Newbie to Pop-Ups? - This is for you

[GrizzlyTaco]

I found this very helpful being New myself.........

 Here's just a few things that might save you some frustration if you're new to popup camping:

1) most popups are made with so-so construction materials and are assembled quickly by hand. This means that you might find loose screws or some sawdust - this doesn't mean it was assembled poorly as compared to other campers. Sometimes you might even find things like handles not lined up, etc.

2) Popups are not built like the home you live in. THe materials are choosen because they are lightweight and inexpensive, and they're designed to be used a small percentage of the year (I try to get 30 camping nights out of 365 per year). If you expect home-construction quality, you'll be disappointed.

3) Dealers do a great deal of final-stage assembly - including installation of options, roof caulking, etc. See #4

4) A good dealer will be worth more to you than buying just the right Make or floorplan. A good dealer schedules repairs easily, gets work done on time, does warranty repairs right the first time, and works to please you. Good RV dealerships are few and far between. There are many mediocre or even bad ones. IMHO, 75% of customer complaints about a bad Manufacturer are really dealer issues. 24% are customers not knowing how to work what they have, and maybe 1% are fair complaints about the manufacturer.

5) you can spend $15K and get a car that needs little maintenance for the first few years. Cars and RVs are not the same. Regardless of how much you spent on your popup, expect it to need regular maintenance and even a few repairs regularly.

6) It will help if you are handy. Making small repairs yourself save you time, money, and are fun to do. Just because something is under warranty doesn't mean you have to drag the camper to the dealership for every little thing.

7) most of the equipment on your camper is not worth what you paid for it, the cost represents the convenience of having a few creature comforts from home in your popup. This means that it's normal to get spotty performance at times from the fridge, the furnace, or the water heater. It just takes time to learn the little quirks of these things. Sometimes the fridge propane won't light, sometimes the cheap plastic Atwood T-stats will break, sometimes the water heater pilot light won't stay lit. It's OK. Your manufacturer didn't cheat you. A bit of time and wisdom from this board will help you find solutions.

you don't have to have all this "stuff" you see many folks here with. The best thing you could do is commit yourself to only buy what you have to have for the first year of camping, and meanwhile make lists of what might make your life a bit easier.

9) be sure you know your TV tow limits when shopping, and you understand the practical differences in empty weight and gross weight, and what the tongue weight means to your TV.

10) You bought the camper to make memories for yourself, your family, and to reduce your stress. It shouldn't create more stress than it erases.

For all of you that are new or are shopping, we're glad you're here, hope to see you down the road.

[dthurk]

Wow.  Excellent advice.  Nice post.  Thank you.

[tlhdoc]

I have to disagree with most of what you have posted.
 

1) most popups are made with so-so construction materials and are assembled quickly by hand. This means that you might find loose screws or some sawdust - this doesn't mean it was assembled poorly as compared to other campers. Sometimes you might even find things like handles not lined up, etc.

This shows shoddy workmanship and there is no excuse for it.  Screws should be tight, sawdust should be cleaned up.  Handles, outlet covers, etc. should all be on straight.  
 

2) Popups are not built like the home you live in. THe materials are choosen because they are lightweight and inexpensive, and they're designed to be used a small percentage of the year (I try to get 30 camping nights out of 365 per year). If you expect home-construction quality, you'll be disappointed.

I do agree with this statement.  You have to take care of your PU and you have the kids jumping around like they can at home.
 

3) Dealers do a great deal of final-stage assembly - including installation of options, roof caulking, etc. See #4

Dealer do add options and hang curtains, remove plastic, install the propane tank, etc, but the PU is assembled and the roof is (at least on Fleetwood trailers) is caulked.  If the roof wasn't caulked by the manufacturer there would be a lot of moldy, water damaged trailers delivered.
 

4) A good dealer will be worth more to you than buying just the right Make or floorplan. A good dealer schedules repairs easily, gets work done on time, does warranty repairs right the first time, and works to please you. Good RV dealerships are few and far between. There are many mediocre or even bad ones. IMHO, 75% of customer complaints about a bad Manufacturer are really dealer issues. 24% are customers not knowing how to work what they have, and maybe 1% are fair complaints about the manufacturer.

A good dealer is the most important aspect of buying a new trailer IMO.   I don't know what you are basing your statistics on, but from my experience they are not accurate.  If the trailer is delivered with problems and not assembled correctly that all goes back on the manufacturer.  The choice of using cheap parts (that they hope you will replace yourself and not make them do it) and allowing the assembly process to be done shoddily is all on the manufacturer.
 

