Advice on a pop up. Coachman? Starcraft?

1oldtruck wrote:
Thanks for the replies. I am leaning towards the Star Craft. It offers the best warranty on the canvas and a place to haul my atv. I'm not sure if the canvas is a concern as far as cost of ownership. How long does canvas typically last if properly maintained?

That would depend on how much you use it and how much it is exposed to the elements. If properly maintained, I'd guess 10 years or better with average usage, maybe more. That's a downside to PUPs. If it's wet when you take it down, you need to put it back up at home to dry out. Mold and mildew along with UV rays are the enemy of PUP canvas. Keep it clean and dry and it should last a long time.

Thanks for the replies. I am leaning towards the Star Craft. It offers the best warranty on the canvas and a place to haul my atv. I'm not sure if the canvas is a concern as far as cost of ownership. How long does canvas typically last if properly maintained?

We went from tent camping to a pop-up in the late 90's and thought it was just great! Then we moved to a TT. After TT camping for several years family life kept us from going more than 2-3 times a year so we decided that having that much money tied up in a TT wasn't worth it so we sold it and bought another PUP. After one summer of that, we are now back in a TT. ;)

Lots of good replies to your post ..... if you want to know if owning a pop-up is convenient or not! Ya, they can be a pain, but man, are they the next best thing to sleeping under the stars! Now, for what you have asked, I can only speak for StarCraft .... great company to deal with, and their pop-ups are virtually Jayco's, the best pop-ups for lifter systems etc in the business!

RobertRyan wrote:

DutchmenSport wrote:

kknowlton wrote:
...Another thing to keep in mind is noise. ... you will hear every noise outside the camper. ... Just something to think about.

Not to mention, everyone outside can hear what you are doing and saying INSIDE the camper too! I posted just the other day how humorous it is at night when venturing to the campground restroom or walking the dog about 2:30 am and walking past tent campers and pop-up campers and hearing folks SNORING! I chuckle every time, it REALLY is funny. Also, any conversations you have with anyone INSIDE the camper can be heard OUTSIDE, and JUST FORGET about any privacy when the "ROMANTIC" urges hit and things begin to get intimate. When making the same trek to the out-house at 2:30 am, and "literally" "the trailer is a-rockin'", tent walls don't keep sound IN either! (I heard this once too). Just something to think about.

Is Generator noise from Motorhomes are problem in US? Most here use the power at campsite

In National Parks. Generator noise is indeed a problem.

DutchmenSport wrote:

kknowlton wrote:
...Another thing to keep in mind is noise. ... you will hear every noise outside the camper. ... Just something to think about.

Not to mention, everyone outside can hear what you are doing and saying INSIDE the camper too! I posted just the other day how humorous it is at night when venturing to the campground restroom or walking the dog about 2:30 am and walking past tent campers and pop-up campers and hearing folks SNORING! I chuckle every time, it REALLY is funny. Also, any conversations you have with anyone INSIDE the camper can be heard OUTSIDE, and JUST FORGET about any privacy when the "ROMANTIC" urges hit and things begin to get intimate. When making the same trek to the out-house at 2:30 am, and "literally" "the trailer is a-rockin'", tent walls don't keep sound IN either! (I heard this once too). Just something to think about.

Is Generator noise from Motorhomes are problem in US? Most here use the power at campsite

kknowlton wrote:
...Another thing to keep in mind is noise. ... you will hear every noise outside the camper. ... Just something to think about.

Not to mention, everyone outside can hear what you are doing and saying INSIDE the camper too! I posted just the other day how humorous it is at night when venturing to the campground restroom or walking the dog about 2:30 am and walking past tent campers and pop-up campers and hearing folks SNORING! I chuckle every time, it REALLY is funny. Also, any conversations you have with anyone INSIDE the camper can be heard OUTSIDE, and JUST FORGET about any privacy when the "ROMANTIC" urges hit and things begin to get intimate. When making the same trek to the out-house at 2:30 am, and "literally" "the trailer is a-rockin'", tent walls don't keep sound IN either! (I heard this once too). Just something to think about.

tatest wrote:
Since I still tent camp from time to time, I look at a pop-up or a folding tent trailer as a tent that is up off the ground. I remain tempted by that, only because I like tenting, and as I age if find it harder to get up from sleeping on the ground.

But I also know a pop-up is a lot more work to set up and take down than my 7x7 umbrella tent, even more so when breaking camp in wet weather. For buying new, I'm seeing pop-ups more expensive than lightweight travel trailers with similar space. So I am also looking at A-frames and 13-17 foot egg trailers as my smaller camper alternative.

There are not many pop-up manufacturers today. Jayco owns the Starcraft brand, their Starcraft factory makes parallel lines of pop-ups and A-frames for both brands. Forest River now owns Coachmen and Palomino, also makes their own Flagstaff and Rockwood twin lines of popups and A-frames; there, I'm not sure what manufacturing cross-over there might be among the four brands. Columbia Northwest, manufacturer of A-Liner, owns Fleetwood's brands, but I haven't seen any at dealers or shows.

Quite a few conventional Pop Up makers in Australia plus two Aliner types, Avan which makes more of these in Australia, than Aliner does in the US and Bolwell

Since I still tent camp from time to time, I look at a pop-up or a folding tent trailer as a tent that is up off the ground. I remain tempted by that, only because I like tenting, and as I age if find it harder to get up from sleeping on the ground.

But I also know a pop-up is a lot more work to set up and take down than my 7x7 umbrella tent, even more so when breaking camp in wet weather. For buying new, I'm seeing pop-ups more expensive than lightweight travel trailers with similar space. So I am also looking at A-frames and 13-17 foot egg trailers as my smaller camper alternative.

There are not many pop-up manufacturers today. Jayco owns the Starcraft brand, their Starcraft factory makes parallel lines of pop-ups and A-frames for both brands. Forest River now owns Coachmen and Palomino, also makes their own Flagstaff and Rockwood twin lines of popups and A-frames; there, I'm not sure what manufacturing cross-over there might be among the four brands. Columbia Northwest, manufacturer of A-Liner, owns Fleetwood's brands, but I haven't seen any at dealers or shows.

kknowlton wrote:
DutchmenSport brings up a good point that folks new to PUPs may not think of - the work that goes into setting up, taking down, airing out, and loading. That was a main reason we ended up going to a hybrid and then to TTs. We really enjoyed our PUP (had it for 17 years!) but as we got older, we got tired of the toting and carrying it took to load it up every time we set up at a campsite and then again when we were putting down to leave.

Another thing to keep in mind is noise. Being basically glorified tents (no flaming please :) ), you will hear every noise outside the camper. If the CG is fairly empty, that's great - you'll hear the wind in the pines, the ocean waves, birds singing, etc. But with other campers around, you'll hear their talking, laughing, singing, etc. - ok until you're trying to sleep and the folks a site or two over have had a few too many and are talking LOUDLY.

Just something to think about.

In Australia we have the Aliner type and the Pop Up type as well, but the hard and soft floor versions of these are the most popular