The Pros and Cons of Pop-Up Camper
Pop-up campers in contrast to RVs are somewhat inexpensive. You can normally find many who are in great shape in the market. However, like everything else, pop-up campers have their advantages and pitfalls. If your planning to have a new pop up camper for your next travel adventure, please consider the following.
Pros
Affordable Price. If you’re interested in a new pop-up camper, you’ll be happy to know that you can get it for less than 10K. If you compare that to the price of a travel trailer, you’ll immediately discover the cost savings. New travel trailers can start at 15K and go up considerably. But at the very low price point, you will find that the trailer needs some work. Sometimes you’ll find one in the 1K to 2K range, but numerous do-it-yourselfers have fixed a pop-up.
Small and Lightweight. One of the most attractive things about the pop-up camper is that they are small compared to a regular travel trailer. This usually means that you will have easy access to get in and out from anywhere on the beach. Also, the payload of this type of travel trailer is usually less than 2,000 pounds. Take, for example, the Rockwood 1980 Freedom Series has a GVWR of 1,896 lbs. When closed it measures 15′ 7″ in length, 84″ in width, and is 5′ 6″ in height.
No Huge Pickup. One of the advantages of a pop-up camper is that you can tow it with any vehicle, usually even your home car. Of course, this depends on the weight of your camper. You will discover pop-ups that consider about 1,000 so you can tow it to get that particular automobile. An excellent example of a lightweight pop-up is your Sylvan Move with a GVWR of only 800 lbs.
Safe to Tow. Compared to towing a travel trailer or 5th wheel pop-ups are much easier and safer to tow. Travel trailers and 5th wheelers tend to impact or skid or perhaps load properly when they do not use a distribution hitch or when they are hit by high winds. Pop-up campers have a low profile when folder making them more aerodynamics which eliminates many of the risks associated with tow a much larger pull-behind.
Cons
No Bathroom. This reason will discourage many people from having a pop-up camper. Not having a bathroom as you need in a travel trailer or RV is a major annoyance. Anyone doesn’t want to wake up and have to go outside to use the bathroom. Many people feel the same way. Now some pop-ups have a bathroom, but it’s not your typical bathroom. It’s not a bathroom at all, it’s a toilet. A band toilet, also known as a composite toilet, is located in a rather stuffy little closet inside some pop-ups.
Bigger is Heavier. One of the advantages of pop-ups is that they can be transported in a small car, but that advantage is negated if you purchase a larger camper. The Aliner Expedition has a gross vehicle weight rating of 3,800 pounds, which is much more than most sedans or perhaps only a small SUV can tow. With that kind of gross vehicle weight rating, you will most likely need a medium or large pickup truck or SUV.
Limited Sleeping Space. Travel trailers and motorhomes can easily accommodate 5 to 8 occupants, depending on their size, but a pop-up, because of its size, includes limited sleeping capacity, usually no more than 4. There are no sofa beds in some of these popup campers I’ve seen or researched, and you’re unlikely to find that the bunk bed sucks. About the only way, you can get more than 4 in a pop-up is if some of your guests get sleeping bags and sleep on the floor.
More Maintenance. If you use a pop-up camper, it will most likely need extra care. The first is the tent …