Pop-up camper as base camp

[Weldor]

This, alittle quiter and easier to heat. Easy tow.

 

[wytx]

Did it for a few years, had a canvas room made to slide on the side for extra room and a wood stove.
Worked well until the year it snowed about 12 inches . Spouse went out before daylight to hunt and I stayed at camp . Woke up to 12 inched on the roof and a chance of collapse. I shoveled snow off until he got back an it was sketchy to say the least.
The giant tarp over all allowed snow to fall off.

 

[parshal]

I use a Chalet a-frame popup which is a hardside camper. It's a two person deal, maximum. I can set it up or take it down (including attaching to the truck) in less than five minutes. I added a propane QD and use a Buddy heater for heat so I don't have to worry about batteries running low with the furnace. The fridge runs on propane so I have a small 'cooler' in the camper. I've used it on many below zero hunts and in high winds (50+) without issue. It will go wherever my truck goes and I've had it in rough off-trail areas I really shouldn't be in with my truck let alone a camper.

I've used it in multiple ways. One, as a mobile base camp on antelope or aoudad hunts when I'm covering a lot ground. Two, as a base camp for elk. And, three, as a sleep area for elk camp where we use an outfitter tent with stove for hanging out.

 

[fuzzymarindave]

My pop up camper goes with me anywhere i can take my 4x4 truck. Beyond that it is hiking.

 

[S-3 ranch]

I ran pronghorn, muledeer, Aoudad hunts in west Texas for 25 years and used a popup as base camp, easy to change ranches or areas, sleeps 2 excellent 3-4 in a pinch, mine didn’t have a shower, but I could go to the state park nearby to shower when I needed groceries and a shower
Buy a piece of carpet for a ground cover,
A fire pit and folding chairs because most of the time I was cooking outside during good weather

 

[LostArra]

Aliner: pop-up but hard sides. Two minute setup. Easy towing.

Aliner: The Original A-Frame Camper

Towable camping trailers to help you rediscover the open road.

aliner.com

 

[Joe7296]

I can't believe all the cool setups! gives me lots of dangerous ideas!

 

[taskswap]

I've owned two popups and more or less enjoyed both. They have their pros and cons as noted above.

I'm not shilling for this company in any way - I don't get anything for saying this. But IMNSHO a Jumping Jack is a really good option for anybody open to "tent on trailer" approaches for hunt setups. They are not fully equipped with kitchens and bathrooms like popups, but the tent they come with is much higher quality than most - it's canvas, and wall-tent category material, so it stands up to a lot of wind and rain. I got stuck in a 14" snowfall in Rifle 3 in 2018 or so here in CO and the roof had no issues holding that up.

The trailer itself has torsion axles so if your truck can get there, the trailer can too, and you can get optional electric brakes so if you ever want to carry an ATV or two, this will do that. And when you aren't camping with it, you can remove the entire tent "package" and use it as a utility trailer (although I will say it's really heavy - this is definitely not a convenient thing to do more than a few times a year).

They have different sizes. We got a lot of usage out of their 5x10 and sold it about 4 years after buying it for about 20% less than what we paid, which is much higher retention than a typical popup... Just food for thought...

 

[cbat]

My pop up camper goes with me anywhere i can take my 4x4 truck. Beyond that it is hiking. View attachment 841505

You beat me too it.

 

[timekiller13]

A popup camper is just a glorified tent.

Go wall tent route. No licensing, no tires, easy storage.

I set up my wall tent by myself in 30 min or less.

This is a fact. I had a pop up for several years that’s what I always told people was “it’s just a tent with wheels.”

Either get a wall tent or step up to hard sided travel trailer.

 

[Fatcamp]

This is a fact. I had a pop up for several years that’s what I always told people was “it’s just a tent with wheels.”

Either get a wall tent or step up to hard sided travel trailer.

We have a huge Kodiak tent, a fifth wheel, small tents, and a popup. The popup fills a niche that nothing else does. It pulls so well behind our truck, honestly like it's not there. A hard side in wind and ice sucks and we can set up our Kodiak in 30 minutes as well, but thats if we have an area with a smooth and level area to start.

The popup can be parked anywhere and honestly be set up with heat and cooking stuff in 15-20 minutes. And be taken down and on the road in the same amount of time.

I hated the idea and resisted it for a long time. Ours is modified to be as simple as possible with a lift and torsion axle. I've come to really appreciate it for what it is.

 

[ScreamingPotato]

We have a huge Kodiak tent, a fifth wheel, small tents, and a popup. The popup fills a niche that nothing else does. It pulls so well behind our truck, honestly like it's not there. A hard side in wind and ice sucks and we can set up our Kodiak in 30 minutes as well, but thats if we have an area with a smooth and level area to start.

The popup can be parked anywhere and honestly be set up with heat and cooking stuff in 15-20 minutes. And be taken down and on the road in the same amount of time.

I hated the idea and resisted it for a long time. Ours is modified to be as simple as possible with a lift and torsion axle. I've come to really appreciate it for what it is.

