Pop-Up Truck Camper

[garycq]

I suspect that Pop-Up TC are not to popular but as a single senior I have thought about the maybe looking into them for expense and ease of handling reasons. It has to be easier and more comfortable than tent camping. I was hoping that I could get the opinion of someone who has one or had one in the past. Outside of googling for them I don't know how to find out about them. Thank you for any help you can give me.
Gary

[lonetow]

After moving up here to Colorado in March, I see pop-up TCs everywhere, most of them wearing CO plates.

[garycq]

Realter
For the time being I'm staying with my 5'ver but if I can afford it I would like to get one in the future for single person RVing either local or maybe even some distance when money is low. I never knew they had the versatility that I see here.
Gary

[Deb_and_Ed_M]

My kayaking group likes to do camping weekends - and since most of them are tenters, they often stay at rustic campgrounds. Places my Class C would never fit - and I'm too old and arthritic to be sleeping on the ground....LOL! A popup was the obvious choice - now I can be sitting around a campfire with my friends.

Even though my popup only weighs about 1000 lbs, I still had to add air bags to my 2014 Ram 1500; but it was an $85 upgrade that made a HUGE difference. I recently was driving in 35 mph side gusts of wind, and the truck/camper drove like the family sedan....LOL! I haven't taken it on any winter campouts (yet) - but if my friends can stay warm in a tent - I can certainly do the same in my camper.

[realter]

Just wondering if you ended up with a TC?

[sweetridehd]

We enjoy our Palomino B-800,low center of gravity,light weight,low profile for better gas mileage.
If your running solo and getting out of a tent, a pop up t/c will be very comfortable.
But, the only reason we t/c is we are also pulling a boat , If no boat , you might consider a trailer of some sort.
Have Fun !

[work2fish]

I think in the end it is going to come down to the style of camping you're looking for. As you can read from my previous post, I was waffling back and forth until I decided on a popup and I'm glad I did. My popup has been great for going onto backroads while not even noticing a camper is in the bed. It is also great for using my vehicle as an everyday truck for things like taking the boat to the lake and using the truck as I would if the camper was not attached.

I have had my camper for one season and still haven't had the need to use the storage areas around the cabover bed. I have a bathroom and prefer the cassette toilet, it allows me to dump in an outhouse or directly in the sewer access ports at my house without the mess and hassle of what would have to be a very long hose. I have not ever stopped at a dump station, for example.

It is true that come features cannot be used in some popups when the top is down (notably for me would be the bathroom), but I generally avoid using the bathroom in my camper if there is one available elsewhere; the camper bathroom is used in remote locations where I will usually have the top up anyway. Popping the top is an extremely fast and easy affair, so you could always just do that pretty much anywhere in a pinch. If I want to travel incognito, I can still use the dinette bed if I want and be perfectly comfortable.

Finally, if I open all the windows in my popup (see info on the model below), I would have windows all around and those views are hard to beat.

Good luck in your search,
Mike

[Geewizard]

~DJ~ wrote:

wintersun wrote:

You can also save by getting a camper that does not have a bathroom but I would not recommend it. It is also a problem with a popup as you need to raise the top anytime that you want to use the toilet and the toilet will be a cassette type instead of a flushing toilet with a holding tank.

This is not true of all pop ups. I can use my bathroom with the top down and it has a flushing toilet with black tank. I can also use the fridge and sit comfortably at the dinette for lunch. I can even take a nap there. There is only 3 things I can not do with the top down. Stand up, use the overhead bed or use the stove (too close to the ceiling). 🙂

I use my toilet and stove all the time with the top down. I too have a flush toilet with black tank. I have access to everything I need except the bed and the shower. I can take a nap on the couch and see out the windows.

I bought an Outfitter in part because I could use it, and most of it's features, when the top was down.

[_DJ_1]

wintersun wrote:

You can also save by getting a camper that does not have a bathroom but I would not recommend it. It is also a problem with a popup as you need to raise the top anytime that you want to use the toilet and the toilet will be a cassette type instead of a flushing toilet with a holding tank.

