Hi all! So I'm finally getting to use my PUP for the first time. I'm excited to make the transition from tents.We're going to be on the shores of Lake Ontario in mid-October. I'm in Canada so it's cold then. Days are usually around 10 to 15 Celsius (50 to 59 Fahrenheit) and nights drop down from 0 to 5 Celsius (32 to 41 Fahrenheit).Because I've always been in tents, I've never been this late in the year. My tent camping season has always been from mid May through mid September. This year was hell though, it snowed when we were in our tent mid-May. Hence the great switch to a PUP!I've learned from all of you to put Reflectix under the mattresses and in between the windows and to put Pop Up Gizmos on the tops of the bed pull-outs.I've never actually had an electrical camping site before so in the 50+ times that I've been camping this will be my first time on an electrical site. Our trailer has two plugs in it so I can put a little safety space heater that I have in there. Our PUP doesn't have a water system (the previous owner ripped out the water tank).Is there anything I should know about using an electrical site and cold weather camping with a PUP? I don't think there are many Canadians on this site but if you've been to an Ontario Provincial Park any tips you guys have would be great. I'll be at Sandbanks Provincial Park: Park Info & Park Photos

A just make sure that the internal electrical system can handle the load. The good news it's that it's easy to sneak an extension from the pedestal through a zipper seam, etc. That would probably be my 1st choice since you really don't know the PUP well yet and that heater will likely get a workout.

SCVJeff wrote:it's easy to sneak an extension from the pedestal through a zipper seam, etc.That is an awesome idea. I don't even need to use the plug. We only have one thing to plug in so it totally makes sense to just use an extension cord.

I always run a couple of nights in the home back yard when doing something new... I like the idea of the surprises to happen when at home instead 30 miles back off the beaten path...I connect my 30A OFF-ROAD POPUP to a RV30A-15A long dogbone adapter and run a 10 or 12 GAUGE three conductor extension cord from the garage to the POPUP TRAILER.It is best to plan out at the home camping routine what you can run off of your battery and how long it takes it to drop them to their 50% charge cycle.I can also run my OFF-ROAD POPUP camper off my 2KW Honda generator sitting in the tailgate corner of my covered and locked truck bed. This is how I recharge my 255AH Battery bank when it gets dropped down it tits 50% charge state when campiing off the power grid. I can re-charge theses batteries back up to their 90% charge state using my on-board smart mode converter/charger in just a quick three hour generator run time.We camp alot off the power grid with out OFF-ROAD POPUP here on the East side of the US....ALot of us older TENT campers like to do this I think haha...We still still do alot of TENT camping as well...In all the years we never went big on the hard wall campers... Our love is really tent camping either on the ground or in our OFF-ROAD POPUP trailer. Coffee always taste the best listening to the babbling brooks way back in the woods somewhere..Roy Ken

Here, here, Roy!The great news is that since you don't have a water system, you can camp as long as you want into winter until it just becomes unruly. I lived in northern Wisconsin right at the edge of the snow belt so 143cm of snow is typical. That made for some fun camping.Without water, your biggest concern with dropping temperatures would be how the vinyl is going to react. Everything stiffens up and I get a little nervous about the clear window vinyl as it approaches water freezing temperatures. There's nothing magical about 0 degree C for vinyl but it really gets stiff and I'm afraid it will break on me the older it gets. Some folks will turn the furnace on high for a while right before closing up the PUP to keep the windows as pliable as possible. I haven't ever gone there.Anyway, if you keep your tenting mindset but also don't go crazy on loading up all of the accessories you can get your hands on, you'll really like the PUP life.The add-ons you have listed are great additions. I don't have proper Reflectix for my windows but use the silver-tinted automobile sun shades. Otherwise, I've got the rest and know them to all be helpful in keeping the temperatures inside I want. I'm about to head out right now and facing highs around 34 C. Come on air conditioner and PUGs!

