Pop Up Campers - Pros And Cons

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As a young man I can remember the pop up camper that my family had. There were 5 of us and we would go out and use it once a month in good weather. Yeh, it was musty smelling and had a few pieces of duct tape here and there, but it is one of my fondest memories as a kid. That is why I chose to carry on the tradition with my kids. Except that this time around there were more things to be concerned about other then if we packed enough fruit pies or not. There is towing, maintenance, packing, weight distribution, so on and so forth. Here are a few things I learned about popup campers 30 years later.

When picking a pop up camper one must consider the towing capacity of the vehicle they wish to use for towing. Your towing capacity will limit your choices. Ignore the ‘dry’ weight when calculating this. Dry weight will not include battery, propane, fridge, A/C or any options. Also consider that even though the aluminum roof will hold up to 1000 lbs. (i.e. snow). But you can stow 200 – 300 lbs. of luggage, coolers, kayaks, etc. Add this to your total weight.

Many other campers I speak with talk a great deal about the actual tires. The larger the better, read your manual. Be prepared to keep them inflated in the 65 psi. range. Second factor is the getting a higher ply / better grade tire.

Two examples of ‘tire range’ would be - Tire #1 = 5.30” X 12”, with a load range “B” = 840 lbs carrying capacity at the optimum tire pressure of 55 psi. - where Tire #2 = 5.30” X 12”, with a load range “C” = 1045 lbs carrying capacity at the optimum tire pressure of 80 psi.

It’s just a good idea to learn backing the thing up before you get to where you are going. Most people have trouble with this, and the other campers can smell a rookie coming over the hill. If it takes you a dozen times backing up and pulling forward to get it in place you’ll be noticed.

Now a few things I liked about my pop up camper was that when folded up, the bottom half of the door could open up for last minute forgotten items. The whole thing had canvas covers over the screens that unzipped for plenty of air flow. It was designed with a hookup for the stove on the outside if we chose to cook outdoors. And there were lots of hidden storage spaces over the bunks.

On the down side were things like how the counters were so low, the sink was tiny and drained slow. After a wet weekend, we need to leave it open to air out after we get home. All that’s easy enough to deal with, but what I would have done different is get a hot water heater installed, have an outside water supply, get awnings on both sides, and install a bike rack. But even then, my kids don’t care. And if you are fortunate enough to get yourself a pop up camper while the children are still young, there will be good times had by all.

This and other informative camping facts can be found at my site - “Camping and More“

My son has been in Boy Scouts for 4 years now and he is working on his Star Ranking. I have been adopted as an assistant and have enjoyed just about every camp out they have gone on. I’ve learned a lot from those little guys, and must say that I look forward to these monthly outings each and every time. Rain or shine, winter or summer.

Tags: camper pop up, campuer popup, pop up camper, pop up campers, popup camper

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