Driving With a Pop Up vs Hardside??
Currently drive a '18 Ford 350 LWB, SRW. What is the feeling between driving a 2000lb (OEM Wt) popup vs a 3000lb hardside?? Daylight and Dark?? Or something you get used to and then no big deal?? ...
Forum Discussion
For ten years we had a Phoenix popup, 1000 lbs dry, on a std cab, longbed Tundra. The combination drove like a dream. You had to look in the mirror to be sure the camper was still there. On occasion, we drove in 60 mph winds, the only problem being our fear that something might blow off. Other than a vent cover, nothing did.
Now we have a Northern Lite 10-2, 2500 lbs dry, on a longbed Dodge diesel dually. Highway restrictions have kept us parked in a Walmart lot during high winds. We are glad to have a dually, and we beefed up the Dodge front end to provide the stability we wanted. It drives fine, but doesn’t compare with the Phoenix and Tundra, especially on unpaved roads.
So why did we switch? Three reasons: (1) We wanted a bathroom, (2) we wanted a fridge with a freezer, and (3) getting on toward ages 70 and 80, we no longer relished raising the popup by muscle power. We could have switched to a heavier (and more costly) popup. But that would have required that we upgrade our truck too. Instead we decided to go all the way to a hardtop and a dually/diesel truck.
The OP wondered about air conditioning, a window unit or a rooftop: The window unit in our Phoenix worked better for us than the rooftop on our NL because it was in our bedroom, which is where we want most of the cool air.
So which is better? The Dodge and NL that we have now suits us fine. We especially like having a readily available bathroom and stopping for lunch without popping a top – and not having to get outside in foul weather to drop and secure the top.
On the other hand, when we were younger, the Phoenix and Tundra suited us fine. Surprisingly, we paid only about a 3 mpg penalty when we switched to the Dodge, but it’s a diesel. And we don’t drive as fast as we used to.
A final word: before buying our present rig, we rented a NL on a new Ford SRW. Consequently, we decided to get a different model NL than what we thought we wanted. And driving the Ford SRW convinced us to get a dually.
Now we have a Northern Lite 10-2, 2500 lbs dry, on a longbed Dodge diesel dually. Highway restrictions have kept us parked in a Walmart lot during high winds. We are glad to have a dually, and we beefed up the Dodge front end to provide the stability we wanted. It drives fine, but doesn’t compare with the Phoenix and Tundra, especially on unpaved roads.
So why did we switch? Three reasons: (1) We wanted a bathroom, (2) we wanted a fridge with a freezer, and (3) getting on toward ages 70 and 80, we no longer relished raising the popup by muscle power. We could have switched to a heavier (and more costly) popup. But that would have required that we upgrade our truck too. Instead we decided to go all the way to a hardtop and a dually/diesel truck.
The OP wondered about air conditioning, a window unit or a rooftop: The window unit in our Phoenix worked better for us than the rooftop on our NL because it was in our bedroom, which is where we want most of the cool air.
So which is better? The Dodge and NL that we have now suits us fine. We especially like having a readily available bathroom and stopping for lunch without popping a top – and not having to get outside in foul weather to drop and secure the top.
On the other hand, when we were younger, the Phoenix and Tundra suited us fine. Surprisingly, we paid only about a 3 mpg penalty when we switched to the Dodge, but it’s a diesel. And we don’t drive as fast as we used to.
A final word: before buying our present rig, we rented a NL on a new Ford SRW. Consequently, we decided to get a different model NL than what we thought we wanted. And driving the Ford SRW convinced us to get a dually.
