Wow! Found a new type of pop-up

[JonesFamilyJayco]

I found this while looking at the PUX site.  The camper, Quicksilver,  is marketed as a simple, no-frills camper.  They say it is very light & has many new ideas on roof system, cabinets, benches, floor, etc.  I have asked them for more info about the roof (all canvas), the weight, & price.  If it is simple to set up / down, then I believe I am sold!

Web site:  http://www.livinlite.com

[tlhdoc]

It does look like a light weight unit, but the vinyl seats are a turn off to me.  When it is hot or cold they would not feel very comfortable.  The Radial Tires they have as an option aren't a good idea for a trailer.  Radial tires have more side wall give which can cause sway.  They offer privacy drapes, but from the photos and descriptions it looks like they are only for the bunkends, no privacy in the PU itself.  I also wonder why they don't list the weight of the trailers in the website and any other details.  I do like the sizes of the beds in the 10 foot model.  60 inches is a nice size for 2 people, much better than the 48 inch beds in the other models.  Overall it is not a trailer I would want, but it may be just right for others.

[wiininkwe]

While several of the features seem to be really nice, I wonder about the comfort of camping while being entirely surrounded by metal.   If any of you have ever camped under the capper of your pick up truck, you know that when it's hot it's really, really hot in there, and when it's cold, brrrrrrrrr!   I do like the idea that the dinette seat bases are portable, that's a great idea.  

T

[Tim5055]

As many people have said in the past, it would be nice to pick a few features from each pop up manufacturer's line and put them together in one package.

This would be a great entry level unit for many folks who don't have a powerful TV.

[topcat7736]

The replies show what their site says typically happens. Tent campers get a popup to get off the ground and immediately want to turn it into a travel trailer capable of going 3-1/2 seasons. Peggy is the prime example. With all her needs, we outgrew the popup very quickly...even with my constantly adding things to appease her. I'm fine with a tarp, tent, sleeping bag, mess kit, some hand tools and knapsack. The basic popup was like moving into a Hilton to me.
 
If you've tent camped a long time, you're probably like me and have stoves, lanterns and lots of stuff that normally becomes obsolete when you get a popup. But, pickup one of these basic things and all your stuff is still usable without duplication. A Coleman water heater and you're all set at probably a much cheaper price than a typical popup. Actually, I'd prefer metal to the lousy pressed fiber board that swells at every drop of water. As long as the roof isn't metal, (the noise in the rain is deafening on an aluminum roof), it would be fine with me.
 
Good find JFJ!

[Gone-Camping]

The roof on those trailers are ALL canvas!!! No metal top at all. I posted a thread about these trailers somewhere in the campfire section yesterday too. Apparently the manufacturer registered over at PUX, and their administrator Dean posted the info about them. They claim to have sold over 50,000 units so far, but first I've ever heard of them!

[topcat7736]

Cliff,
I think what happenend is their site says that last year over 45,000 tent trailers were sold and all of them had white walls. They're offering "colored walls" on theirs, so the referral was to distinguish between the white & colored offerings. I don't believe they've yet sold a lot of these trailers (and certainly not over 45,000 LOL).

[Gone-Camping]

Yeah, I was just looking around at their website again, my mistake, it says 45,000.... Still sounds like a formidable number of units for something no one has ever heard of before. I'd be curious what they charge for them, looks like they should cost less since they are bare to the bones.

 
Maybe even something Birol could afford???

[topcat7736]

Maybe even something Birol could afford???

Yeah, even with his "tire-less" van! LOL

[Ab Diver]

Actually, they've incorporated one of the ideas I had in Dave's "Let's tell them what we want" thread: component cabinets! Those removable dinette seats are a fantastic innovation. Depending on your "style" of camping, you could leave them out and have space for the large Camp Chef stove or camp kitchen, the Turkey deep-fryer, or other cargo that normally doesn't fit inside the pop-up. Or take them out at the camp site and have a lot more elbow room inside the trailer.

