is a pop up really worth it?

[Boatbuilder79]

Assuming the weight is the same does the advantages of a pop up make a real difference in drive ability when it comes to gas mileage and wind resistance?

Is it really worth the extra expense and complication?

 

[dcsparky]

Assuming the weight is the same does the advantages of a pop up make a real difference in drive ability when it comes to gas mileage and wind resistance?

Is it really worth the extra expense and complication?

It depends on your needs. I have an Alaskan and won't trade it for a full up unit.

 

[billharr]

Guess that depends on how you travel. I don't want the height some of the places I go. I also could not part my camper at my house if it was tall. Guess I could cut the eave on the side of my house, but the wife might not like that.

 

[DesertDave]

I have had 4WC as well as a really nice Bigfoot 2500. There were two main reasons I sold the Bigfoot and bought my second 4WC.

1) Wind resistance - from the side. My F350 diesel had plenty of power to climb grades at 70 MPH with the Bigfoot, if I chose to. But one trip home from Yosemite by San Luis reservoir with the winds scared me so badly that I gained new respect for semi-truck drivers and sold the Bigfoot, before I ever used it again.

2) The 4WC on my truck fits into my garage,a and I can pop it up inside, which greatly reduces the amount of exterior maintenance I need to do to on both vehicles. By the time I sold the Bigfoot, it seemed as if I was spending as much time dealing with tree and animal droppings and sun damage, as I was camping. I just kept remembering how easy it had been to keep my first 4WC nice, stored in the garage.


My first 4WC purchase was driven more by the off-pavement abilities, and the lowered weight and frontal area leaving me more capacity to tow a 16' trailer with my LandCruiser on it. I did spend some time getting my head around the cost vs. amenities - those hard-side campers sure seemed to have a lot more content for the price.


As far as complication, it is a bit harder to load items into a closed 4WC than anything with a full-height door and roof. It also takes as long as 4-5 minutes the level the rig, move a few items, raise the top, open the windows, and get onto the first activity of the day. Compared to 2 minutes with a hardside. Similar differences when packing to leave. It's not very complicated, really.

 

[Cayuse]

For me there is no way I want an always up camper. Too many of the roads I travel (or want to travel) have low overhanging rocks or branches, plus the lower center of gravity makes it feel much more comfortable when navigating terrain where 4WD is required.

After years of tents or sleeping platforms in vans and trucks this feels like luxury and I don't mind hauling around a Luggable Loo since it means I have fewer tanks to deal with.

 

[James T Kirk]

I've noticed a great deal less wind resistance compared to hard shell's I've had in the past.

The lighter weight has also made a huge difference. I feel I can just leave it on the truck and run errands around town.

DesertDave covered the Con's. It definitely takes more time and effort to set up/take down. And the small door.

Another great perk: off-roading is much easier...Kirk Out

 

[ardvark]

Here is what you will find under the FAQ on the Northstar website. I excerpted it from the question as to differences comparing hardside to popup in handling .

"with it’s higher center of gravity and more wind resistance, front and sides, will result in a noticeable difference in handling between the two types of truck campers, more so, when using a lighter duty ½ ton vehicle."

However, I have often found when someone asks a question like this, they often are tending more in one direction than the other and if that is the case, my advice always is to buy what you want. Its your checkbook and there are so many variables it is not as though there is a single best answer.

[SIZE=17.5px]My wife and I both grew up in RVing families and have owned a bunch of witchy handlers and coming from Tennessee when we hit the winds of Wyoming we were glad we had the Hallmark on the back. However, our reality is the greater percentage of times, it would make no difference at all and there are things we would welcome in hardside that we do not have in our popup. [/SIZE]

[SIZE=17.5px]Either way you roll the dice and live with the choice. [/SIZE]

 

[craig333]

I also had a big heavy camper. I'd never go back. The lower center of gravity makes a huge difference. Extra complications? I can pop it up in thirty seconds, thats not too complicated. I can go through drive thru's, thats a nice bonus. A tree in front of my friends house once ripped off the big campers railing, don't have to worry about that anymore.

 

[Boatbuilder79]

I think a four wheel camper pop up would be exactly what I want.
The problem is it will cost 15k for a shell model by the time I drive off the dealer lot.

I am confident I can build a hard side with marine grade materials and the same features for under 5k.

10k is a lot of gas money.

I am afraid a homemade pop top will be too much project.

For those of you who have one What are your thoughts?

 

[hoyden]

I love my FWC Fleet. Bought it new in 2015 - not a shell, I got it built out. I'm glad I did.
I used it almost every weekend that first year, plus some longer week etc trips, and then lived in it and traveled for almost half a year. It lives on my truck 24/7. (daily commuter. yeah, I get worse gas mileage, but whatev. ha!)

"Is it worth the price" is a value perception. It's a lot of money to me, sure, but if I was a wealthy person, perhaps it wouldn't seem like much. And I've long thought I could just get a topper on my truck and a portable stove, etc... but this affords comfort and is pretty much hassle-free.

