What Pop-Up to buy?
Deersteve
pop ups give us the best bang for the buck?
Within a 100 mile radius of where we live, we can find dealers for the
following lines:
Fleetwood
Jayco
Rockwood
Starcraft
Viking
In a pop-up on the smaller side (3500lb GVWR) would our family of five plus
large dog be happy with any/all of these lines? Is it just a matter of
picking which floor plan best meets our needs and we'd be happy with any of
these companies' trailers?
Thanks!
Gig
Well i can only speak for what i have and what i almost had.. I like
viking, I have a toyo 4-runner so i only have 5 k worth of towing to
play with. the viking gave me what i wanted and was not too heavy to
tow. no major problems either.... I looked at coleman and when i
heard about the cracks in the roof, and the non helpful dealers around
here the choice was easy... I know my answer is not as in depth as
some of the people on here but it's a start. all of the rest of the
companies you mentioned i have not had the chance to deal with... with
all the people plus large doggie, have you thought of a medium travel
trailer? might get kinda cramped in a POP UP with all of those folk..
depending on what kind of tow vehicle you get... I am not one of
those people who tow.. right up to the limit or who say"i've never
had a problem, or it's never happend to me" there are numbers and
some math to do.Please do it and tow safely
I will watch this thread to see what other folk have to say on the
subject good luck!
miles
Every one has their favorite manufactures so you'll hear them all!
I prefer the build quality and the after sale factory support I've
gotten with Starcraft and Jayco.
Here's an easy test. Go into your local dealers service department.
Tell them you have a 'insert brand' trailer and ask how long of a wait
to get some warranty work done to fix 'make up something'. If they ask
you if you bought the trailer from them...LEAVE! It should make no
difference but some dealers will refuse work if you didn't buy from
them. If they state typical repair delays over more than 2
weeks...LEAVE! For me, quality, efficient service even during the peak
summer months makes a larger difference than which manufacturer you
choose. The idea here is to get a feel of what you can expect for after
sale service from a particular dealer.
Have you looked into Hybrid trailers? Many are not that much heavier
than a popup but offer far more space, easier setup, full bathroom and more.
Mark Jones
With that many people and a large dog, get the largest
pop-up you can find. It would help a lot if you get one
with a slide-out so you have more floor space.
I have a Fleetwood Niagara and the extra floor space
makes a big difference.
Deersteve
a major upgrade in space.
We like the smaller pop-ups because you don't need a Suburban to pull them.
Our tow vehicle will also be a day to day vehicle, and we want the best gas
mileage we can get. Although we might look at something as big as a Niagara
if we buy somthing like the Tahoe.
"Mark Jones" <noe...@mindspring.com> wrote in message
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Tomes
My first thought would be to borrow and/or rent one or two for weekends so
you can get a feel for a couple of different types/styles. The different
manufacturers do things different ways.
We were tent campers (4 of us) for forever and then when our camp-mates all
started getting popups, we got one too. It is wonderful to get off of the
ground. About 8-9 years ago we saw one at a garage sale and bought it.
That was a 94 Coleman and it worked well for us until it got rear-ended last
year. The insurance money for that bought us the 97 Coachmen we have now.
These 2 brands do things differently, such as the crank-up (new one much
easier and at the front), how it supports the beds, layout, lots of little
things. Even the thing that attaches to the tow vehicle's ball uses a
different approach.
Are you looking for new or used? We went used both times as one loses a
_lot_ of money as it leaves the showroom lot. That and also whatever is
going to break likely has already broken and was fixed by the original
owners. That is our theory anyway. We loved that Coleman. It trailed well
once I put better tires on it. It had the aluminum roof so there were no
problems like the ABS ones had. It was just pretty much a no problem camper
for us.
We have had our new-to-us Coachmen out twice now and it has more features
that the Coleman did not, like a heater, AC (both of which we did not try
out yet), a fridge (that was nice), dual propane canisters (although we
never did run out in all the years of having the Coleman, lol) and a better
foot system (crank stability jacks instead of the friction type, which I did
_not like_). The only thing that I see as not as good as the Coleman is the
awning, which is flimsier in its support structure.
As far as tow vehicle, we use a Toyota Sienna and it does just fine. It
does have a lot of room inside for stuff, makes a handy daily driver, does
not break (180K miles on it), handles nimbly when not towing, and gets 19
mpg towing. A Tahoe would be better though for tow strength, but likely
with more things going wrong with it and less MPG.
I do think you ought to try some out before you finally buy though, knowing
things is a lot better than not knowing things.
Hoping this helps,
Tomes
"Deersteve" <sreb...@comcast.net> wrote in message
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Mark Jones
> We are currently tent campers (without the dog along) so any pop-up
> would be a major upgrade in space.
>
> We like the smaller pop-ups because you don't need a Suburban to pull
> them. Our tow vehicle will also be a day to day vehicle, and we want
> the best gas mileage we can get. Although we might look at something
> as big as a Niagara if we buy somthing like the Tahoe.
