No more Starcraft Pop Ups?

[Mike_Up]

Looks like Starcraft has stopped making Pop Ups. They don't even list them anymore on their Website.

Jayco, Starcraft's owner, has also limited their Pop Ups to only 4 floorplans. Looks like they combined the Jayco Sport and Jay Series line and done away with the A frame campers.

[FordDiesel250]

Our first popup also was a used starcraft which I purchased from my FIL and it was a tank. I kept breaking cables on it even after I replaced them with new ones. I never did figure out the problem.

[BudRock]

They look nice

[RobertRyan]

rickm wrote:
I'm sure Pop-ups will be back in StarCraft's line-up in the future. Sales of Travel Trailers, especially the Jayflights and Jayfeather lines are soaring (lol), and they feel they need the room for these more profitable lines. Lets face it, cheap gas is not going to last forever, and when that time comes, we will once again be looking for the most economical ways of enjoying our favorite summertime pastime, and I'm sure they could easily ramp up production again. Jayco has only one model now, more than likely for efficiency, and if you look at it, a couple of decal changes and it's a StarCraft. Sounds just like Chevrolet and Pontiac .... very similar.

Jayco Australia, not related to the US Company, is selling a lot of these Camper Trailers as they are known here to younger families. In fact whole RV spectrum is booming, with motorised RV's enjoying a real surge

[rickm]

I'm sure Pop-ups will be back in StarCraft's line-up in the future. Sales of Travel Trailers, especially the Jayflights and Jayfeather lines are soaring (lol), and they feel they need the room for these more profitable lines. Lets face it, cheap gas is not going to last forever, and when that time comes, we will once again be looking for the most economical ways of enjoying our favorite summertime pastime, and I'm sure they could easily ramp up production again. Jayco has only one model now, more than likely for efficiency, and if you look at it, a couple of decal changes and it's a StarCraft. Sounds just like Chevrolet and Pontiac .... very similar.

[joedekock]

I have so many memories from my childhood where we camped in our popup. We had an old 1970's popup that was a no-brand I believe made from a kit. Then we had a 1996 Coleman when I was in High School. I even borrowed that Coleman Popup from my parents after high school for a few camping trips of my own with friends. I loved that Coleman! And setup was easy and it was a step above tent camping!

I started focusing more on my career, marriage and kids and took good 8 years off from camping. Finally, I was able to afford my own camper, but with three kids ranging from 3-6 at the time, we needed some more space, luxury and ability to keep food for a week. Plus, my wife at the time thought vacation was renting a cottage for a week. So I had to compromise and I settled on a hybrid. Well... that wife ended up leaving me.

So now I am married again and have a total of 5 kids with my new wife. (Her 2 and my 3). The Hybrid has three queen bunks and works great holding all our clothing, food and gear for a week. our three oldest kids sleep in a tent and love it, so it frees up some of the space inside the trailer.

I do love my hybrid, but I often think about the ease of a PopUp. Setup would be less time, lighter towing, easier to store, easier to clean etc...

The one thing I noticed when I looked at Popups 4 years ago and today, is that its hard to find the larger floor plans without the commode. To me, this is a waste of space. We never had a toilet in our popup as a kid, I dont think you could even get a toilet in one! But now, all the larger floor plans have a commode.

[Mike_Up]

sharonandi wrote:
I think today's announcement that Jayco has sold out to Thor Industries explains.. Thor has killed off the popup campers with each manufacture its purchased. My prediction is that this will probably be the final year Jayco even offers a popup camper.

Well Thor bought Livin Lite and their main business is Tent trailers, not pop ups. If they weren't so expensive, I'd entertain the idea of getting one.

[harolddave]

Totally agreed

[sharonandi]

I think today's announcement that Jayco has sold out to Thor Industries explains.. Thor has killed off the popup campers with each manufacture its purchased. My prediction is that this will probably be the final year Jayco even offers a popup camper.

[tatest]

A sign of the times, local Jayco dealer who used to do a substantial business in pups, particularly the Sport line, has taken on a Rockwood franchise to get the models Jayco/Starcraft no longer supplies. If the Starcraft pups are really gone, then the Starcraft dealer is just out of luck, unless he can manage a pup-only franchise for Flagstaff (local Flagstaff dealer doesn't sell pups).

I know Jayco tries out new markets briefly, model lines expand and contract, new model lines might be a year or two, or the start of something long-term if they work. But pups have been a Jayco mainstay for many years. Strange to see them abandon a core market.

While inflation has been responsible for prices rising generally, the pups have also been getting more expensive because they are more feature rich to attract buyer who want more, and this has pushed them to where they overlap entry-level lightweight TT prices. According to the pup dealers I've talked here, it has lately been the smaller basic models, like Jayco Sport and Rockwood's LTD level, that sell well new. Used pups, if priced low enough and in good condition, tend to sell within a couple weeks, sometimes a few days, of coming into the dealership. So there is still a market, at least for the "basic camper" models.

[wowens79]

I think the tow vehicle needs and prices are what moves people to a pup, but with the lighter weight TT's it is less of a concern. The beauty of a pup is you can pull it easily.

I sold our 2003 Flaggstaff 228D last week. I paid $6k for it in 2007, and sold it for $5k in 24hrs. Best money we ever spent. We loved that camper, but with extended family and friends going with us we needed bigger. After a week in the Pup in 95+ temps we decided to upgrade.

Luckily I have a 3/4ton truck I didn't have to upgrade. Really was sad unhooking from Poppy for the last time.

[twichers]

I recall we owned 3 pop-ups growing up in the 60s and 70s.

A 60s starcraft model that slept all 5 kids and the parents - always had to hunt for blocks of ice for the icebox. We owned a newer StarCraft pop-up and a Venture (by StarCraft) was the last. Sold in the early 80s IIRC. Great campers - at least from this kid's POV.

[Kavoom]

I see my pop up that I bought for like 4700 including air conditioning and a switched out axle with brakes is going for 8K plus. This is a Flagstaff 176 LTD lowest end of the Forest River line up.

[Adam_H]

kknowlton wrote:

I think the popups priced themselves out of the market. They used to be perfect for young families on a tight budget and who didn't have a big tow vehicle.

Now they cost as much (or more) than some entry level travel trailers and hybrids.

I suspect this is a major reason for lower sales. I too have thought newer PUPs are awfully high-priced.

A quick search shows the non high wall PUP's are between 9K and 12K new (CA prices too). I do not agree with those who say the price is what moves people to a TT. I think it is more the "bigger is better" mentality or set up / tear down convenience that moves people to a TT. Now a high wall is another story but we shouldn't be comparing a top of the line HW to a bottom of the line TT.

I believe for the most part, if you are looking at high walls it's because you want a PUP and not a TT and are probably willing to pay for what you want, not just looking for a bargain...

Adam

[ryanb-72]

loved our 2006 starcraft rt10. Sometimes wish we still had it. Ordered new and payed 8500.00 ended up trading it in when we purchased our hybrid and got 5000.00 with a 5 year old pup. Really thought that wasnt a bad deal. Dealer had it sold in two days!