Never owned one but did look at a few that were used. The soft sided ones all smelled of mildew, a deal breaker for my wife. They make hard sided ones that don’t have this problem.

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“Read the transcript.”

We thought about a pop up for a while but decided on a small hard sided camper because a pop up has zero noise abatement capability and is less able to deal with hotter/colder weather. We like to camp in the off season which makes the latter very important, but we have heard of some on season campgrounds that get a bit noisy which can be a problem when trying to get to sleep for an early starting race the next day.

We just bought one (an '02 Rockwood 12'), but I'm pretty new at this. Sleeping in a tent with a toddler got old, fast. I wanted a pop-up specifically because I needed something that my vehicle could easily tow, and the hardsided ones are heavier. Noise isn't really an issue at most of the places we camp at, and my phone has a white noise generator, so no concerns there.

We got ours for a lot less than the going rate (about half the cost actually), but it needed work. The things we made sure of - frame is good, no rot, new tyres, roof is in good shape, all the electrical works.

It needed - canvas repairs (the zippers were busted. a significant amount of cleaning the canvas, and we are replacing all the cushions because they had mildew stains. Replacing the cushions is more expensive than I thought it would be, but we're still coming out ahead. Actually putting in real mattresses instead of the crappy foam ones.

We are painting all the cabinetry, the fake wood stuff was awful and depressing, and when we're done it's gonna look really good. Doing a bit of a modification to the seating layout as well, there's a slide-out bed on the long bench that we would never use as a full bed, so that's coming out and an additional seat with storage underneath is being put in.

Hoping to get it all finished by the May long weekend so we can try it out before the summer hits.

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Swimming Workout of the Day:

Favourite Swim Sets:

2020 National Masters Champion - M50-54 - 50m Butterfly

We have a Forest River Rockwood. Great camper for our family -- 2 boys and wife. Very easy to tow -- even in the mountains with our 4 Runner. I like the convenience of keeping it in the garage. It is a great purchase--if you like camping and know you will use it. Some non-campers buy one and quickly sell it. Hence, you can usually get a great deal on a slightly used camper.

Quite a bit more comfortable than tent camping [memory foam toppers make the substandard mattresses feel amazing]. We have an air conditioner which is a must in Florida. Any of the big brands are probably comparable in quality ---Jayco -- Forest River -- Coleman. If you get one, I strongly recommend the electric winch option. Hand cranking is a horrible waste of time.

mine has the hand crank, buddy of mine has a similar age trailer with the electric winch and he hates it. It's finicky and kills the battery, at least on his.

the hand crank really isn't that bad. What I would really like though are electric stabilisers.

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Swimming Workout of the Day:

Favourite Swim Sets:

2020 National Masters Champion - M50-54 - 50m Butterfly

I've used them, multiple family members have them


Pros
light enough to be towed by cars
setup is not bad
can have climate control
easy place to store your gear
not gigantic so finding a place to store it not bad (really should be stored indoors
better than a tent when you get stuck inside
wired for lights, etc

Cons
not near as waterproof as a hard sided
no real mattresses
not as climate controlled as a hard sided
most have undersized tires so speed limited to <65 mph or risk of flats jumps
most beds are not big enough for people over 6' to sleep without curling up a bit
no privacy at all from other occupants
that camper will be a'rockin if the time comes
some have toilets but it is much like taking a piss in your BR/LR/kitchen all in one
using their stoves has always given me the willies - you are inches from a lot of combustible stuff and watching all your stuff go poof
most are much cheaper than hard sided (<$5k vs $10k - $15k+)

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I'm beginning to think that we are much more fucked than I thought.

Ours has a toilet / shower, but I'm not sure how much it's gonna get used. That's what lakes are for....

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Swimming Workout of the Day:

Favourite Swim Sets:

2020 National Masters Champion - M50-54 - 50m Butterfly

I have liked the idea and bounced it around, but most people I know who had them, bought them and sold them within a few years after little use.

With that said, I'd be interested to hear what people have to say. It is still on my wish list in the next few years.

We know ours will get use, since we were going with the tent 3-4 times per year. The trailer will let us extend camping season comfortably into the fall, we already have Spetember and October booked. Usually our last trip is end of August / early September.

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Swimming Workout of the Day:

Favourite Swim Sets:

2020 National Masters Champion - M50-54 - 50m Butterfly

I had one, a Coleman, manual winch, with an A/C unit on top. It was great if you're camping with hook ups for electric. It was also nice to have a table for eating or playing games while being protected from the elements and bugs. I towed mine from Georgia to Colorado one time. I do think it's best to store them indoors, at least in Georgia where you get a lot of rain and humidity. We rarely used the interior stove or sink, just because clean up is a pain. Plus we liked cooking outside, that's why we want to go camping, to get away from the usual. We had a portable toilet for #1 at night or the odd #2. if no bathroom was available. Every other bathroom break was in the woods or in the camp bathrooms.

