We're looking for a new home and the 29' trailer just has no spot. Thought about getting a more friendly sized Pop Up as we once had. No, I will not store my campers as theft, vandalism, and crammed spots that lead to crashes from inexperienced rvers are not good gambling odds. Plus the major inconvenience of having to drive to load it, clean it, and park it is just too much.So I looked at pop ups. My god, their prices have shot up! They are such a rip off now. Looked at a low wall Jayco with shower and slide and the darn thing isn't much cheaper than what my Jay Flight 26BH was. The lack of a oven, living space, storage space, central heat and air, freezer and decent size refrigerator, along with holding tanks is to much to give up for no financial gain.I guess people are paying these prices now so they can get away with selling them so high. I just can't see how anyone would pay so much for so little. Prices for a similar floorplan to my older 2007 Starcraft 2406 have gone up 50% in price.Guess we will have to find a home that has suitable storage area for the Jay Flight. Won't be going to a Pop Up for sure after seeing those ridiculous prices.Just a note for those thinking of doing the same.

Yes they are, and if you think there bad, look at new pickup campers.Outrageous!

Welcome to the outrageously priced 2014!!! JMHO

and....have you priced a new, fully loaded pickup truck lately?

Perhaps you can find a farm with unused storage space in an equipment barn. That is what I did. Just have to call ahead so they can move any equipment that is in the way when I want to remove or replace the trailer in the barn. Nice part about it is that you know who is moving stuff around in there and don't have to worry about inexperienced people backing into your trailer. Also, our place has two cats that live in the barn so we have never had a single mouse problem in 10 years. :) Another side benefit is that with a big combine parked right in front of our trailer, we don't worry at all about someone stealing our rig! :BBarney

Fast food isn't necessarily cheap either. It is convenient as is a popup. Not everyone wants a full sized pickup to tow for example.Popups get crowded in the $10-15k range. TTs get crowded in the $15-25k range. If someone accepts a late model 3/4 ton pickup in the fleet, you get a very large/heavy TT for $20k. But most people don't, so they will pay the same amount for something lighter, or more.

Wow, Pop Ups are now a rip off! | Good Sam Community

modern_family
Explorer
Apr 07, 2014
In regards to pricing, that was why our first camper was a hybrid ILO a PUP, those were cheaper and you get to have all the same benefits of a regular TT.

Storing it is not that big of a deal. Mine is 25 minutes away in a grass lot with only RV's, sure I would love it next to the house, but not an option. BUT, we can fit the whole set up in the driveway, so I pick it up after work, take her home a day or 2 before we leave and we can pack and do any maintenance that is needed. The HOA or neighbors never care as they all know it is very temporary.

I guess it would be tough if I could not park truck / TT on the driveway, that would make a big difference.
SpoiledRotten
Explorer
Apr 07, 2014
WrongWayRandall wrote:
APT wrote:
Fast food isn't necessarily cheap either. It is convenient as is a popup. Not everyone wants a full sized pickup to tow for example.

We considered a travel trailer, but didn't like that we would need to also buy a new truck, get crappy mpg, have to find a place to store it, and that I would have to teach the wife to help with backing in - I taught her how to drive 30 years ago, I don't want to teach her hand signals ;)

- Randy

You don't have to teach her hand signals. Just tick her off and see what signals she offers you! :B
Nvr2loud
Explorer II
Apr 07, 2014
wmoses wrote:
Where is RoyB and his OFF-ROAD POPUP? ;) He must be camping. :)

IMO the price of popups will remain ridiculous as long as gas prices stay high(er) and people get smaller tow vehicles. If gas prices were low(er) hybrids would capture more of the popup demographic and popup process would drop.

My 2 cents having owned both types.

