? For Pop-Up Camper Owners (Part II)

[KunneKamper]

Good Day!
First and foremost I would like to thank all of you who responded to my first set of question (~60 from various Camping & Hunting forums) .  Your responses were encouraging and enlightening. Thank you!  I hope you don?t mind me asking you all to help clarify your responses.

The following is a list of ?deciding factors? you and your fellow forum readers contributed to in your original response:
1.   Set up time
2.   Separate Sleeping quarters (parents from children)
3.   Running Water
4.   Ready to Go ? Popup is always packed with camping gear.  Participants need only to pack cloths and food
5.   Off the Ground (Sleeping Conditions)
6.   Off the Ground (Dryer Conditions)
7.   More room
8.   Inclement Weather: Usage ? Usable space, food prep, consumption, card playing when it is raining
9.   Inclement Weather: Take Down
10.   Heat
11.   General Comfort
12.   Extend the Camping Season
13.   Amenities: Electric, Stove, Refrigerator, Sink Potty, etc
14.   Air-conditioning.

A)   Please choose the top 4 and no more than 5 that are the MOST important to you and your crew

B)   I would like you to prioritize your list in the following way:  You are given 100 points to prioritize these selections.  Which one is the most important? Which one is the least important? What are their relative values? With the sum of them all being 100
a.   Example:
i.   Set up time               10 credits
ii.   Off the Ground (Sleeping Conditions)   30 credits
iii.   Off the Ground (Dryer Conditions)      40 credits
iv.   Inclement Weather: Usage         20 credits
b.   In this case my top 4 are listed and the most important is ?Off the Ground (Dryer Conditions)? and is the most important and set up time is the least.
.
C)   How many camping days have you averaged in the last two or three years

D)   What additional gear do you bring with you, how many?
a.   Bicycles
b.   Boat
c.   Canoe
d.   Kayak
e.   ATV
f.   Motor Cycles
g.   Horses
h.   Other

Thanks again for ALL your help
KunneKamper

[coach]

a. & b.
i. Ready to Go  10 credits
ii. Off the Ground (Sleeping Conditions) 30 credits
iii. Extend the Camping Season  40 credits
iv. Inclement Weather: Usage 20 credits
.
C) How many camping days? 28/year

D) What additional gear do you bring with you, how many?
a. Bicycles 2

[Tiffany]

[COLOR="Black"]Inclement weather:  20 (protection from the elements means we camp more 'cause we're not worried about less-than-perfect weather)  
Off the ground (sleeping conditions): 40 (I like sleeping in a bed rather than on the ground)
Heat / Air conditioning:  30 (climate control means we camp more)
Amenities:  10 (Having my own sink, potty, shower etc. is more convenient than waiting in line at the bath house)

We don't currently have any additional gear, but we would like to have some bicycles and maybe a kayak eventually.

We've been camping 8 days so far this year, as opposed to 0 days last year.  (We didn't camp at all last year because our baby was still very young and we had a tent; we just got our PUP a couple months ago.)  In prior years, we averaged 6 or 7 camping days a year because sleeping on the ground was becoming increasingly uncomfortable.  But we've already camped that much in the 7 weeks or so since we got the PUP![/COLOR]

[Tiffany]

[COLOR="Black"]Inclement weather:  20 (protection from the elements means we camp more 'cause we're not worried about less-than-perfect weather)  
Off the ground (sleeping conditions): 40 (I like sleeping in a bed rather than on the ground)
Heat / Air conditioning:  30 (climate control means we camp more)
Amenities:  10 (Having my own sink, potty, shower etc. is more convenient than waiting in line at the bath house)

We don't currently have any additional gear, but we would like to have some bicycles and maybe a kayak eventually.

We've been camping 8 days so far this year, as opposed to 0 days last year.  (We didn't camp at all last year because our baby was still very young and we had a tent; we just got our PUP a couple months ago.)  In prior years, we averaged 6 or 7 camping days a year because sleeping on the ground was becoming increasingly uncomfortable.  But we've already camped that much in the 7 weeks or so since we got the PUP![/COLOR]

[weathertop]

[COLOR="Blue"]I am intrigued by this study, and I hope you will share the results with the forum when you have compiled all the data.[/COLOR]

A) Please choose the top 4 and no more than 5 that are the MOST important to you and your crew

[COLOR="Blue"]Straight Answers:
4. Ready to Go ? Popup is always packed with camping gear. We need only to pack clothes and food  (25 points)

8. Inclement Weather:    (30 points)

12. Extend the Camping Season: Air-conditioning (25 points)

13. Amenities: Electric, Stove, Refrigerator, Sink, Potty, etc  (20 points)


I respect the need to be as specific as possible, so I followed the directions as much as I was able.  However, my reasons for choosing a popup are a combination of inter-related  factors.  Focusing on one component may miss this larger picture.

Longer Answers:
The most important factor for switching from tent to pop-up was #8 - the ability to operate in inclement weather (30 points).  In my area of the US, inclement weather can mean soaking rains and thunderstorms, or it can mean 95 degree sunny days with 90% humidity.  So having (#14) an Air Conditioner (25 points) allows me to (#12) Extend the Camping Season through July and August. Onboard heat (#10) extends the season into November and March.

The bottom line is that when I want to go camping I generally don?t have to worry about Inclement Weather: rain, high summer temperatures, too cold.  I can cook, sleep, and relax in relative comfort.

The next important factor is having a ?Mobile command unit? that is mostly self contained and self sufficient.  This means that it is always packed with camping gear and (#4) Ready to Go (25 points).  It also means that it already includes (#13) Amenities (20 points) such as the stove, refrigerator, sink, etc that are already incorporated into the trailer, and I don?t have to find a separate solution for each.  Because the camper is self contained, I don?t have to make endless trips from the car to the campsite or tent to unload, so (#1) Set up time is reduced - even with the cranking.[/COLOR]

C) How many camping days have you averaged in the last two or three years
[COLOR="Blue"]20[/COLOR]

D) What additional gear do you bring with you, how many?
[COLOR="Blue"]a. Bicycles
c. Canoe[/COLOR]

[saltysenior]

thru the years, we have found out that the most ''deciding factor''.....is finding out when school is not in session.....

[4Campers]

(A) Deciding Factors:
#1 Off the Ground (Sleeping Conditions) Off the Ground (Dryer Conditions)
#2 Inclement Weather: Usage
#3 Comfort (Heat and A/C)
#4 Extend the Camping Season

(B)
i. Set up time 20 credits
ii. Off the Ground (Sleeping Conditions) 40 credits
iii. Off the Ground (Dryer Conditions) 20 credits
iv. Inclement Weather: Usage 20 credits

(C) we camp about 20-30 nights per season, mostly weekends but usually one weekly trip sometime during the season

(D) extra gear includes:
chairs
table for camp stove, doing dishes on
small portable B-B-Q
misc. cooking forks and tongs for the campfire
cooler
dining canopy (when there's lots of bugs)

Hope this helps, good luck!