What made you decide to get a PUP?

[Mudfoot]

My wife and I used to ultralight backpack and tent camp about every weekend all over southern IN and KY. Then came Junior. We took him tent camping starting when he was 3 months old and had several good experiences doing that, but wanted to change things up a little bit to make it more comfortable and enjoyable for all of us. Then came the PUP! Seemed like the right choice since we weren't sure if we'd like using a camper or not and it fit the budget so we gave it a go.

We have found it to work out really well for us going to state parks and the like. We get to camp, enjoy the campfire, hit the playground, take lots of walks and now that he's almost two we are taking some good little mini-hikes with him. He's proving to be a great hiker just like his mom. Having started him on camping so young we have been very impressed with his behavior around the site now that he's highly mobile and curious. We're expecting another little one in September, so it looks like the PUP is here to stay... FUN. I'm hoping the summer lasts long enough this year to get the new little one out camping at least once this season before it's time to winterize.

 

[azpup]

I spent 40 years camping in tents. We camped with a large group once and had so much stuff in and on top of my car we looked like the Beverly Hillbillies going down the road. While camping I saw a pop-up and I decided that right then and there when we got home I was going to buy one and I did! Love keeping my camping stuff stored and ready to go! We just love having the furnace when the mornings are chilly.

 

[West Coast Canuck]

To get off the ground.....having a river thru the tent was not fun....then went to a TT so the wife would have a toilet.

 

[sgip2000]

I didn't "want" a PUP. Wanted an Arctic Fox TC so I could trailer ATVs, but would have needed a new truck too. Now I can either ride or camp, not both as I'll never sleep on the ground again.

Sent from my SM-N900T using Tapatalk

 

[barb_dave]

My wife and I would tent camp and wehad a large 2 room Coleman tent which gave us plenty of room and we did enjoy tent camping. Then in 2005 or 2006 our niece and her husband bought a new Jayco 1207 and suggested we use it.

They took it out to the camp ground and set it up for us and from that moment we knew it was time to get off the ground and bought our Coleman in 2007. We love the comfort of a PUP so much better then being in a tent. With tent camping there's also the loading and unloading of camping gear every time we'd camp.

With a PUP there is a lot less to load as many items stay in the camper. When me and the grandsons go camping we travel light and basically just need to load up the food, the cooler, some folding chairs and a few other things and we're off.

 

[Tillrodsfly]

We are new to the camping world period. We have tent camped twice, once in the moutains in NH and second was at NHMS for a lemons race weekend. WE enjoyed them both greatly but it still seemed diffacult to get out and do again. I think it was due to all the effort to pack up and unpack several times in one trip (load up to go, unload at the camp, load up to leave, unload at the house).
So we have been racing stock cars for the better part of 15 years. About 5 years into racing we bought a used enclosed trailer, boy did that change life in racing and traveling with the car. You were now able create a tool box and supplies that always stayed in the trailer and all you loaded and unloaded was the car and a few items. The same thought process applies for camping (or so we think). We bought the PUP for most of the same reasons everybody else did and as I stated from our racing exsperiance.
We bought a 97 Palomino with a few minor issues as you can expect. We hav not used it but are looking forward to going real soon.

+ =

 

[VonValterstein]

I camped in a PUP when I was a young kid with my parents... and when we moved up to Oklahoma they sold it since they didn't go camping anymore. As I got older I loved tent camping. I like being out in nature... feeling the wind... hearing the sounds of nature at night. However I am somewhat high maintenance and I pack a lot of stuff! It was becoming too much to fit everything in the car, along with my dog... plus the setup and tear down time. My husband never camped as a child and I introduced him to camping with my large tent... he now enjoys it but also doesn't enjoy the hassle that comes with it. So we decided we were financially ready to move up. I wanted a pop-up because it is like a huge tent... but with a heater for cold nights, an ac for the middle of the summer, seating, beds up off the ground without having to mess with an air mattress.... and it fits in our garage so we don't have to pay to store it. =)
We just got it so we have only had one trip with it, but I am expecting that we will be able to now go more often due to the easy pack and go, and extend our camping season to include early spring and the fall. =)

 

[1951 bear]

My DW and I have camped in the back of a Jeep Cherokee,owned various tents, an old PUP, a slide in truck camper and a 24' Class C. We returned to our N2U PUP for various reasons.
1. We wanted to get beck to camping after selling the Class C.
2. the expenses were horrendous for that beast and I refused to re-visit that experience.
3. While sleeping on the ground has moved int a new dimension of comfort with the advent of those big blow up mattresses, getting up in the morning (or the middle of the night) is not a pretty sight.
4. Reviewing the various methods that we have experienced over the years, we found that we had our best times while living the simpler life under the canvas of a PUP.
With a little planning and our "Old Coot" discount card, we can spend more time under the canvas and in great places with the PUP. Less upkeep+ less fuel+ no payments = more money in the camping budget to fund more trips.

BEAR

 

[63brew]

We were tent campers. Then for the past 6 years we were camping in a 1975 vw westfalia. really loved it, but kids got bigger and we outgrew it. It also limited where we would go. It is so great to park the pup and be able to take off in the tv when we want. just love it.

 

[Twiggee]

The hubby and I have both camped since we were young. He started when he was born and his parents had a pup, I started in a tent as a teen with friends. We continued to tent camp for the last 16 years and were just getting tired off the sleeping on the ground and crawling in and out of the tent. I'm also a heavy packer so loading and unloading was getting to be a real pain. We just bought our first pup and used it over the holiday weekend, it was heaven. I can't wait for our next camping trip.

