Do people only choose Pop Ups because they have no other choice?

[Karey]

Don't kid yourself about that. Thinking you're safe in a cooler when you're in bear country can lead to more than just disappointment.
Bears are smart. They're hungry. They're strong. And they smell really bad.

Bear breaks in, destroys Gatlinburg visitor's car after getting stuck inside

Check out these pictures of what a car now looks like after a bear opened its trunk door and then got stuck inside.

www.wbir.com

I know this in reality. AND where we live the bears know how to open vehicles. It's actually better to not lock our truck sitting out at home, or there'd be more damage. A bear swiped the handle and checked out the inside for any goodies. People with car seats have the worst damage! Ripped upholstry getting to all those Cheerios and junk!

AND if the garage door is accidentally left open!!! A bear got a good meal from our chest freezer from ham to rolls to fruit and veggies, and ending with ice cream which woke us as the bear was banging about the tub on the driveway!

 

[jesstv66]

Agreed sorry for the bad wording! Absolutely your views on pop ups would be helpful for me, especially on why you prefer it over TTs!

I intend to buy a tent trailer within the next year—hopefully, a reasonably lightweight camper from the 90s as I am mostly a solo traveler and don't need a ton of space nor want a huge rig with all the fancy stuff.

I'm a devoted tent camper who likes being as close to nature as possible. As I'm in my mid-50s and am getting tired of climbing in and out of my 2-person tent, a pop-up will let me sleep up off of the ground and save the old body for what I'm really doing out there—mountain biking and gravel grinding! I'm looking forward to setting up the pop-up as a base camp for these activities and look forward to a yearly winter trip (hopefully to Tucson, where I went to grad school), as well as other adventures during the summer.

Cost is a concern—as a single parent with a mortgage putting a kid through college AND caring for an aging parent, I don't have big bucks to spend. But if I did, I still wouldn't want to pull a huge trailer!

 

[TSQ]

I intend to buy a tent trailer within the next year—hopefully, a reasonably lightweight camper from the 90s as I am mostly a solo traveler and don't need a ton of space nor want a huge rig with all the fancy stuff.

I'm a devoted tent camper who likes being as close to nature as possible. As I'm in my mid-50s and am getting tired of climbing in and out of my 2-person tent, a pop-up will let me sleep up off of the ground and save the old body for what I'm really doing out there—mountain biking and gravel grinding! I'm looking forward to setting up the pop-up as a base camp for these activities and look forward to a yearly winter trip (hopefully to Tucson, where I went to grad school), as well as other adventures during the summer.

Cost is a concern—as a single parent with a mortgage putting a kid through college AND caring for an aging parent, I don't have big bucks to spend. But if I did, I still wouldn't want to pull a huge trailer!

Welcome to the forum!

 

[jesstv66]

Welcome to the forum!

Thank you!

 

[MsMac]

We started tent camping together in 2015. When we ended up at the coast in a tent during some pretty fierce winds in 2016, we decided it was time for something more substantial. Within a month of that fateful trip, we had our '89 Williamsburg.

At the time, a lot of the choice did center around cost. My DH had been tent camping his entire life, and was not sure about getting something that we would like and be compatible with the type of camping and travelling that we do. Spending the dough for a dud (at least from our perspective) was not in the cards, so we went with the PUP. I had some experience with PUPs, so I felt confident that it would work for us.

Now, 7 seasons later, over 20,000 miles towing and 130 nights, we don't really have that many thoughts about "upgrading" at this point. She tows great, is holding up well in spite of her age, and has everything that we want and need in a camper at this point. There will come a point where DH draws the line regarding setting up, but we're not at that stage yet.

Once we switched the lights over to LED, all of our power needs have been met by the marine battery and a bottle of propane. We have a small Inverter that powers a small fan and charges our phones. 98.3% of our camping is dry (National Parks/Forests, BLM land and the like), and the bottom line is that we just simply like being in the PUP at this point.

At Ken's Lake Campground, Moab, UT:

 

[xxxapache]

Amazing to have such a small investment last for 7 years! Thanks for sharing

I put about $1k in during that time, including the new but never installed lift system I bought. I sold everything Apache for $2k. It took less than 24 hours to sell. The second person to look at it took it.

