RE: Pop up Newbie

 
Hi!  My name is Pilar and my husband and I are fresh in the market for our first popup.  History:  two days ago I returned from a week long tent excursion through Yosemite, Lake Tahoe and Reno with just me and my three kids.  I vowed (after setting up/ tearing down and gaining many stressful hours) to never do it (tent camping)again.  My solution was pop-ups.  Every popup family I noticed in the campgrounds that we were at seemed to be less dirty, less disorganized and less frustrated.   Could this have been a case of the grass greener on the other side?
 
 While reading member profiles on sccampers.org I noticed many (if not most) of the members owned Colemans.  Coleman is the brand my husband and I are leaning towards, but my question is what is everyone s views on brand loyalty?
 I d love to hear from owners of all types of popups!
 
 Thanks in advance for your advice and thoughts,
 Pilar
 pilar@focusfamilies.org

 Guest
Popup opinions are very heated.  Coleman does have about 50% of the market but there are folks that will swear by starcraft and palomino.  Coleman is also the most expensive.  I have a Coleman and like it.  But also check out the dealer, make sure your tow vehicle can handle whatever you buy plus gear.
 Do a google search on popup trailer forum and you will get some other sites to search also.

 Guest
Thanks for your suggestions!
 
 Pilar
 
 BTW: 2002 Excursion (hopefully towing a 2002 or 2003 PUT soon!)

[gsm x2]

 Guest
Pilar,
 
 Welcome aboard.
 
 As stated, I think that people who have a brand of PopUp stand by their brand. As a suggestion, go open and close a few of them and see which one works for you. Then make your decision based on what is important to you.  I happen to be an innovation and design person, so things like one piece doors and attached poles impressed me. Thus I got a Coleman.
 
 If you are looking at 2002 or 2003 Coleman, look for roof sag in the one-piece ABS roof.  It can be seen as a warped seal where the top meets the box. It s a well documented problem and as a second owner, you wouldn t be covered by Coleman s free replacement policy.
 
 Hope to see you at a Rally soon.
 
 gsm x2

[champ521]

 Guest

ORIGINAL:  Guest
 
  Every popup family I noticed in the campgrounds that we were at seemed to be less dirty, less disorganized and less frustrated.  
 

 At first you will be very disorganized but then the more you go camping the more stuff you will buy for the PU and you will be forced to become organized.[] We were also tent campers who got tired of sitting on the ground while changing clothes, boiling water to do dishes, blowing up air mattresses to sleep on, etc. We went to an R.V. show and the first PU s we looked at were Colemans and we were ready to buy right there. The Coleman dealer actually encouraged us to go look at the other manufacurers products, so we did. Needless to say we went back to Coleman and bought from them. I love it. The only major problem we had was the dreaded roof sag but because we are the original owners, they replaced the roof at no cost to us. I suggest that you go to an R.V. show where there will be several different products represented so you can see what appeals to you. Good luck.
 

 Guest
Hi! It s me again..
 
 I realized that I didn t pose my question as well as I hoped and thought I had!  My intention is to learn about the issues pro s/con s that individual owners have noticed with their particular brand.
 
 I loved hearing about the dreaded Coleman roof sag (and learning that its not covered if I become the owner of a  gently used  model).  It s things like that that I want to hear about!  So shout them out at me!  
 
 Thanks again for all your input (past, present and future)!
 
 Pilar
 
 P.S.
 After the purchase, I might have to become a member of both Nick-Neff-Cough and SCCAMPERS because I live in SoCal (San Diego -Next to Campland by the Bay), but am up in the Santa Cruz (Ben Lomond/Boulder Creek) area several times a year!  Yay, so many rallys, so many new friends!

[Nick]

 Guest
I have a  98 Jayco Eagle 12 UDK.  I love it and have had no major problems.  I have had to reinforce some of the cabinets, but other than that its great.  One thing about the Jayco s is the awning is a PITA to set up.  Coleman is much easier.  Alot of people like the one piece door on the Colemans.  Jayco has a two part door and I have absolutely no problem with it.  One benefit is that I can open my door and load the trailer with the top down.  You can t do that on some of the Colemans
 
 Hope this helped a little.

[SactoCampers]

 Guest

Hi! It s me again..
 
 I realized that I didn t pose my question as well as I hoped and thought I had! My intention is to learn about the issues pro s/con s that individual owners have noticed with their particular brand.

 Forget all the " name"  brands. Buy a Palomino []. Just kidding. I have a Palomino that is showing a few minor problems. But overall we still love it, it s light (not an issue with your Excursion), and meets our needs. Most all popups being sold today are reputable and will give you years of service. Get the one you like best, but do be very careful about a used Coleman. If you buy new, make sure you get the new Alumatite roof (there may still be some new 2003s on the lots with ABS). If I were buying new today, my list would be Starcraft, Rockwood, Jayco in that order, with R-wood and Jayco very close to each other. I m not thrilled with the way Fleetwood has handled the roof issue so that is why they don t make my list.
 
 
 

I loved hearing about the dreaded Coleman roof sag (and learning that its not covered if I become the owner of a  gently used  model). It s things like that that I want to hear about! So shout them out at me!

 That s the biggest issue. I haven t heard of anything major like that with any of the other brands. Other thing to consider is that the big 12  Colemans with front storage trunk are very prone to swaying, which is very dangerous. This is fixed via purchase of an anti-sway bar. Other brands are better balanced and do not tend to have this problem unless improperly loaded.
 
 

Thanks again for all your input (past, present and future)!
 