So it depends on what you think is worth your money

Is it worth your /time/ (which is valuable) to build a hardside and possibly save upfront money?
Or is it worth your now money to buy something done and solid?

Only you can answer those questions. From what I've seen on this forum, people love their pop-up campers and use them for many years. Also, if you are patient, you can probably find a good used one....

 

[Vic Harder]

I bought my used shell for under $5k. I gutted it and built it out the way I want it for for under $8K in materials. If I decide to sell it and get a different 4WC, I will recoup almost all of that, since these campers really retain their value.

Reselling a home built would be a different story.

 

[klahanie]

I am afraid a homemade pop top will be too much project.

For those of you who have one What are your thoughts?

Do you mean a homemade pop up or just a pop up ?

If I was to build a camper it would be a non pop up for simplicity and ease of construction.

It sounds to me that you have a set plan for use. You're not looking for a rig that will travel all over, exploring unknown places, conquering distant mountain tops etc. I think something like a plain version of a Capri camper could work - 'round here we used to call that a camperette. If you have the skills and motivation building something like that might be your best bet.

my .02

 

[Squatch]

For me there is no way I want an always up camper. Too many of the roads I travel (or want to travel) have low overhanging rocks or branches, plus the lower center of gravity makes it feel much more comfortable when navigating terrain where 4WD is required.

After years of tents or sleeping platforms in vans and trucks this feels like luxury and I don't mind hauling around a Luggable Loo since it means I have fewer tanks to deal with.

The above covers a lot of it for me. Traditional RV don't do much for this old backpacker, gravel bar camper. The FWC feels pretty luxurious to these old bones. especially when I turn on the thermostat on a chilly evening. Set up is a non issue.

Most of the time my camper lives on the truck. Don't really notice it's back there. Fridge is stocked and running on solar and I'm ready to head out in a few minutes at any given time. I expect mine will last a lot longer than a stick and staple RV or hardside camper.

On steep boat ramp the FWC is enough in the bed when launching the boat. Don't think I'd want to do much boat launching with a hard side in the places I fish.

 

[hoyden]

Vic has a really good point there : These factory built pop-ups hold their value. It'll be hard(er) to sell a home built. Something to consider.

 

[smlobx]

To the OP I'd say that a pop up is a definite advantage....

 

[PaulT]

You might try renting each for a week or so if it's hard to decide. Although expensive as a test drive, it may be worth the investment to save buying and selling something you don't like.

We rented a travel trailer for a week for a trip to Glacier NP and while spacious and very comfortable, it anchored us in one spot for the duration. Had we been in our pop-up camper, we would have changed campgrounds after a couple of days. That wasn't possible with the trailer due to available and suitable campsites. We changed directions and bought a pop-up. No regrets.

Paul

 

[Vic Harder]

To the OP I'd say that a pop up is a definite advantage....

That pic is worth a thousand words!

 

[Boatbuilder79]

It seems like a lot of the home builds come out as hillbilly boxes


I have found a few examples of homemade hardsides that were impressive

Anyone have an example of a homemade pop up that turned out well?

The part that I am having trouble getting my head around is a detail for attaching the fabric and having it fold in when lowering the roof.

.

 

[Smokecreek1]

Why do I own and love my pop-up? It's pretty simple to me: over these last 60 or so years I beat the crap out of my body both at work and play, and 200 mile back packs over the Sierra crest or trekking thru the Great Basin on foot are no longer in the picture. That old Granby of mine, mounted on my old F150 4x4, has enabled me to both get to and stay out in the boonies, and drive to somewhere out in that beautiful outback! Park it when the road gets to rough or I find a nice camp site, get out, pop (easier that setting up my old tent) the top and then-if I'm up to it, see if I can make it to that lost mountain lake( or as is more and more the case): take a little walk, come back sit in my chair, - enjoy a cold drink (solar powered frig/lights) or depending on the weather, hot cup of coffee inside or outside (two propane stoves [inside and outside]).

As been noted by some above , weather gets to bad-no more fighting to stay warm in front of a smoky fire and trying to keep the tent from blowing away, just hop inside and get nice and toasty in front of the heater (have an arctic wall liner too). Time to hit the rack, read a book for a while and yes if it rains listen to the sound of it hitting the roof, as I a fall a sleep. Yep, while I sure miss those back packing days, it sure is nice to wake up (warm) on a cold damp nasty morning, let the dog out, turn on the stove to heat my coffee water and depending on how I feel, drink my coffee, either on my couch inside or outside in my camp chair! Either way, could be allot worse ways of starting my day, me thinks ! The life of a professional WTWer ain't half bad!

Smoke

 

[ardvark]

For me, the depreciation on any RV is way too harsh to ever consider buying new. My wife and I searched constantly on Craigslist using searchtempest for about three months before we found our Hallmark Ute XL and drove almost 800 miles to pick it up, but we saved more than $20,000 over a new one and that does buy a lot of gas!