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camping trailers for going on weekend shoots


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21 minutes ago, SOUTH-PACIFIC,SASS #59402 said:

looking into getting a popup camper need pro and con  /cost new or used   email  hrryfrdfordh@aol'comhave been looking but need helpmost of time it will be only me

 

Honestly...a small micro lite camper or Casita is a better choice than a pop up.

I have heard more issues with pop ups.

What do you have to pull with? That is going to be the basis on what you choose.

We have a 20' micro lite we picked up last year for hunting andweekend shoots.

It is perfect for 2...

For a single person, a Casita is perfect!

Look around, the costs are about the same.

(We paid $7,500) for the used rig. It had been used 1 year, stored for 5 !!!

Good luck!

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When we had the pop up we loved it. Easy pull soft on gas set up in about 15 minutes. 
Until .....

we got back to camp after a day hike and someone had taken a knife to it (cuz we had locked the door) and took off with the cooking stuff a lantern and miscellaneous other stuff. Our valuables were in the truck (which was with us) so not a huge loss but went with a hard side camper on return home 

regards

:FlagAm:  :FlagAm:  :FlagAm:

Gateway Kid

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8 minutes ago, Gateway Kid SASS# 70038 Life said:

When we had the pop up we loved it. Easy pull soft on gas set up in about 15 minutes. 
Until .....

we got back to camp after a day hike and someone had taken a knife to it (cuz we had locked the door) and took off with the cooking stuff a lantern and miscellaneous other stuff. Our valuables were in the truck (which was with us) so not a huge loss but went with a hard side camper on return home 

regards

:FlagAm:  :FlagAm:  :FlagAm:

Gateway Kid

Oh MAN!!! God saved their hides!!! Had you caught them, there would have been no mercy!!!

Eeeeks.

Yup...easy tow.

Not easy to open if the motorized lifter goes out.

Not fun if weather is nasty.

Hiding a camper potty isn't real fun.

BUT, for someone who has been using a camper shell and bed of his pick up for years, I suppose it woukd be an upgrade.

I always thought of pop ups as a glorified tent!

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I'm not able to answer your question because I've not owned one.  I have been looking at smaller bumper pull TTs, though, because we miss having the comforts of home available without having to load/unload the truck.  Specifically a bathroom and our mattress/pillows.

 

Saying that, the wife and I just took a long weekend trip from the MS Gulf Coast to Somerset, PA in our pickup staying at hotels.  We took mostly state and US highways.  Sure would have been nice to be able to pull over most anywhere and use a bathroom!  On the other hand, we would not have been able to hit the brakes and detour down a PA farm road to buy maple syrup at a farm house while towing a trailer or while in a vehicle much bigger vehicle than our pickup.  Detouring and crossing Antietam Creek across a stone bridge in Maryland would not have been very fun either.

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I have an A-frame pop up.    Really happy except limited room for storage but loaded..  Lots of equipment I never use because I dry camp.  Microwave  , Cool Cat heat pump.     Great heater    Easy setup and tows easy        Generally alone but ok for 2         GW

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Some things about small trailers - soft side popups don't stop the noise much - shooting, people talking, traffic, dogs barking, the wind blowing, etc. No insulation either, so if it's cold outside, it's cold inside. if you're on the tall side (I'm 6'4"), you're probably going to be short on headroom and perpetually hunched over. Being tall usually equates to being a bit larger all over, and the tiny toilets in the micros are a bad fit, as is the shower. :lol: The fresh water tank is likely going to be rather limited, and there is often only a single 20 lb propane bottle - the propane isn't a real big deal, as it lasts a long time, but when you run out and there's not another bottle to switch to, then there's a problem. :lol:

 

I bought a new 32'er fifteen years ago, but things change, and now it's just me, so three years ago, I bought this little Jayco Jay Flight 145 - that's 14.5' hitch to bumper, there's not 14' 6" of useable space. It's just fine for overnight trips, or even two nights, but for multi-day club annuals or state shoots, I'll take the bigger one.

 

Shower, toilet, tiny closet, two burner stove, microwave, single basin sink, furnace, water heater, air conditioner, and 3-way fridge. I added a double propane rack, and a semi-permanent bed - folded the table down, put the cushions in my basement, and bought a ten inch thick "memory foam" pad from Walmart. ;)

Jayco.jpg

JaycoFloorPlan.jpg

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2 minutes ago, Three Foot Johnson said:

Some things about small trailers - soft side popups don't stop the noise much - shooting, people talking, traffic, dogs barking, the wind blowing, etc. No insulation either, so if it's cold outside, it's cold inside. if you're on the tall side (I'm 6'4"), you're probably going to be short on headroom and perpetually hunched over. Being tall usually equates to being a bit larger all over, and the tiny toilets in the micros are a bad fit, as is the shower. :lol: The fresh water tank is likely going to be rather limited, and there is often only a single 20 lb propane bottle - the propane isn't a real big deal, as it lasts a long time, but when you run out and there's not another bottle to switch to, then there's a problem. :lol:

 

I bought a new 32'er fifteen years ago, but things change, and now it's just me, so three years ago, I bought this little Jayco Jay Flight 145 - that's 14.5' hitch to bumper, there's not 14' 6" of useable space. It's just fine for overnight trips, or even two nights, but for multi-day club annuals or state shoots, I'll take the bigger one.

 

Shower, toilet, tiny closet, two burner stove, microwave, single basin sink, furnace, air conditioner, and 3-way fridge. I added a double propane rack, and a semi-permanent bed - folded the table down, put the cushions in my basement, and bought a ten inch thick "memory foam" pad from Walmart. ;)

Jayco.jpg

JaycoFloorPlan.jpg

Yup...we have almost identical...only sofa area slides out, and a permanent bed where dinner table is.

