School me on Popup Campers

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Problem with ac in a pup is the Rzero insulation in the walls. Ok at night, but not going to do much in full sunlight.

I get my camper up or down in about ten minutes, outside of anything common to a travel trailer (backing up, leveling).
 
I'd take a quality tent over a popup any day of the week. Everyone I know who's had one has had nothing but problems. If you can find one that's only a few years old or that had been stored inside then go for it. Otherwise it's just going to be a huge headache and will take the fun out of camping.

My opinion.
 
Originally Posted By: oilpsi2high
I'd take a quality tent over a popup any day of the week. Everyone I know who's had one has had nothing but problems. If you can find one that's only a few years old or that had been stored inside then go for it. Otherwise it's just going to be a huge headache and will take the fun out of camping.

My opinion.



Grew up tenting. I've outgrown it. Area floods and you wake up in 3'' of water. Raccoons scratching at it at night. Bear walks by and takes out the ropes and the tent collapses. No more of that for me.

Originally Posted By: skyactiv
I have a good friend that owns a self storage bussiness along with outdoor parking spaces. He has little good to say about pop up camper trailers. Says people buy one, use it half a dozen times at best and get tired of the thing from the number of gate in's vs travel trailers. We came up with a conclusion that since they don't have a bathroom, the hassle of setting it up, no AC..., your better off buying a good tent. He's had problems with people buying old ones that quit paying the rent on them.


Have him repo one and sell to me cheap
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Quote:
Grew up tenting. I've outgrown it. Area floods and you wake up in 3'' of water. Raccoons scratching at it at night. Bear walks by and takes out the ropes and the tent collapses. No more of that for me.


Pitch the tent above/away from runoff
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Keep food out of the tent and don't sleep in clothes you cooked in; the raccoons won't even know you're in there. Never had a bear encounter so can't comment on that but it just sounds like you're getting old
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PS my almost 80 year old grandfather sleeps in a tent when he goes camping, I think you'll be alright.
 
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Originally Posted By: Nick1994
They have tents for the top of Cherokee's.

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For what that costs I bet you could buy... a popup.

My first one cost $275. $20 for a lift cable and it was operational. I goofed and spent $150 on junk HF wheels; the right ones were $150 so that was a big mistake.

My second one is the size of my house, but cost much more.
 
We had neighbors when I was young that did a lot of camping in a pop-up tent trailer towed behind their 1975 Impala 9-passenger wagon.

They went away a lot of weekends, and when they came back the trailer would be opened up for a few days to air out, and then folded up until they took it out a couple of weeks later, car loaded to the gills with the family of six and all there stuff.

It looked like they had a lot of fun all the time.....
 
We had one for probably 12-14 years. I don't remember the brand but I would probably recognize it if I saw it. it wasn't Jayco.

It was pretty durable. The furnishings were all pressed wood with veneer on it so the corners tended to get kind of beat up, like where you had to squeeze in and out by the table.

We usually (or always) set it back up upon arriving back home to a) unpack and b) let it dry if necessary. We went to western Michigan dune country a lot and tended tp track in a lot of sand.

I can't imagine pulling anything that size with a Focus!

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Originally Posted By: supton
Originally Posted By: Nick1994
They have tents for the top of Cherokee's.

2055pqs.jpg



For what that costs I bet you could buy... a popup.

My first one cost $275. $20 for a lift cable and it was operational. I goofed and spent $150 on junk HF wheels; the right ones were $150 so that was a big mistake.

My second one is the size of my house, but cost much more.


How were the HF wheels junk? Just curious so I don't make the same mistake.

Originally Posted By: Nick1994
They have tents for the top of Cherokee's.

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I thought about trying to build something like that. But I want to be able to take the Focus on some trips.


Originally Posted By: css9450
We had one for probably 12-14 years. I don't remember the brand but I would probably recognize it if I saw it. it wasn't Jayco.

It was pretty durable. The furnishings were all pressed wood with veneer on it so the corners tended to get kind of beat up, like where you had to squeeze in and out by the table.

We usually (or always) set it back up upon arriving back home to a) unpack and b) let it dry if necessary. We went to western Michigan dune country a lot and tended tp track in a lot of sand.

I can't imagine pulling anything that size with a Focus!

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Reading the reviews for my hitch, someone pulled a RX7 on a trailer with a Focus! Not sure I'd go that heavy ... There's room in the GVWR and GAWR for it.

Originally Posted By: oilpsi2high
Quote:
Grew up tenting. I've outgrown it. Area floods and you wake up in 3'' of water. Raccoons scratching at it at night. Bear walks by and takes out the ropes and the tent collapses. No more of that for me.


