Going back to a Pop Up

[Mike_Up]

I've had travel trailers now for 10 years.

I guess I'm a minimalist at heart because while I love the idea of having a camper that's actually a second home that I can live in comfortably, it also comes with the maintenance costs, repair costs, and insurance costs.

I just got sick of repairing it all the time and paying for all the constant seam caulking and unfortunately leak repairs.

Since I'm not camping much anymore and hardly with the family at all, it just seems stupid to be putting big bucks out yearly. I also just don't have the time for the constant repairs that it always needs.

Then I'd like to buy a new house in the near future and the Travel Trailer really limited my options. I don't want to store off site with the vandalism and thefts that happen at these off site storage places let alone their expensive costs.

So I traded in my Jayco 26BH. I'm going back to my despised Rockwood brand Pop Up. I will say that these new pop ups are really built nice compared to what they were 13 years ago, and are actually built better than the Jayco Pop Ups by a HUGE margin. I thought the Jayco Pops Ups were garbage, design, quality, and workmanship.

While I wanted a storage friendly camper, I actually found the best for size, convenience and amenities. I bought a 2019 Rockwood Premier 2716G. This is a low wall but has the very large 14' box.

Believe it or not, it's just as big inside as the 26BH, has a lot of storage but nothing compared to the 26BH obviously, and has larger beds and a huge 80" X 50" dinette in a 2.5' deep slide out.

Since I always camp in unlevel sites, the 26BH was always time consuming leveling at these state parks, so the quick leveling of the Pop Up, added to it's setup should be a wash between setting up the 2.

Here's some picks of the new Rockwood 2716G

Click here for the pics

Size wise comparing the 2716G to the 26BH, they're pretty equal, but with the Pop Up having larger beds, and dinette.

[SoundGuy]

jerem0621 wrote:
I went from a TT To a PUP and it only lasted a year for us.

Back in 2012 we finally decided to sell our triple bunk bed K-Z Spree as our boys were older, involved in sports, jobs, friends, etc, and no longer had the time or interest for camping. 😞 I really thought that was it for us, we'd BTDT quite a bit over the proceeding dozen years with a considerable amount of long distance travel camping. However, without a camper of any kind that meant NO camping at all so the following spring I bought a small Fleetwood popup and set it up based on what I'd done with our previous travel trailers. It "worked" but we lasted only a few months before we acquiesced and bought a couple's travel trailer in July. Looking back I now realize my mistake was equating the two, a popup to a travel trailer - they're not the same at all and expecting a popup to replace a trailer trailer in all camping situations, as Fleetwood themselves even tried to convince us of a few years ago in their advertising, is a recipe for disappointment. 😞

jerem0621 wrote:
Right now we are “camperless” but I have invested in some nice tenti camping equipment.

Fast forward a few years and we ourselves now find that we do much less camping than we used to, most often only a few weekends each summer when friends and/or relatives are also camping and have invited us to join them. Our boys are now adults, have their own lives, so it's only the two of us and we find we're focusing much more on international travel, if for no other reason than we now can. :B However, if we want to camp even occasionally we still need a camper of some sort and for that purpose a popup IMO can't be beat - a quantum leap up from camping in a tent but far less costly and far more simple than owning a travel trailer of any size. Look carefully enough and it is possible to find a 15 yr old popup in mint condition, one that has lived it's entire life indoors other than when out camping, a rarity when we're talking travel trailers. If a popup which represents a minimal investment just sits there most of year, so what? ... but when it's a $30,000 travel trailer it's tough to be so cavalier about it. :R Not only are ongoing costs with a popup minimal compared to those required in owning a travel trailer but gone also are those days of 10 mpg and $150 fuel bills for just a weekend of camping. :M Lots to ponder but as I suggested earlier our OP Mike may just be on to something here that many travel trailer owners just won't admit - the clear advantages for many of a popup vs a travel trailer, particularly when we're talking minimal use, just a few warm weather weekends each season. :B

[SoundGuy]

jerem0621 wrote:
I really liked the simplicity with the cassette toilet. It was much easier to take care of. My wife hated it.

