What do you load in your PUP?

DutchmenSport wrote:
Well, it's been a while since I've owned a PUP, but my memory is pretty clear how we did it "back then" and why. Here's a list (may not be inclusive) of what I remember we carried.

Clothing for everyone (we had 2 kids, a boy and a girl, Elementary School age).

Cleaning supplies for the camper, like bleach and laundry sopa (also for laundry), Windex, paper towels, cloth rags, bucket, water hose, floor brush or broom.

Personal hygiene items, tooth brushes, tooth paste, bath soap, towels, wash cloths, brushes, combs, shower mats (to use in bath houses since the PUP did not have its own bathroom), deodorants, hair stuff for the wife and daughter and female (things that only girls use), like hair blowers, curlers, clips, pins, lip sticks, perfumes, and the list went on and on and on.

The kids stuff: Toys, Nintendo, a portable television, an inverter so the television and Ninetendo stuff would run off the van battery, magazines, books, dolls, and bicycles.

Adult toys: books, fishing poles, craft items, cameras, maps, radio, flashlights. (this was before the days of lap top computers, wifi, and cell phones)

Camping gear: Propane (Coleman) stove and extra bottles of gas. Paper plates, cups, silverware, folding chairs, cooking utensils, cleaners for the stove, a tripod for cooking over the fire, cast iron skillets, a dutch oven, coffee pot, toaster, a 10x10 foot quick shade, and our tent from our tent camping days that we used for the port-a-potty so we wouldn't have to truck to the bath house in the middle of the night.

Add outdoor mat, awning lights, an electric cooler, ice chest, and tubs full of food. Electric extension cords, radio, binoculars, and ... well... you get the idea.

We never traveled with water for the sink, but we always carried 2 six gallon jugs of water from home.

Add sleeping bags, sheets, pillows, rugs on the floor, 2 kids, 2 adults, 1 dog and 1 cat, 1 rabbit, 1 chicken (yes a chicken), and yes ... we were WAY over 2000 pounds in cargo!

Good luck.

Thanks. We'll certainly bring lots of those things, but we'll have them in the vehicle for the most part, not in the trailer. Since my engine, transmission, etc. are fine at 3,500 lbs already, I think I should be okay. My limiting factor is the hitch itself, so as long as my weight is in the van and not the trailer, I think I'll be okay.

coolmom42 wrote:
It's much easier to clean up from meals using the inside sink, and therefore you will need water, although you don't have to tow with any in the tank. The sink is also good for hand-washing.

Thanks. The campground where we'll do most of our long weekend and quick getaway camping has water electric hookups, so it shouldn't be a problem. Growing up, my parents and I did all of our dishes in an old baby bath tub on the picnic table, and I think we'll continue that "tradition." :B