5) you can spend $15K and get a car that needs little maintenance for the first few years. Cars and RVs are not the same. Regardless of how much you spent on your popup, expect it to need regular maintenance and even a few repairs regularly.

I agree that PUs need regular maintance, but it should not need repaired all of the time.  If you are not abusing the trailer parts should not break.
 

6) It will help if you are handy. Making small repairs yourself save you time, money, and are fun to do. Just because something is under warranty doesn't mean you have to drag the camper to the dealership for every little thing.

The manufacture is hoping that you will do just that.  Do the repair yourself and they don't have to honor the warranty.  If you plan on doing warranty work yourself you can save a lot of money and buy a used trailer.
 

7) most of the equipment on your camper is not worth what you paid for it, the cost represents the convenience of having a few creature comforts from home in your popup. This means that it's normal to get spotty performance at times from the fridge, the furnace, or the water heater. It just takes time to learn the little quirks of these things. Sometimes the fridge propane won't light, sometimes the cheap plastic Atwood T-stats will break, sometimes the water heater pilot light won't stay lit. It's OK. Your manufacturer didn't cheat you. A bit of time and wisdom from this board will help you find solutions.

IT IS ABSOLUTELY NOT NORMAL TO GET "SPOTTY PERFORMANCE" from your RV appliances.  The refrigerator doesn't work the same way as the refrigerator at home and as an PU owner you need to understand this, but if it doesn't cool it is broke and you need to get it repaired.  If you can't get it to light (and you know how to light it) get it repaired there is something wrong with it.  Your water heater may have the pilot go out, and you have to relight it, but if it isn't working get it fixed.  You should be able to turn the thermostat on and have it turn the furnace on and get heat.  The thermostat shouldn't break (does your thermostat at home break), and if the manufacture would use a quality product to begin with it wouldn't happen very often. If an appliance isn't working get it fixed.  Don't think that the next time maybe it will work.  You should expect the appliances to work and if they don't get them fixed so that they do work.
 

you don't have to have all this "stuff" you see many folks here with. The best thing you could do is commit yourself to only buy what you have to have for the first year of camping, and meanwhile make lists of what might make your life a bit easier.

Good suggestion.  Buy what you need and then figure out what you want as time goes on.
 

9) be sure you know your TV tow limits when shopping, and you understand the practical differences in empty weight and gross weight, and what the tongue weight means to your TV.

Very good point.
 

10) You bought the camper to make memories for yourself, your family, and to reduce your stress. It shouldn't create more stress than it erases.

This is also good advice.  You have the camper to make things easier/nicer/more comfortable for you and as long as things work it does make camping more fun.  A camper that is always being repaired and appliances that don't work are stress makers.  Make sure you know how the appliances work and how to set up / take down the camper and have fun camping.

[GrizzlyTaco]

Traci, this is an item I found and thought i would post it, and I do agree with it, I'm sure some people wont. Everyone it entitled to there opinion.....Ed

I have to disagree with most of what you have posted.
 
 
This shows shoddy workmanship and there is no excuse for it.  Screws should be tight, sawdust should be cleaned up.  Handles, outlet covers, etc. should all be on straight.  
 
 
I do agree with this statement.  You have to take care of your PU and you have the kids jumping around like they can at home.
 
 
Dealer do add options and hang curtains, remove plastic, install the propane tank, etc, but the PU is assembled and the roof is (at least on Fleetwood trailers) is caulked.  If the roof wasn't caulked by the manufacturer there would be a lot of moldy, water damaged trailers delivered.
 
 
A good dealer is the most important aspect of buying a new trailer IMO.   I don't know what you are basing your statistics on, but from my experience they are not accurate.  If the trailer is delivered with problems and not assembled correctly that all goes back on the manufacturer.  The choice of using cheap parts (that they hope you will replace yourself and not make them do it) and allowing the assembly process to be done shoddily is all on the manufacturer.
 
 
I agree that PUs need regular maintance, but it should not need repaired all of the time.  If you are not abusing the trailer parts should not break.
 
 
The manufacture is hoping that you will do just that.  Do the repair yourself and they don't have to honor the warranty.  If you plan on doing warranty work yourself you can save a lot of money and buy a used trailer.
 
