Are pop ups a dying breed?

[BillyMc]

With the exception of our "last" stay at Myrtle Beach State Park noise is generally not an issue. I've had more issues of people lighting up their site to the point people on the space station can see it. If you ask them to reposition or turn them off at bedtime they will usually work with you. If they are a jerk and knowingly shine their lights on my canvas keeping me awake they better not want to sleep past the time quiet hours ends or have some really good earplugs.

 

[Sneezer]

IMO, having come from a hybrid... one advantage a pop up has over the hybrid is that you can leave the beds made up to a higher degree than the HTT... all the bedding gets all miscombobulated when you fold the beds up in them. I remember bed setup being somewhat of a PITA.

That depends on your pup too. I put a topper on mine and foam mats under the mattress. Super comfy to sleep but I am at my limit to close up. No bedding can stay on the bed so it gets made/unmade every time I have to pack it up. I hate it but I sleep well and a HTT/TT simply doesn't make good financial sense for us right now.

 

[starcraft]

Agree...We basically sleep in ours and thats about it....We pack as light as possible...Set up and tear down still sucks
but at least we arent packing up and stuffing extra pillows and camp decorations etc etc all the time.
But i still want a TT someday when the time and price is right.

We cannot justify buying a tt with the gas price at $2/L.

 

[Mark60]

I saw 1 other popup over the 4th of July long weekend out of 60 campsites.

 

[MNBound]

So I’m sitting here at my site watching the weekend people pulling into the campground where I’m currently camping. I haven’t seen a single tent trailer come in; just big, bigger, and mammoth sized travel trailers. And when walking around the campground I only counted one other tent trailer and two hybrids.

What’s the point of camping if you bring you whole house with you and sequester yourself in a giant sound proofed box away from nature?!?

Just came back from Madeline Island in the Apostle Islands of Lake Superior. Half of the campers were pop ups! We were thrilled. I have often wondered why people prefer to stay in a tin can versus an expansive pop up with the screens wide open to the night air.

 

[Mark60]

The only real advantage I see with a popup is the weight advantage and towing.Down here in the south the pollen starts early, so leaving the screens wide open is out. Then the heat and humidity hit in May, the weather has definitely got hotter over the years. so it is time for the AC untill November. The set up and tear down is the real pain in the butt specially during hot weather or rainy weather, then you have to set every thing up again and take it down when it’s dried out at home. if it is hot you are going to get soaked with sweat doing all of this in the heat. The biggest factor for me is getting to old to go through the routine with arthritis and bad knees it is definately a chore now days. The only time I’m in the camper is to sleep. Another big thing I see with the popup campers is the price for a new unit is staggering. Most of the campgrounds I go to the population is older that’s what I tribute to a lot more TT’s than pop ups and I get it. I have had 4- pop up’s over the years and 30 to 40 years ago these were no issues. My first 2 pop ups only had a sink in them. My popup camping days are getting shorter hope to go to a TT for retirement by next year.

 

[neighbormike]

Sold! Just need to find some engineers and workers!

I’ve never driven a train… but I am sure I can learn!

 

[Novicenomads]

We have camped exclusively at state parks and what we see depends on the options the park offers. Often big rigs and buses, other times, if lucky mostly small teardrop type trailers and sprinter vans. Always some tents, occasionally another popup.
I went to an event on private property last weekend with about 50 people. Spent the entire first morning giving tours. Everyone agreed it was the perfect size for two. It was fun!
We were hoping that the size of the camper would give us access to sites that big rigs cannot fit. As we continue to explore, seems to be true.

 

[tfischer]

Maybe the question should be "Are tents a dying breed?". We camped at our usual state park for the 4th. Saw maybe 2-3 tents that weren't part of a site that also had a huge RV. At least we did see a few other popups (but not many).

 

[jnbarrett]

Maybe the question should be "Are tents a dying breed?". We camped at our usual state park for the 4th. Saw maybe 2-3 tents that weren't part of a site that also had a huge RV. At least we did see a few other popups (but not many).

No, tents are still alive and well ... I see a LOT of them up here in Canada.

 

[Tonya Harding]

Crap loads of tents here in Virginia as well, maybe due to the southern climate, & many state parks have more tent/baby camper sites; Claytor Lake, the one we frequent, will have an entire tent section w/ electric hook ups next spring, not sure if h2o will be installed...

