Are we becomming an endangered species?

[CajunCamper]

I gotta tell ya, I went camping in November to one of our favorite local campgrounds tht has full hookup sites as well as a seperate dry camping area (which is where we always set up camp). Because the dry camping area only offers pit toilets, we drive over to the developed camping area to use the bath house for nice hot showers.

While I was there, I decided to drive through the developed campground just to see how full it was. Well almost all of the 150 developed campsites were occupied, but not one pop up in the whole place. Not One.

Nothing but Travel Trailers, 5th wheels and Motor Homes. I saw lots of bikes parked in the campsites telling me there were kids around, with lots of satelite dishes set up, but not much activity going on there. It was in the morning when you usually see people outside cooking breakfast and such, but it appeared that most everyone must have been inside cooking or eating or watching television and it was a beautiful day.

In the premitive area where I was set up, I was the only pop up, which didn't suprise me that much because most people in that area are sleeping in tents.

I have been tent camping since I was a kid, and when I got married almost 23 years ago I introduced my wife to tent camping. We introduced our kids to tent camping and when they got a little older we bought a used pop up and then a couple of years later a new pop up which we've had for 11 years now. By the way we have no plans to move beyond a pop up at this time.

In our early days of camping as a young family we saw lots of young couples and families as well as old sleeping in tents as well as some in pop ups. There were people camping in vans and old trailers, some even looking as if they had made their own rigs and remember the old school buses that had been converted to motor homes.

Today all I see are the new really big rigs and very few pop ups. The feeling of wilderness in many cases seems to have been removed from the camping experience and the skills of building fires for warmth and for cooking have been replaced by electric heaters and crock pots.

It just seems to me that something very basic and very good is being lost and many that are just getting into camping don't even realize what is being lost.

Just my take on things.

CajunCamper

[Dray]

CajunCamper,

Something I have observed is that PU's seem to flock to certain cg's and not to others.  I have gone to some cg's and not seen any others, but then I'll go someplace else and I'll be amazed at how many there are.  I can't figure it out.

[flyfisherman]

On the last outing for the season (October), my fishing pal and I headed to a favorite fishing stream in the western mountains of North Carolina, a NFS campground with the stream running right next to it ~ and set-up camp. A few sites down was a couple with a TT (maybe 24') who I got to talking with. They said they were previous PU owners and said with the gas prices and all they wished they had stayed with the PU.

As for me and for what I do, my little Starcraft meets my needs and if anything happened to it I'd be looking for a replacement as close as I could find to it.

These gas prices, like a lot of other people these days, has put a crimp in my traveling to and fro. Even with the decent mileage I get towing. A year ago from last summer (year ago last August), I had to resort to flying up to Alaska rather than towing the PU like I had always wanted to do. Now, I'm mighty glad I got to make that Alaska trip, but I would have so much enjoyed the traveling and exploring and staying in the PU.



Fly

[austinado16]

Being new to PUPs (as of Feb. '07) and only an occasional tent camper prior to that, I'm always on the lookout for who's camping in what, and especially "are there any other PUPs in the CG with us."  I've found the PUPs sort of come in clusters, sometimes we're the only ones, which is kinda cool, and other times, they're scattered all over.  So I'm not sure I'm ready to say, "Dying breed" just yet.

[Hoagie]

This reminds me of a trip to Sequoia NP some years back. A family outing with 2 MHs, 1TT, 1PUP and about 6 or 7 tents.  Group ranged from the parents at 70+ years old to the youngest grandchild at <1 year old at that time.

We were outside constantly. Cooked outside. Ate outside. Put up a volleyball net. Threw horseshoes. Went on hikes. The only time anyone was inside was to sleep. And that wasn't until after the fire was put out around 10pm.

One morning we woke up to see a 30+ foot MH had pulled into a site nearby. On one of our nightly walks through the campground we saw there were a couple of lounge chairs and a door mat outside. 3 days later we woke up and the MH was gone. Without us ever seeing or hearing anyone from inside the beast!!

Some people go camping to get away from the microwave, the crockpot, the electric lights, the boom box and the satellite TV. They cook over an open flame or in a DO. They sit around the campfire until late at night. They go for long walks, hikes or bike rides. Others want to take all their creature comforts with them. To each their own.

Oh. And if you walked around a CG out here in SoCal you'd have to add "Toy Boxes" to that list of hard-siders. This is one of the largest segments of the RV industry out here.

BTW, we are in the group that sits around the campfire.  

[AZsix]

Well it could be the time of year. Many people are getting ready for the holidays and may not have the time or money to go camping right now. It could be the cooler weather keeps pup campers away too. I am not a big fan of cold weather camping. Like most of you, I look for other pups when we camp. The last time I went with my dd there were five or so others in the cg with us. I'm enjoying the heck out of our pup and plan to keep enjoying it for years to come.

