In response to your question about pop ups...we had two of them. one, an ancient one with ZERO ammenities. Cost us $100, used. I had to dig the undercarriage out of the mud. got it home, and up, and reached up to touch the ceiling and the whole thing fell in on me. So....with a great smile on my face , i rebuilt the whole thing, bottom to top, re-sewed all the canvas, etc....new running gear, new ceiling, lots of things. LOVED THE HECK OUT OF IT. Used it many, many times.....i think about 35 nights the first year and then a deer hunter stopped in and wanted to buy it. so , i sold ti for $450 and bought a newer, nicer, bigger Starcraft pop up , that actually cranked up. lots of fancy things, like a water pump and 15 gallon water tank. And LIGHTS INSIDE!!! wow. We used that one for years.....IIRC about five. Every year off to an Orchestra Cmp where I worked and many music festivals, and vacations near and far. Great time. We probably had over 500 nights in it when we sold it, as my son lived in it every summer in the back yard.
It had a heater, and a gas/12V fridge!! and a swing up hanging closet for uniforms, etc. and the stove top could be carried out and hung on the outside of the camper and you could cook outside. Over all, it was marvelous!!! Pulled it behind a 4 Cyl Dodge mini van with no trouble. no brakes, no sway control, no load equallizer. Just a light connection. No matter what the weather we could have it up and ready to occupy in just a few minutes, like maybe five....no kidding. Tear down was not much longer.
We just downsized from a Salem 26' with a 12 ft super slide and all the bells and whistles...to a 19 foot Hornet Hide Away , much simpler rig and 2000 pounds LIGHTER.
Advice? if you like camping, really camping, you'll love a pop up. open air, rain on the canvas , family togetherness.......yup, great time. Fo for it, and keep us posted. piper
