Towing a pop-up vs. a self-contained

After thread starter post, OP has not responded. Must have gotten answer they wanted, and left.

Jerry

ctilsie has a good point. We took a hard look at A-liners with dormer options. The set up took my DW less than 2 minutes. We also looked at Trail Manors.

Unfortunately by then we had settled on three criteria 1. A bed you could exit without crawling over your spouse. 2. A bath you could maneuver in. 3. Storage pantry and linen space.

Another factor was, by the time we added all the extras. The A-liner and Trail Manor would cost a much as the 25 ft. TT we were looking at.

As it turned out, our style of camping is camp-and-go. That is we may spend a week or so camping for a couple of days, exploring points on the way, before we reach out destination.

In the end convenience won out for our type of travels but I would give the A-liners a serious look.

Why not look at an A-liner with a shower and bathroom, and get both?

PUPs and TT are like dogs. They are all similar in many ways but each has unique applications.

At Glacier National Park some of the campsites would not accommodate a TT but a PUP could me wiggled in. Of course some of the sites require the tent to be wiggled in.

With AC, heat and other amenities the biggest difference is set up and tear down which is off set my the ease of towing.

goducks10 wrote:
Probably need a dually.

Like!

Probably need a dually.

DutchmenSport wrote:
The challenge backing up a PUP vs a TT is not a PUP vs TT issue. The reason PUPs are harder to back up is because their wheel base is shorter than the TT wheel base you may consider.

this is 100% correct. (assuming that "wheel base" is actually distance from wheels to hitch) trying to back up a short Uhaul type of trailer is much more difficult as the combo is quick to cramp whereas my longer boat/TT trailer is less quick to respond.
bumpy

DutchmenSport wrote:
The challenge backing up a PUP vs a TT is not a PUP vs TT issue. The reason PUPs are harder to back up is because their wheel base is shorter than the TT wheel base you may consider.

I disagree. Shorter "wheelbase" (actually, distance from hitch to trailer wheels) just makes turns happen quicker, which can be helpful if it's not just a straight back-in. The difference is only a matter of skill, and knowing which way to turn the wheel to affect the trailer in the manner desired.

What really makes a difference to me is the ability to see over a pup, which lets you know exactly where it's pointed, where it's headed, and what's around it. Can't see around the TT enough to tell if that rear corner is going to hit the tree or not. So, it requires a good spotter, or lots of getting in/out to check if it's a tight spot. Even backing straight, it's easier to tell with a pup.

So, I find pups much easier to back.

aftermath wrote:

Yes, it is easier to back up a longer trailer but you are going to be challenged at times to just get into your site. You can put a PU anywhere. A longer trailer will not be as easy to get into tight spots.

Very true. Staging is vital when backing a long trailer. Many campground roads are narrow, with trees and other obstacles inconveniently close to the road. Where you start will often determine whether it is even possible to get where you want to be.

If you find that you are off course with a PUP, it's easy to wiggle around and correct for it. With a long TT, it's sometimes easier to just pull forward and start over.

Yep, no looking over your shoulder to change lanes or back up. If you are an over the shoulder backer then you will need to acquire new mirror skills. The only trailer I had that swayed severely was a tent trailer. This might have been due to the single axle or tongue weight unloading when I filled the water tank. Dual axles on most TTs offer towing stability advantages and some minimal issues like tire scrub. Proper hitch set up will be more critical with the TT.