[Old Goat]

In past years we have camped a lot at Kings Mountain SP in South Carolina which is only 23 miles from home. This year we have noticed a big increase in the number of popups and tents and fewer mohos, 5ers and large TTs. The tent section is usually full on weekends and they overflow on to the trailer sites. Also see more smaller ligh weight TTs like ours too. We have friends who recently downsized from a 31' TT to a 23"hybrid with a slide. They are absoutely thrilled with it's comforts, room and improved fuel milage. We spend as much time outdoors with our TT as we did with our popups and we still miss popup camping with it's tent camping feel...I don't think popups, tents and out door cooking will disappear any time soon....

[GeneF]

One place that you will see a wide variety from tent campers to Class A's is Acadia National Park in Maine.

We go there for a week every year and always see plenty of tenters and popups.  Neither are close to becoming extinct in Acadia.

We have camped there in popups, htt and tt.

Acadia is dry camping only with flush toilets but no showers.  Showers are out of the park.

Because of the beauty of the place, everyone enjoys it regardless of what they are camping in.

[Mike Up]

I just bought a new TT.

I didn't buy a monster RV for a few reasons. I love the ease I had getting the PUP into smaller sites that were more scenic. I didn't want to lose that with a monster RV so I bought a TT with a floorplan I love and a length that is the exact same as my PUP, when set up. That being 22.5' long.
 
I'll be honest, the main reason I bought a TT is because of the PUP problems. Mainly was the tarp issues. The Rockwood had a cut in the side. Sent it back to Forest River through the dealer, they send it back. It had water stains all over it and a cut in the roof panel. FR refused to repair it as they said it was their subcontractors fault, TJ Snuggle. Regardless, I don't care whose fault it was, FR needs to correct it, not me. I finally just use Coleman tent repair for the cut and scrubbed the crap out of the tent until a faint stain could be seen. It was there but hard to see when I was done.
 
Then the Starcraft Aqualon tarp that kept springing leaks in the corners. I got them all fixed but the question was, when will the next happen. After the girlfriend getting soaked and the long driving back and forth to the factory because the dealership isn't trustworthy, was getting old.
 
Finally wanted to rid my self of tent maintanence on a camper. I had other severe issues on the Rockwood that made me trade up to the Starcraft. The Starcraft had other issues, but they weren't Starcraft defects but Dometic and Shurflo.
 
Now that I'm in the TT, the girlfriend is a lot more happy as she hated the time wasted setting up camp. The time wasted packing the camper and unpacking the camper after popping it up and before popping it back down. The time spent with the PUP wasn't the PUP setup, but the packing and the outside camp setup.
 
She also hated to be bending over all the time to get things out of the cabinets.
 
Then the small inefficent refrigerator. We lost a whole fridge full of food because she over packed the fridge and no air circulation caused the fridge to warm, and spoil the food. She didn't realize that these fridges can't be packed tight even after I told her. After losing about $100 worth of food did she realize and get frustrated by the small amount of food that the fridge could only hold. Both of use then felt the fridge was useless as we needed a cooler anyhow, just to keep the food good. We camp for a week at a time in small towns that don't have much food selection.
 
I only went to a TT basically because of the tent issues and how hard it was to keep them from getting cut, repaired, and to keep from leaking. Otherwise I was fine with the camper.
 
I do enjoy the convenience of having a bigger fridge and having a freezer.
 
What I'm giddy about is that not only can I go camping but I can RV now. RV, meaning I can travel, and use the camper as place to live on the road.
 
If I wanted to go, say, 1000 miles, I'd have to drive continuous or use hotels because I don't have the vacation time to waste on camp and PUP setup. Now with the TT, we can use the kitchen and rest room while on the road, plus make stops at rest areas, walmarts or off the road RV parks for sleeping while just parking. No need to hookup water, septic (blue tote), or unhook from the tow vehicle. We can just park, plug electric in, go to sleep and get up and go immediately.  That's the biggest benefit of a TT. I think that's why many manufacturers call folding trailers, Camping trailers, and then call the none folding hardside trailers, travel trailers.
 
For the record, I will continue to set up my outside kitchen as I don't live inside while camping, but having the amenities for sour weather does make life a bit more easier especially with kids.
 
I do have my new Eureka Copper Canyon tent that I plan to use along with my porta potty and potty tent. It will be used for true camping, car style.
 
Have a good one.

