anyone know pop up campers?

I know basically nothing about pop up or any other sort of campers. When I go camping I either have a tent or sleep under the stars so never really got into campers.

Anyway my mom has a fairly nice 5th wheel camper that she is selling because she doesn't use it and I have no use for it. So I am helping her get it sold and cleaning it up etc. Well a guy she works with just got a new truck and is interested in buying the 5th wheel and he is offering up a Jayco J1206 as partial trade. It is a small pop up tent trailer that could be pulled by even SWMBO's Tacoma. While not my first choice for camping I could see it would make for an easier way to be comfortable in some of the places we go.

Anyone have any info on these types of trailers? Good bad or indifferent? Any sort of things I should look at in particular with the pop up mechanism?

did it once.. seemed nice enough. You are off of the ground so none of the smaller critters and bugs can really get to you. It has a solid roof (in the middle) and self contained storage and a small kitchenette... much better than a tent

Years ago I had a Jayco. Easy pull, not TO bad to set up. (Took about 15 minutes), plenty of room for two adults and three small kids. Towed from Ohio to Denver with only problem being a flat tire in the boonies. Yeah, take a spare with you. Fold out stove so you could cook inside or out. I enjoyed it a lot, and we did use it a lot. Sure, a hard side would be nicer in some ways, but the pop-up met our needs and got better gas mileage because of slightly better air resistance.

I'm not to familiar with the Jaycos, but the googles shows that is a pretty large pop up. To me it kind of defeats the purpose. Years ago we had a small coleman pop up for several years and then upgraded to a brand new Coachman with galley, sink and cooler. I wasn't near the quality camper the Coleman was. We sold it after it got a roof leak and got a lightly used "Coleman by Fleetwood". Even it is not a good as a real live Coleman. We've only used it a couple of times.

Thing to look for is water leaks and of course damage.

yes yes i do.

Just check the material condition of the camper.

If it has pressurized water system, then make sure you test that as leaks are the biggest issue. Check electrical things as well.

All popups are pretty much the same, all companies buy their parts form teh same suppliers, one brand is as good as the other. The biggest think is what condition the camper is in, check underneath for rust on the frame. check the canvas for tears or holes.

Make sure the lifting mechanism is operating correctly (open and close it a few times)

blah blah blah.

Eric

All popups are pretty much the same, all companies buy their parts form teh same suppliers, one brand is as good as the other. The biggest think is what condition the camper is in, check underneath for rust on the frame. check the canvas for tears or holes.

That's not really true. There are big differences between manufacturers. Cheap trailers are cheap for a reason. Nonetheless, Jayco are decent trailers. I'm going to assume a 1206 is a 12' trailer. That's a big hardtop, and it will be a little heavy. Look for damage and mold on the canvas, and look at the ceiling for rippling and signs of water leakage. Either of these problems makes a trailer essentially worthless.

thanks guys. Like I said I basically only ever use a tent or sleep under the stars out here so this is new territory for me. Basically if she does the trade I will get the pop up for helping her sell the 5th wheel.

How are these things in colder conditions? Say like late fall and the like? Might be good for when I go hunting or if we decide to take a trip to the coast it might be good for that as well. Most of the places I go camping you would hard pressed to get a trailer into, heck some you can't even get a truck or jeep into.

The pop up trailers are quite comfortable in the winter if you have power. If not then you will be looking for a combustible source heater, which scares me in a trailer.

I've been proud (more or less) owner of a 2000 year model Coleman Sea Pines pop-up for about 7 years, and we use it several times a year. I really like them and think they're sort of a best-of-both worlds camping soluton. It has a king and a queen bed, decent seating, an indoor sink and stove, and AC/heat. it doesn't have a bathroom, but I'm okay with that.

Jayco makes a good trailer, and if I were to replave my 12' Coleman, a 1206 Jayco is what I would buy. When looking at use campers, there are several things to check - canvas condition was already mentioned. Roof condition is also REALLY important. Most Jaycos use an aluminum roof system, so check all the joints for peeling seals, missing caulk, etc. If for some reason it has a molded plastic or ABS roof, run away, but I think only Colemans (like mine) had them. Mine is currently cracking from sun exposure. Leaks here can be a nightmare, and check around the roof mounted AC for leaks. Make sure the AC and fridge work. Check the electric brakes for function if equipped. Look for signs of mildew or mold anywhere in the camper, signifying a leak or poor care. If you are really sloppy about stowing the camper wet after a rainstorm, the mildew can be horrid. Same for a roof leak. If the camper has been stored inside or under a shelter out of the sun, that's a HUGE plus.

As for camping - In the hottest weather, they usually stay a little on the warm side, even with the AC running full tilt. Staying in shaded sites when possible helps, as does pinning a shiny emergency blanket on the outside of the canvas over the bunks. there's just no insulation there. When it's really cold, (like 20F, I'm in GA after all) you'll want a small electric space heater to supplement the onboard, it's only good to about 35F. Make sure whatever circuit you run the space heater on can handle it, I actually rewired mine with a small home-grade breaker box. If it doesn't have a power roof lift, go to Harbor Freight and spend $50 on their 1/2" High torque, low speed drill. Buy an extra hand crank and cut off the socket to chuck in the drill. Instant power lift, but don't over do it, you can destroy the lift system if you lift it too far.

