Hard side series pop up?

[grumpysmurf]

we have been looking at pop up trailers and was introduced to the hard series. Can anyone share any experience with these, pro's and con's, other than they are a lot more expensive and take just minutes to set up.
Thank you!

[jackquontee]

xteacher wrote:

I think you'd love the Aliner Expedition. We have its poor cousin, the Ranger 15

Thanks for all the insight into the benefits of the Aliner. I presently have the Scout but have been wanting to move up to something longer for more space and amenities. Not quite ready to purchase just yet as I'd like to pay off the Scout, but I see it coming. lol

[xteacher]

jackquontee wrote:
I've looked at the Trailmanors and the Aliner Expeditions and, to be quite honest, I'm looking at the Expedition. The TM's just seem much too antiquated in their finishes for my liking.

I think you'd love the Aliner Expedition. We have its poor cousin, the Ranger 15 and love it (same size, a few fewer features, less expensive)! I'd avoid dormers though, because there have been several reports of them leaking; we got an Aliner to avoid canvas in the first place. We also have the Cool Cat heat pump and love it (you must have electric hook ups to use it). If you camp in warm/hot weather, it's a must; it's 11k vs. the standard 5k standard unit. If you camp in cooler weather, the 5k a/c will probably be okay. Also add a furnace if you camp in cold weather. The Cool Cat will only work down to about 40 degrees at best.

We also have the built in cassette potty, which is awesome! It's SO much better than lugging a porta potty around, and it's very easy to empty. We chose not to get the shower option, because it really cuts into the useable square footage of an already small camper. We camp at state and federal parks with no sewer hook ups for the most part, so going to the bath house for showers isn't a big deal. We take an over flow tank along to capture gray water.

[rickm]

We are loving our new Jayco Jay Series Sport hard wall

[avoidcrowds]

"TM's just seem much too antiquated in their finishes"

Have you looked at the TrailManor Silvertrail models? Much nicer than the old style, both inside and out. They came out with that the month I took delivery of my white unit. Wish I had known about the Silvertrail when I ordered!

[jackquontee]

I've looked at the Trailmanors and the Aliner Expeditions and, to be quite honest, I'm looking at the Expedition. The TM's just seem much too antiquated in their finishes for my liking.

[avoidcrowds]

We also have a TrailManor. Yes, they cost more. But, they have more room, stay warmer in the cold months, are more stable in wind, and have more amenities than many canvas popups. We had a Jayco pup for 10 years, and loved it. Upgraded to the TrailManor, and the wife is ecstatic!

I sold my first TrailManor to a family that also was looking at A-liners. More room in the TM was the reason they bought mine. (I bought a different model TM, is why I sold my first.)

It all depends on what you like. Look at them all, and decide which one excites you the most.

[lfloom]

After two traditional PUPs, we upgraded to a Trailmanor, and we love it. It is much easier to set up and much more solid inside. We camped in some high winds last year and the thing barely swayed.

[rbpru]

We have a large PUP and we looked at several A-liners. The PUP has more room for grandkids; the A-liner is far more convenient.

We decided that for the style of travel we wanted to do a TT was a better choice. However, I kept the PUP and still use it when I need sleeping room or ease if maneuvering.

[xteacher]

We're on our second Aliner, a Ranger 15. We love it! It tows easily behind our 2010 Pathfinder and fits into nearly any site. If you're okay with small spaces, it's a great camper! Our Ranger 15 has a sofa/true queen bed (60x80), a nice dinette/single bed, a flushable cassette potty, a small fridge, a Fantastic Fan, a two burner stove, an outside shower, and decent storage. We've added a microwave, portable icemaker, coffee maker, additional storage containers for clothes and food, toaster oven, electric frying pan, grill, outdoor kitchen, Easy-up, a couple of small tables, and a screen room.

It only takes about a minute to set up the camper walls, then about 15 - 30 minutes getting all of our "luxuries" situated. It's wonderful not having canvas!

There's a FB group for a frames. Come on over! We're a friendly snd helpful bunch of folks!

[RobertRyan]

gheicher wrote:
As I Have posted previously:
"I'm on my third Aliner product in the last 10 years, all pre-owned. The first was a 1994 Classic that we enjoyed but it only had an "ice-box" rather than a fridge. I did have some leaks around the windows that I repaired, then decided to upgrade to a small TT.

I missed the ease of towing, especially with my Subaru, so I purchased a slightly used 2004 Aliner Alite (400 lbs net) for those times I would go camping myself. It would sleep two but with the bed set up for two, it took all the interior space. Was great for solo trips but just didn't go often enough myself to justify keeping the unit.

The next Aliner was a 2004 Classic (995 lbs net) and becoming older and sybaritic, I added an air conditioner and cassette toilet. While I also have a Starcraft AR-ONE 15RB hybrid TT, the Aliner is great for longer trips since towing is easy, I can see over the trailer with my Ford Explorer's rear-view mirror, and the gas mileage is only slightly less than without the trailer.

I know A-Frame campers are not everybody's cup-of-tea, but my opinion is, while not the best units for long-term camping, they make great travel trailers with quick set up and no wet fabric to fold after a rain. There are even people out there that full-time in one, e.g., Sandi’s Aliner & Route 66"

Sister was going to get the AVAN version here, but went for a Class B instead. AVAN still sells a lot of these plus their own design Pop Up Trailers Another local maker Bolwell has copied the Aliner
One of their own design Pop Up Trailers, the Ray

[gheicher]

As I Have posted previously:
"I'm on my third Aliner product in the last 10 years, all pre-owned. The first was a 1994 Classic that we enjoyed but it only had an "ice-box" rather than a fridge. I did have some leaks around the windows that I repaired, then decided to upgrade to a small TT.

I missed the ease of towing, especially with my Subaru, so I purchased a slightly used 2004 Aliner Alite (400 lbs net) for those times I would go camping myself. It would sleep two but with the bed set up for two, it took all the interior space. Was great for solo trips but just didn't go often enough myself to justify keeping the unit.

The next Aliner was a 2004 Classic (995 lbs net) and becoming older and sybaritic, I added an air conditioner and cassette toilet. While I also have a Starcraft AR-ONE 15RB hybrid TT, the Aliner is great for longer trips since towing is easy, I can see over the trailer with my Ford Explorer's rear-view mirror, and the gas mileage is only slightly less than without the trailer.

I know A-Frame campers are not everybody's cup-of-tea, but my opinion is, while not the best units for long-term camping, they make great travel trailers with quick set up and no wet fabric to fold after a rain. There are even people out there that full-time in one, e.g., Sandi’s Aliner & Route 66"

[Campfire_Time]

Before we bought our first hybrid in '03 we looked at Aliners because the notion of easy towing was very appealing. We sat in all different sizes and no matter what even the largest ones made us feel claustrophobic.

So sit in one and imagine yourself in it on a crappy rainy day for hours at a crack. Maybe you'll be fine. That's why there are so many options.

One of the really cool things about them is weight. Even the larger ones can often be towed by a sedan.

[Dick_B]

We had a TrailManor for a couple of seasons. I was intriqued with the design and the way they went up and down. Also, no canvas to dry out and, of course, easy to tow.

[Wagonqueen_Truc]

I have a 76 Apache Ramada hard side pop up. It is almost a pristine as the day it was built.