What are the Pros / Cons of a Pop Up Camper?

[HECDOGGIE]

Im considering buying a pop up... what are the pros and cons ?

[Baron Von Crowder]

Pros:

they are pretty light, and tow easy. They are low, so they dont catch as much wind driving down the road

Cons

They are a glorified tent. Unless you get into the higher end of the spectrum, they may not have a shower or a proper shitter. They have higher depreciation than a hard sided camper, in general.

I checked out some new ones at an RV show a couple years back, and they are pretty nice for what they are.

[DamonH]

I used to not like them, having no experience with them they seemed kind of silly. Then last year I stayed in a buddies with him and it really turned my opinion around. It was really nice, and felt really open inside, unlike some of the RV's I've been in. His had a king sized bed on each end, and wasn't nearly as much of a pain to put up / take down as I thought it'd be. You feel more connected with the outside, which is good and bad. If you were to stay in a crowded campground you'd hear everything. The toilet is large enough to keep wife and kids happy, but isn't ideal. Same with the shower. Tows great though. I was surprised the prices are not much (if any) cheaper then regular RVs when buying new. I think depreciation is the same on any RV - horrible. I'm not sure I wanna spend the money on one yet, but I'm pretty tempted. I'm also curious to see everyone's input.

[HECDOGGIE]

I think the biggest pros are cost and ease of towing.

This one im looking at has AC / Heat ( propane and elec ) stove, oven, toilet,shower, two king beds, tv , fridge , microwave, exterior grill,

I just dont know how they hold up over the years, and if the canvas/plastic walls hold up well over time ?

[blownaltered]

A buddy of mine was looking at those and he decide on a normal camper trailer. They are only a grand or two more and a lot nicer. I can pop up a normal tent for a hell of a lot cheaper than a pop up camper.

[Torinoman]

Yeah, the canvas on them tend to rot if you let it sit for a while. Also the pulley system to get it up can be a headache too

[kingjason]

I was looking at the Jayco Baja toy haulers and may end up with one. I like the idea they are light and easy to pull and store. If I was living in a RV I could understand wanting a monster, but for weekend trips it would be a lot better than a tent.

[jluv]

but for weekend trips it would be a lot better than a tent.

Horse hockey! What's the point of going camping at all if you're going to be indoors?

For trips over 3 nights, I'll usually set up a tent. If I'm in the mood for luxury, I'll also set up cots with pads and a small table.

Anything less than that and I'll just sleep on a pad under the stars.

I just don't get towing a box with an oven, stove, heater, TV, beds, shower, etc. I'd rather just stay home at that point.

Just busting your balls, really. To each his own.

[Rreemo]

We started out in a pop-up, and I ended up hating that thing after a while. The good part was how easy it towed, but along with that it also had really small wheels/tires, which limit your speed a lot.

What I hated about it was setting it up and taking it back down...it was always an ordeal, and it really sucks if you are out and get caught in the rain, b/c it will be all wet inside once folded up....so you'll have to open it back up once you're home, to let it dry out. You also can't store much inside of it when it's folded up. Another thing we didn't like was the noise...it's just like sleeping outside in a tent, but in the summer time it did help to crank the AC up and get some white noise going in there.

As mentioned above, the canvas will rot over time...especially if you ever put it up wet without drying it out. They've got a lot of pullies and cables within the raise/lower mechanism too, and those can cause you some headache as well.

What I will say is that they are an easy sell...mine sold really quick for more than I paid for it. We had it about 2 years. After it was gone I bought a Forest River 27' tag style trailer, and it was a huge improvement over the pop-up, but I also bought it brand new so it was a lot more money too. That trailer was easily towed with a half ton truck that I had at the time. However I eventually traded the truck for a diesel F250, and after a couple more years I traded that trailer on a 32' fifth wheel, and we loved that thing....towed it thousands of miles, and had a lot of good times.

Years later we ended up trading the 32' on a 38' Cardinal, it was nice...had two separate bedrooms and all the bells & whistles, but it was a monster to tow...it was too much for my F250, and I had to get into a dually b/c of that trailer. We ended up living in it for 7 months while we built our house...3 of us, 1 cat, and 2 dogs. After we moved into the house it sat for about 6 months without being used, my wife and daughter wanting nothing more to do with it after having to live in it that long....I sold it to a friend.

I'm back to a point where I'd like to have another one...I've thought about just a small tag that I can pull with my EcoBoost, or maybe even do something different and go for a class-c motorhome....but then there's more maintenance and other costs too.

['90Vert]

We have had a hard sided trailer, a very nice popup, and now have a very basic and very used popup.

The piece of crap we have now is my favorite.
The 25' hardsided was the worst.

Hard sided had everything, stove, shower, couch, etc..... But it was all camper sized and nothing was comfortable. It was very closed in and cramped inside.

The full featured popup was nice, more room then the hard sided camper. But it had a ton of stuff to set up and take down.

The pos we gave now is setup in 5 minutes, has nothing but the basics inside but has more room. It is a large tent...

If we want full amenities like a nice trailer might have we'll rent a cabin. If we want to camp then the basic popup is perfect. No compromise.

We are going to Yellowstone with Kids this summer and are doing some nights in a rented cabin and some in the popup.

[dsrtuckteezy]

Horse hockey! What's the point of going camping at all if you're going to be indoors?

For trips over 3 nights, I'll usually set up a tent. If I'm in the mood for luxury, I'll also set up cots with pads and a small table.

Anything less than that and I'll just sleep on a pad under the stars.

I just don't get towing a box with an oven, stove, heater, TV, beds, shower, etc. I'd rather just stay home at that point.

Just busting your balls, really. To each his own.

Same thing I said to my mom when my parents bought this. She said some dumb shit and called it "glamping." I can't lie though it's pretty sweet.

We used to have a pop up when we were kids, and our family of four took that thing all around the country, also did a lot of tent camping in the scouts.

I like the idea I tent camping more, more in touch with nature, although I've never camped in any camper bigger than the Pop up, so I imagine the big ole 5th wheel is cool too.

Eh, they're old and like comfort. They don't spend all day inside though like you say, theyre outside when they camp most if the day.

[94mstng94]

What are the Pros / Cons of a Pop Up Camper?

We bring our dog so tent camping is out especially if it gets hot during the day. We moved to this setup...


On another note, one of the reasons we went with something other than a pop-up, is not having to dump out the removable toilet.... Gross

[Cooter]

I like having options... having a nice cozy hard-walled pad isn't a bad thing. If I want to rough it in a tent, I can do that. if I want to be in an actual bedroom, I can do that too.

nothing wrong with options

[David]

I want one of these in a bad way. I'm over sleeping on the ground by a fire with a poncho liner.

http://conqueroraustralia.com.au

[SSMAN]

Still a lot of work to set up an tear down. Sun lights the up brightly in the mornings. I had one an sold it do to just being burned out on camping. I would get a hard side camper