Hard Sided Pop Up Questions

[Kamper]

Hello,
We have RVed a lot over the past 40 yrs, mostly with TTs & a Sprinter MH. In 2011 we bailed on RVing to help finance a retirement home in AZ. I am now retired & we are looking at a Chalet or possibly Aliner Popup to do some short trips & traveling. Keeping in mind we are not new to Rving, but new to the hard sided popup family, does anyone have any comments on anything that you think we might need to know before this purchase??
One concern is to go with the couch bed or full-time bed?
We have done the port-a-potty units in the past so that is not an issue..

We have always thought that these type of units look to be a lot of fun, but is that more perception or reality??

Thanks in advance for any feed back,
Ken from AZ

[retraite]

SoundGuy wrote:
Times have changed so there's no need to carry two EU2000i gensets just because you may want to power A/C. Sell both of your EU2000i gensets and use the proceeds to buy just one EU2200i. Equip your A/C with a Micro-Air EasyStart Soft Starter Kit. Since your A/C isn't a conventional roof mount A/C you can always call Micro-Air for advice on the installation. Those who have done this find their EU2200i will easily start a 13,500 BTU A/C even when ambient temps are quite high and at considerable elevation.

Well, let's see. I own two perfectly good EU2000s, have figured out how to store and transport them, and I'm "old school" in the way downeasters are - i.e., Use it up, wear it out, make it do.

So thanks for the suggestion, but, my times have not changed. Maybe that's why the DW is my DW for more than fifty years, and we've lived in the same house for over forty years.

And, I don't have to spend any more money.

Cheers.

[SoundGuy]

retraite wrote:
So, we carry a Honda EU2000 for the popup. If we're going where we'll need the A/C, and there are no power hookups, we take our "companion" EU2000 and, in parallel, they'll power the popup with ease.

Times have changed so there's no need to carry two EU2000i gensets just because you may want to power A/C. Sell both of your EU2000i gensets and use the proceeds to buy just one EU2200i. Equip your A/C with a Micro-Air EasyStart Soft Starter Kit. Since your A/C isn't a conventional roof mount A/C you can always call Micro-Air for advice on the installation. Those who have done this find their EU2200i will easily start a 13,500 BTU A/C even when ambient temps are quite high and at considerable elevation.

[retraite]

I thought I'd weigh in a bit.

In 2009, my wife and I bought a new Pleasureway Lexor Class B on a Chevrolet chassis. We still have it and won't part with it.

That said, my wife has come to really want a "permanent" bed, so I started thinking and looking. I never really considered a "soft" side popup for all the usual reasons, but I did consider a "hard" side popup. Interestingly, there were but a few manufacturers - and I wanted to be able to pull it with our Pleasureway (I'd pulled a 3,500 lb utility trailer with it for over 40,000 miles) so that imposed some loaded trailer GVW constraints.

As we live on the east coast, I took a tour of the A-Liner factory in Pennsylvania, and liked what I saw.

But, in the end, we settled on a Chalet 1935 for four (for us) key reasons.

1. The Chalet XL series was the ONLY "hard" side to have a gray and black tank - though that may have now changed, I don't know. All the brands had a fresh tank, albeit small, but only the Chalet XL series had a gray tank (and, by way of a cassette toilet, a black tank) if it had the "optional" wet bath package. We had become quite used to having a fresh, gray and black tank in our Pleasureway.

2. The Kitchen layout in the 1935 model.

3. A 11,500 BTU A/C - when it's hot as "heck", 5,000 or 6,000 won't do. Gotta keep momma happy.

4. A permanent dinette - though just for two - and for us, that's plenty.

There were other things (like the electric "lift" of the roof) we liked as well, but those were the keys.

Yes, Chalet has had it's ownership ups and downs; and, it's made in Oregon - 3,000 miles away. The nearest dealer is over 2,000 miles away. But, I kept an eye on available dealer inventory - both new and used - and it took a year, or so, but I finally found just what I was looking for as a used unit, properly priced, but 2,000 miles away.

I phoned the dealership that had it - they thought I was kidding when I told them I'd simply make the drive, look at it, pay for it, hook up and drive home. An eight day trip all in.

But, today, we still have our Pleasureway, and we use it to pull our Chalet XL1935. Everybody's happy.

The only "missing" element on our Chalet, and it's true of all popups, is that there is no generator. We quite like having a remote start genset in our Pleasureway, but there's no way to do that reasonably on a popup. So, we carry a Honda EU2000 for the popup. If we're going where we'll need the A/C, and there are no power hookups, we take our "companion" EU2000 and, in parallel, they'll power the popup with ease.

So, these days, we use our Pleasureway as the tow vehicle, the daytime runabout (and it, of course, has all the comforts of home - DW sure likes that), and our Chalet is where we spend the night.

It works for us.

Cheers.

