Torn between a "regular" POp up and an A-Frame

Got to keep in mind camping in the rain in an A also. Little bitty space to ride out an 8 hour storm if your out in the middle of nowhere.

 

I have never owned an A frame, some people really like them, there is not enough space for us especially with the three camping buddies (3 Chihuahuas ).
We have a Rockwood Freedom 2318 G (2002 bought used ) with slide, no shower or bathroom. We do have a Porta Potty as my DW does not like to go to the bath house at night. The problem with a shower is the shower is really small and it gets everything wet. The cassette toilet is a good thing but ours did not have one. As for the canvass wearing out, if properly taken care of it lasts a long long time, our canvass is original from 2002 and is still good. We have an awning and it is nice, I usually cook or grill on the picnic table anyway weather permitting, I like the underneath of the awning to stay cool for me and the dynamic trio to relax under.
As for the AC the dealer would probably install one to make the sale or at least give one heck of a deal on one, you will need the AC.
Mine has a furnace too but we usually use a ceramic heater anyway, why use propane at a campground when I am paying for the Elec. anyway. The 4 stabilizers, tongue jack and wheel chocks will keep the PUP sturdy as a rock.
Thanks for your service, MY first for out of 22 1/2 I was on Gator Freighters.
Weight your options and you and the DW make the decision together, and whatever you decide Happy camping.

 

We have lots of time in an Aliner. You have a good grasp of the differences. Our reasons for going hard-sided were:
*On long distance runs (FL to the Rockies) we wanted fast setup/take down and no wet canvas worries. Our observations regarding setup time is about 5 minutes for A-frames vs 30 minutes for conventional popup. Also, in a pinch we have spent the night in rest areas w/o problems whereas setting up a canvas popup would attract more attention.
*Short of tornado or hurricane, the A-frame is unbeatable. I have felt so sorry for the tent and popup people in the CG during bad weather.
*Long term durability-no fabric components to wear out.
*Camping in bear country (minor aspect).

The smaller space in an A-frame makes it fine for two, very tight for three people. An important personal choice between the two styles is this, when I turn in for the night in my Aliner I feel like I am in a hotel room. In a popup it is more like camping in a tent which is not a bad thing. When we felt the need we used a tarp and some collapsible poles to make an awning for the Aliner. Again, our observations indicate many use free standing screen rooms (even folks in class A's and big travel trailers).

 

I grew up camping in a tent trailer, but when it was time to give up our little backpacking tent, we bought an A-frame. We briefly considered a tent trailer, but decided on the a-frame for the following reasons:

• Very quick set-up. DH does the outside stuff while I deal with the roof, walls, and inside stuff.
• On road trips, we often don't unhitch unless necessary to level it.
• No worries about breaking camp in the rain.
• A little more insulation. We camp early and late season in the mountains. It also helps with noise issues.
• We don't spend much time inside, so extra space isn't a concern. Two people and two dogs fit just fine (dogs sleep under the bed). Of course, after a backpacking tent, an A-frame seems huge.

 

We love our Aliner but for more than two people it will be too small.

Keep in mind that your child will grow and will have friends. The a-frame is too small.

 

Re: Torn between a "regular" POp up and an A-Frame

My opinion: If it was only my significant other and I camping then I would go with A frame. But, since my two kids camp with us I went with the pop up. There is so much more room in a pop up unless you get one of those tiny 8 footers, but even those have more space than an A frame.

 

I suggest to go sit in both trailers with the whole family for longer than 10 min. This will give everyone a better feel for the size. For me when I had three people in the a frame it felt very closterphobic. Three people their stuff just wouldn't work for us. However I was extremly envious of the a frame setting up in the poring rain next to me and be finished in a matter of a few min. I also tried to think if my family dinamics was to change to include more people I didn't want to sell the trailer within a few years of buying it. So for me the traditional popup works better and allows us to spread out. Gosh knows my side kick feels she needs to pack her entire bedroom as it is.

 

I love seeing them. Next time I will ask the owners if I can go in and take a look. Always wondered if there is enough head room.

 

AC works fine in a pop up.
We don't open ours back up unless it's wet, or we need to do something to it.

A frames are cool, I want one too...but it will have to wait until the kids aren't camping with us anymore.

 

Re: Torn between a "regular" POp up and an A-Frame

Newer pups dont need canvas water proofing

No you dont need to air it out unless it rains or you closed it up early in the morning amd had a lot of dew on it

My AC does a decent job in 85 degree weather and high humidity would probably be better with gizmos but Im too cheap.

Ask questions and ask more questions even if they seem stupid.

 

Never had a regular pop up but did look at some used ones before looking at A-frames. The used pop ups we looked at all had moldy canvas and sour smells, which turned us off.
In fairness the first few Aliners we looked at were also used and had floors that were either moldy or suspect in other ways.

We ended up with a new Aliner Ranger 12. Those 12 feet do get a bit cramped at times, but so far the only time DW and I spent in the Aliner we've been reading or sleeping in the nearly queen size bed or sitting at the breakfast table. There is enough room for us for those activities. Other activities are done outside, so space isn't a factor. Kids are grown up, so it's just two of us using the Aliner.

We like being able to set up quickly, and having the security of hard walls against bears, unicorns, zombies, etc. The insulation against noise, heat, or cold is nice too.