 Pilar
 
 P.S.
 After the purchase, I might have to become a member of both Nick-Neff-Cough and SCCAMPERS because I live in SoCal (San Diego -Next to Campland by the Bay), but am up in the Santa Cruz (Ben Lomond/Boulder Creek) area several times a year! Yay, so many rallys, so many new friends!

 Ah, you re in Otter s neck of the woods. I used to live in Ben Lomond and would often take Bear Creek road to work when Hwy 17 would have a bad accident. I lived on the notorious Love Creek Rd, but this was back in the late 90s.
 

[griffsmom]

 Guest
Pilar,
 
 I posted a somewhat lengthy ([]) reply to you over in the SCampers forum, so dont  forget to check there as well!
 
 You ll get some great info from both NNC and SCC! []

[Calstate361]

 Guest
Pilar, welcome aboard.   My husband and I have a 98 (I think, can t remember what year it is) Starcraft and just last year upgraded to a Starcraft Travel Star R23B (this is what they are now calling a hibred).  We still have the Pop-up and will be selling it soon.  We loved it until we decided we were too old and too fat to be poping up all the time.  We stayed with Starcraft because we have a wonderful dealer here in Sacramento.  That is one thing that can make or break a deal.   We looked at Jayco s but we had to drive an hour to Yuba City to look at them and would have had to take it back there for any service.  We looked at our local Coleman dealer and he was useless.  We had cash in our pockets and he wouldn t even come out of the nice cool office to help us, and there were 4-5 other families looking there at the same time.   We liked the coleman, but with both my husband and myself on the heavy side, we both could not fit into the dinette slide-out at the same time.  The Starcraft slide-out could handle both of us.  If you can afford it you might consider the hybreds because most of the people in this group who have moved up, got tired of having to haul a lot, if not most of their stuff, in the Tow Vehicle (TV).  Grant it, they are about twice the price of a Pop-up, but it is something to think about.  Most of the pop-ups are made pretty much the same, it s usually the floor plan that you need to look for and the dealer.   It comes down basically to what you like, and to each his own!  I m sure you will get a lot of good advise from this group.   Keep reading the boards and you will learn a lot.
 
 Joan

 SactoCampers

That s the biggest issue. I haven t heard of anything major like that with any of the other brands. Other thing to consider is that the big 12  Colemans with front storage trunk are very prone to swaying, which is very dangerous. This is fixed via purchase of an anti-sway bar. Other brands are better balanced and do not tend to have this problem unless improperly loaded.

 Thanks for telling me about that.  I read something about an anti sway bar, but wasn t sure if it was a necessary item or just one of those things that you are told you  need to have .
 
 

I used to live in Ben Lomond and would often take Bear Creek road to work when Hwy 17 would have a bad accident. I lived on the notorious Love Creek Rd, but this was back in the late 90s.

 Bear Creek Road is one of my favorites to drive!  I was so excited to show my daughter just how much fun it was a couple of years ago, but alas I made her car sick.  She s just like her mama; same thing happened to me my first time on BCR.
 
 Former resident on (always loved this one): Either Way (In Boulder)  My sister still lives up there, but in Ben Lomond now and my brother is in Santa Cruz.  Going to be up there for his wedding next month.   Did you hear about the hub-bub that went down at Adelitas back in the first part of the year?  Crazy!
 
 Better run,
 Pilar
 
 
 

 Calstate361

Grant it, they are about twice the price of a Pop-up, but it is something to think about. Most of the pop-ups are made pretty much the same, it s usually the floor plan that you need to look for and the dealer. It comes down basically to what you like, and to each his own! I m sure you will get a lot of good advise from this group. Keep reading the boards and you will learn a lot.
 
 Joan

 Thanks for your help Joan!  Unfortunately, talking my husband into springing for the expense of a PUT is about all I m going to get out of him (financially speaking).  He s only slightly coming around.
 
 He s hesitant to purchase one because his parents bought one when he was a kid, and after the first initial uses (maybe 3-4) it just sat in their driveway as an " eyesore" .  Couple that with them always refering to it as " the worst purchase"   they ve ever made -and let me tell you they ve made PLENTY- I ve got a bit of a battle on my hands.  
 
 You can probably imagine what I m up against...
 
 Thanks again,
 Pilar
 

 Nick
Thanks Mike! Your input is greatly appreciated.
 
 Pilar
 

 champ521

We went to an R.V. show and the first PU s we looked at were Colemans and we were ready to buy right there.  I suggest that you go to an R.V. show where there will be several different products represented so you can see what appeals to you. Good luck.

 Dave,
 Hmmm... I d love to go to one, but when/how often are they?  I m sorry to ask such newborn questions, but I am soooo green and want to learn!
 
 Pilar
 
 BTW my dog MAX is an  02 German Pinscher...
 
 

[Calstate361]

 Guest
Pilar, keep working on him.  You can tell him that the new ones are much better then the old ones.  The canvas isn t even the same any more and all the stuff you can get inside that you couldn t get before.  In our Starcraft we had the dinette slidout, the sink, refrigerator, and heater.  You can get it with the toilet and shower inside also, but we opted for the space instead.  One suggestion though, don t let them talk you into the screen room for the awning.  We purchased one for ours and it was hard to set  up and really confined you in the small space.  We only used it once!  I belive I have heard that the Coleman one is easier, but we prefer to use the seperate screen room if you really want to get away from the bugs.  During most of our campouts with the group we haven t had much trouble with bugs.  Now Racoons. that is another story!!!  If you can, have him get on the boards and read all the stuff we talk about.  I m sure he would be barraged with notes trying to convince him to get one.  GOOD LUCK
 
 Joan