Pitch the tent above/away from runoff
wink.gif
Keep food out of the tent and don't sleep in clothes you cooked in; the raccoons won't even know you're in there. Never had a bear encounter so can't comment on that but it just sounds like you're getting old
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PS my almost 80 year old grandfather sleeps in a tent when he goes camping, I think you'll be alright.


I'm familiar with all of those. Every night before going to bed,we would all jump in the lake and then change. Food was stored in the trailer and we never ate in the tent. Still had issues.

The bears don't scare me. But when one takes down your tent ... it is a good way to get startled!
 
The HF tires I had cracked in the tread area after one year. Not sure if it was being under weight all year, or high speed driving--if you check, the stickers on the tires state 55mph max. I did put about 1,000 or at most 1,500 miles onto them; but one trip I did a good 300 miles at 70, as I was running late.

Meanwhile the 10-11 year old, same size HF tires on my utility trailer show no signs of distress (outside the obvious age issue, but now the trailer just runs across town and back at low speeds).
 
Interesting. Were they radial or bias ply? I'd probably end up going bigger tires on the thing and doing a axle flip or spring-over depending on what type of suspension/axle it has. So it can be towed behind the Jeep.
 
Probably bias, they are cheapo tires. I bought a set of Carlise (I think) for the new owner to swap on.
 
I could see bias tires coming apart and cracking bad if ran that fast. Seems Carlisle are pretty cheap (though, they are Chinese so ... that wouldn't work so well here)

I think I am going to buy the smallest one I can find on CL that is still in good shape, then I will start removing stuff I don't need.

The heater *may* stay to dry the thing out before packing up. Sink, benches, etc will be removed. I saw one yesterday that had some bumper frame on the back - I could weld a hitch on to that to mount a bike rack or cargo carrier.
 
I do not look often, but 8' boxes are kinda the "economy" line. Meaning, I rarely see them with heat. Maybe it got more standard as the years went by.

I would be prepared to zip a hole in and make exterior access. That way leveling blocks and stabilizer jacks can be gotten to. I thought about putting a box onto the tongue on mine.
 
Originally Posted By: supton
I do not look often, but 8' boxes are kinda the "economy" line. Meaning, I rarely see them with heat. Maybe it got more standard as the years went by.[/supton]
That's fine with me! Light, portable, shelter on wheels is all I need. That's less weight that the focus has to lug around. Stove is not something I'd want inside either - to me, cooking when camping is something you do outside.

supton said:
I would be prepared to zip a hole in and make exterior access. That way leveling blocks and stabilizer jacks can be gotten to. I thought about putting a box onto the tongue on mine.


I'm assuming they would normally be stored under the benches I plan on removing right? I could have a lightweight plastic tote holding that stuff on the tongue. I don't see the need for propane tanks on the tongue. I may see about a deep cycle battery or two for lights, etc and that may end up on the tongue.
 
When my dad had his camper he used 2, 6-volt golf cart batteries wired to 12 volts. They lasted a long time on a charge.
 
Yeah, under the benches. My last camper had no exterior access to those areas, so I kept a tote in the truck with that stuff.

Some of the ac convertors have 12V hookup; odds are the interior lights are 12V already. The convertor likely will have very rudimentary charge capability, so I would not trust it. I would probably replace the 12V bulbs i the ceiling with LED if you are off the grid, or just use battery lamps, which would be lighter than a deep cycle battery.
 
I just realized I know a few people who do canvas work and sewing. I may be able to have those made if they are rotted out!

Trailer wiring for the Focus came in finally.
 
Picked this one up last night! 1987 Coleman Columbia. It's in really great shape. No rot on the floors, interior is in great shape!

Had a bit of a fender bender by previous owner and it needs a canvas.

For now, duct tape is going to cover the holes in the fender (it's not salvageable) and I am going to throw a marker on from horror freight. The Canvas holes will be patched with gorilla tape for now. Depending on how it does , I will throw a canvas at it next year.

I am going to be welding in a receiver for my bike rack or a cargo carrier on the back.

I was really really surprised how well the Focus pulled it. I was expecting the Focus to struggle to get rolling (no granny gear) but it really didn't even feel the trailer. It is so narrow that there wasn't too much of an effect on gas mileage. Running home at 65 on the Interstate, the Focus got 32MPG. Didn't even bounce the car around at all!

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Nice! I suggest you repack or at least check the wheel bearings,you don't want a wheel locking up or coming apart.Also lube the cables and mechanism that crank it up. Do you know what it weighs?
 
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