 

We had a pop up before our A-Liner. Both brand new, not used. The A-liner Ranger is 15 ft. It has lots more space than the 12 ft. But we also have two dormers. That gives us more head room. I'd say we have more usable storage space than the pup because we have cabinets with doors, not benches, to put things in. It is just the two of us, but occasionally have a granddaughter or daughter with us. Then they sleep on the dinette table. No awning but we use free standing canopy. If daughter gets older and wants to bring friends along, get them a tent. Ease of set up is priceless.

 

You might be surprised at your towing capacity when you subtract all the weight of everyone and every piece of gear/luggage in or on your Toyota from the 5000 lbs tow max. FORGET the "Dry Weight" and use the GVWR of the trailer to estimate what you will be pulling. My Toyota 4Runner has a 5K lb tow max and I wouldn't pull anything heavier than my 3500 GVWR pup with a family of 2 adults and 80 lbs for my two little ones, plus gear of course. My Pup is actually closer to 3000 lbs when loaded up and I wouldnt tow more. To read more about determining you weight capacities, I recommend a fun, not long, 3 part article here


http://popupbackpacker.com/how-much-trailer-can-you-tow-part-1/
[SIZE=78%] [/SIZE]

My wife is in love with A-Frame popups and I always here about it while my shirt is drenched with sweat after setting up our Coleman Sun Valley. Its more of a joke, to HER, actually because theres no way we could be a growing family of 4 with even the biggest A-frame with double dormers. Not unless "I", not the kids, "I" want to sleep in a tent and the girls and their friends get the Air Conditioning. I often hear/read others saying to just put a couple kids in tents when camping and all is fine.
Nope
Nuh-uh
Not gonna happen
Not with my girls
Not in our typical weather in South Texas.
Not when Air Conditioning is an option.
But, when we are empty nesters and its just the 2 of us, I cant think of a better camper than an A-frame for us but it would still be a big one

 

We bought a 2001 Palamino 2 years ago. At 12 years old, the canvas was just cracking...two seasons later, I bought the tent covers advertise on this site and lots of duct tape and still using that old canvas. This season we had a 6-8" tear on two corners and the sides around the door will no longer reach, so I will have to get new canvas the end of this year. All of that to say 12-15 years, if properly cared for, is not an issue with the tents.

I have 4 kids, 14 to 10 and it is big enough for us all to each lunch in side...having just done that two weeks ago camping at a lake...low and humid and the heat index above 100...so we enjoyed our AC.

Ours has a fridge (use it), a gas heater (use it late in the season), a water heater (use it every trip for dishes and clean up), electric AC (absolutely in the summer), an indoor shower and casset toilet (WILL NEVER USE). I would like the shower and toilet if it was me and Momma alone, but not with kids my age. Too much crap to deal with ...just kidding. Also, I think when the kids leave home, we will want to do more dry camping in remoter areas than the State Parks we enjoy now.

We have an indoor gas hook up for the stove and an outdoor. We cook outside all of the time...but could see cooking inside if we were remote and had bad weather.

We also have an outdoor shower option which we love...cleaning sanding feet at the beach, washing mud after a hike, cleaning really dirty pots and pans, cleaning the dog...it goes on and on and is a feature I would never have looked for but am glad I got in the used camper.

For set up...30 minutes up and another 30 minutes on the inside for DW's glamping set-up. That's her deal. I have my oldest help with setting up and it goes quickly...and would go faster if we had good canvas.

For tear down, we went 8 months between trips and I simply packed it up dry on that last trip and opened it up the day before the first trip this season...no issues at all.

I have broke down in the rain...no biggy really...just a pain to have to open it up and let it dry on a later day...but that is not that often. I have set up between showers before...good pucker factor, but overall pretty easy.

All in all, for a family of 4 or bigger or taking the kiddos friends, you can't beat the options, size, and comfort of a pop up for the weight of the camper. Good luck!

 

Lots of good comments here, and I think most are spot on. Almost every campground, and even in our driveway, people ask to see inside. We don't mind.

As far as head room. I am 6'2" and i cannot reach the peak from the inside. I can barely reach the vent controls on the roof. Two people at the dinette=no problem. Four people=tight.

Claustrophobic? No way. With the model we have, we can see 360 around us, and straight up through the large domes at each end.

We live outside, and on a rainy day, we have the bed for a nap, or the dinette for hotly contested cribbage matches or reading etc. We do miss the traditional canopy, but we use a Coleman screen house for that.

We have owned a TT, a big Palomino popup, and now the Aliner. For us as empty nesters, the A frame has been perfect.

 

Re: Torn between a "regular" POp up and an A-Frame

Excellent job! It always gives me hope when I see someone put in effort to tow safely BEFORE they buy. [emoji4]
As with my 4runner, it looks like your payload capacity (hauling) will max out before you max your towing. Since Toyota uses the JS2807 standard, some weights are already accounted for like a certain weight for the driver and full tank of gas, I forget all of them and being on my phone yada yada Do a quick search and you'll know. Besides the other people and all the gear, you also have to consider the Tongue Weight of the pup as part of payload or hauling. 10-15% of GVWR of pup, or the loaded weight if scaled, is ideal. Less than 10% you are likely to have sway and being able to tow at trailer tire max speed of 65mph would be white knuckled at best. You know almost every significant number and the pup tongue weight is usually listed when the GVWR but doesn't account for propane tanks or batteries (I think) so try out a couple different towing weight calculators and be sure to play with the 10-15% number. You can just Google search for them. Good luck!

My phone did this using Tapatalk