to one of the posts, the tow vehicle would be a 2001 GMC Yukon XL (so I figure I can pull pretty much any pop up).  
For the few posters in Sacramento, can you recommend places w/i a couple of hours' drive that would be good to take the family that are really nice campgrounds next to or near a river or lake?  

Luckily there are a couple of rental outfits to try around here, so we'll go that route while I continue to look for one to buy.  I think the shower/potty is the way to go, but most used PUs don't seem to have both (so I'll have my work cut out for me).

[austinado16]

Personally, I think you should go hit this....hard.  Look at the laundry list of ammenities!
New water heater, new tires, new water pump for the faucet, awning, screen room, toilet, shower!  It's not going to get any better than that, and it'll always hold it's value with all that stuff.

Show up with $2500 cash and a 2" ball and you're "in."  Starcraft builds a super nice PU and their parts department at StarcraftRV is fantastic.

http://sacramento.craigslist.org/rvs/390052634.html

[Dray]

For the few posters in Sacramento, can you recommend places w/i a couple of hours' drive that would be good to take the family that are really nice campgrounds next to or near a river or lake?

Big Basin State Park is amazing.  I camped there before I had my PU but just checked and saw that they do accept campers.  Might be tough getting a spot though.  It's a very popular place.

[harleywolf]

We haven