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Car Forum / Driving, Maintenance, Tuning / RVs / June 2006What Pop-Up to buy?
Next year, we're getting a pop-up AND tow vehicle. Tow vehicle aside, what 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! Hello, 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! >Next year, we're getting a pop-up AND tow vehicle. Tow vehicle aside, what >pop ups give us the best bang for the buck? [quoted text clipped - 18 lines] > >Thanks! > Next year, we're getting a pop-up AND tow vehicle. Tow vehicle aside, what > pop ups give us the best bang for the buck? [quoted text clipped - 16 lines] > picking which floor plan best meets our needs and we'd be happy with any of > these companies' trailers? 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. > Next year, we're getting a pop-up AND tow vehicle. Tow vehicle > aside, what pop ups give us the best bang for the buck? [quoted text clipped - 16 lines] > a matter of picking which floor plan best meets our needs and we'd be > happy with any of these companies' trailers? 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. 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. > > Next year, we're getting a pop-up AND tow vehicle. Tow vehicle > > aside, what pop ups give us the best bang for the buck? [quoted text clipped - 23 lines] > I have a Fleetwood Niagara and the extra floor space > makes a big difference. Hi there. 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 > We are currently tent campers (without the dog along) so any pop-up would > be [quoted text clipped - 34 lines] >> I have a Fleetwood Niagara and the extra floor space >> makes a big difference. We're probably going to rent first, then buy a good used pop-up. 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! > Hi there. > My first thought would be to borrow and/or rent one or two for weekends so [quoted text clipped - 76 lines] > >> I have a Fleetwood Niagara and the extra floor space > >> makes a big difference. Another thought here. Perhaps go to campgrounds or folk music festivals (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 > We're probably going to rent first, then buy a good used pop-up. > [quoted text clipped - 98 lines] >> >> I have a Fleetwood Niagara and the extra floor space >> >> makes a big difference. > We are currently tent campers (without the dog along) so any pop-up > would be a major upgrade in space. [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] > 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. > 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!  Signature:) JR 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. Thanks for the help > > what pop ups give us the best bang for the buck? > [quoted text clipped - 28 lines] > > Good luck! > 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! SignatureKarl & Angela `02 Durango `05 Fleetwood Allegiance I purchased a new Jayco eagle 10 in 1996, and have used it a lot in the ten 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 > Next year, we're getting a pop-up AND tow vehicle. Tow vehicle aside, > what [quoted text clipped - 21 lines] > > Thanks! We used to camp with freinds who loved their Jayco; I like the lift system warranty. Thanks! > I purchased a new Jayco eagle 10 in 1996, and have used it a lot in the ten > years since. It replaced tents for us and our children and we normally had 6 [quoted text clipped - 40 lines] > > > > Thanks!
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