I tow my Fleetwood Niagara with a 2004 F-150 4x4 5.4L.
The truck is also my daily driver, unless I feel like driving
my Corvette to work.
Jim Redelfs
"Deersteve" <sreb...@comcast.net> wrote:
> what pop ups give us the best bang for the buck?
That would be a hard call. Remember, popup camping trailers are the
entry-level of entry-level RVs. (cheapest of the cheap)
We put 13-seasons on a bought-new Starcraft. The manufacturer was good to
work with. The dealer wasn't the best.
> Fleetwood Jayco Rockwoodm Starcraft Viking
Among your list, Fleetwood (their "upper" line of popups) and Starcraft are
generally more expensive. That, presumably, means higher quality. Skepticism
here is in order.
The recommendation to buy USED is good advice with good reasoning behind it.
You do NOT need a Tahoe to pull ANY popup. A V-6-powered minivan WITH the
factory tow package would do OK with all BUT the the largest popups - a small
pickup or mid-size SUV would be in best for those.
You are doing well to settle on a trailer THEN get the appropriately-capable
tow vehicle.
> In a pop-up on the smaller side (3500lb GVWR) would our family of five plus
> large dog be happy with any/all of these lines?
Yes. Moving off the ground (tent) will be a big hit with everyone regardless
of the name of the camper.
Your best bet, particularly if buying NEW, is to choose a good dealer.
Good luck!
--
:)
JR
Leesa
years since. It replaced tents for us and our children and we normally had 6
people and one very small dog with us. After tents a pop up seems really
like "living in the lap of luxury" of course we are still campers and spend
most of our time doing outdoor stuff not sitting inside... it is a great
place to retreat to if bad weather comes, there is nothing more miserable
than being stuck in a tent in the daytime in the rain with kids IMO and they
could play card games etc in the camper.. Jayco has been a great brand for
us, in those ten years of heavy use we have NEVER needed to have anything
fixed. Of course we do normal maintenance ourselves. I would HIGHLY
recommend Jayco for their reliability .. and the lift system has a lifetime
warranty for the original owner, not sure if that is transferable or not.
We just acquired an 06 Trailmanor, but are keeping the Jayco for the grown
kids to share, it is still in great shape and we can all keep camping
together.
L Coulter
"Deersteve" <sreb...@comcast.net> wrote in message
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Deersteve
We'll probably try a smaller one to see if we can live with it, but the
Fleetwood Utah is a mid-size that caught my attention. Thanks!
"Tomes" <as...@here.net> wrote in message
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Deersteve
go for a mid-size SUV that will let us tow a roomier trailer.
There's a Starcraft dealer not to far away, and we've looked on their
website. We'll likely travel to RV shows beginning this fall to see what's
out there, and find out who has a lot of trade-ins.
Thanks for the help
"Jim Redelfs" <jim.r...@NOSPAMredelfs.com> wrote in message
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Deersteve
warranty. Thanks!
"Leesa" <lcou...@hotpoop.com> wrote in message
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Karl & Angela
> If we buy the V6 minvan (Honda Odyssy) we'll be in a small pop-up. We may
> go for a mid-size SUV that will let us tow a roomier trailer.
>
> There's a Starcraft dealer not to far away, and we've looked on their
> website. We'll likely travel to RV shows beginning this fall to see
> what's out there, and find out who has a lot of trade-ins.
By all means, if the camping bug isn't biting so viciously that you can't
stand it, wait until fall to buy one! Dealers will give deep discounts to
get last years models, or trade-ins off the lot.
For once, Angela and I actually did it right, and bought our Allegiance in
October, getting about 40% off of list (plus a few extras), and waited
until May to sell our Taos, selling it for about 50% over blue-book!
--
Karl & Angela
`02 Durango
`05 Fleetwood Allegiance
Tomes
(where do you live? I know of a few good ones) or somewhere that folks
congregate with these things and check out lots of them. I think that this
is a better alternative than showrooms with salesmen. These folks actually
use their rigs and know from real life experience about them. People that
camp are often really proud of their setups and relish being able to show
them off to other folks. "Wow, that's a nice trailer you have there! Can I
peek inside and have a look as we are going to buy one soon?" You will be
lucky to get away from them within an hour as they talk your ear off. So
when you rent, take it to some place that abounds with popups.
Toyota Sienna versus Honda Odyssey (or however it is spelled...) [from
another of your posts back to Jim]: We did a lot of research and agonizing
over this choice when we bought our then new Sienna, as they are essentially
equally rated. In my humble experience, the Honda plods and feels like one
is driving a pancake where the Sienna sits up a bit higher and is much more
nimble. I would recommend the Sienna over the Honda. I recently was in a
new Honda and had the same feeling. I see the Sienna as more of a driver's
car where the Honda would be more of a get the people from A to B with less
fun car. Then again, I have more of a Toyota/GM ride preference over the
floaty Ford style. Just my US$0.02.
Tomes
"Deersteve" <sreb...@comcast.net> wrote in message
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