Back in our popup days the very first mod for any of them was the addition of a porta potti, 'though I would have preferred a cassette toilet with access to the waste tank from outside the trailer even more. Then we moved to a hybrid and I had to learn all about holding tanks ... took me but one trip to a dump station to realize that was about as dumb a process as there could be to ruin any camping trip so I invested in a FloJet waste macerator and created a setup at home so I could service the tanks with the trailer parked on the driveway. That system has worked well for me for over a dozen years but I nonetheless would have preferred the simplicity of a cassette toilet instead, even on a travel trailer, as I'd much rather take small containers of grey & black waste over to the dump station every other day than have to fool with permanently mounted waste tanks. Popups with a cassette toilet are a real attraction for me in this regard, it's unfortunate that more travel trailer manufacturers don't also offer this feature, especially in smaller models. 😞 As for one's wife "hating" a CP or porta potti I suspect that has more to do with the fact that they're just sitting out in the open rather than inside a real bathroom as is the case with with a flush toilet in a travel trailer. True, some large popups offer a wet bath CP/shower but it's still not the same to many of the genteel side as is a real bathroom with a door that locks. 😉

[jerem0621]

I went from a TT To a PUP and it only lasted a year for us.

Right now we are “camperless” but I have invested in some nice tenti camping equipment. Living in the south the humidity is killer so that is reserved for early spring and fall.

I loved it personally, it was a good camper. I really liked the simplicity with the cassette toilet. It was much easier to take care of. My wife hated it.

The very first night camping in it we got caught in a tornado warning and it ruined it for her.

Good luck...that is a beautiful pup.

Thanks!

Jeremiah

[Thom02099]

OP, I admire your reasoning and logic. You thought through the situation and did what's best for YOU. You're obviously happy with that decision, and so here's wishing you a lot of new memories in your new rig.

I too went from a pup to a travel trailer. Had 2 StarCraft Pups back in the day, an old '68 model and a '92 model. Both were comfortable and suited needs at the time. And the one thing I definitely miss about a pup...WINDOWS! Lots of windows! Love being able to see out the windows when sitting inside, particularly if it's a rainy day. A big awning also helps; with my '68, I had an awning that was like a circus tent attached to it, kept us high and dry, while giving us some stretching room.

Best of Luck to you for your new adventures...may you have many of them!

[SoundGuy]

Last year a neighbour around the corner bought a brand new 2018 Coachmen Freedom Express 204RD travel trailer. Here where we are city bylaws allow for parking a travel trailer on our driveways from May 1 to Oct 31 and that's exactly what this owner did. Last season I noticed his new trailer gone from his driveway perhaps 1/2 dozen times, presumably because they were using it for exactly what it was designed for - camping. This season it's been off his driveway exactly once, for 3 days over our Victoria Day long weekend here in Canada. And no, I'm not "spying", as I walk by this trailer every day while walking the dog - pretty tough to miss a 25' travel trailer! Here in Canada this trailer sells for ~ $28,000 Cdn - add a Blue Ox Sway Pro hitch (which he has), tax @ 13%, and he's in for ~ $33,000 Cdn, minimum - all so it can just sit there on his driveway until the end of Oct when he has to move it, presumably to paid storage. Obviously, as with any trailer, there are also significant long term maintenance costs that have to be paid and of course insurance, all while this barely used unit continues to depreciate in value month by month whether he uses the trailer or not. :R In this market, if he did want to sell, I'd say he'd be lucky to get $20,000 for his $33,000 investment. :E And in order to tow it he also has a RAM Hemi. Hmmmmmm. :h

Another I know bought a brand new Fleetwood popup back in the early 2000s, has never owned anything else, and although he did have the AlumiLeak roof replaced under warranty he's had no other significant issues with it. He's in a rural area of our city so parks it year 'round beside his garage and uses it just once each season for a 2 week vacation each summer at the same park, same site every year. AFAIK his maintenance costs have been minimal, it's still probably worth half of what he paid for it, so considering his investment vs his admittedly limited use it's still paid for itself many times over by allowing he & his family a summer vacation for almost 2 decades now. Hmmmmmm. :B

Our OP Mike may well be on to something here. :W

[Mike_Up]

DutchmenSport wrote:

I often ask my wife if she ever misses the pop-up, the simplicity of it and the agility it possessed. She fires back at me ... "NO". But she also fires back "NO ever time I suggest a truck camper too! So here we are, we now own a 40 foot monster! ... 9 days now!