Why do I think it's the best of both worlds? comfy beds, AC, and still feels like a tent sleeping under the canvas. Plus, when the weather's nice you can roll down all the plastic windows and you have a giant screened gazebo. And the engineering in how they work is just the coolest.

For more info than you care to know, visit popupportal.com

BTW, used camper values are E36 M3e on a popup, so check the craigslist value on any trade he offers. Don't give away too much for it.

As a lifetime RVer (with about 15 conglomerate years spent living in one) I don't like them. IMO, they are a disposable investment intended to entice new campers into buying an item with a fixed use life hoping they won't use it much before the warranty expires. It has all the downsides of a tent with few of the benefits of an RV. Resale value is about the same as a cardboard box.

Not to mention, its useless unless its set up. With a travel trailer, you can stop along the road and make a sandwich in the trailer.

I'd skip it.

I have had two and loved them both. That said living in Washington it did limit the time you could camp in them. We now have a 5th wheel and it feels like a huge event to go anywhere.

In reply to Sultan:

Do you live on the dry side or wet side of the state? I live on the dry side of Oregon.

curtis73 wrote: Resale value is about the same as a cardboard box.

"Say what?" nominee right there.

This is the first year we didn't have a hard top trailer since 1987. They are comfortable, typically easy to tow, and resale on a decent unit in reasonable shape is excellent. We camped in ours in sub zero degree (C) temps many times, and were comfortable. We had decent sleeping bags, and no heater. We're now in our 50's and after 25 years, finally tired of the set up. Travel trailers are heavy and expensive (talk about poor resale), so we're not sure what direction we're going to go in now.

I have been RVing and camping my whole life. I usually tent, but have owned Motorhomes, travel trailers, and fifth wheels.

My favorite way to go is in a pop-up camper. It's the best of both worlds.

Unless, of course, you have to stay in it with curtis73. I don't think that would be good.

BTW, there are NO RV's that are good investments. They all are worthless when it comes to resale.

Don't invest in an RV. Camp in an RV.

rebelgtp wrote: In reply to Sultan: Do you live on the dry side or wet side of the state? I live on the dry side of Oregon.

my user name is the town I live in. It is on the cold and wet side. I dream of moving to the dry side someday!

In reply to SVreX:

I don't know... I've been shopping for slide in truck campers lately. Folks seem to think they're made out of gold... So far, I haven't found a used one with the features I want (a/c, shower, built in generator) for under $20k.

We happened upon an Esterel camper, which is a pretty rare bird here in the states. It's a hard-sided pop-up, so you get the benefits of a light, easy-to-tow, can-see-over-the-top trailer and a hard-sided, weather-proof camper. I think it's about 12' long, sleeps 4 in a pinch, has a stove and fridge, and water tanks. The Mrs. and I absolutely love it, we've towed it all over the place. Nice thing is, her 21 MPG GMC Jimmy gets 19-20 mpg while towing it, so no real penalty. Sleeping off the ground is a major plus for us; so is having a place to play cards or snuggle when it's miserable out. It also serves as a guest bedroom if we have company at home, and everyone loves it.

The only downside to me is that you have to have it set up to get stuff in and out of the storage compartments, but it takes me 5 minutes by myself to do this, so it's not areal big problem. The hard sides won't ever wear out like the fabric/ canvas on a regular pop up can.

Not mine, but looks just like it:

Values are all over the place, but they depreciate like crazy- think 3 figure money. That can be said of most RVs though, so I wouldn't expect to get top coin for your 5th wheel too, especially in this economy. No one's buying anything.

Sultan wrote: We now have a 5th wheel and it feels like a huge event to go anywhere.

That's funny because I feel the same way about a pop up. We have to open it up to check and load to go camping. Then same thing to unload once you are back.

A while back I got to thinking about getting a 20ish foot hard top camper that could be left loaded and easy to get into. But then I don't have anything to tow it with. So you get the picture.

volvoclearinghouse wrote:

that's a nice looking camper

We're looking at these

Funky looking, nice inside, and 2200 lbs. I can tow it with my 4 cylinder Colorado.

I was inside an Aliner last week (another hard side hardtop) and I was impressed. Not enough to buy one, but it was pretty nice.

We don't pop ours up to pack it. We furnished it with all the hard goods ( plates, cookware, etc) from Dollar General back when we bought it, so short of food, clothing and a few tidbits, it's ready to go. I can raise the top about 2 cranks (4"), drop the side door, then throw any dry goods or duffels of clothes in the empty floor space. Drop and latch the top and we're ready to roll. Any other items go in the tow vehicle.

As for set-up, we camp regularly with friends of ours that have a superlight 24' travel trailer with 2 slide outs and all the bells and whistles. If SWMBO and I are on our game, we can be up in the same amount of time they are or a couple minutes more. He gets 8mpg towing it with a latemodel F150, I get 16mpg with a high mileage Exploder. Setup time for us is about the same or less than our friends with tents, for that matter. And that was before I bought the drill lift.

In reply to Zomby Woof:

I like that. I've been thinking up plans to build something similar with a rear hatch for loading a kart or mtn bikes, but light enough to tow behind the TDi.

Zomby Woof wrote: We're looking at these Funky looking, nice inside, and 2200 lbs. I can tow it with my 4 cylinder Colorado. I was inside an Aliner last week (another hard side hardtop) and I was impressed. Not enough to buy one, but it was pretty nice.

oh yeah teardrops rock . Loved them for years

That's too big to be a teardrop.