Full Circle - Back to PUP...

The joys of popup camping. Heated king size beds. I spent probably $800 in improvements to the beds in my off grid dreamland pup.

That reminds me of one of my favorite labor /back saving tips for pup camping.
Water reloads become MUCH more pleasant with the following gear:
1. 7 gallon Aquatainer
2. Heavy duty folding airport luggage cart (folds very flat)
3. Bungee cord.
4. 6v battery transfer pump.

7 gallons of water is HEAVY when the spigot is 1/4 mile away! But on the folding dolly cart, it's just a pleasant stroll. The little pump transfers the load in about 5 minutes to the camper tank on return. No lifting, no back aches. Ahhhh!

Haha. You should know what 5000lb ultra light TTs are like. glue, staples, foam and caulk. See many delaminate in 3 years or less. I would never buy a new model based on glue changes and construction changes. Go to any dealer and look at used. You will see delaminated 14 and 15. Clearance lights leaking to full sides letting go.

All outstanding information!

Thanks so much to everyone, you have given us much to think about. There is a good chance that we may simply need to hold on the the Duramax and look at something that rolls dry under 5,000 pounds. By doing this, if I moved to something other than the Duramax, but more capable than the Odyssey, I could be covered.

I will post a separate request for insight in a more appropriate forum, but please feel free to share any thoughts you may have about quality hard-sided TTs with the same parameters mentioned earlier.

Thanks again!

Peace...Away...

I utilize the chuckbox and suspension shelving as feature represent to slideout floorplans and all pups in general. Every weekend setup is O dark 30. You must have K.I.S.S mindset. No dinner on Friday. Pop it up, pull out kitchen, and plop chuckbox on kitchen.

On slideout models with bathroom you lose all horizontal counter space, two to three drawers, and cabinet large enough for pots, pans, propane coffee maker, and lantern. The other smaller cabinet in that space: extra sheets, pillow cases, odd ball sleeping bag. If that bathroom is a necessity which i learned wasn't on my first pup you have to find place for all that stuff. Either in pup or back of truck.

Once closed, you have space for one bin in front of slideout. Storage under the dinette table (exponent kitchen, leveling wood, two burner OEM cook top), one bin by entry door and odd storage depending type of foldover kitchen is present.

Slideout models continued: They feature a couch on the curbside. Some mfg do cabinet doors others use the cavity opened when folding. On forest river they put the water pump under the couch. I hated that foldover cavity access and limited space. Impossible to reach the water pump. On jayco they have doors and full storage underneath.

Front storage: 10 and 12ft pups can get front storage pods. The 12 ft are 18 ft to 19 ft bumper to ball. Something to consider if garage storage or not. The front on forest river: doors swing open when locked and area gets wet easily (water damage). Jayco: Embossed front cover pushes water away and is a more substantial area housing the water heater. Door does not open.
I feel the frame on forest river classics is flimsy. Brand new and leaving dealership locked front storage doors swung open and smashed the trailer sides. Other frame woes: had side door open and ejected a bal leveler and full storage bin. So much for 10mph turning.

Bear country: Northeast PA. 800lb black bears are common. Some of the largest in the state. Flagship state parks, State Forest and National Recreation Area create a 60 x 40 sq miles of protected habitats for bear. I have no problems boondocking in the woods and keep all cooking far away from pup and toiletries in truck. 800lb bears can rip apart a camper, car, ransack a home ect.

Bal levelers: had one with flagstaff, KISS just use a board.

Popup Gizmos: A must for sunny front. On pup and hybrid: you could not sit in the bunkends during the day. Too hot with Ac cranking. In the winter: a must for retaining heat and minimizing condensation. Bunkends rain on your bed if heaters are running and no vents are left open (hybrids and pups).

Other mods: 7 gallon aquatainer, remove drain valve, and replace with 3/4 fitting and long tube. Tube is used for filling potable water tank. If you can not carry 50lbs the potable water fill is challenge to do.

As noted by some, it is important to select a good floor plan to minimize setup hassle and maximize the hauling capacity of the trailer so as to avoid over-packing the minivan.

The relatively low tow capacity of the van can help in this regard, since you won't be choosing a slide-out model. Those actually badly constrict accessible interior storage volume.

My tips:

1. Store folding chairs permanents under the dinette table. We fit 5 there plug a folding table.
2. Buy a Sterilite 2 drawer plastic box (about 2' wide and 3' tall) for dry food storage. Bonus, you can load it in the house, carry it out and lie it flat on the pup floor for transport. Stand it up on the county when setup and all your food is out of the way.
3. Cooler rides in the pup for the trip, then moves to the van hatch for storage at the site.
4. One person, one duffel bag. They all ride in the trailer. No extra loose clothes. Fit 'em in or leave 'em home. No exceptions, kids! Duffels move to dinette table before bed and move back to bunks after wakeup.
5. Kid sleeping bags and pillows live permanently in the camper in a dinette bench for transport and storage. Mom and Dad's duvet stays in and sheets and pillow cases get washed after each trip.
6. Large flat Tupperware holds all utensils, stores/travels in the trailer and moves to the picnic table upon arrival. Virtually all eating and cooking is outside. This IS camping, after all.
7. Dish pans and dry racks ride under the sink, but stay outside upon arrival. Except bear country trips (We're Midwest folks).
8. A thin rug just inside the door helps minimize dirt tracking a lot. Shake outside twice daily and use a welcome mat for wiping feet OUTside the trailer.
9. Bench storage is an access hassle. Use that space for things that come out ONCE and stay out until it's time to pack up, if you can. My outside stove and water heating kettle are good examples.

On the exponent, my most favorite camping toy for the past decade has a sink. Transfer all dirty dishes to state park sink and hang it over the sink basin. I've used it so much its worth $4,000 in camping tricks.

Booning, the kitchen and chuck box go. No tables or campground features to use.

The other necessity to zero cooking and prepping in a nightmare pup. The Coleman Exponent Folding Kitchen. The chuckbox goes on the wing of the exponent. Done deal. Inside pup, beds a tv, and a few shelves for stuff.

BeaverTree Kitchen My beloved chuckbox



Carries everything needed for a typical weekend and does not require bins and routing around the pup for missing stuff.

Cold food packing on pups is a *****. Basically family weekends just work a cooler with good sealing covers. I had a set for my first pup. Its scattered all around from moving. Inside fridge: beer, water bottles and other stuff. On suspension rod shelf I have 12" over the curbside cabinet and 16" over the kitchen. Towels, foam coffee cups breads (biggest PITA). Typical weekend: white bread, sausage rolls, english muffins, hot dog rolls, and hamburger rolls. Imagine the square footage devoted to BREAD. Clothing: in bag in truck or on the shelves. Hangers on the suspension shelf for a coat or sweatshirt. I'm camping this weekend. 88f today, weekend temps 50, and low 35. Jackets, sweatshirts, and blankets a plenty, and I'll have to deploy the popup gizmos for heat and condensation battles. On my hybrid with babies I needed duplicate sheets sets, and clothes a plenty. Something else to consider if pups are for you.

I have all backpacking spec base camp cookware. GSI plates, triangular mugs, and plates.
Some trips its service for 25 friends. Those are the fun trips to you bring multiple grills, and many coolers.