But I don't see any curtains, or even roll-up/zip-up panels to give privacy inside for changing clothes, etc. Do those picture windows roll down for ventilation? Is the door a zipper opening? Can't use an awning with a soft-top either, unless they can add a dewfly like many tents have. And unless the bunk ends become the top of the trailer in the folded-up mode, putting a bike rack on top may be impossible.
 
Just my first impressions. Overall, I like the concept, but a more informative web site with weight/capacity specs and additional pictures would be nice. I mean, even the bunk ends look different from each other. Is that due to different styles of pole supports, or just the picture angle?

[NightOwl]

Coming from someone with a TrailManor, this may sound surprising, but  the idea of a popup that is bare-bones basic really appeals to me.

For one thing, like Al & Peggy, we have a almost endless supply of  good camping gear (still in really good shape) from our tent and backpack days.  (We used a lot of it with our original basic Skamper.)  Ah, my dear little Coleman lantern hissing in the night, the nifty (very useful) folding oven, the good ol' 2 burner Coleman white gas stove.    We always preferred to dry-camp, and with lightweight and basic we could get back in the boonies on a nice trout stream in north GA or along the sandroads of northern Michigan in places where we'd be reluctant to try to maneuver the TM's 17 foot wagon box.  
Like many of you said, though,  a hardtop roof would be more practical and the metal sides dont sound good either unless there is a lot of insulation.

I think these people have probably got the right general approach but might have taken it in a direction most of us would not be attracted to.  Somehow a slippery plastic interior, "cute" as it is,  really doesnt do it for me.

[MommaMia]

I think it's funny that they talk about it like this is some new idea... to have an all canvas roof and flip out bunk ends.  What you have here is a new-fangled lightweight, metal version of the Cox camper!  My uncle had a 1970 cox camper that looked EXACTLY like the one pictured.  even the floorplan was the same.  Uncle gave it to me, bu I already had the Skamper.  I passed it on to the Fred from MA on the old boards.  

It was a neat idea.  The canvas the Cox had was the heavy duty army tent type stuff.  When you flipped open the bunk ends., the tenting automatically pos up.  There is no lift type system and the flip out beds were heavy.  The seats had drawers underneath.  It came with an icebox but no stove.  The only problem with the flip out bunk design is that you are limeted to the size of the bunk ends, as they meet in the center of the camper.

[labontefan]

I think it's funny that they talk about it like this is some new idea...

Here's a couple of shots of a camper that was next to us in Charlotte back in October. I was resting on the bunk, when I heard voices outside. Being nosy, I zipped open the window to see who our new neighbors were. I was intrigued by what appeared to be a camper box with metal supports coming out of it--no canvas or roof. Then the guy dragged the canvas out of his pick-up and started spreading it over the frame. I grabbed my camera to get some shots. He already had the frame covered by the time I got any pix:

http://community.webshots.com/photo/97142560/97149713cVOMUS

http://community.webshots.com/photo/97142560/97149748TJITOx

http://community.webshots.com/photo/97142560/97149796oQozMH

http://community.webshots.com/photo/97142560/97149831NoGAyi

The camper belonged to the guy in the T-shirt & denim shorts in the first picture. (Pictures were taken through the netting on the bunkend window so the quality's not real good.) He said he had just bought a nice new tent for about $200+ and was on his way back from another race when he saw this popup for sale in someone's yard. I think he said he paid around $100 for it...it was cheaper than the tent anyway. He only uses it for camping at the racetracks.  Said he didn't need anything fancy!

It had two bunks--you can see the orange mattress on one in the first picture. It looks like the bunks slide back in, and then the hard cover that you can see under the one bunk end folds back over the top to close it up. I took a look at it after he had it set up. Looked very basic but kinda cozy.

So, an all canvas top is not a new idea!

[B-flat]

That's a pretty neat looking popup. (Birol, there are popups for sale @ $100 )  I loved looking at those photos and seeing how others camp at the races.  Thanks for sharing.

[jawilson]

Now that's an interesting concept; a REAL tent camper...