[Funo1]

SOLD! We are getting ready to put our 2010 Aliner Off-Road Classic up for sale. It has electric brakes, 14" tires, 5,000 BTU air conditioner with cover, 16,000 BTU electronic ignition furnace, Fantastic roof fan, dual propane tanks with auto regulator, water heater, 3-way refrigerator, in-out stove, outside shower, fiberglass exterior, 4 stabilizer jacks, 2 spare tires, microwave oven, front and rear skylights, 11-gallon freshwater tank, and water pump. We installed a Wind Cheeta on the camper. This camper is like new, as it has always been stored in a garage. Rarely used. We just purchased new tires for it last year. We used it locally twice a year. Bought it with intentions of boondocking and traveling out of state, but hubby isn't much of a camper. We will throw in a hitch with a bicycle rack that fits between tow vehicle and camper, and many extras if we get a fair price. $7125 or best offer.

[Kamper]

Hello Everyone,

First off I would like to thank everyone that has taken the time to respond to my original post so far, I know what is like to take valuable time from other responsibilities to answer someone's post not to even get an acknowledgement, this will not be the case & once again a heart felt Thank-you".

We are still in the research mode & looking into any info that can be had.. I have taken the time to do a "hands on" on a Aliner Titanium & a Chalet Arrowhead both in the 15'6" length. There are some deffinent advances on the Chalet model IMO, larger frig, AC unit totally contained inside coach, Spare Tire stored under coach, I liked the LED interior strip lighting, exterior LED lights also & interior colors that were more likable, dealer seemed to be more interested in our business & was not pushy at all.

I have seen a used Aframe model on a lot that I would like to take a look at just to see how these type of units hold up to wear, just have to find a day that it is not blistering hot to get out & look.

So we still have some time before we make the jump if we do..Main issue that I am dealing with is it has to fit in my Garage as we don't want to have to store it somewhere else..

Thanks again everyone,
Ken in AZ

[hokeypokey]

We bought a used Chalet & used it several years then traded it off for a 26 tt with a bathroom. I missed it terribly for the convenience. It actually set up in 5 minutes. We bought a quality futon mattress from a furniture store & left the cushions at home so had a bed made up all the time. Area below bed was open & I used 4 cardboard apple boxes for clothes & towels. Dinette cushions were for 4 people total so removed them & covered foam (used foam from old sofa cushions) to make smaller seats & make room for a new 8” deep cabinet that went across the front from side to side with 2 sliding doors for dishes & groceries. We built it ourselves. shelf on top for alarm clock or even small crockpot. We wired in an outlet & stained it to match the base cabinets. We bent 2 aluminum strips so they would hook into the A frame above the sink & laid a piece of wire shelving on it so it made a nice shelf high & out of the way. Kept a plastic dishpan up there & that’s where dirty dishes went. Only do dishes 1x day. Shelf & bracelets laid on bed when we folded up. Table takes up valuable room so we leave it home & eat on lap trays or outside.
We’ve concluded our tt is too much work so we are inches from trading it off for another aliner. Bottom line, is keep it simple & enjoy your time more.

[SoundGuy]

Kamper wrote:
Keeping in mind we are not new to Rving, but new to the hard sided popup family, does anyone have any comments on anything that you think we might need to know before this purchase??

Lots to consider. Personally, if we were buying an A frame I'd put a Rockwood A213HW at the top of my list, for many reasons.

First, it's a high wall and as a result there's room to fit a larger DSI fridge with a freezer instead of a small, manual light fridge with no freezer. It has a cassette toilet with access to the waste tank via an external hatch, no space wasting inside shower, water heater, furnace, microwave oven, stereo, A/C, twin beds that can be set up as a king bed, a hard wall dormer at the front to increase headroom over the dinette area, and a front cargo storage compartment. Has pretty well all the amenities any couple could want in a relatively small, easy to tow, easy to store hard side trailer. :B

[longerwalk]

Just got back from 50 days on the road to Alaska & back. Have owned Aliner aframes for 7 years.

1st one, 10' box, was too small. Either had to eat or sleep. Lasted 2 years.
2nd (current), 12' box, has permanent bed set up & permanent dinette. Good for longer trips.
Quick to set up, but does require the ability to do a limited amount of bending & stretching--one has to reach overhead to push up the roof to set up, and the ability to push a little to drop it. Really a clever approach. Us two healthy 60ish campers can set up to dive in (in a heavy downpour for example) in 5 minutes.
9 moving parts between sidewalls, roof, etc. so while the design is simple, like any RV, there are maintenance issues. Unlike most RVs, you can reach all the parts.
We love the open feeling--lots of windows. Storage is limited, but hey, we just did the Alcan (with 3 other Aliners) without difficulties. Towing with a 6 cylinder RAV4.
Serious pros: lightweight (our 12' box weighs about 2,000 lbs dry) and aerodynamic, easy to use & maintain (relatively speaking on the last)
Serious cons: You gotta shop for a decent unit. They aren't all made the same. Some standard parts, but it's highly favorable if someone in the family likes to tinker.
Modest pro: You can do A LOT of customization with limited effort.
And dang, they are cute.

