What you wish you knew before you bought your first pop-up?

[Madzamboni]

I had my "totally did this buying a pop up wrong" experience on Craigslist with my first pop-up. I bought a 2003 for 3k on Craigslist in April and sold it that August after learning what I did and did not want as well as finding a myriad of problems because I didn't know what I was doing. Knowing now what I need, I bought one the next March and have been very happy.

While Purchasing, I wish ..:
1. I would have had them roll out the awning, it was covered in mold when I got it home.
2. I would have checked the welds on the corners under the frame - one had popped and I had to have it re-welded.
3. I would have had a dealer give it a once over to find the bad breaks and electrical issues.

I learned:
1. With a family, that slide out makes a HUGE difference.
2. With a family of young girls, having a potty in house was not a luxury, but a necessity.
3. Hot water heater, which I thought rediculous - actually is VERY helpful in a pop-up. Especially with dishes and hosing down kids.
4. Pop-ing up/down loses it's appeal after the 10th time. It gets a little old. But it allows me to get more for my money in a pimped out pop-up than a middle of the road pull behind. I also am not paying 50.00 (600 yr) in covered storage because it can get stored in my garage.
5. That no matter how many times you re-measure your garage and check camper specs - you need to account for the A/C unit on top. So when you get home with your new pop-up you don't have to pray to God it fits in your garage so you don't pay for storage. I have 3/4in clearance BTW. :)
6. I bring more "stuff" with me now that takes longer to set up. It all seems perfectly valid stuff, like pink flamingo's and tacky lights. I mean you *have* to have that when you camp. I have my inner backpacking minamalist tied to a tree with his mouth duct tape shut to muffle his screaming.

What I had before:
2003 Aerolite Voagyer, used, stored outside where I thought "eh, I can fix a lot of this little stuff" and poured 1500.00 in repairs later.

Basic, with A/C, fridge, and Heater, no potty, no slide out

What I have now:
2010 Flagstaff HW27SC (Highwall) - A/C, Heater, Lg 3 way Fridge, Water Heater, Cable,Radio and speakers, Potty/shower combo that connects to sewer, slide out.

[bols2Dawall]

Wish i knew that a lot of camper roofs weren't meant to forever keep out the elements & a small leak could lead to a real mess .

[Pinn]

I wish I had known that I "needed" 2 more feet in trailer length

[kcmookie]

Getting back to the basics of your question and in an effort to state it simply, floorplan.  There are many different floorplans out there, figure out which one best suits your needs.

We love or 3rd pullout for the dinette, not only do you get the additional space of the dinette, but it also opens the camper up and makes it feel huge instead of crowded.  I would have thought I could live without the toilet, but we LOVE it--so I learned that by accident. 

Finally, I don't really understand the whole "fridge access while down" issue.  I can't access mine, and don't care to.  We bring along enough beer, etc that it is simply a matter of throwing a few things in the fridge after pop-up, besides the fridge space is so limited that it might as well be the condiment fridge.  I guess I am in the minority, but I couldn't care less about not being able to access my fridge while down.

[CampingFamily1]

Sometimes, you see how useful it is after you use it

[kfriceman]

I'm a researcher when it comes to big ticket items, the Niagara met and exceeded our expectations...error & omissions I can think of none.

Our criteria was to buy the biggest and most highly optioned PUP we could find, the Niagara fit that bill perfectly.

-Kevin

[PopUpHappiness]

6. I bring more "stuff" with me now that takes longer to set up. It all seems perfectly valid stuff, like pink flamingo's and tacky lights. I mean you *have* to have that when you camp. I have my inner backpacking minamalist tied to a tree with his mouth duct tape shut to muffle his screaming.
Sorry to hijack, but I am seriously crying laughing reading this! This is the exact struggle I am dealing with now. My Light My Fire dish set isn't microwavable!! haha!

[hosh]

I'm a researcher when it comes to big ticket items, the Niagara met and exceeded our expectations...error & omissions I can think of none.

Our criteria was to buy the biggest and most highly optioned PUP we could find, the Niagara fit that bill perfectly.

-Kevin

Why not the Avalon?