 

[Annunzi]

"Tent trailers" as we call them here in Canada, are definitely a dying breed on the west coast. There used to be several RV dealers in our area that carried tent trailers, and now there's just one with very limited selection. Our favorite campsite has a wide variety of camp spots, everything from un-serviced tent sites to giant RV pull-throughs. Over the past few years, we're lucky to see one other tent trailer in the whole place. The majority of units around here seem to be the smaller travel trailers like R-pods or Geo Pro's.

While we love the expansive outdoor views from our tent trailer as well as the ease of towing and storing, set up/take down is a lot of work, so as we get closer to retirement age we'll likely move up to a smaller travel trailer.

 

[Sneezer]

The only real advantage I see with a popup is the weight advantage and towing.Down here in the south the pollen starts early, so leaving the screens wide open is out. Then the heat and humidity hit in May, the weather has definitely got hotter over the years. so it is time for the AC untill November. The set up and tear down is the real pain in the butt specially during hot weather or rainy weather, then you have to set every thing up again and take it down when it’s dried out at home. if it is hot you are going to get soaked with sweat doing all of this in the heat. The biggest factor for me is getting to old to go through the routine with arthritis and bad knees it is definately a chore now days. The only time I’m in the camper is to sleep. Another big thing I see with the popup campers is the price for a new unit is staggering. Most of the campgrounds I go to the population is older that’s what I tribute to a lot more TT’s than pop ups and I get it. I have had 4- pop up’s over the years and 30 to 40 years ago these were no issues. My first 2 pop ups only had a sink in them. My popup camping days are getting shorter hope to go to a TT for retirement by next year.

Yep, TX has really sucked the last couple years for summer camping. When we did it we basically had a clean set of clothes and shower gear ready to go after tear down. Once the pup was hitched, everything packed and black/grey tanks addressed we swung by a bathhouse for a quick shower and fresh clothes for the drive home. There were times where we needed to do the same thing after getting set up on arrival as well. I saw one guy a couple years back who made a PVC frame that sat on top of his roof with a tarp secured to the top and long sides, and the whole contraption had ratchet straps securing it to the roof, all to give shade to the top and A/C.

 

[PaThacker]

Pups are dead . Only Forest river making them and they were the most inferior made based on all predecessors build types.

 

[PaThacker]

Pups are dead . Only Forest river making them and they were the most inferior made based on all predecessors build types.

I got a 26 ft tt dual door u dinette slide rear living couples unit. Kids sleep outside

 

[jnbarrett]

I got a 26 ft tt dual door u dinette slide rear living couples unit. Kids sleep outside

LOL .... that giant thing and the kids sleep outside. Love it.

 

[PaThacker]

LOL .... that giant thing and the kids sleep outside. Love it.

It’s 257rl. Couple of easy chairs in back with u dinette slide out.

Hell with freeze over before that dinette becomes a bed.

 

[Beatrice]

We landed in North Carolina work-camping since April with no end in sight, so the pop up just isn't an option for us at this point. We rarely see any pop-ups at the campground we are working--but when one does pull in, I get so excited to see it! The travel trailer we are living in is nice to live in, however when this chapter is over, and I'm back to being a weekend wanderer, I'd go back to a pop up in a heartbeat! I miss how easy they are to tow and that they can get in the smallest sites. I still occasionally look at listings for used ones...

 

[Susan Premo]

I totally understand changes over our lives, and I see the benefits to a TT. But most of those I’m seeing are family’s pr youngish couples, who quite literally hide in the trailer all weekend. One of my kids friends will go camping with his family and play video games in their trailer and never go outside.

Sad.

 

[Oswald2255]

This is what I see. I actually looked at expanding my Cobalt to a bigger pup a couple years ago and gave up because it was impossible to find one. I have literally had people come up to me in my driveway and ask if I'm willing to sell mine. Based on the little I see, I think there are more new pups selling now than there were just before covid, but it's still a tiny number compared to hardwalls.

I have a Graphite (big brother to Cobalt). It is only 1425 lbs dry weight and has two queen beds, plus a dinette on the side instead of in front of one of the beds. It is 10' vs 8' on the Cobalt. I actually would like to buy a Cobalt, as we are downsizing. The Graphite can be towed by just about anything and I like the even smaller Cobalt for the additional weight savings. If anyone has a Cobalt that they are interested in selling or trading for a slightly larger Graphite, please DM me and let's see if it can happen. Thx.