 
IT IS ABSOLUTELY NOT NORMAL TO GET "SPOTTY PERFORMANCE" from your RV appliances.  The refrigerator doesn't work the same way as the refrigerator at home and as an PU owner you need to understand this, but if it doesn't cool it is broke and you need to get it repaired.  If you can't get it to light (and you know how to light it) get it repaired there is something wrong with it.  Your water heater may have the pilot go out, and you have to relight it, but if it isn't working get it fixed.  You should be able to turn the thermostat on and have it turn the furnace on and get heat.  The thermostat shouldn't break (does your thermostat at home break), and if the manufacture would use a quality product to begin with it wouldn't happen very often. If an appliance isn't working get it fixed.  Don't think that the next time maybe it will work.  You should expect the appliances to work and if they don't get them fixed so that they do work.
 
 
Good suggestion.  Buy what you need and then figure out what you want as time goes on.
 
 
Very good point.
 
 
This is also good advice.  You have the camper to make things easier/nicer/more comfortable for you and as long as things work it does make camping more fun.  A camper that is always being repaired and appliances that don't work are stress makers.  Make sure you know how the appliances work and how to set up / take down the camper and have fun camping.

[dthurk]

I liked the post.  There may be some inaccuracies, but not enough to throw out the whole thing.  From what I've seen, pop ups are put together quickly with lower end materials.  Quality and durability are not something that seems to be of concern.  I would imagine manufacturer's employees are not hired for their developed construction skills.  Changes and mods and "improvements" are common to us owners.  Many of us could probably build a better popup than what the manufacturers build, of course we can't do it in the volume produced by the manufacturers  We all need to tweak and "fix" our campers.  Problems abound with the added equipment such as refrigerators and water heaters.  Just look at all the threads that exist here.  Most of the time the equipment is functioning correctly, but at times needs to be replaced.     In general, I think we pay a lot of money for poorly made equipment that is designed for the RV industry.  If you can adapt and add something that was made for the home industry, you'll get something of higher quality that will cost much less money.

[GrizzlyTaco]

I liked the post.  There may be some inaccuracies, but not enough to throw out the whole thing.  From what I've seen, pop ups are put together quickly with lower end materials.  Quality and durability are not something that seems to be of concern.  I would imagine manufacturer's employees are not hired for their developed construction skills.  Changes and mods and "improvements" are common to us owners.  Many of us could probably build a better popup than what the manufacturers build, of course we can't do it in the volume produced by the manufacturers  We all need to tweak and "fix" our campers.  Problems abound with the added equipment such as refrigerators and water heaters.  Just look at all the threads that exist here.  Most of the time the equipment is functioning correctly, but at times needs to be replaced.     In general, I think we pay a lot of money for poorly made equipment that is designed for the RV industry.  If you can adapt and add something that was made for the home industry, you'll get something of higher quality that will cost much less money.

Very well put!!!

[wavery]

GrizzlyTaco,

I like your style . I also agree with most of what you posted. There's some technical stuff that you got wrong but that wasn't the intent of the post. I can see why someone would get upset about it. No one likes cheap manufacturing and stuff that falls off but....what the heck....that's just the way it is and life goes a lot smoother if you know that stuff, up front. That was good advice for the people that you intended it for. I don't think that you intended it to be technically correct. I feel that #10 summed up your post nicely. Thanks.

IMHO, life is just too short to sweat the small stuff .

BTW....tlhdoc..I believe that you agreed with over half of what he posted. I believe that makes your opening statement:
"I have to disagree with most of what you have posted."
 technically, incorrect :p .

[madkatz1]

I found this very helpful being New myself.........
 
Here's just a few things that might save you some frustration if you're new to popup camping:
 
1) most popups are made with so-so construction materials and are assembled quickly by hand. This means that you might find loose screws or some sawdust - this doesn't mean it was assembled poorly as compared to other campers. Sometimes you might even find things like handles not lined up, etc.
 
2) Popups are not built like the home you live in. THe materials are choosen because they are lightweight and inexpensive, and they're designed to be used a small percentage of the year (I try to get 30 camping nights out of 365 per year). If you expect home-construction quality, you'll be disappointed.
 
3) Dealers do a great deal of final-stage assembly - including installation of options, roof caulking, etc. See #4
 
4) A good dealer will be worth more to you than buying just the right Make or floorplan. A good dealer schedules repairs easily, gets work done on time, does warranty repairs right the first time, and works to please you. Good RV dealerships are few and far between. There are many mediocre or even bad ones. IMHO, 75% of customer complaints about a bad Manufacturer are really dealer issues. 24% are customers not knowing how to work what they have, and maybe 1% are fair complaints about the manufacturer.
 