I don't know... maybe it is the climate up in my neck of the woods (Ontario, Canada) but pop-ups / hybrids are rare around here. The price of fuel is much higher here, but we all seem to like travel trailers and fifth wheels (but it is likely the climate)

We run the propane furnace, an infrared space heater, and heated blankets until mid-june, then again starting in September. In July and August we almost need the A/C... usually just on for the dog when we leave her alone inside the trailer.
wmoses
Explorer
Apr 07, 2014
Where is RoyB and his OFF-ROAD POPUP? ;) He must be camping. :)

IMO the price of popups will remain ridiculous as long as gas prices stay high(er) and people get smaller tow vehicles. If gas prices were low(er) hybrids would capture more of the popup demographic and popup process would drop.

My 2 cents having owned both types.
Doug33
Explorer
Apr 07, 2014
rbpru wrote:
I could sing the praises for a pop-up all day; that is why I kept mine. But for convenience my TT wins hands down. You get out of bed on your side of the bed, you walk to a full bath, central air and heating etc. Like apples and oranges each was its own niche.

Unfortunately, as you noted, like everything else the cost of a new pop-up is comparable to a 3 year old used TT.

We had PUs for 15 years when the kids were little. As great as they were, I got tired of:

1) no A/C
2) little storage area
3) worrying about packing up canvas in wet weather (which is 90% of our camping trips)
4) worrying about the canvas in very high winds (also a high percentage of our trips)
5) one of our PU's canvas actually had dry rot and leaked
6) fold up kitchen
7) setting and taking down the shower
8) not being able to load much into the PU, which took up space in the TV, and also required much more loading and unloading a the site
9) setting up a manual awning or screen house
10) very small fridge
11) very little noise isolation and lack of safety
12) no microwave
13) no walk-around bed
14) no ducted heat
15) no separate bathroom sink, and emptying a cassette potty

I could list quite a few more, but let's just say I wish I had upgraded my TV sooner and bought a TT.

BTW - our TV is 12 years old and we hope we can keep it another 10 years!
facory
Explorer
Apr 07, 2014
To replace my 2006 Ford F150 Lariat Super Crew w/ 6.5' bed would cost me around $55,000+. No way!!
PAThwacker
Explorer
Apr 07, 2014
Our Old PuP 2010 flagstaff 625d glamper cost $14k with the 13500ac dealer installed at new.

I would not recommend that pup to anyone. (dual drains fiasco, and zero interior storage).
beemerphile1
Explorer
Apr 07, 2014
Rip-off? No, just a manufacturer producing an item and trying to make a profit. What makes you believe it is substantially less expensive to produce a folding trailer than a travel trailer? I imagine the production costs are very similar.

We wouldn't buy a house/property that we couldn't keep all the vehicles and RVs. That would be a definite deal breaker for us.
rbpru
Explorer II
Apr 07, 2014
I could sing the praises for a pop-up all day; that is why I kept mine. But for convenience my TT wins hands down. You get out of bed on your side of the bed, you walk to a full bath, central air and heating etc. Like apples and oranges each was its own niche.

Unfortunately, as you noted, like everything else the cost of a new pop-up is comparable to a 3 year old used TT.
WrongWayRandall
Explorer
Apr 07, 2014
APT wrote:
Fast food isn't necessarily cheap either. It is convenient as is a popup. Not everyone wants a full sized pickup to tow for example.

Quite so. We just bought a new pop-up and were happy with the price. It is easily towed with our existing truck (no need to spend and additional 20K+), only comes with a tiny mph hit, is ultra easy to back into tight spaces, and can be stowed in the driveway.

In ours, for 10K even (which included all taxes, fees, etc.) we got a lot of amenities (hard sides, gas stove, 3-way 'refrigerator', a fixed bed, AC heat pump, furnace, stereo, skylights, etc.) in a space that is just right for the two of us. And we can't complain about our setup time - about 5 minutes total - for everything!

We considered a travel trailer, but didn't like that we would need to also buy a new truck, get crappy mpg, have to find a place to store it, and that I would have to teach the wife to help with backing in - I taught her how to drive 30 years ago, I don't want to teach her hand signals ;)

For us space is not an issue - we are used to small and we like small - we spend our time outdoors when camping and only come in at night. We toured ~everything~ from a teardrop to bus chassis class A units and are very pleased with our popup. Like anything, it's all down to what you think is worth the cost.

- Randy