Driving With a Pop Up vs Hardside??

I have no either/or experience, but we have been traveling with a 2004 Outfitter Apex8 with no feeling of being compromised. We averaged 12.7 mpg during this past year's trip to Vancouver Is, Hyder, AK, & Jasper/Banff.

For ten years we had a Phoenix popup, 1000 lbs dry, on a std cab, longbed Tundra. The combination drove like a dream. You had to look in the mirror to be sure the camper was still there. On occasion, we drove in 60 mph winds, the only problem being our fear that something might blow off. Other than a vent cover, nothing did.

Now we have a Northern Lite 10-2, 2500 lbs dry, on a longbed Dodge diesel dually. Highway restrictions have kept us parked in a Walmart lot during high winds. We are glad to have a dually, and we beefed up the Dodge front end to provide the stability we wanted. It drives fine, but doesn’t compare with the Phoenix and Tundra, especially on unpaved roads.

So why did we switch? Three reasons: (1) We wanted a bathroom, (2) we wanted a fridge with a freezer, and (3) getting on toward ages 70 and 80, we no longer relished raising the popup by muscle power. We could have switched to a heavier (and more costly) popup. But that would have required that we upgrade our truck too. Instead we decided to go all the way to a hardtop and a dually/diesel truck.

The OP wondered about air conditioning, a window unit or a rooftop: The window unit in our Phoenix worked better for us than the rooftop on our NL because it was in our bedroom, which is where we want most of the cool air.

So which is better? The Dodge and NL that we have now suits us fine. We especially like having a readily available bathroom and stopping for lunch without popping a top – and not having to get outside in foul weather to drop and secure the top.

On the other hand, when we were younger, the Phoenix and Tundra suited us fine. Surprisingly, we paid only about a 3 mpg penalty when we switched to the Dodge, but it’s a diesel. And we don’t drive as fast as we used to.

A final word: before buying our present rig, we rented a NL on a new Ford SRW. Consequently, we decided to get a different model NL than what we thought we wanted. And driving the Ford SRW convinced us to get a dually.

I had a Hallmark Milner (popup) and currently a Northstar Laredo SC on a 2006 Dodge 2500 CTD Shortbed.. About a 300# base weight difference. There is very little difference between the way they feel on the highway. Fuel mileage is only slightly (1mpg?) worse.

Offroad there is a little more rocking with the hard side but that is an acceptable trade off for me in exchange for the convenience, quietness and insulation of the hard side. The only real difference is the added height of the hard side if in low-canopy trees or tight rock walls on the side of the trail. Really not an issue on most FS roads I've been on.

Feel free to pm me if questions.

joelc wrote:
What kind of camping do you do. If you have anything with fabric you might not be allowed in National Parks due to some wildlife you would not want to enter your camper.

I have been to 41 of our 61 National parks and I have never seen anything like this. The closest I can recall is you can't stay at fishing bridge campground with a soft side. You can go in the park etc, no issues, just can't camp there. But there are 12 other campgrounds inside the park you can use. Fishing bridge is inside yellowstone. Also fishing bridge is my least favorite CG,
But they are re doing it so hopefully it is better. It's the only full hook up CG in the park. Not that important to me. YMMV

Dagwood_55 wrote:
OP here, thanks for all the good info.

My main concern or question was more on how the 2 different TC's drive. I understand the popup will hardly be noticable on a 350 SRW. But how does the 350 SRW handle with a med sized hard side TC on it. Will it be fine on most NF roads?? I have no intention on "rock crawling" or "mudding" But do want to get off the pavement and down regular maintained NF gravel roads. And I don't want a white knuckle experience while driving in traffic dow the interstate @ 65 to 70 mph or across mountain passes in CO.

If you're naturally a white-knuckle driver, then you will have a white-knuckle experience. There's no way around it.

Otherwise, these campers would not be as popular as they are if they made driving difficult.

I have an 850SC on a 2019 GMC long bed SRW. With the camper on the truck, the springs do not even hit the overloads. It handles quite nicely on the road, with little reaction to wind or passing trucks.

With regards to using the toilet with the roof down..... Nope!
The toilet sits on a pedestal for the attached shower stall. The seat is too high to make it usable with the top down.
I have considered taking out the toilet/shower combo because I never use the shower. I would prefer to have just a portable toilet sit lower and then add additional length to the dinette seating.
Bill

Only ones I’m aware of is Fishing Bridge campground in Yellowstone and Glacier sometimes has temporary restrictions due to bear activity.

joelc wrote:
What kind of camping do you do. If you have anything with fabric you might not be allowed in National Parks due to some wildlife you would not want to enter your camper.

This has NOT been my experience in Denali NP, several Canadian Parks, and Yellowstone NP.

I have an 850SC on a 2020 Ford F-350 long bed, srw. I'm new to rv'ing so take that in consideration with my comments. I'm 61 and in good shape. After a few trips I can now see how a hard side would be so much more convenient. Yes you can stop and pop up the roof to make a sandwich, but it is a bit of a pain in my opinion. Not a big pain, but enough to make sure I have a sandwich ready in the truck. If I took up yoga for a year, I still could not entertain using the toilet with the top down. I'm 6'0". When the camper is at the house and I'm getting ready to pack for a trip, I need to raise the roof to go in/out. Don't have to for a quick in/out but for me it gets real old, real fast bending down every time in. So I may be shopping for the Laredo SC soon.

What kind of camping do you do. If you have anything with fabric you might not be allowed in National Parks due to some wildlife you would not want to enter your camper.