5) you can spend $15K and get a car that needs little maintenance for the first few years. Cars and RVs are not the same. Regardless of how much you spent on your popup, expect it to need regular maintenance and even a few repairs regularly.
 
6) It will help if you are handy. Making small repairs yourself save you time, money, and are fun to do. Just because something is under warranty doesn't mean you have to drag the camper to the dealership for every little thing.
 
7) most of the equipment on your camper is not worth what you paid for it, the cost represents the convenience of having a few creature comforts from home in your popup. This means that it's normal to get spotty performance at times from the fridge, the furnace, or the water heater. It just takes time to learn the little quirks of these things. Sometimes the fridge propane won't light, sometimes the cheap plastic Atwood T-stats will break, sometimes the water heater pilot light won't stay lit. It's OK. Your manufacturer didn't cheat you. A bit of time and wisdom from this board will help you find solutions.
 
you don't have to have all this "stuff" you see many folks here with. The best thing you could do is commit yourself to only buy what you have to have for the first year of camping, and meanwhile make lists of what might make your life a bit easier.
 
9) be sure you know your TV tow limits when shopping, and you understand the practical differences in empty weight and gross weight, and what the tongue weight means to your TV.
 
10) You bought the camper to make memories for yourself, your family, and to reduce your stress. It shouldn't create more stress than it erases.
 
For all of you that are new or are shopping, we're glad you're here, hope to see you down the road.

Great advice Grizz! As a newbie myself these are things to consider. All pu's are not created equally and some may be better constructed than others. But, for the under 7 grand I spent on my new pu, with lots of bells & whistles, I think that's a pretty cheap price to pay for enjoying life and the great outdoors with family and friends. I'm not going to get my pants in a wad for a crooked door handle, a loose screw or for some sawdust. I'll just clean it up myself, feel good about it and go on with life.
Of course, if the AC starting acting up or I had another appliance problem I would consult my dealer and expect him to fix it prompty. That's why I bought locally.(#4) So important...
It also helps to educate yourself on your towing vehicle and pu towing: weights, ratios, etc.  (#9). A confusing thing - too many different abreviations and numbers. If your TV's owners manual is useless (like mine is) maybe some of the nice people on this forum can help....

[griffsmom]

I found this very helpful being New myself.........
 
Here's just a few things that might save you some frustration if you're new to popup camping:
 

 
you don't have to have all this "stuff" you see many folks here with. The best thing you could do is commit yourself to only buy what you have to have for the first year of camping, and meanwhile make lists of what might make your life a bit easier.
 

Well now, that's just plain blasphemy.  Moose'll back me up on this one, right bro?

[beacher]

I like you post.  It looks just like Stumps' post on RVNet on 4/24/06.  

[wavery]

I like you post.  It looks just like Stumps' post on RVNet on 4/24/06.  

WOW!!! Great minds think alike.......... :p

[Camping Coxes]

you don't have to have all this "stuff" you see many folks here with. The best thing you could do is commit yourself to only buy what you have to have for the first year of camping, and meanwhile make lists of what might make your life a bit easier.
 

Believe it or not, come Christmas time or birthdays, your family (especially in-laws who are always at a loss as to what to get you) will love a pop-up wish list.  I give my mom a print-out of things we specifically want/need for the trailer and she always comes through, and thanks me for saving her time and frustrations.  Sometimes if it's a big item, she calls my sister and they go together on it, such as our BAL leveler.  Just keep a running list going for those times of year!

[GrizzlyTaco]

I like you post.  It looks just like Stumps' post on RVNet on 4/24/06.  

Beacher, its the same one,  i posted,  it was something I found and wanted to share because I believe it, I didn't write it..........Ed

[GrizzlyTaco]

Believe it or not, come Christmas time or birthdays, your family (especially in-laws who are always at a loss as to what to get you) will love a pop-up wish list.  I give my mom a print-out of things we specifically want/need for the trailer and she always comes through, and thanks me for saving her time and frustrations.  Sometimes if it's a big item, she calls my sister and they go together on it, such as our BAL leveler.  Just keep a running list going for those times of year!

We have a Camping World here and I tell family if you want to get us something a gift card from camping World is a winner, we can always find something there we want........Ed