To be honest, my wife was the main reason we went to a TT, the first TT, a smaller Jayco 19BH.

BUT, it was her who told me to go back to a Pop Up and told me it would be stupid if I went with anything else. She said it because she's lived through the negatives we've had with the TTs and now find the negatives of the Pop Ups, the lesser evil. 🙂

While she's not much of a camper and why she liked the amenities of the TT better, my daughter loves camping and we both wanted to keep something to take her.

Myself, I love camping and thought about going back to a tent. Hek, we have 2 nice Eureka tents. BUT in my older age, I don't do well in the heat, and need air conditioning. That is hard to install in a tent and not very efficient.;)

Thanks everyone for the kind words.

[tnrv_er]

I have a small TT, a KZ 17RBS. Its about 19' over all length. I had 2 pop-ups prior to the KZ, a soft side and a hard sided Jayco A-Frame style. I really liked the A-Frame pop-up. I could literally set that camper up by myself in 2 minutes.

Some people like all the conviences of home when they camp. And will spend most of their time in their camper. I'm more of the outdoors type and only sleep and poop on mine. 99% of the time i use the campground showers.


To each their own! But i'd have no problem going back to an A-Frame style pop-up. Aliner came out with a new "off road" one that looks interesting...

[ZINGERLITE]

If it's just me camping without the wife i toss my 2 man tent in the bed of the truck and head for the woods! Nice pop up!

[Camper_G]

Congrats! Nice pup! I had a few and don't desire to go back to one for, many reasons....but if your happy that's all that matters. Hope IT gives you Good service and many great memories as that is what camping is all about!

[Kavoom]

I spent my life and the last 12 years specifically in a pup. We went to the dark side (TT) this May but minimalist with a 21.5 Aspen Trail. Having walls is a positive I'm nodding but a pop up is a wonderful experience and my memories will be there forever. Go check out the pop up Explorer forum. They will welcome you.

[kknowlton]

At times I do miss the simplicity of our old popup. For a lot of reasons, I don't think we'll ever go back to one, but - if it floats your boat (so to speak), go for it, Mike. Looks like a real nice rig. Enjoy!

[DutchmenSport]

No argument from me. Congrats on your new purchase. I think a good number of us on these forums migrated from the tent to the pop-up, to the travel trailer, to the 5er, to the motor home, B, C, A..... in that order. Then there are those who somehow break the pattern and go back to a former camping style, for a variety of reasons. What's important is that you found the "nitch" that works for you! And that's fantastic!

I often ask my wife if she ever misses the pop-up, the simplicity of it and the agility it possessed. She fires back at me ... "NO". But she also fires back "NO ever time I suggest a truck camper too! So here we are, we now own a 40 foot monster! ... 9 days now!

[LadyRVer]

Congratulations. Looks super nice! Pop-ups have come a long way from when I looked at them.

Times changes, needs are different.

I currently have a 26'travel trailer and looking at truck campers! Being old, solo female, most of my friends think I am a little nuts. That's ok... my dog loves me.

Enjoy!

[Reader1]

Congratulations! We have a 26SAB Cougar 5th Wheel. It is small for fifth wheels but works well for us. When we finish our massive home remodel we will be in the market for a very small travel trailer. We will keep the 5th wheel but want a small travel trailer for western travel. We want hard sides, bathroom, small kitchen area w/ table and a bed that does not have to be made from the table. We have looked at a Wolf Pup, Viking and a couple others. Fun times!!!