Getting back into PUP'S......

[Jim102]

We have been camping since 78....We have had 4 PUP's, one TT and just sold our 29 ft. Class C (to much money to operate).....We also missed our PUP'S......
We are looking into a new Starcraft, one with the pop out dining area. The reason for Star craft is we have had them in the past and always liked the quality and options.....Are there any other ones that are the same quality? We will be towing it with a 2012 Nissan Quest that can pull 3500 lbs.

Thanks,

Jim

[jerem0621]

This is encouraging to me. we just sold our TT due to ongoing maintenance and cost issues. I put about 5000 miles on the TV last year and about half was towing.

I would love to get a nice mid size SUV and a decent size pup with a slide, we would need a wet bath but that's an available option :).

Thanks!

Jeremiah

[bondebond]

Sure. Send me a PM. I was just in Cabot last night.

[RoyB]

Jim- Why don't cruise up the road 25 miles and meet up with Bondebond and look at his lineup. He has lifted his POPUP trailer and the photos look nice.... Might get you looking abit harder haha...

If you all do get together have a good cup of coffee for me... You wait too much longer they wont allow us to use the natl Forest trails anymore the way things are changing so fast now... Too many rules for us old guys to contend with...

Roy Ken

[bondebond]

The short answer is yes. All other things being equal, the PUP will produce less drag when towing but otherwise, if you find anything in the 1,500 pound range, you should be fine.

Let me know what you find in the way of a TT at that weight. I am curious.

[Jim102]

Well, I'm back and still haven't bought anything.....yet. We are starting to look around again, but this time we are leaning toward a TT. One quick question: the Quest is rated at 3500 lbs. would I be fine with a TT or PUP that comes in at 1500lbs. dry??

Thanks again,

Jim

[wbwood]

We are in a similar situation. Had a pop up years ago. Have a 31' bunkhouse (35' total). Still have it, but have moved it to storage at ocean lakes in myrtle beach. Most of our trips were to the beach as it was and we were paying for a truck specifically just to pull it. Truck didn't get driven a whole lot otherwise due to gas mileage. So we moved the camper to the beach and traded in the truck on a brand new ford explorer with a tow rating of 5000lbs. Our plan is to get bare bones pop up. We missed tat type of camping and live in a great area to do it. But unfortunately te big TT was not well suited for it. I've been eyeing some jaycos myself lately online. Not sure when we will be able to do something. Might e next year. N

[bondebond]

Since you are looking for something specific with slide-outs, Jayco has two 12' boxes with slide outs that are each around 2,480 pounds; Rockwood has three models at 2,450 and one at 2,150 and a couple of other models between those; Starcraft has two Comets at ~2,400 and some Centennials under 3,000 pounds. These are all the "unloaded" specs so check with the dealer on specific models to see what options have added to the overall weight. Many will have a decal on an interior door or other location listing out the unloaded weight plus add-ons.

[gijoecam]

A suggestion: First verify whether that 3500lb towing capacity includes the weight of passengers and cargo. If so, then you *might* be able to tow a low-wall with a slide, but you'll be very near the 3500lb limit. If not, you can almost forget about a slide-out dinette. OUr Coleman Monterey had a slide-out dinette, and tipped the scales at 3620 IIRC loaded for a long weekend. THe slide generally adds between 500 and 800lbs to the overall weight of the trailer, and on a small tow vehicle like yours, it makes a big difference.

That being said, the slide-out is nice. It doesn't give you much more usable space, and depending on the layout, it can often compromise the available storage space, but if you're trapped inside it with a few other people, it makes a difference.

FWIW, I loved ours, but I don't miss it for a minute. The convenience of a bathroom with a shower and a DOOR, plus never needing to worry about setting up or breaking camp in the rain, then airing it back out when we get home, and having to lift the roof or contort myself into a plethora of odd positions to load the fridge... Yeah, I don't miss that stuff!

Oh, that's something else to look at... Pay close attention to the layout: Something I found important after the fact was top-down fridge access. THere's nothing more frustrating for a cheapskate like me than dragging a camper behind the truck with a fridge full of food, and having to stop and pay for a lunch.

[galexander]

DW and I went with a Rockwood A Frame when we down sized and we have been very happy with the quality and workmenship. Very easy to set up and take down. Takes less than a minute either way. Did have a Jayco P/U years back and was also very happy with it.Good Luck in your search.

[NorthernGuy]

Hi Jim. It's funny how many people go back to pop ups. We had two of them (Rockwood and Coleman), then went to a 17 1/2' travel trailer for about 10 years and finally last year back to a 2013 Rockwood 1940LTD pop up. That 1990 Rockwood was a terrible trailer and I said I would never buy another Rockwood, until last year. The new owners (Forest River) seem to be doing lots right and the trailers are much better these days. Don't count Rockwoods out when you search for your new pop up. This is coming from a guy who would only look at Colemans. Good luck!
Dave

[bondebond]

WOAH! Totally missed that Jim102 is just 25 miles down the road. (Thanks for pointing out the obvious, RoyB).

Jim102, send me a private message if you want an additional dog to the fight. I bought locally from Mike's Camper Sales on Highway 67 that's now located between us - although I don't see any PUPs on his lot at the moment.

There are a couple of choices for dealers in NLR, LR and Benton, but my luck has been with Craigslist. It will not hurt you in the slightest to check out the dealer lots first, check CL and then pick from the best options.

Let me know if you have an specific questions or find something you want a second set of eyes to inspect.

And yes, Jayco owns Starcraft.

[jay427]

Jim

We are also going back to a PUP this year as well from a TT. The TT is/was nice but for the space/time/money it takes and the few time a year we can make it (busy kids) we going back. We had a PUP, I grew up camping in a PUP and as strange as it sounds I miss it.

In regards to your question about Starcraft I could be wrong but I thought I read they are made by Jayco now. we had a Jayco PUP last time, it served us well.

[RoyB]

Hey Jim - Searcy Ar and now Cabot all on the same page - bringing tears to my eyes haha... I lived in your little town just north of Jacksonsville back in the 60's when I was serving my country at Little Rock AFB... Got married in Ar, lived at Cabot, Jacksonville, and lastly at Gravel Ridge across the creek... Left the area in 1966...

Used to do alot of tent camping back in those days up in the north central areas running the old Titan II Missile Silo days...

We used to go pick up surplus lots of six jeeps from the Red River Arsenal in Texarkana to fix them all up and sell one or two for money so we could get the other four fixed up for us Air Force buddies to run the deer fields... These were mostly the M38 flat fender 50s jeeps back in those days...

sample photo from google images..

We used to have some great times tent camping in the high country of AR...

Finally migrated up to the Starcraft 14RT Off-Road POPUP trailer in 2008 and still running the roads in that... Its got all the comforts of home and suits the two of us just fine. It also is setup for successfully camping off the power grids for days to weeks on end... Our game plan is to run all the 120VAC and 12VDC toys we want to have around from the battery bank then re-charge everything back up the next morning in a three hour 2KW Honda Generator run.





This is my floorplan minus the tent beds and is pretty much all wired for Ham radio...


One of these days I am going to get back to the area and Maybe Bondebond and I can go find some of the closed down Missile Silos

Roy Ken

[Jim102]

Thanks for all the advice......Now for the best part, shopping for one and getting the best deal.....
I'll keep everyone posted as to how things go.....

Jim