Pop Up Information

[Geeze]

Hello All,
My wife and I are looking to buy our first Pop Up Camper and looking for your input. At this point I'm not sure if we will be buying new or used. I've spent a lot of time looking at the manufacturers websites comparing features, floor plans and options. Is there any place on the internet where I might find reviews of the various models from the different manufacturers? I know everyone has their own favorite brand but we looking for input on things to look for and things to avoid. Without opening up a can of worms we would like to hear from some fellow campers on the brands and features they would recommend and why. One of the subjects I see mentioned from time to time is the ABS roofs. Since we're relatively new to Pop Ups we have a lot to learn. So far our experience with Pop Up camping has been with the Aspen Classic motorcycle camper we pull behind our Honda Gold Wing.

[AustinBoston]

Hello All,
One of the subjects I see mentioned from time to time is the ABS roofs.

The problem with ABS roofs only apply to certain used campers, specifically Coleman/Fleetwood pop-ups built between 1996 and (I think) 2003 have one-piece ABS roofs that were prone to sag.  It only affected a small minority of trailers, but there were enough that it's probably the biggest boondoggle any pop-up manufacturer has ever gotten themselves into (excepting perhaps the Coleman-Fleetwood-Coachman series of lawsuits, but that doesn't affect the quality of the campers).

The sag would cause the front and rear of the roof to rise where it met the top of the frame, allowing water in when the camper was closed.  Very minor sag can sometimes be fixed by replacing the seal, but it generally went on to sag until the roof had to be replaced, which is a big deal.

As far as comparative quality is concerned, the consensus here has been that most brands are fine, but choose your dealer carefully.  Finding a reputable dealer who stands behind the product and their customers can be very important if something goes wrong.

Austin

[hoppy]

The order of choosing a PU:

 1. Determine the towing capacity of your tow vehicle. This is the first step in the process. This may reduce the field quite a bit.
 2. Study floor plans and layouts that suit your needs. (capacity of sleeping, seating arraingments, slide out dining, etc)
  3. Determine the NEEDS that are a must for you. ( Shower, Porta-Potti, etc)
  4. The options that would be nice, but not a necessity. (AC, furnace, awning, hot water with outside shower, 3-way fridge, etc)
  5. Do a search of respectiful and responsible dealers in your area.

 Once you have compiled these lists, it will limit the search of manufacturers.

 Pretty much all of the manufacturers provide a certain degree of quality. All pretty much provide acceptable quality products. None come to mind that are clearly exceptional in quality..... none with absolutely terrible quality either.

  Keep in mind that a PU is designed as an entery level RV, and some models are light enough to be towed with an automobile.

 As for the ABS roof issues with the Coleman / Fleetwood models, this was between the years of 1996 until the 2003.5 models. There was a tendency for these roofs to fail for a number of reasons. (sag, bowing, cracking, blistering, delamination, and roof seal failures) The estimate is about 15 % of all the ABS roofs manufactured failed for one of these reasons. Some would even fail after they were six years old. Oh, BTW... ABS front and rear panels were also subject to cracking.

  Starting with the model year 1999, the ABS were only installed on their "Grand Tour Series". The "Destiny Series" all came with insulated aluminum roofs that have weathered the test of time very well.

   The 1996 through the 1998 models, not only did the Grand Tour Series come with ABS roofs, but many of Destiny Series had them also.  Should be careful when dealing with these years.

   Hope this helps.

[Campaholics]

My two cents.  Beware of the salesman that tells you:
Variant #1
"You can tow a house with that,  You won't even know it's there."
Variant #2
"If your TV (tow vehicle) is rated for 3,500 lbs, you can tow #3,500 lbs."
 
If you did your reasearch suggested above, you know what your TV is rated.  Then, add weight of your stuff (about 125 lbs per person), weight of everyone in the TV.  That is about what you are towing.  That needs to be less than 75% of your rated capacity.  This will give you a reserve for steep hills.
 
In my case a Toyota Sencia with tow package is 3,500 lbs x .75 = 2,625 lbs
Our stuff 500 lbs, people 400 lb, means we should be looking at about 1,700 lbs of PU.  My PU is more like 2,100 lbs. I didn't know this stuff until I discovered this board about three months after I bought the PU.  The one redeeming thing for me is it's real hilly around here.
 
Bob

[Diplomat]

Some years ago a Pop Up FAQ was put together for the usenet newsgroup that might help you get started:  Folding Trailer Faq by Wes Fujii, Wes addresses many of the things you have asked about plus many others!

Welcome to PUT!

[bmbkamp]

Geeze,
 
I just purchased our first PU on Tuesday.  I did some research and I'll second the sentiments here regarding the quality of the various manufacturers.  
 
Our decision came down to layout and dealer.  We gave each dealer some very basic requirements (family size, type of trips we take, know very little about PU's)
 
The first dealer wanted to sell us everything under the sun.  He was very nice, but came across as a used car dealer.  (think Bill Paxton in "True Lies")
 
The next dealer had about 10 PU's in the showroom.  He brought us right to the one we eventually bought.  (Viking 2308) He said, "This is what you need".  The layout was perfect for us.  I gave him every opportunity to sell me on various extras.  He finally told me that he'd rather see me spend that money on camping.
 
I then looked around for used PU's.  I really couldn't find one that matched the layout of the Viking, so we decided to bite the bullet and buy a new one.
 
Again, for us, it came down to layout and dealer.
 
Good luck.
 
Bob