Tent trailers?

_RaT_ · Jan 6, 2009

I used one many decades ago when my family rented one for camping. Any thoughts about these today? I know they have improved from the 60's when I was last in one for camping. Walked in a new model and was very impressed.
Thinking about one for my wife, son and me. Any thoughts or models that work well? We have a minivan to pull it with.

thatguy · Jan 6, 2009

I grew up camping in a 1969 Skamper and my wife and I used it until around 2003... We bought a Flagstaff w/ front storage in 2003 that we like, just dont have as much time to go camping..

If we camped more often I would probably upgrade to a popup with a slide out for more floor space or go to a bigger pull camper..

not sure of the towing capacities of your minivan, but a popup would be about the most you can haul I would guess.. Our flagstaff weighs right at 3,000 lb and that is without fresh water on board..

If you havent found it yet, check out PopUp Explorer - Index the popup forum just like TBN..

good luck

Brian

ronjhall · Jan 7, 2009

Check out this Forum. RV.NET

WBWI · Jan 7, 2009

I have a 2006 Jayco Select. It has a 12' box, slide out dinette and residential height counters. It weighs in at about 3500# dry and has a 300# tongue weight. It has a lot of features we don't use(microwave, oven) but it beats the heck out of sleeping on the ground. You're outside of the area but Great Lakes Popup Club (GLPUC.org) is another site with decent info.

Scooby074 · Jan 7, 2009

I too have a Jayco. Its a 2004. Its huge on the inside, and a heck of alot better than sleeping on the ground. I rewired it to have all led lights. I can run on battery for several days no problem! Only problem i had has been with the eyes on the cable lift system stretching. If your going to buy, look for one with the storage box on the front. You wouldnt believe how much you'll use it.

However if i was going to do it again, i would probably go with a hard side. My trailer is 3200 Lbs and hard side would be similar and i wouldnt have to worry about taking care of the canvas. My canvas has stayed very good, but it wont stay if you dont keep up with cleaning and maintenance. It would be alot nicer to just come home and park, without having to set up again to clean and dry the canvas out

mikescruggs · Jan 7, 2009

After 5 years I finally got the wife to go camping. We bought a tent and a screen tent to put over the picnic table. She needed (wanted) power and water so this left of with sites there were a little more firm than true tent sites. This was the only uncomfortable part. We talked about a pop up to get into the next level affordable. I had a friend who sold us a Viking that was about 10 years old. This worked great until the spring of 08 and it would not go up. My father and I spent a day replacing wire and pulleys. That first outing we stopped by the RV shop and ended up trading for a 5 year old tag along. What a difference between the two.

I have seen a lot of nice tent trailers. Anyone that is waterproof is a huge step up from tenting. The newer ones are almost effortless to setup. I would still prefer a tag along, but the modern tent trailers a very nice and I would not hesitate to recommend one if it was in the budget.

Mike

ronjhall · Jan 7, 2009

One item to consider is if you intend to use the popup in a park with bears running around. You will not be allowed to use a soft sided camper.

dmccarty · Jan 8, 2009

ronjhall said:
One item to consider is if you intend to use the popup in a park with bears running around. You will not be allowed to use a soft sided camper.

Really? Do the same parks keep people from using tents?

Later,
Dan

Scooby074 · Jan 8, 2009

We have Black Bears here in NS. Ive never hard of a park preventing you from camping if you have a soft side. Maybe if there was Grizzles? But i cant find a park that actively does it.

Any time your camping, especially in a soft side you got to be careful. I, for example, wont cook or eat in my trailer. I also keep my food locked in my truck. These are just good practices when camping in general.
Hard sides will give a little more protection, but ive heard where grizzilys have ripped thru the sides of a hard side to get to the food inside.

Correction: it appears that some parks (ie: Banff Springs) pprevent soft sides and tents at specific campgrounds, during the early spring and late fall to prevent run ins with bears.Safety Report

WBWI · Jan 8, 2009

I've heard Yellowstone has some campgrounds that ban softside campers. Not all the local cg's have active bear populations so you can still camp there in a PUP but maybe not the "prime" locations.

I don't have any proof other than hearing this second hand, FWIW.

ronjhall · Jan 8, 2009

dmccarty said:
Really? Do the same parks keep people from using tents?

Later,
Dan

Yellowstone is one. There are others. Yes tents are also restricted.

RobertN · Jan 8, 2009

WBWI said:
I've heard Yellowstone has some campgrounds that ban softside campers. Not all the local cg's have active bear populations so you can still camp there in a PUP but maybe not the "prime" locations.