@RoyB Those are AWESOME suggestions! We don't have a house, we rent an apartment in Toronto, so unfortunately we have nowhere to do that right now :( We rent space in a farmer's field along with a few friends to store our trailers there. Stupid by-laws in Toronto prevent you from having trailers in apartment parking lots or even on the parking spots at the side of the road. Laws here are very restricting. Once we get a house (we were close to buying last month but sellers decided not to sell - hopefully in spring we'll have one) I will definitely be doing your suggestions!

Using my PUP for the 1st time | Good Sam Community

sbstryker
Explorer
Sep 26, 2015
Dream Girl wrote:
Yep! one wheel on the ground and one wheel on the leveler!

I ordered one from Amazon about a week ago and Amazon is saying it won't ship until November! I live 20 minutes from the Canadian Amazon headquarters...

So I'll have to use the levelling blocks when we go camping in three weeks over Thanksgiving.
Dream_Girl
Explorer
Sep 25, 2015
sbstryker wrote:
@Dream Girl & @cbshoestring Good to know! Only one Andersen Leveler then. I'll watch a YouTube tutorial.

Yep! one wheel on the ground and one wheel on the leveler!
JLTN_James
Explorer
Sep 23, 2015
I've camped several times in freezing overnight temperatures. Only once have I closed the unit down during colder weather. We ran the propane furnace and the electric heater on high until the very last moment. This helped keep the vinyl pliable. We moved pretty quick once the door was stored though.
Since we use the water system, we drain the pipes for the night. Simply shut off the pump or disconnect the city water line, open the sink faucet and the low-point drains. The water tank wasn't in danger, and the water heater was full and on so no risk of freezing there! If camping where hard freezing is possible, we fully drain the entire water system and use bottled (tap) water.
sbstryker
Explorer
Sep 19, 2015
@Dream Girl & @cbshoestring Good to know! Only one Andersen Leveler then. I'll watch a YouTube tutorial.
OutdoorPhotogra
Explorer
Sep 18, 2015
Thanks. Good to know. Only at a couple state parks have I needed more than 4", at least if I play around a little bit.
cbshoestring
Explorer II
Sep 18, 2015
OutdoorPhotographer wrote:
I'll second the Anderson levelers. My door is a royal pain if the PUP isn't nearly perfectly level which was difficult to achieve with 1x6 boards. With the Anderson I can be center bubble in a minute and door works perfectly. My only regret is camping without it for five years.

DO NOT MAKE THE MISTAKE of putting anything under the Anderson if it is not high enough. Yes, I put a linx block under there..thank God it was still attached to the truck when all that plastic went slithering this way and that way.

Andersen will get you about 4" max, after that...too much tire hanging over the edge.

When we had our Pup, a very small electric heater kept us snug in low 30*(f) temps. I used the extension under the corner of the tent, to the pedestal method. That kept the heater on it's own circuit.

HAPPY CAMPING.
Dream_Girl
Explorer
Sep 18, 2015
sbstryker wrote:
@Dream Girl Shoot, I don't have that kind. Thanks for the advice!

OK that's two positive votes for the Anderson levelers. Looks like I'll need to order two of those.

You only need one!!!
you chock the the other wheel with a simple basic cheep RV chock
You must have one wheel on the ground at all time!
sbstryker
Explorer
Sep 18, 2015
@Dream Girl Shoot, I don't have that kind. Thanks for the advice!

OK that's two positive votes for the Anderson levelers. Looks like I'll need to order two of those.
OutdoorPhotogra
Explorer
Sep 18, 2015
I'll second the Anderson levelers. My door is a royal pain if the PUP isn't nearly perfectly level which was difficult to achieve with 1x6 boards. With the Anderson I can be center bubble in a minute and door works perfectly. My only regret is camping without it for five years.
Dream_Girl
Explorer
Sep 18, 2015
sbstryker wrote:
Dream Girl wrote:
If you have no choice, go to home depot and get the "GREAT STUFF 16 oz. Pestblock Insulating Foam" and seal all the holes under the trailer!!!

OOOO I have several cans of that stuff at home. My husband uses it to seal the gaps between the window ACs in our apartment and the walls. Good tip!

Just make sure it's the "Pestblock" stuff, as the other insulating foams are mice favorite snack!