 

[1380ken]

You could always stay home, wrap shrink wrap over your house windows, and pretend you're in the PUP.

I could also sleep in my hallway and pretend that I am in a TT

 

[Rob From SWFL]

Well, for us, it is about not having to buy a over priced pickup to buy an overpriced travel trailer. Everything is crazy now... and we make decent $$
But the way I see it... my Minivan can pull it, (no need for a 40k+ truck) and we can still get out and do stuff... with saving a few bucks... it's a win in my book.

 

[nitrohorse]

I could also sleep in my hallway and pretend that I am in a TT

Do you have windows in your hallway? What I said is the truth, vinyl windows distort the view.

 

[1380ken]

Do you have windows in your hallway? What I said is the truth, vinyl windows distort the view.

I usually don't have the windows of the pop up shut. It is more like a screen house or like being outside. Not much distortion of nature.

 

[firepit]

I usually don't have the windows of the pop up shut. It is more like a screen house or like being outside. Not much distortion of nature.

I always have reflectix in my windows and AC fan running...Even in the fall...It drowns out noise and light....Different strokes for different folks.

 

[Peggie99]

I've Tented. Always hated having to crawl around inside, and getting soaked trying to put them up in the rain.
I owned an older class C motorhome for a while. It was amazing, even with all of its problems - but unfortunately so, so expensive to use, gas, insure, or fix.
I've been staying in hotels and actually saving money compared with what the motorhome cost.

I have a small car. I love my small car. Only issue is that is has a zero tow rating. Tent-trailer style campers are the only campers that have the potential to be light enough for me to tow AND meet my requirements of

A) i can stand up in it
B) i have a place to sleep on a real mattress
C) i can cook inside of it, ie, on a portable camp stove
D) i have a place to sit, ideally somewhere other than the bed
E) one person can easily set it up in a relatively short period of time
F) the inside isnt exposed when setting up in the rain

Everything on the market for small cars today is either
-too heavy
-overbuilt
-too short to stand up in
-too expensive
-impractical for one person to set up
-not big enough/impractical/unsafe to cook inside of, necessitating the use of a Dining tent or cooking outdoors

I dont understand the obsession with teardrop campers, really. Or how much they cost.

If Trade Winds Campers inc was still making their spacious soft-top fold open tent trailers (600 pounds and under), I'd probably own one of those.

I'd like to find those people and buy all of their manufacturing plans and build my own.

 

[Timmy V]

I've Tented. Always hated having to crawl around inside, and getting soaked trying to put them up in the rain.
I owned an older class C motorhome for a while. It was amazing, even with all of its problems - but unfortunately so, so expensive to use, gas, insure, or fix.
I've been staying in hotels and actually saving money compared with what the motorhome cost.

I have a small car. I love my small car. Only issue is that is has a zero tow rating. Tent-trailer style campers are the only campers that have the potential to be light enough for me to tow AND meet my requirements of

A) i can stand up in it
B) i have a place to sleep on a real mattress
C) i can cook inside of it, ie, on a portable camp stove
D) i have a place to sit, ideally somewhere other than the bed
E) one person can easily set it up in a relatively short period of time
F) the inside isnt exposed when setting up in the rain

Everything on the market for small cars today is either
-too heavy
-overbuilt
-too short to stand up in
-too expensive
-impractical for one person to set up
-not big enough/impractical/unsafe to cook inside of, necessitating the use of a Dining tent or cooking outdoors

I dont understand the obsession with teardrop campers, really. Or how much they cost.

If Trade Winds Campers inc was still making their spacious soft-top fold open tent trailers (600 pounds and under), I'd probably own one of those.

I'd like to find those people and buy all of their manufacturing plans and build my own.

Have you ever seen these?

Camp365 - Camp365 Call Now! 952-777-3400 for more information

Camp365 introduces the world's first fold-out cabin. The cabin that goes everywhere. RV Business names Camp365 Top RV debut of the year.

camp365.com

 

[jesstv66]

I've Tented. Always hated having to crawl around inside, and getting soaked trying to put them up in the rain.
I owned an older class C motorhome for a while. It was amazing, even with all of its problems - but unfortunately so, so expensive to use, gas, insure, or fix.
I've been staying in hotels and actually saving money compared with what the motorhome cost.