Took table out and use tv trays when needed. Mostly eat outside!

Perfect for us.

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If cost and ease of towing are your primary considerations, then a used popup camper is probably a good choice.  I had one for about 15 years and used it for weekend fishing trips and cowboy matches.  Just realize that a popup is just a fancy tent with no bathroom facilities and the fridge and AC unit are options.   If you're going used, the biggest thing to watch out for is water damage.  

 

We upgraded about 5 years ago to a 27' camper that the wife and I can dry camp in up to 5 days, with a generator.   There is a camper option for every purpose.  Don't buy more camper than your vehicle can safely tow.  

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I like this one.

E86C985F-BAF5-4CDF-9810-BBA9DEBF2B67.jpeg

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1 hour ago, Badlands Bob #61228 said:

 Don't buy more camper than your vehicle can safely tow.  

Absolutely!

 

GCWR, GVWR, rear axle weight and tongue/receiver weight.

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We owned a Scamp, pluses are light easy to pull and there is a fanatical following. Minuses, early Scamps and some others used very thin wall frames, mine cracked and broke 3 times, no permanent bed so you had to make it up every night and then turn it back into a table to have a place to sit and eat, only one person at a time could get dressed. Sold it and bought a Coachmen Freedom Express 19 ', much happier with that.

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5 hours ago, Singin' Sue 71615 said:

Oh MAN!!! God saved their hides!!! Had you caught them, there would have been no mercy!!!

Eeeeks.

Yup...easy tow.

Not easy to open if the motorized lifter goes out.

what is “motorized “?;)

Not fun if weather is nasty.

weatherproofing young lady, weatherproofing :D

Hiding a camper potty isn't real fun.

what did you think the bushes and trees were for?:blush:

BUT, for someone who has been using a camper shell and bed of his pick up for years, I suppose it woukd be an upgrade.

I always thought of pop ups as a glorified tent!

actually not all that glorified!!!:rolleyes:

Looking forward to seeing you guys soon 

Gateway

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10 minutes ago, Singin' Sue 71615 said:

Yup...and there are several for sale in So Cali.

Just Google "used Casita RVs in California"

South Pacific, the original poster lives in Florida. I already have one. 

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3 minutes ago, Yul Lose said:

South Pacific, the original poster lives in Florida. I already have one. 

Oh....why did I think he was in Cali???

Duh...

Well, he can Google Florida then!!!

I see more of these tiny ones for sale, I guess because folks upgrade.

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I have a smaller Class "C" motorhome that is just 3 feet longer than my Old Pick-up truck , Sleeps 2 couples Shorter than 7 feet tall with-out using the Dinning table. 

With the Dinning table down you can sleep another Couple under 6 foot 2 tall , this is the Grandkid Bed ...

It's Chevy with a 6 liter Commercial engine ( hour meter and all ) and gets better fuel mileage than my Dodge 3/4 Ton with a 5.7 liter Hemi did ...

I have had Truck Campers and Trailers for years ,,,,, And this is my final answer ...

I like having a bathroom ready for use whenever.  Get tired pull over hit the lock button wall back crawl into the ready made-up bed sleep ...

 

Jabez Cowboy

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5 hours ago, Ezra Hawthorne said:

I've been entering to win an airstream every day on this site: https://www.omaze.com/products/airstream-caravel-ford-f150 

Has anyone else ever owned one before?

Those are phasing scams...no one is giving away a camper/car/motorcoach...

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I took over my mom-in-law's 18 foot fifth wheel several years ago. It's the perfect size for me by myself and my toys (depending on where I'm going) when traveling for shoots, fishing trips, etc. Has a two way fridge, furnace, AC, 4 burner stove and bathroom. It's a 2000 Terry so it doesn't have a microwave in it and I need to change some of the interior lights to LED's but aside from that it's perfect. In the five or six years I've been pulling it I've replaced the fridge, the voltage converter and the toilet which means I got it fairly cheap. Our 2012 Ram 3500 Cummins hardly knows it's back there...

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most cowboy venues are really safe - no one messes with stuff at our shoots , but then god help them if they did - everyone is armed to the teeth , on the other hand i tend to agree with the hard side as the setup is minimal , takedown too and your not dealing with stored wet stuff in inclement weather , 

 

ive always wanted a scamp type - i too travel alone , dont need a big rig but i want a few creature comforts , something 12-16 footwould be more than adequate , but last one i found was 8k and im not needing it quite that bad yet , because my wife lets me use her mini wini most big shoots so im happy but it is nice to have a vehicle to go to town , thats why i would like the tow behind - once setup i like to stay put with the motorhome ., its actually hers - inherited from her father and she loves/uses that rig all summer [spring and fall too] 

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2 hours ago, SOUTH-PACIFIC,SASS #59402 said:

thanks every one  i suppose i should look for a hard sided that my toyota tacoma 4by can handle easly. access and weather is the biggest requirement

Seriously SP...knowing you personally, I really believe a Casita or a Scamp is perfect for you.

And, will fit in a driveway or backyard with ease!!!

Light enough for your Toyota,even loaded up.

They tend to run used in the same price range as mid size micro lites do.

Saw them from as low as $1,500 (would be leary) to $25,00.00 new!

$5,000 to $7,500 in good shape is the norm.

Good luck.

Oh, and investment on a hard side trailer's resale is much better than a pop up!

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