On the downside, they are overkill if you aren't at a proper campground made for them. I also had a nice tent that had two separate bedrooms and an area where you could put a small table and chairs as it was screened in on three sides. It did allow us more freedom in choosing where to go. Once you go home you don't worry about where to store it, or register it, or insure it. We also had one of those 10 x 10 awnings that protected you from the rain while we cooked or sat around. I've seen them with screens for side too.

So, I think you really need to decide will you be camping where A/C is a must? Will you have someplace to store it? Do you camp that much now where a nice tent can't make your trip enjoyable? Sometimes it's easier to cancel or change a camping trip because of rain than buy a pop up to protect you from it. It gets old sitting in a pop up all weekend because of rain, you get damp and you have to set up again at home to dry out.

It all depends on if that is the sort of vacation you like to take.

I picked up an ancient hard sided really cheap and did some reno work on it. Partly to make sure I would actually use it before I sunk real money into one. We have a lot of vacation time and use it several times a year. As we get closer to retirement age I can see it getting used more and more.

But then our favorite places to go are more national park kind of places and less resort kind of places.

If in doubt, buy a used camper, don't use it, sell a used camper.

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I'm beginning to think that we are much more fucked than I thought.

We started researching used pop-ups a year ago and were even at the point to negotiating to buy one but ultimately ended up purchasing a travel trailer for many of the reasons already stated -- extended season, noise, climate control, ease (don't need to set it up at home to dry out). We also already owned a truck with significant capacity.

It really came down to how we were going to use it. If our focus was going to be shorter trips fairly close to home where we could cancel or pack up early if the weather looked bad, I think a pop-up would have been fine. However, we wanted to be able to do some extended trips where we'd be ok with kids 5 and 10 in the event we get a couple of days of rain. I also plan on using it for hiking trips in NH through October.

We looked at all of them a couple years ago. Decided pop-up was not the way to go. We went with a CampLite CL11FK. Very small and light. Very big feel.

https://www.livinlite.com/...trailers/CL11FK.html

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If there are no dogs in Heaven, then when I die I want to go where they went. - Will Rogers

Emery's Third Coast Triathlon | Tri Wisconsin Triathlon Team | Push Endurance | GLWR

We have a fleetwood E2 we use a few times a year. It is much nicer than a tent with small kids. We had a truck slide in but with a lab and a toddler it was way too cozy so went to a pop up.

When the weather is great it’s great.

I don’t like it when it’s windy and tend to sleep on the floor rather than the cantilevered beds.

It also is impossible to stealth camp just parked along a road somewhere. It’s big- but the deck attached to the front is great for bikes, firewood, dirt bike, whitewater raft etc.

We bought it hail damaged from the insurance auction and my husband put on a new roof.

I was looking at those, but unfortunately not in the budget this year. maybe when we replace the one we have in a few years.

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Swimming Workout of the Day:

Favourite Swim Sets:

2020 National Masters Champion - M50-54 - 50m Butterfly

Those older Fleetwoods are great. I owned a Fleetwood E1 and it was the perfect size IMO--I would have gone with the E2 but the tongue weight was already up there. I customized ours to make it truly offroad capable, and we used it heavily in CA & Baja for 5 years. These are much, much nicer than the traditional "cheap" popups. We gutted the flip-up stove/sink out of ours in favor of more carry space & never regretted it--I never understood wanting to cook in/near the rolling tent as smells stick. It was perfect for California beach/light desert camping. However if I were going to buy now (have 2 girls 9 & 11) I would go JSA's route & then strengthen the chassis to be able to haul more stuff and use it somewhat offroad. It really comes down to how much stuff you take & how much work you want to do--and pop-ups are just as much work as tents, possibly more as you have to be creative in your packing (for CA beach camping we did the entire outdoor kitchen setup + shelter + bikes + surf stuff + paddleboard + firewood ++++.....).

If you are going to be camping in non-ideal weather I would go hard-sided. If you don't want to tow a bigger trailer, and it is just you + the spouse, the Forest River is pretty nice but isn't huge inside. We also once borrowed a friends Trailmanor--not quite as much work as a popup, but still most of the downsides.

We don't like campgrounds & 99% of campers/trailers can't really go offroad. Our next one will probably be something from Australia--either a Conqueror or Trakmaster.

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"There are two novels that can change a bookish fourteen-year old's life: The Lord of the Rings and Atlas Shrugged. One is a childish fantasy that often engenders a lifelong obsession with its unbelievable heroes, leading to an emotionally stunted, socially crippled adulthood, unable to deal with the real world. The other, of course, involves orcs." John Rogers