[paulmlac]

Some random thoughts from my perspective...
- Buy less trailer than your vehicle can tow.  Kids get older & heavier.  Spouse will pack the car full.  Not worth risking vehicle engine / tranny for a slightly bigger trailer for X number of weekends a year.
- When buying, look carefully at how they setup / takedown.  Some brands have certain time saving measures built into them.  The more pieces that are attached / assembled is good.  For example, self storing bed support poles is much better than poles in a bag.
- Reese mini 350 weight distribution / anti sway hitch is really cool.
- Don't leave the gas bottle bag on while driving as it will blow off.
- Buy a cheap plastic front to back / side to side level & zip tie it to the tongue so leveling is easier.  Actually, buy 2 and tuck 1 away as some guy will steal the 1 attrached to your trailer while it's in the storage yard.
- Speaking of leveling, buy a BAL now & enjoy it for the entire time you own your trailer.
- You can use a BAL if the trailer is already level to just stabilize the trailer.
- Pack absolutely as little as possible in the trailer as it's just more to mess with at the campground.
- Do pack wasp spray as they tend to really like hanging out at electrical boxes.
- The porti potty is a godsend with kids.  Splurge for the Thetford 585 electric model for a splash of luxury (sorry bad joke).
- A $40 microwave is a great investment.
- The fridge is good & bad.  Mine doesn't stay lit on the road.  So it warms up while driving.  Takes a while to cool down at the campground.  But it is great not having to worry about buying ice all the time once that happens.
- AC is mandatory even if you only camp in Siberia.
- The furnace is a waste of money.  It's loud!!!  Just use a portable heater.
- A dinette to the side is much better than a dinette blocking a bunk.
- Setup / takedown gets old eventually.  (We are looking to trade up to a class C)

P.S.  I wish people didn't automatically dog all older Fleetwoods based on the roof.  Your info is not always accurate.  My '04 Fleetwood Sedona uses the old standby aluminum roof (not Alumitite or ABS but aluminum).  Some of the older units have perfectly good roofs.

[Ryanh]

If you buy used at the dealer make sure they empty the black water BEFORE you leave 

[4nandez]

In addition to the great responses you have gotten already, I would add to buy a camper that suits your camping style. We use our camper as a tent on wheels, we are minimalist and our pop up reflects that. We never use the icebox, have never cooked inside our pop up, have no water heater, shower, potty etc. We hardly ever use the AC (I don't like camping in the hot summer in the mid atlantic), but use our furnace much more often because we tend to camp from September to May/June. I have plugged in a few times, but we almost always camp using battery power. We never spend any time in the pup unless we are sleeping. We use the awning and tarps and could care less if it is raining. I was a tent camper for 35 years and our pop up camping style reflects that. Hope this might help you.

[chiefd]

If you buy used at the dealer make sure they empty the black water BEFORE you leave 

Now thats one I would have assumed would have been done!!!!

[Campergirl1028]

I wished we had a better tow vehicle and could take the bikes with us (Next vehicle...).  I also think we're getting lazy fast and may get a hybrid in the next year (we've had this for 2 1/2 yrs)!

I wouldn't call it lazy but rather "seeing the light" of The Darkside ... it's called CONVENIENCE.  Once you get that new tow vehicle you too will "see the light".   Ultimately the solution for towing a trailer like a hybrid is a good 1/2 ton crew cab truck - plenty of room for the family, will easily tow the trailer, and with nothing invested in a fancy bike rack ('cause you won't need one) you can easily and safely haul bikes for everyone.

Ha!  Yes!  We already are looking at better tow vehicles.  I thought our fav passtime at the CG was looking at other TT or Hybrids, but now we are looking at all of the trucks... it's like an addiction! 

[Oz and Us]

Finally, I don't really understand the whole "fridge access while down" issue.

What's so difficult to understand? ... if you can't get to the fridge with the roof down it's rendered useless until such time as you can get to it.   What's the point in paying for and owning some feature that you can't use whenever you want? ... that's what difficult to understand!   I made this mistake just once with our Santa Fe popup, wouldn't ever own any trailer of any description ever again that doesn't offer full access to all of it's features anytime I want.  Learned our lesson ... now we have a travel trailer that does allow full access to every feature anytime.

[austinado16]

We always pop-up a day or 2 before leaving.  Allows us to put our clothes in the built-in dresser drawers, make sure everything works, charge the battery (stores inside), fill the porta-potti with water and magic blue elixir, and on the stock the fridge after it's been running on LP overnight.  We switch the fridge to 12v during towing.  When we get back, we pop-up again, and clean the inside of the camper, empty & clean the inside of the fridge, and dump/clean the potti. 

I like this way of doing business, and it's not a chore at all.  I also like that it keeps us from getting to the CG, popping up for the first time since whenever, and discovering something doesn't work, is missing, there's damage, etc.