We are thinking about taking our children across the country in our popup. We have only camped in it thus far at fairly local state parks, but we want to tour the whole country.
I just need some advice and suggestions from others if using a popup as a mobile hotel of sorts works well. We were thinking of going to regular RV lots & KOA campgrounds / state parks etc. Setup every evening, tear down the next morning and go on.
Does a popup work well for this?
Has anybody else done this? What was your experience.
Thanks
* This post was
edited 09/06/08 04:04pm by crasster *
Besides a tent, a popup is probably the worst for one nighters because of the amount of setup involved. We toured the west over the period of a month when I was growing up and always stayed for at least 2 nights.
2007 Rockwood Roo 23ss
Derek '77
Tina '78
Brianna '04
Dominick '07
Maximus (slobbering camping buddy)
We try to arrange it so that we spend at least two nights whenever we put up the trailer.
However, I have a close friend who claims he camped all through his childhood in a popup. He reports that as kids, they got so good at the teamwork of putting the trailer up and down that they could do it all together in about 30 minutes. My friend said that there were 3 kids and two adults and that each of them had specific tasks. That might work.
when I went to texas for a wedding, we left it hooked up. We pulled the bed out about half way and slept on the other bed and the dinette, dont know if that would suit you or not.
I had camped in more than 25 states by the time I was 14, with my family, all in a Pop-Up. My parents did set it up so that we stayed at least two nights in one place. I have great memories of those days! Hook to that PUP and go!
Dan and Janelle
Lily and Sherman the smelly Bassets
2005 Ford Escape XLT, AWD, V-6
1994 Skamper 22C Plan D
Back several years ago, we took a 3-week trip from the Chicago area to the Pacific NW and back with our PUP. We put it up every evening and took it down every morning, except for a couple of places, for the entire trip. After 2 weeks, DH said he was REALLY tired of setting it up and taking it down every single day, and he said he never wanted to do a trip like that again. Ever since, I have planned it so that we spend at least one extra night in the same CG, at least every 3rd day. It works MUCH better that way. In our case, if papa ain't happy, ain't nobody happy!
Other than that, it's a comfortable way to travel, unless the weather is extremely bad. You may want to have a backup plan - in case of tornado warnings, very strong winds, blizzard conditions or other really bad weather, stay in a motel instead. (Many motels will allow you to park the camper in their lots while you stay there, but do ask them first!) I strongly suggest taking a good hitch lock along with you for such situations.
The upsides: sleeping in your own beds & bedding, closeness to nature (best in the SPs & national parks of course!), better gas mileage than towing a full-height trailer but much less expensive than staying in motels - especially if you cook your own meals most of the time. (Do give DW a break now & then and go out to eat, though. She'll probably appreciate it more than she'll say. )
You're talking about seeing "the whole country." If you're planning on more than 3 weeks traveling with the PUP, I suggest the following:
1) make sure to spend 2 nights in one place every few days, as previously mentioned
2) make sure to spend 3 or more nights in one place at least once a week (definitely in national parks and other areas where there is a lot to do & see)
3) SPs and NPs are great, but for the overnights on the road, private CGs work the best
4) allow time for DW to do laundry once or twice a week (at least) - best done at private CGs
5) stop early enough in the day that the kids can use the pool (again, those private cgs), and parents can relax & unwind a little before working on dinner & preparing for bed
6) allow time for an evening campfire every now & then (SPs best for this, of course)
Yes Chris... with that amount of setting up and breaking down, I would be using a drill for the roof, leveling side to side with a BAL Leveler, tongue jack and stabilizers. Note, if you go down that route charge up the drill batteries whenever you have shore power.
Ruide
Fleetwood Evolution E3 - Yellow (DW let me get a Yellow one since she wanted an E3 with a slide out )
Hummer H2 - Black (DW vetoed the Yellow one, but I got two Yellow Hummer Folding Mountain bikes )
And, you need to remember that it's not just the outside set up/tear down of the PUP daily, but inside - putting things away (coffee maker, toaster, clothing and various comfort items). Consider having 'tote boxes' for easy access, and, 'immediate need' clothing to avoid toting suitcases, repacking them, etc. You might even consider zip locking canned foods to designated for each meal...(can of green beans/can of corn to be used with whichever meat for one meal). Having kids, you might get a few of those tote bags for shower use, and maybe pick up a few small dispenser bottles for shampoo, have one for each kid.
Plan on driving 300 miles or slightly less per day so as to arrive early enough at a campground to set up, eat, shower, relax and allow the kids some running time/activities.
Let me go against the flow. While it may not be ideal, you can do it. A few years ago, DW and I took a 7000 mile trip in 22 days in our PUP. We left Middle Georgia and went as far west as Oregon. We had stops at Badlands National Park, Custer S.P. in South Dakota, a Koa in S.D., Theodore Roosevelt N.P. Yellowstone N.P., a state park in Idaho, Oregon, a KOA in Wyoming (our anniversary), and Rocky Mountain N.P.. You just plan your stops. When you know you just stopping for the night, you don't get everything out. We got good at set up and take down. We could be in the PUP in about 20 minutes and leave within 30. Sometimes it can take that long to set up/take down our TT.
We called that trip our sampler trip to see what we liked. Next year we are going back to the Badlands and the Black Hills because we liked it so much. Have a great trip. It will be something the kids will always remember. It will be work, but worth it in the end.
Jim & Junnie
2005 Sunline Solaris T-2553 Our Web Site
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