[toedtoes]

When I looked at them, I recalled some had a bed or couch along the straight wall. That meant if you wanted to sit up in bed or with your legs on the couch, your back would be up against the angled wall. For me, that was a deal breaker.

My FoldnRoll is similar but isn't an A-frame. Some similarities are:

Very little storage space. No upper storage. I was able to get around that by hanging wire baskets with over-the-door hooks along the folding wall - but that won't work with the a-frames because the folding walls are the A shape. You could add removable baskets if you are willing to put screws in the walls.

When you close up in the rain, you will get some dripping off the folding walls into the camper. If it stops raining first, you can wipe down the walls. But if it's still raining you may want to lay a tarp or vinyl tablecloth over the bed/couch.

Setup is as easy as you make it. If you bring a lot of stuff, you will have more moving of gear before you can settle in.

You can't access the inside without raising the roof. When the roof is in the down position, it blocks the door from opening. There is a guy on you tube who made a mod to this - he stealth sleeps in his with the roof down.

The bed will be a personal preference. Making up the couch into a bed every night and back into a couch every morning may be annoying. And you will have to find a place to put your bedding during the day. A dedicated bed is easier that way, but you will always have the bed right there. You could add pillows and make it more of a day bed when not sleeping.

Not a lot of space. It's a small trailer. If you have a dog, that makes it that much smaller.

As mentioned above, the A frames lose head room. Go inside and spend some time to make sure that doesn't bother you.

[patperry2766]

Aliner

They have this model that has dormers on both ends. First thing that got my attention was the high price and lack of dealers that carry them near me.

For the price, you're well into a fairly decent TT that will afford you many more options, such as real beds and storage. I have one of the big pop-up called a high wall, and what kills us is just the lack of storage inside the camper. Sure, there are cubbies and small spaces carved out to put pots & pans, but the lack of vertical storage is a killer. No matter how well we try to keep things organized, it always looks like a bomb went off inside.

My son has to sleep on the fold down dinette when both boys go, and it's a PITA 2X a day setting it up and taking it down. I suspect you would have the same problems on the fold out sofa models plus the padding generally isn't as good so you're gonna have to be dealing with a mattress topper that you're gonna have to find a place to store during the day taking up more space and something else to navigate around during waking hours.

Things to consider

[kknowlton]

One thing to consider is the lack of headroom in the a-line style popups. I don't remember which company(ies) make one that has an extra bumpout on one end, that gives you a vertical wall (with windows?) & horizontal roof above the kitchen area, and a diagonal wall/roof over the bed area. More room to stand up in.

Another thing we noticed when looking at them (we have not looked in earnest, though) is that they are heavier than we expected, closer in weight to a hybrid TT than a popup. (Caveat: we are only familiar with weights of older popups, 1980s and earlier - we went to full-height trailers in 2005. I know popups tend to be bigger & heavier now than they were when we bought ours.)

[RimCountry]

Thanks, Ken… I almost hate to admit this, but I’m a little bit lazy. Actually, I’m sort of in the same boat as you are, looking for someone else’s impressions of that unit. I could drive down there and look at what they have on the lot, but I know me… I fall in love at the drop of a hat. If I like it, I want it, and then I gotta deal with the CEO, and she’s no day at the beach. She was a banking officer when I met her 41 years ago, and she can still balance a checkbook in her sleep.

No, I’m starting slow on this, waiting to see what others have to say. That’s why I was so excited by your question… saved me the trouble of asking it myself! Did I mention I was kinda lazy?

I do have another, better excuse, though, for not going down to look at the new ones… I live up in Strawberry, and it’s a 200+mile round trip to the West Side. We might as well just take the Viking!

I wonder if they do trade-ins…

[Kamper]

Hi Mike & Suzy,
I will say that if you want to look at either the Aliner or Chalet models there are dealers, in Surprise that handle both makes right off Bell Rd..Tom's Camperland handles Aliner & Van's RV Trailer Company is right next door. Tom's had 2 models & Van's had 3 as of yesterday. Sounds like Tom's has more models at the dealership in Mesa but have not made the drive. Both makes are worthy of a look, & there are pros & cons to both, just depends on your own personal taste. Good luck in your search,
Ken

[RimCountry]

Excellent question, Ken... I hope it generates some response. My wife and I are considering giving the Aliner a look, too. We've done the full-size RV, the smaller camper vans, and have decided we love the convenience of a popup. BUT... at this point in life, our Viking is not always that convenient, especially when pulling into a campsite a little later in the day than we had planned. We were up in Colorado at a campground and witnessed a couple of guys pull in with their Aliner, and - no exaggeration - they had it up and had crawled inside in under 5 minutes!

I, too, want to know... was that reality, or merely an hallucination?

PS: I wanted to meet these guys and get a "tour" of their rig, but they were up and gone before the sun! 😕

[Lwiddis]

Popping up and taking down takes a while. You and DW okay with that? And no using the portapotty or making lunch on the road without lots of effort.