I have a small car. I love my small car. Only issue is that is has a zero tow rating. Tent-trailer style campers are the only campers that have the potential to be light enough for me to tow AND meet my requirements of

A) i can stand up in it
B) i have a place to sleep on a real mattress
C) i can cook inside of it, ie, on a portable camp stove
D) i have a place to sit, ideally somewhere other than the bed
E) one person can easily set it up in a relatively short period of time
F) the inside isnt exposed when setting up in the rain

Everything on the market for small cars today is either
-too heavy
-overbuilt
-too short to stand up in
-too expensive
-impractical for one person to set up
-not big enough/impractical/unsafe to cook inside of, necessitating the use of a Dining tent or cooking outdoors

I dont understand the obsession with teardrop campers, really. Or how much they cost.

If Trade Winds Campers inc was still making their spacious soft-top fold open tent trailers (600 pounds and under), I'd probably own one of those.

I'd like to find those people and buy all of their manufacturing plans and build my own.

I hear you! I would love to find an old soft-sided camper—something between 500-800 pounds.

 

[MsMac]

Have you ever seen these?

Camp365 - Camp365 Call Now! 952-777-3400 for more information

Camp365 introduces the world's first fold-out cabin. The cabin that goes everywhere. RV Business names Camp365 Top RV debut of the year.

camp365.com

Wow. That is one expensive "hardwall composite cabin" on a platform.

thinks of all the other trailer possibilities in the 24-36,000 dollar range

 

[Timmy V]

Wow. That is one expensive "hardwall composite cabin" on a platform.

thinks of all the other trailer possibilities in the 24-36,000 dollar range

They are ridiculously expensive and look like they’ve only gone up in price since they debuted ... but I don’t see any for sale anywhere at the moment. Their Web site doesn’t look updated. Who knows. Maybe it was the answer to a question no one asked.

 

[MsMac]

They are ridiculously expensive and look like they’ve only gone up in price since they debuted ... but I don’t see any for sale anywhere at the moment. Their Web site doesn’t look updated. Who knows. Maybe it was the answer to a question no one asked.

I recall seeing some actual tents on a platform when we were at Yellowstone in 2016. IIRC, they did tow on a trailer, but were not quite as elaborate as these guys. I think they stopped making them a couple of years back, but if someone knows the brand, it might interest folks to look them up and see if there are any used on the market. I seem to recall them being about 7K new. They were also truly *light*, not like these things that are 1,495 lbs dry where the manufacturer is trying to sell them as being towable with "smaller cars".

 

[nitrohorse]

I usually don't have the windows of the pop up shut. It is more like a screen house or like being outside. Not much distortion of nature.

We just sit outside.

 

[1380ken]

We just sit outside.

Good for you. Sitting outside is fun.

 

[Hilldweller]

I've Tented. Always hated having to crawl around inside, and getting soaked trying to put them up in the rain.
I owned an older class C motorhome for a while. It was amazing, even with all of its problems - but unfortunately so, so expensive to use, gas, insure, or fix.
I've been staying in hotels and actually saving money compared with what the motorhome cost.

I have a small car. I love my small car. Only issue is that is has a zero tow rating. Tent-trailer style campers are the only campers that have the potential to be light enough for me to tow AND meet my requirements of

A) i can stand up in it
B) i have a place to sleep on a real mattress
C) i can cook inside of it, ie, on a portable camp stove
D) i have a place to sit, ideally somewhere other than the bed
E) one person can easily set it up in a relatively short period of time
F) the inside isnt exposed when setting up in the rain

Everything on the market for small cars today is either
-too heavy
-overbuilt
-too short to stand up in
-too expensive
-impractical for one person to set up
-not big enough/impractical/unsafe to cook inside of, necessitating the use of a Dining tent or cooking outdoors

I dont understand the obsession with teardrop campers, really. Or how much they cost.

If Trade Winds Campers inc was still making their spacious soft-top fold open tent trailers (600 pounds and under), I'd probably own one of those.

I'd like to find those people and buy all of their manufacturing plans and build my own.

Welcome to the forum.

Look to the motorcycle crowd. Lots of options. Go to a rally to see the trailers first-hand.