Tent Trailers: Pop-up Camping

Top 905. Oct 4, 2000 1:09 AM

» Rav4Rosie - re: Coleman Models

We have a 2000 Coleman Sea Pine. Since you've had Coleman before I don't have to tell you how well made & efficient they are. We've only been out 3 times with ours so far. I'm not sure what the box sizes are of the other two models you are looking at but with 2 adults, 2 kids, 2 dogs you should look at the biggest one of them. The Sea Pine is 10' and its perfect for 2 people. I would also strongly suggest you get the optional toilet put in. I don't really have negatives about the Sea Pine I just don't know if its the one for family camping. Hopefully others can address that issue.

-- posted by Rav4Rosie

Top 906. Oct 10, 2000 2:28 PM

» RAMMER - New Coleman purchase

First of all, this site is great. Very helpful. I have just purchased a new 1999 COLEMAN UTAH from a local dealer(our first pop up). My wife and I did alot of research and decided on the COLEMAN brand because of reliability and word of mouth from other owners and friends. We looked at numerous used pop-ups before deciding on the Utah. We were at the dealer looking a used ones, when the salesman suggested we look at the Utah, it has the slideout dinette,3 way fridge,furnace,cassette potti,awning and a/c will be added. Including the brake control and ball installion we got it for $9000 on the road. The dealer even promised a packet of camping discount coupons and a hour long class on setup and all features when we pick it up. I feel we got a good deal with full factory warranty. All of the used ones in this area (Baltimore, MD)at dealers only carry a 30 day warranty. The wife wanted the factory warranty, can't wait to pick it up this Saturday and use it this weekend. Sorry to ramble on.
I have a few questions 1)I am concerned about the roof sag problem. I was told by a different dealer that this problem only applied to early to mid 90's models. Mine is a 1999 and it will have the roof a/c unit. Has anyone in the northeast experienced this problem? since it was stated that it is more common in warmer climates.
2)I have read about a recall on the 3 way refrigerators, I believe it had to do with cracked gas fittings. Anyone have any info?
3)I wanted to have bike racks installed on the roof,but the dealer told me due to the a/c only 3 could be installed, I'm not sure if weight or space was the problem. I need space for 4 bikes. I have seen 4 bikes on Colemans with a/c before, is it because of the roof sag problem? Thanks again GREAT SITE smile

-- posted by RAMMER

Top 907. Oct 11, 2000 7:30 PM

» newpop - Winter Storage

I recently purchased a used pop-up and will be storing it in a barn for the winter. How do I keep mice from overtaking the pop-up? Any suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks.

-- posted by newpop

Top 908. Oct 11, 2000 9:12 PM

» NanseyB - Mice

You keep them away from your popup the same way you keep them out of your house - try a mousetrap, still works great! Nancy

-- posted by NanseyB

Top 909. Oct 15, 2000 5:30 AM

» RAMMER - Winter Storage

Newpop, I just purchased a new Coleman popup this week. The dealer recommended putting moth balls at various locations in the inside and on the ground around the outside of the camper. He said mice hate them and will not bother the popup.
In the spring before using the popup he suggested opening it up for a few days to get the moth ball odor out. He also recommended a product called Febreeze to get rid of all odors including moth balls.
On another camping site,someone mentioned that charcoal also worked for mice prevention.They said to take a bag and put it on the floor in the middle. Next, cut a slit down the middle of the bag and pull open it on. The person said that a dealer recommended this and it worked. It(charcoal) is also supposed to absorb any moisture that may occur in the popup. I'm going to do both. My dealer said he has heard of owners taking all of the cushions and mattresses out before winter storage just in case of a mouse attack and storing them in their home. Hope this helps and good luck.

-- posted by RAMMER

Top 910. Oct 18, 2000 6:28 PM

» b__greene - Another Newbie

Hello.
I am new to two things:
1.)The suite101 pages, but the set up seems easy enough. I already like this camping site.
2.) Camping. Actually I am not new to camping. It has just been many years since I camped. Now that my kids are getting to the right age, I would like to start making camping a part of my family. So I have been reading some of the posts in this discussion (not all 900+ yet) trying to get caught up on "pop ups". I think a pop up tent will be right for us. The boys and I probably could live with weekends in a tent, but the wife would never do it. So a pop-up seems like the right thing. MY QUESTION- I do not want to bother everybody with a ton of questions (yet), but if you could list some good brands and possibly company web sites that I could review I would appriecate it. I know of Coleman and saw somebody else post a link for them. (thanks civil_war_buff). Many thanks in advance.

-- posted by b__greene

Top 911. Oct 19, 2000 10:55 PM

» Abbanat - Abbanat

b_greene,

Try these for a start:

www.foldingtrailers.com (Coleman)
www.starcraftrv.com (Starcraft)
www.palominorv.com (Palomino)
www.trackerrvdirect.com (Tracker)
www.jayco.com (Jayco)
www.vikingrv.com (Viking)
www.aerocoachinc.com (Dutchmen, Skamper)
www.chaletrv.com (Chalet A-frame)
www.aliner.com (A-liner A-frame)

That should give you a little something to chew on! I think I only missed Damon and Coachmen. But other than that, this is it. Hope it helps!

-- posted by Abbanat

Top 912. Oct 19, 2000 10:57 PM

» Abbanat - b greene

I forgot one more:

www.forestriverinc.com (Rockwood, Flagstaff)

-- posted by Abbanat

Top 913. Oct 23, 2000 1:45 AM

» Bill_n_Laura - We're Back and We Love our Rockwood

What a summer :-) We haven’t had the chance to keep up with the posting here for some time, but we’re back and ready to post some more.

I’ve noticed a few questions concerning Rockwood Pop-Ups and would like to throw in my two cents worth. In the immortal words of Tony the Tiger… “They’re Greeaat!!” We bought our 1999 Rockwood Freedom model 1620 in March of 2000 (see post 583) and have been doing our best to run the wheels off of it. We have camped in wind, rain, cold and heat and it has performed superbly through everything. It is towed behind a ’96 Dodge Caravan SE with no problems what so ever (it does cause the gas mileage to drop a bit).

One thing I have noticed is that pop-up owners are loyal to the brand of camper they own and will fight to the death to defend it (well, maybe to a bruise or two), so I’m not wanting to ruffle any feathers, but…… when comparing prices and features, we’re convinced that the Rockwoods are the best “camp for the buck” out there.

One other thing…. Tom, what kind of solar cells are you using to recharge your batteries, where’d you get ‘em and about what do they cost??? In the 8 excursions we’ve made out on this summer, we’ve always camped with hookups (I’m a wimp and want my a/c) but now fall is here and it’d be nice to check out some “out of the way” areas, so we’re looking at dry camping a couple of time in the next few months and the solar panels sound like a good idea.

Clear Skys and Happy Camping Y'all

Bill, Laura, Anny and Sarah
Camperz@Happy-Camperz.com
www.happy-camperz.com

-- posted by Bill_n_Laura