Where are all the folding trailer Fans?

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 :-)

Jayco is dropping pop ups under the Starcraft name.

I'm another poster who got away from this forum for a number of years now.
I was on this forum for several years, starting about 10 years ago, as I was looking to get a pup and didn't know anything about anything. Had no knowledge of hitches, towing issues, 12 volt, converters, propane, water, etc. I posted questions and did endless research before getting my pup. I can tell you --- the tips I got (and being anal, I wrote in my pup manual) from posters here got me through some issues I had when starting out. Basic things like turning on the stove for a minute to get the propane flow going so the heater would work.
Anyway, I'm going to get a smaller pup this spring (yeah, not too many pup owners downsize), but I wanted something lighter and easier to set up. I've traded my TV for a Hyundai, so want to tow lighter.

We started out with a 1989 Palomino MXL. It had the hard sides and spring-loaded lift arms. Weighed in at 1440 unloaded, 2200 max loaded, and towed reasonably well with a Jeep Wrangler. We never had it loaded anywhere near maximum.

Sadly, their factory burned in 1992 and it wasn't easy to find parts for it. I managed to find one outfit with new springs for them (needed to replace in about 2004) and another outfit that could still make replacement lift arms. When we sold it, it was in better shape than when we bought it. It served well for when we needed it.

The folding trailer fans are still out enjoying their trailers while they still can...... they'll be back. Now, being from Canada, maybe things are different, but the pop-up camper is still popular here. Personally, i dont totally agree with Mike's opinions, but we are all entitled to what we feel. Pop-ups are not worse now than what they used to be..... totally opposite. I remember my parents buying that new Starcraft Swinger pop-up. It was awesome, it was different. Since than i have owned probably 8 pop-ups, either to own, or to sell ...... all have been Jaycos or Starcrafts. When i compare them to the swinger...... oh, how they have changed, yes, to the better. Dont get me wrong, those older pups, if taken care of, were great. They served their purpose...... family fun, outdoor family fun. I have owned everything from a 8' Starcraft, to a 32' Jayco quad bunkhouse, and everything in between. Currently, i am the proud owner of Jayco Jayseries Sport Hardside....... and guess what Mike, the same quality that went into your Jayflight goes into their pop-ups...... i know, ihave owned 3 Jayflights, heck, i had the 1st one around back in 2002! Best bang for your buck on the market........ but, tt are not for everyone. Ya, pop-ups havn't gotten any cheaper, but theconveniences built into them are growing. I say, to each his own...... go out and enjoy the great outdoors...... it's what u can afford, it's what u enjoy!

I agree with Adam about it feeling more like camping with a PUP. Love being able to unzip all or some of the windows when I want to see outside, or we are inside when it's raining. Love cooking outside on the camp stove (small inside stove isn't convenient) and washing dishes outside (one only sink in our PUP). It keeps me outside more enjoying nature. I even enjoy cooking and washing dishing under the awning when it rains.

We can keep our PUP at our home, but a TT wouldn't fit. There's still a market for folding trailers if you aren't just comparing price.


2004 Fleetwood Utah

Mike Up wrote:
X2, the pop up world has changed for the worst IMO. Just looked at some Jayco Pop Ups. You couldn't get me to buy one of them at any price but they wanted $10K with no AC, a 10' box and cabinetry lower than I had in my older models.

Now a days, you can buy a Travel Trailer for the same price as a Pop Up, and maybe even about the same weight.

Starcraft is no longer around since their demise in 2008, just a re-branded Jayco now as they are the owners. Jayco used to let Starcraft design and build their own campers prior to 2008, now they just sort of merged jayco designs into the Starcraft name. Starcraft use to be the Popular Pop Up IMO, not the troubled Coleman brand.

Forest River makes good floorplan designs, if they don't fall apart within the first couple of years. Yet, now they have purchased Coachmen/Viking and Palomino which come with crappy FR warranty.

IMO, buying an old Pop Up is a poor decision due to the longevity of the lift system. When these need repair, it can be costly and on Jayco models, the cabinets have to come out.

The new lightweight and small Bunk house 17' travel trailers seem to dominate the market the Pop Ups use to have.

Plus with the wife factor, many wives I know, only start out camping in Pop Ups, then quickly want to upgrade to a travel trailer due to having a private bathroom, and more security.

When Makers come back with 14' box low wall floorplans, higher seating and cabinetry, MUCH LOWER PRICES, and more reliability, then Pop Ups will become popular once again.

Agree and disagree here. Like many I started in a tent, went to a pop-up then under the disguise of an "upgrade" I had a couple of TT's. First and 20 footer then a 30 foot bunkhouse with all the amenities. I have since gone back to a PUP because after all, this is camping!! I think some of us forget that (I know I did). It got to the point where I was dragging another house along, 2 flat screen TV's, DVD's WIFI booster...... Lost the "camping" part of camping.

My current PUP does weighs slightly less than my 20ft TT but it is so much easier to tow due to the lower profile, BIG plus in my book. I have a "permanent Trailer" registration (CA) and that saves me a couple hundred $$$$ per year vs. the TT registration. I loose 2mpg towing it instead of 7mpg. It has a hard wall "private" bathroom with a real porcelain toilet (none of my TT had that) and is as if not more spacious than my TT's were without that cooped up "tin box" feeling.

Are they overpriced? Yep!! Are all PUP, TT, HTT, Class A, B and C's overpriced? Yep!! Would I ever purchase new and throw half the value away the first few years? Maybe someday when I have money to throw away. Comparing 2 different types of camper solely on price vs. amenities comes down to a person's point of view. I consider a PUP having more amenities than a TT because it can do one thing a TT cannot, It will not isolate you from nature, isolate you from that camping experience.... On the other side of the coin, if I were living on the road, it would not be in a PUP.

In closing, do I feel like I downgraded from a TT to a PUP? Not in the least, I have made a huge upgrade and enjoy camping that much more...

Adam

Duplicate

I'm a PUP camper but most of the reason I'm on rv.net is not PUP specific. My favorite threads are ones on national parks, roads and routes, or attractions in an area. None of those or type specific. I do read the Class C and A forums because I see that in my future as well as the towing threads. I look for PUP questions that I can help answer but as others have stated, new PUPs are not attractive given the pricepoint.

My PUP is old and wornout but I can't see spending $10k for a new PUP when I can get a smaller TT for the same price and I'm towing with a 1/2 ton that can handle 6,000 lbs and be with a margin of safety on all tow/cargo limits.

Dismiss Facebook and stick your head in the sand if you want, but there's no question hundreds of millions of people are using it and neglecting other sites. Just like RV.NET not everything on Facebook is a waste of time and people sharing boring pictures of their weekend.