Where are all the folding trailer Fans?
Through the years I've had tent trailers, truck campers and travel trailers. As you can see from my profile I've been a forum member since 2003. When I started on RV.net this Folding Trailer secti...
Forum Discussion
I've got the typical story. Camped tons as a kid. My parents were hippies and so I grew up with the poo-poo attitude towards campers and RVs. Most everyone camped in tents anyway.
Then in the 2000s I start noticing way more RVs.. All types and sizes, but still I'm a tent camper. Went to camp on the ,Long weekend in May and I knew it was going to be chilly. So brought a heater since we had site with electric. It was cold even with the heater. It snowed! And my air matress would not keep enough air.
My in-laws had a very old pup that they had got for like $500 and had fixed it up. Went over to their campsite for a visit and found that this small thing was actually amazingly roomy inside. We managed to sit 9 people inside (okay 5 were kids that were small, but still) plus a dog. They had a furnace. It was actually hot.
I was sold. Got a used pup that summer. Largest box I could get. Would have liked to have a pop-out .. And hot water.. And AC... But was just happy to not sleep on the ground and to have a sink and mostly to have furnace.
I loved the airiness of pup windows. I loved being warm. I did not love having to climb over people since the couch and table were beds, but still fantastic camping and did many thousands of miles and great Sumer vacations.
Now to summer 2015. Summer vacation in mid July, went to Prince Edward Island for a week. As usual requested to be near the bathroom since I'm someone that gets up at least once in the night. Ended up with a spot very far from the bathroom and campground was unable to accommodate. It rained.. A lot. I don't mind rain, but getting up in pjs and going for a long walk in the rain, through puddles, to get to the facilities in the middle of the night, got old really fast. Plus due to the muddy condition of the CG, the bathrooms were filthy. Not the CGs fault, as there was no way that they could keep up.
Started shopping for a tt as soon as I got home. Something with a bathroom. I wouldn't have minded a pup with a hard sided bathroom, but no way I wanted to have just a curtain. We are a family of five and not that close that a curtain would do it. Plus I did not want a cartridge toilet.. Wanted the real sewer deal.
Decided htt was the way to go. Needed something small enough that our minivan could tow it, but needed largest enough for the family and a bathroom. An htt gives you that pop-up real camping feel and extra ten feet of space with the bed ends down. Still has great airiness feel when unzipped.
Looked at a bunch of different brands but ended up with jayco since the construction and warranty are right. 8 feet wide model, since the 7 foot meant that some people would still be having to climb over each other. With the eight foot width, there is still walkway even with the couch flipped down into bed mode.
Just love it. Furnace, air conditioning, hot water and a bathroom. Didn't even know that I needed a shower until I used it the first time; now on my must have list... Oh and so is the oven. Still prefer cooking outside but camp nachos with melted cheese are awesome!
Oh course we found that we really needed a better tow vehicle, after our first trip in the htt, and ended up getting an SUV with over five thousand pound towing capacity. Classic of us to buy the rv first instead of the tv first.
Bottom line though is that pop-ups are great and if you want just a few more features, HTTs give you that real pop-up tent experience with some luxuries.
We can still have the camping tent experience but now only have to go a few feet to the bathroom instead of having to get dressed and go out in the rain, to hike to the bathroom.
I'm a happy camper :-)
Then in the 2000s I start noticing way more RVs.. All types and sizes, but still I'm a tent camper. Went to camp on the ,Long weekend in May and I knew it was going to be chilly. So brought a heater since we had site with electric. It was cold even with the heater. It snowed! And my air matress would not keep enough air.
My in-laws had a very old pup that they had got for like $500 and had fixed it up. Went over to their campsite for a visit and found that this small thing was actually amazingly roomy inside. We managed to sit 9 people inside (okay 5 were kids that were small, but still) plus a dog. They had a furnace. It was actually hot.
I was sold. Got a used pup that summer. Largest box I could get. Would have liked to have a pop-out .. And hot water.. And AC... But was just happy to not sleep on the ground and to have a sink and mostly to have furnace.
I loved the airiness of pup windows. I loved being warm. I did not love having to climb over people since the couch and table were beds, but still fantastic camping and did many thousands of miles and great Sumer vacations.
Now to summer 2015. Summer vacation in mid July, went to Prince Edward Island for a week. As usual requested to be near the bathroom since I'm someone that gets up at least once in the night. Ended up with a spot very far from the bathroom and campground was unable to accommodate. It rained.. A lot. I don't mind rain, but getting up in pjs and going for a long walk in the rain, through puddles, to get to the facilities in the middle of the night, got old really fast. Plus due to the muddy condition of the CG, the bathrooms were filthy. Not the CGs fault, as there was no way that they could keep up.
Started shopping for a tt as soon as I got home. Something with a bathroom. I wouldn't have minded a pup with a hard sided bathroom, but no way I wanted to have just a curtain. We are a family of five and not that close that a curtain would do it. Plus I did not want a cartridge toilet.. Wanted the real sewer deal.
Decided htt was the way to go. Needed something small enough that our minivan could tow it, but needed largest enough for the family and a bathroom. An htt gives you that pop-up real camping feel and extra ten feet of space with the bed ends down. Still has great airiness feel when unzipped.
Looked at a bunch of different brands but ended up with jayco since the construction and warranty are right. 8 feet wide model, since the 7 foot meant that some people would still be having to climb over each other. With the eight foot width, there is still walkway even with the couch flipped down into bed mode.
Just love it. Furnace, air conditioning, hot water and a bathroom. Didn't even know that I needed a shower until I used it the first time; now on my must have list... Oh and so is the oven. Still prefer cooking outside but camp nachos with melted cheese are awesome!
Oh course we found that we really needed a better tow vehicle, after our first trip in the htt, and ended up getting an SUV with over five thousand pound towing capacity. Classic of us to buy the rv first instead of the tv first.
Bottom line though is that pop-ups are great and if you want just a few more features, HTTs give you that real pop-up tent experience with some luxuries.
We can still have the camping tent experience but now only have to go a few feet to the bathroom instead of having to get dressed and go out in the rain, to hike to the bathroom.
I'm a happy camper :-)
