Hey Duncan

Andre Schofield and his son Ryan  were at Marty's with a  Pop up type camper.  Looks like they had a great time.   Pop a  E mail to  Andre and ask him what it got.

 

 

 

Hey Duncan, Just an update. I looked at our rental agreement and it was $270. including a $50. deposit. We got the fifty back.

 

AND........ The best campground we stayed at on our trip to/through Colorado in 2003 was....... At the end of Marty's road in Nebraska City.

 

Craig

Ah but Robbie! Remember that starting is optional...Stopping is NOT optional!

 

Chas

 

Who tows enough crap camping in "medieval style" on a utility trailer that he's considering a bigger trailer and tow vehicle. Am I crazy or what?

One really needs to define their definition of "camping" BEFORE buying anything. Some, like my dad, prefer "roughing it" with just a bedroll and stuff to start a fire. Some, like my ex-wife, won't go anywhere there isn't at least a porta john (she prefers places with showers), plus insisted upon taking half her wardrobe and enough food for an entire brigade to withstand a monthlong siege.(To her, the boyscout motto "Be prepared" pretty much means you'll need to hire a dozen porters, and a sedan chair--like an  African Safari- for a weekend in the woods)

Personally, I get a wee bit annoyed with the people who run their noisy stinky generators all day to power the AC, and until midnite to watch the news on satellite TV, THEN fire it up again at 5:30 to make a cup of coffee.... If you really need all the comfort of home, maybe you should just STAY home.

Okay, let me 'splain in prain engrish how my other post actually APPLIES to YOUR question as I understand it. Simply put, you HAVE to ask yourself this stuff BEFORE you start shopping; 1. What level of creature comfort is MINIMUM for you? 2. What is OPTIMUM? 3. What OPTIONS do you actually consider NECESSITIES? 4. What options can you live without? 5. What do you realistically plan to do with this thing once you have it? (ie Will it actually meet your needs?) 6. How much space do you NEED? -- not just for sleeping, but for storing all the stuff your better half and offspring think is of vital importance to bring along? And yes, 7. How much time when NOT in the arms of Morpheus, do you plan on spending INSIDE the darn thing vs OUTSIDE? All will affect what you'll be happy with. Capiche?

 

My dad would be happy in a pup tent, I actually prefer my junky old van, and my ex wife might find something to complain about at the Ritz-Carleton.... "Tent trailer" or "pop-up" covers an awful lot of ground between basic shelter and rolling condo.

Without knowing the stuff above, I can't even begin to suggest one, because a model that works great for my friends who have them, you might be totally miserable in.....All I can suggest is go to a biggish ""Outdoor/RV Show" (or whatever they call them in your area), look at what they've got there, actually walk through as many as you can,  scarf all the free literature you can carry and then sit down and comparative shop. Once you've narrowed it to maybe 2 or 3 different ones, see which one you can get the best deal on. Beats going to a dealer and having him try to talk you into the one he has on hand.

OR just buy the biggest, most expensive, option loaded thing that your truck can pull, and rip out what you don't want and rebuild the rest to suit you...

 

 

You asked for advise, I TRIED to give it. Either we're simply not on the same wavelength or you really didn't want the help that much. Either way I'm done trying.

I left out an important detail in my first post. Look at the tire size and rating, then compare them to the camper GVW. After my second blowout, (slow learner) I looked at the rating to find that the combined rating of the two tires was less than the camper weight. Yes, the 200lb tongue weight made up the difference, but not enough. The third blowout I had came 30 minutes after the second on a Sunday evening - but that's another story...

I did like the toilet in the Rockwood we had. Very self-enclosed, so you never saw or touched anything icky.

 

Also, we kept two electric space heaters in the camper so we didn't have to use propane to heat. For the price of the site, I figured they may as well foot the heating bill. Anyway, it was plenty warm (~65+) to have one at each end of the camper, even in the high 30's.

 

I don't think I mentioned it before, but we also had a slideout for the dining area. Very nice to have the extra room.

 

Matt 

 

you'll find some invaluable advice from folks who are PU'ing Now!   It is a great Friendly Forum much like what you are used to here.  I also believe you'll easily do FAR better than $17K on a PopUp, that is more than I paid for my 33'TT Brand New!

sorry I don't know how to post hyperlinks or pictures anymore... ?

 

 

http://www.campingearth.com/popups/

 

 

 

cale

 

http://www.chaletrv.com/

 

http://www.aliner.com (cool video)

 

http://www.trailmanor.com/

 

http://www.hilotrailer.com/

 

 

http://www.starcraftrv.com/

 

 

http://coachmenrv.com/products/?ProductID=1&Product=Fold%20Down%20Camping%20Trailers

 

http://www.jayco.com/index.php

 

http://www.fleetwoodcampingtrailers.com/

 

http://www.vikingrv.com/

 

http://www.forestriverinc.com/nd/default22.asp?nav=rec&page=tentcampers

 

 

On thing I did notice on the way home this afternoon.  There is a RV  place on the  East side of  I 17  between  Thomas and  Bell  that was having a  CLEARANCE SALE.

 

You might want to mosey on over there  you just might find something  you like.

 

 

RV  meaning everything from  Canvas covered dump trailers to   Rock Star  busses.

Thank you all for your comments/advice/suggestions.

Some realy good stuff to put in the brain hopper.

 

I believe that timing is very crucial to a project of this magnitude (dollar wise), and I also believe that my timing on this one maintains a very high degree of oral vacuum...

 

Let me put it this way, at the rate they (the gummint) are going (dollar wise), I figure that I have about twelve to fourteen more business days of 401(K) left for them to monkey with before they've swindled, I mean squandered my primary retirement account down to nuttin'.

 

Hence I'm calling off the search on this little escapade before I do myself any more harm.

 

However, until I make my way out to the dealerships for some thourough examinations (think colonoscopy level of detailed inspection), I thought I'd post some pictures of what my leanings are.

 

Fleetwood Niagara

 

Gross weight is doable, kitchen/galley is permanently installed (no secondary set up) and has what I need, bathroom has hard walls, 26 gallon (including 6 gallon water heater) fresh water capacity, 20 grey/9 black water capacity, stove, oven, sink, pop out dinette, 14 inch rims, electric brakes, and some other stuff...

 

 

 

 

 

 

I think something along these lines will satisfy both parties involved...