I don't have any proof other than hearing this second hand, FWIW.

Was at Banff and Kootenay in Alberta, then Yellowstone a few years ago. All had soft side restrictions in various, but not all area's of the parks.

alchemysa · Jan 9, 2009

I've done a lot of camping in tents and in a couple of Jayco style pop-up trailers. I had each trailer for about 6 or 7 years. The pop-ups are a breeze to tow and are very comfortable and have huge space once you set them up, which is good if you have kids. The last pop-up had way too much seating and way too little storage for clothes so I ripped out a sofa and put in bench space over 4 large pull out storage baskets. Even the new jaycos I have seen have poor clothes storage. (I dont like scrambling around on the floor to pull clothes out from under the seats)

If you are planning to pull up stakes every day for a week or two then setting up and pulling down a camper gets a bit tedious. The thing to remember is that even though the camper may go up in 60 seconds you may still have to spend the best part of an hour getting all the other bits and pieces unstowed and arranged to your satisfaction. I imagine the campers that are basically just a fold out tent on a trailer would be even worse in this respect.

Now that its just me and my wife planning to travel again i think we'll be going for just about the smallest possible hard sided caravan with pop-up roof and a retractable awning - and I'd tow it with a mid size 4WD such as a Prado. I recently towed my mum's small caravan half way across Australia with my 3 litre V6 Mitsubishi station wagon. I was pretty amazed how easy it was to tow and it was certainly a pleasure to be able stop and have the kettle on in about a minute. The killer when you are towing is frontal wind resistance. Mums tiny van had no more wind resistance than a jayco. It was strictly a 2 person van but all we did was sleep and cook in it. In our climate the awning provides the protection to sit and eat outside most of the time.

dmccarty · Jan 9, 2009

ronjhall said:
Yellowstone is one. There are others. Yes tents are also restricted.

Wow. Makes sense with the bear problems but I have not heard that tents were restricted.

Learn something new everyday.

Later,
Dan

caver · Jan 9, 2009

The only place in Yellowstone where canvas is not allowed is the rv park at Fishing Bridge.
I had fun in my old canvas pop-ups but switched to a hard sided Chalet A-frame. This should have been my FIRST camper.

thatguy · Jan 10, 2009

caver said:
The only place in Yellowstone where canvas is not allowed is the rv park at Fishing Bridge.
I had fun in my old canvas pop-ups but switched to a hard sided Chalet A-frame. This should have been my FIRST camper.

I love the looks of the Chalet-A-Frame, but boy they seem quite 'tight' on the inside.. How many ppl are you sleeping and any other comments?

Brian

caver · Jan 10, 2009

That was my old Arrowhead and Dad would come along on trips since it had two beds. I now have the smaller LTW with one bed so it's just me. They make a bigger XL unit.
A forum I started years ago if anyone is interested in Chalet's.
Chalet A-Frame Enthusiasts

thatguy · Jan 10, 2009

caver said:
That was my old Arrowhead and Dad would come along on trips since it had two beds. I now have the smaller LTW with one bed so it's just me. They make a bigger XL unit.
A forum I started years ago if anyone is interested in Chalet's.
Chalet A-Frame Enthusiasts

Thanks.. I went to the website and see that they now have expanded their offerings, and now have more inside room.. the ones I looked at a few years ago would have been great for 1 person, but pretty tight for 2.. I like the ones that now have a bed/couch AND a table..

If I was traveling alone I think these would be perfect.. Especially since they seem to use small room AC that would probably run off my EU2000 pretty well..

Brian

2manyrocks · Jan 10, 2009

We used to have a true Apache Eagle tent camper. It really had a canvas top held up by support poles over an aluminum body. There was a certain sequence we had to follow to put it up, but if the sequence were followed, it went up quickly. I was afraid the mice would eat the canvas while in storage and sold it because replacement canvas is so expensive. I have always thought that its designer must have been a genius. Very lightweight, easy to tow.

We had a a couple of different brands of hard sided campers. (Hard side in the center/fabric over the sleeping areas) We had one that I liked except for the fact that the bed was a little short for me and the support pole was right at my head. Sold that one, too. My advice from that experience is to check the beds before you buy.

I remember looking at the A frame campers--thought they were nice, but pricey. Also had a concern that since the bed is in the center area, there might not be as much usable space as the campers with pull out beds on each end. There was a guy selling detailed plans and pictures to build an A frame camper on Ebait for a while.