[cjpoppin]

We moved up to our TT due to health reasons could no longer do all the work setting up the pup.  Didn't want to give up camping so we moved up I think each stage of life brings on new things .  We still love tent trailers and tents and enjoy watching our campground neighbors camping in them.
We always see pups when we camp however we mostly camp with the SCCampers and pups are the backbone of our club.
We too did the RV thing this summer we stayed at a Resort in Arizona where they ask the year and make of your rig!  I wouldn't want to make a habit of it however it was a nice park and the people were nice it was very clean.
My husband loves backing in and unhooking then connect to the water and electric and sewer then setting out two chairs open the awning..........Bingo we're done..........I love everything.........Have fun and see ya somewhere down the road.......cw

[CajunCamper]

We moved up to our TT due to health reasons could no longer do all the work setting up the pup.  Didn't want to give up camping so we moved up I think each stage of life brings on new things .  We still love tent trailers and tents and enjoy watching our campground neighbors camping in them.
We always see pups when we camp however we mostly camp with the SCCampers and pups are the backbone of our club.
We too did the RV thing this summer we stayed at a Resort in Arizona where they ask the year and make of your rig!  I wouldn't want to make a habit of it however it was a nice park and the people were nice it was very clean.
My husband loves backing in and unhooking then connect to the water and electric and sewer then setting out two chairs open the awning..........Bingo we're done..........I love everything.........Have fun and see ya somewhere down the road.......cw

Oh I totally understand when folks move from a pop up to a TT for health reasons or because it suits them more. But I guess what I am trying to point out is that in my experience, it appears that the trend from the past when young families typically cut their teeth on camping either in tents or pop ups seem to be dying out and the new trend for young families seems to be that they start out in a TT or 5th wheel without ever experiencing the type of camping many of us grew up enjoying.

That's all I am trying to say.

CajunCamper

[cjpoppin]

Oh I totally understand when folks move from a pop up to a TT for health reasons or because it suits them more. But I guess what I am trying to point out is that in my experience, it appears that the trend from the past when young families typically cut their teeth on camping either in tents or pop ups seem to be dying out and the new trend for young families seems to be that they start out in a TT or 5th wheel without ever experiencing the type of camping many of us grew up enjoying.

That's all I am trying to say.

CajunCamper

Got it and maybe you are on to something I have seen more of this kind of thing myself.  I feel sorry for them never cooking outside in a misty rain or sleeping on the ground looking at the stars all night.....They miss a lot don't they?

[dkutz]

Got it and maybe you are on to something I have seen more of this kind of thing myself.  I feel sorry for them never cooking outside in a misty rain or sleeping on the ground looking at the stars all night.....They miss a lot don't they?

NAHHH   They can see that stuff of their 60" plasma in the RV.  

Why go outside, and risk getting dirty!!??

[AZsix]

Oh I totally understand when folks move from a pop up to a TT for health reasons or because it suits them more. But I guess what I am trying to point out is that in my experience, it appears that the trend from the past when young families typically cut their teeth on camping either in tents or pop ups seem to be dying out and the new trend for young families seems to be that they start out in a TT or 5th wheel without ever experiencing the type of camping many of us grew up enjoying.

That's all I am trying to say.

CajunCamper

A lot of young families seem to go for the toy haulers because it's not camping that they are into, they need something to haul their ATVs and a place to sleep.

I can't fault people for going with tt's. I may end up in one day myself. If you are covering a lot of miles and going different places a pup isn't really well suited for that. However a Hybrid IMHO is a good way to go to get the best of both worlds.

[MotherNature]

I've noticed the same thing that CajunCamper has.  I will be 40 in February and DH just turned 38.  There aren't any folks our age in PUPs at the campgrounds we frequent (Cape Henlopen & Delaware Seashore DE, Assateague Island NP MD).   DH & I tented for 5 years prior to children and for 8 years after that.  We only moved up to a PUP after much scrimping and saving.  We (and the boys who are now 13 and 11) feel like the PUP puts us in the 'lap of luxury' (even though our usual campsites only offer a water hookup and we don't use additional batteries, solar panels, etc. not out of disdain but affordability - the full-hookup campground we go to feels like a 5-star resort because we take the microwave and coffeemaker (fires are prohibited so the bbq coals take place of a campfire)).  Anyway...

We camp at the DE or MD shore 3 weekends per month - I would rather be there in a PUP that often than spend all the money on something more extravagant and be able to afford only one visit per month!  I honestly don't know how on earth people who are just starting a family can afford such 'fancy' camping accommodations.

Please don't misunderstand me; I am not trying to criticize or demean those who have TT's or hybrids (as a matter of fact, DH and I were just discussing how hard setup and takedown will be when the boys no longer join us...(hopefully many years from now)).