newbie,want to buy a old popup trailer,is it safe?

[vincentru]

Hello,
I am a newbie,want to save money in hotel and restaurant, live in LA, 2 adult 2 kids (7month and 3 year)and want to visit some national park or forest,such as yosemite,yellowstone or Grand Canyon,and I have a honda pilot 2013,can tow max 2000lbs.

so I want to choose a old popup trailer,such as 1984,1976 joyco or Palmino,depend on my family, is it good for new camping? is it safe?what thing is most important that need to check when I go to see a old popup trailer?

thanks a lot!
vincent

[PAThwacker]

There is a camping with kids blog on Facebook using a living lite tent trailer and towing it with a crv. They have a 1500 tow rating and the tent on wheels is 1000lbs.

Https://www.facebook.com/campingwithyourkidsPA[

url=https://www.facebook.com/campingwithyourkidsPA]https://www.facebook.com/campingwithyourkidsPA


https://www.facebook.com/campingwithyourkidsPA

[NanciL]

No one mentioned it, but my biggest concern would be the Wheel bearings.
I would automatically inspect and regrease them before using it.

Many years ago I had an old pop-up that I bought and converted it to carrying our eight kids bikes. While we were on the highway one of the wheels came flying off. Need I say more!

Jack L

[opnspaces]

I have a popup that would probably suit your needs. No it's not for sale.
1986 Coleman Columbia popup. It has two full size beds and the table folds down into a third bed. You could put both children in one bed and the parents in the other. Or one parent in each bed with one kid each.

Trailer has an 8 foot box and weight 950lbs dry. It has one battery, one propane tank, a 2 burner stove, and a 5 gallon water jug for the sink. In all truth though I never use the stove or the sink, I use the trailer as a rolling tent.

It has NO heater and NO bathroom.

[SkiMore]

Some national parks don't allow popups due to bear problems.

[JRS___B]

How about a Scamp or other egg camper?

[TXiceman]

I would not stay in a popup trailer in an area that has bears. They come looking for food, the canvas will not even slow them down.

Ken

[DarthMuffin]

Water damage and rot is the most important thing to check for. Especially in the roof, second in the floor and rest of the unit.

Of second importance is canvas damage from mice and mildew (putting it away wet).

Canvas replacements are available, but you're looking at $700-$1300 depending on the unit. Factor that into the price if the one you're looking at needs it, you might get a good deal on a fixer-upper that's solid other than canvas. The canvas is very easy to replace yourself.

Some campgrounds with bear problems may not allow popups, or will make you store your food in a bear box (provided). I liked our popup, I'm just getting too old to go through the setup process and crank the think up and down several times. Once partway up to load it, another at camp, another at home to unload and let it dry out.

[wbwood]

You might wanna look at a liners and quicksilvers. They will be some of the lightest units out there. Pop ups are a great way to start camping. Are they safe? Depends on the unit. I wouldn't want to take one into grizzly country, just like I wouldn't want to tent camp their either.

[tatest]

When I was last shopping popups, my target weight was 2000 pounds, which meant 8 and maybe 10 foot boxes with limited equipment: cold water, ice box or ice chest instead of fridge, no furnace. Many early models (family had one in the late 60s) were like that, even the larger sizes, but 1980s you'll find more are better equipped and thus heavier.

Safe? Safe to tow, in good condition. As safe as a tent for sleeping, if you follow tent safety protocol, no fires inside. No safer than typical low cost family tents with respect to severe weather, i.e. I would be running for shelter in thunderstorms.

Condition is what is most important. You want to find a sound box and bunk ends, well kept chassis, good wheels, bearings, brakes, recent vintage tires, no cracks or breakes in the frame. Wiring, electrical equipment, plumbing (water, and especially LPG) plumbing has to be checked for function, absence of leaks.

To use it, you'll need a tent in good conditon, including screens and zippers, which tend to 'age' faster than the tent material. My tent experience goes back 40+ years, the canvas era, so I look for tears, mildew damage, condition of waterproofing. I'm not familiar with aging of vinyl or vinyl-coated tents, which start to show up in age range you are looking at, but I think I would be wary of any cracking.

Folding, rather than popup, tent trailers tend to be much lighter. Livin Lite still makes them, but the are fairly expensive. I don't know who might have been making them 20-30-40 years ago, I remember them from catalog stores 55-60 years ago, as well as DIY projects. The category is much older than popups, I've seen tent trailer designs from the 1920s and 30s.

I think 2000 pounds is probably a good target weight for towing with a Pilot, but I thought the maximum tow rating, certainly 2008 and earlier, was more like 3500. Maybe Honda lowered in later years?

[rfryer]

You’re tow capacity is pretty sad and I’m unsure whether you’ll find anything light enough. Everything that goes in the Pilot has to come off that rating. But no harm in doing some research for some really light units. One option comes to mind used. Coleman made some light all-metal units back in the 70’s that might weigh in at 1000-1200# dry. They only had a stove, sink and furnace, no electronics and certainly no bathroom/shower. But they’d work fine for camping trips. The real trick would be finding one that wasn’t trashed. Good luck.

[wintersun]

A friend tried to buy a used popup and everyone he looked at had mold in the fabric. Replacing the fabric was going to cost over $1000 for the one he was thinking of buying. I would bet that most owners do not take the time to let their campers air out properly after they get home.

[bikendan]

Even for a popup, only the smallest ones will be under 2000lbs.
And as was said, what's in the Pilot can lower that 2000 number.
I suggest you visit the Folding Camper section here and questions from other popup owners.
Or go to Popup Explorer's website and get answers from the best popup website on the Net.

[Ron3rd]

As noted, look very close for mold and water damage, very common on the older pups.

[JRS___B]

1. Go to a camper show and see if anyone makes what you want new. Then go looking for that unit used.
2. Spend as much time as it takes to find that "lightly used" unit that was stored indoors.
3. You apparently live in CA, so I assume these will be relatively shorter trips. So you won't need to load up a lot of extra cloths and food. Try to travel light.
4. Your two children are still very young. I would be reluctant to go the tent route. I always said it was a bigger adjustment for us going from one child to two children than going from no kids to one child. Anyway, two young children require constant attention and supervision. Just getting a family sized tent setup while keeping an eye on the kids could be a real chore.

5. Consider item 4, and then add in rain.