This is not true of all pop ups. I can use my bathroom with the top down and it has a flushing toilet with black tank. I can also use the fridge and sit comfortably at the dinette for lunch. I can even take a nap there. There is only 3 things I can not do with the top down. Stand up, use the overhead bed or use the stove (too close to the ceiling). 🙂

[wintersun]

Popups are very expensive. They have the same needs for a fridge, furnace, holding tanks, toilet, lighting, fans, and other items and also need a lift mechanism and special sealing between the base and top units.

Want to save money, buy a used hard side camper. A Lance that sold for $18,000 in 2008 can be bought used for $12,000 and the same model or comparable model bought today sells for over $35,000.

You can also save by getting a camper that does not have a bathroom but I would not recommend it. It is also a problem with a popup as you need to raise the top anytime that you want to use the toilet and the toilet will be a cassette type instead of a flushing toilet with a holding tank.

The advantages of popups are a lower center of gravity, lesser weight so they can be used on 1/2 ton pickups, and a lot less air drag when driving down the highway.

You get twice the value with a small travel trailer that is 24 feet or shorter as compared to a camper and do not need a heavy duty truck and its expense.

[LabMan1945]

I have a 2008 NorthStar 850SC on a Dodge Ram 2500 and would not trade it for any other camper. I too, travel as a single with two 50# black labs and there is plenty of room for us. This combination has taken me through all the continental US and many Canadian provinces putting over 80,000 miles on the combination. I prefer to camp away from the maddening crowds and can get back into the National Forests, National Grasslands and BLM Lands quite easily with the lower profile unit. The truck (and driver) do not even know the camper is aboard.
As for setup and take down it takes very little time and effort to raise and lower the top.
Good luck in making your decision and good camping!
Grant

[cheeseburger9_]

We just took delivery of a 2014 Four Wheel Camper Grandby for our F-250 Super Duty long bed. This is our first camper and we love it. it is one of the lightest of the pop-ups and since you are from California, you should visit their plant and All Terrain, which is in the same location. Hallmark and Outfitter make high end pop-ups that are high quality and they are both in Colorado. Good luck.

[JacintoKid]

We'll find out real soon if a popup is right for us. I sold the AF990 about 6 weeks ago and ordered an Four Wheel Camper (fleet model). We started with a Lance 835. Next camper was the AF990. Both hardside campers were awesome but I think a popup is going to fit our current needs better. We do a lot of overnight trips to the beach throughout the year and then one or two trips to the mountains each summer. Our trips consist of rutted beach driving and mountain trails / forest service roads. With the AF, I always felt I had to go slow and take it easy so as not to beat up the camper prematurely. Plus, the fuel bill was killing me!. Anyway, good luck with your decision whatever you choose, Brad

[_DJ_1]

After 30 years of hardsides my last 2 TC's have been pop ups. My biggest complaint for hardsides is the small windows and very limited ventilation.

I bought my first pop up in 2010, an 88 Northstar for my '10 F 150. Went snowmobiling one weekend at 25 below zero. It was very comfy in the camper but I did line the canvas in the cabover with Reflectex.

Then I bought my '11 F 250 and modded it for off road. I literally beat he Northstar to pieces. I replaced it with my present TC, a used '07 Sun Lite. It is much heavier having a bathroom and waste tanks. As heavy as a comparable sized hardside. Even at that it has held up very well over the rough stuff. And even with the reduced height I still managed to tear off the blank tank vent on the Lolo Trail.

As mentioned before the large screened windows are a plus on a warm summer evening. BUT last February while camped in Death Valley there were very high winds for two nights. High winds can damage a pop up with the top up. If the canvas doesn't rip loose it can bend the mechanism where the top will not realign when you put it down. So I spent two nights jammed in beside the dinette with the top down, much like a coffin. So there are trade offs either way.

[ISBRAM]

Were on our second pop up, both of them were Hallmark Cuchara’s. We had a trailer for a few years also but it was more of a pain to get to and from our back country camp spots with it.
And I can’t store it at home so it’s even more of a pain to go get it and load it up to go up to the mountains for a few days. Our pop up fits inside my garage on the truck so it’s always stored prepped and ready for a weekend trip.
My wife wants all of the amenities of home so that limits you to 3 or 4 brands; some of the others are very basic. Living in Colorado it seems like we’re in popup truck camper country as you see them everywhere here.