 

[HappyFamily]

My parents owned a PUP and our camping trips are some of the most vivid and memorable memories I have. Anthing else just doesn't feel right.

 

[rob2218]

Oh my...hadn't realized how long ago this was I posted.........oh boy oh boy oh boy!!!!! only 12 or so more days.....oh boy oh boy oh boy!!!!!!I'm so STOKED!!!!!!

this is a great question.
well.....for me I had never, ever camped. did it only slightly once with my wife when we first got married and that really wasn't camping per say.....sure, we cracked open a tent...cooked marshmellows for a night and then headed back to civilization..but that was the extent of my camping experience.

So...fast forward to today....20 years or so later...

We are moving to California. we have 4 dogs 2 turtles and twin 14 year old boys.
I thought, this is SUCH a great country I live in that I love it so much....that the only opportunity I will ever get to see it with my own two eyes from the N.E. to the S.W. will be NOW!!!.....so DW and I decided....lets get a PUP.

we can try it for 10 days....and if it doesn't work out I can sell it or rent it out west....but I have a slight suspicion I am going to like it and I'm going to like "PUP life" out west....so with that said........that's my tale.

50 days and countin....!!!

 

[chinolofus]

got tired of packing and unpacking the car every other weekend. we still tent camped after we got it and ended up getting a pretty good system down where its actually easier to load the car than bother with the camper. i think we took it out only 1 time last yr and tent camped at least 20 weekends.

it was up almost all summer in our back yard though last year so it did get use. we mainly had it up to use as privacy for our pool. we now have a privacy fence so that isnt needed anymore. i will still pop it up in the yard though cuz it is nice to chill out in on a nice evening. im sure we will take it out this yr...though part of me almost wants to sell it because of the space it takes up in our small yard. though i doubt i will sell it. we do really like it.

 

[WeRJuliIan]

Putting up tents in the rain...

 

[wantingapup]

magically deflating air mattresses. I got tired of always sleeping on the ground after the air mattress gave up its air allocation. Since getting the pup we camp significantly more often than before in a tent.

 

[MarcnAngel]

Got tired of paying for storage for a TT and wanted something that would fit in the garage. Love our PUP!

 

[dion]

Both of us grew up camping in a variety of tents, trailers, and camper vans. Before we met, I had a Volkswagen camper van, which was incredibly luxurious for one or two people. We had it for the first few years of our marriage. Nothing beats the setup time of "set the brake and push the top up". It had a sink, stove, refrigerator, and furnace, plus an upper bed and a lower bed, a closet, and lots of cabinetry. The upper bed had canvas around it, which could be unzipped for great ventilation. On cold nights we could sleep in the lower bed, lower the roof at night, and the solid walls and roof would contain the heat from the propane furnace very effectively.

But when our first child came, the van was starting to require quite a bit of maintenance, and we started needing a more practical vehicle for around-town trips. We traded the VW for a Honda Odyssey. The overall sizes were very similar, but since the Odyssey doesn't have the permanent cabinetry and galley, it has a lot more space available for passengers and cargo. We took a few trips with the Odyssey and a tent, but decided to get a trailer for the reasons many have already listed. When open, the trailer is much more spacious than the camper van ever was. And the combination of the Odyssey with the trailer has more capacity for hauling camping gear. But the van was simpler and more luxurious in every other aspect. I miss it, but the spaciousness of the trailer is more comfortable for a family of four, and when we're not camping, the Odyssey is a more practical general purpose vehicle than the VW was.

 

[higginskatie]

Air conditioning!

For DH this was a big thing. For me it was being able to have everything packed already in the pup so I only had to pack in the coolers and clothes. It really cut down on the work involved with going camping. It definitely didn't cut down on the expense! (I want that cool camper thing, and that thing, oh, and that other thing )

 

[skiball]

For DH this was a big thing. For me it was being able to have everything packed already in the pup so I only had to pack in the coolers and clothes. It really cut down on the work involved with going camping. It definitely didn't cut down on the expense! (I want that cool camper thing, and that thing, oh, and that other thing )

Oh ya... When I posted our comments of why we switched to a pup, I totally forgot to mention that thing. Now that we have our pup, we wonder how we lived before without having "the thing."

 

[Mr. Bill]

Easy.

We had been tent camping for the first time with the kids and had a pretty good time. In 2008 my old boss called and told me he was getting a divorce and moving to NC to live on a boat and needed to get rid of his camper. His wife didn't want it and suggested he sell it to me because they both knew I would use it.

It is a (see signature) with a cassette toilet, inside and outside shower, heated mattresses, AC/heat, roof rack, slide out dinette, front storage box the width of the trailer, sink and stove that could be used inside or pulled outside under the awning, water heater...... Basically loaded. And the best part was it was $1,000. You read that right. 6 years old and in pretty good condition for $1,000. I paid him cash and everyone was happy.

Thus we became PUP campers.

Eventually we want to move to hard side TT because we now have a dog and also like the idea of keeping our clothes packed in the camper and just going. The N2U tow vehicle makes this a bit easier as well.

Our only complaint is the wife feels it necessary to clean the whole inside every time we set it up because of the dirt that shakes off the bottom of the beds (I don't see it) and she just likes to wipe everything down so setting up takes a bit longer than I think it should. With a TT, she could clean it and not have to worry about the dirt as much.