That's a good point with level ground. We've camped in some seriously wonky places with our popup, one spot the tongue was almost touching the ground because the slope was so steep. Great camping spot that otherwise wouldn't have been with any kind of tent. Also wouldn't have been able to get a hard size back that far nor be able to back it down into the hole we put it in.

 

[Spike elk]

Had one for several years and camped a lot out of it. Mostly fair weather camping in the summer. We really enjoyed it except for putting it away wet. A heavy wet snow on a Memorial Weekend was enough. We sold it and bought an older 20" camper that was in great shape and have no regrets. They definitely have their place but I will not go back to one. They thing that was great about it that is more convenient than a tent is all of the storage. We would only have to pack our food, throw in our clothes and hit the road. All the other gear was already to go. Packing up a tent and all of the camping gear every time you go camping feels like you are moving somewhere and it is even more of a pain when you get home and have to unpack everything just to pack it away in storage or where ever it goes.

 

[Fatcamp]

Had one for several years and camped a lot out of it. Mostly fair weather camping in the summer. We really enjoyed it except for putting it away wet. A heavy wet snow on a Memorial Weekend was enough. We sold it and bought an older 20" camper that was in great shape and have no regrets. They definitely have their place but I will not go back to one. They thing that was great about it that is more convenient than a tent is all of the storage. We would only have to pack our food, throw in our clothes and hit the road. All the other gear was already to go. Packing up a tent and all of the camping gear every time you go camping feels like you are moving somewhere and it is even more of a pain when you get home and have to unpack everything just to pack it away in storage or where ever it goes.

All good points. Wet poppup vs wet tent, they both suck.

 

[insanelupus]

Were I to consider another camper trailer (and while I enjoyed the last one, with fond memories of the kids, I was also elated when it was sold) or would be a popup with a caveat.

Only hard side pop up campers with vertical walls need apply.

I've not seen one in a long time, but there used to be a company that had a popup that essential was a box with a slip over box on top. No canvas. No folding. The top piece just simply slid up and locked in place. Kind of like an extended lid on a shoebox. I'm not sure how the junction between boxes was sealed to keep our dust and allow movement, but it was a keen idea in concept.

Then again, the concept of a travel trailer and the reality of a travel trailer and my lack of a desire to constantly perform maintenance on one is where I fell out of love with our old trailer.

 

[Dakota_Rookie]

Following.

Been thinking of getting one for years. Seemed like an easier trailer to pull with my 1/2 ton vs a taller hard side. Also would be easier to drag young kids and all the stuff mom thinks they need than trying to tent camp.

The wind we have here in the Dakotas has been what’s kept me away. I’m not sure why, but I had never thought of installing guy out lines on them or using some dimension lumber to help stiffen them up. Seems like easy fixes.

The other thing that’s kept me away is that now I would have a trailer that I’d have to try to turn around on some of the not so wide roads I seem to always get myself into in the western hills and Wyoming/Colorado mountains. I suppose some thought about what roads I actually go down would solve that problem as well.

I like the idea of the ones with the front deck to help keep the truck bed open.

I really liked the idea of having a custom canvas tarp put together to create more space and give you an option for a wood stove.


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[Fatcamp]

Fun popup story time.

So once we settled on the 2000 Rockwood as the one we would modify we put on a lift kit, oversize tires, and one piece vinyl floor. Rebuilt the hubs and did the maintenance on the lift system. All was well and we pulled it west for a scouting trip and a deer hunt. Probably 1200 miles total.

Then we left for a late season deer hunt and as we pulled on to the interstate headed west with a 30-40 mph north wind we passed a semi tow rig at 70 mph. Just as the truck got past the semi rig I looked in the rear view mirror the front of the popup looked like a fish coming in to eat the truck. I laid on the brakes and pulled down into the median before anything catastrophic happened.

Got it strapped down and headed for home with some tears in effect. She really liked the camper and was super sad about it. At one point I had said if the camper cost me a deer hunt I would burn it. I just want to state for the record I wouldn't have ever done that, but I think maybe she wasn't sure.

I wonder what that tow rig driver thought as all that went down.

 

[Fatcamp]

We swapped out gear and grabbed our Kodiak. Cost a couple hours but no big deal.

The camper sat for the winter with me thinking it would get turned into a utility trailer. Once it warmed up she told me she wanted to rebuild the roof. I'm a competent carpenter and fabricator so figured it was doable. Not a whole lot of information so we just kind of figured it out as we went. We rebuilt the perimeter and used the roof. Worked great.

All in we only have about $2000 into this thing and a bunch of time. It's been a great tool since finished up the rebuild. After our experience we searched for other roof failures and its kind of common. Don't trust those cheesy little latches.

 

[Fatcamp]

The truck is a 2017 which is a very tall vehicle. We got enough lift to run level.

 

[KBC]

If you’re anywhere it might get wet, they are a pain in the butt. You need a warm dry place to set it up to dry out when you get back.
I had to fix the lift system a few times. First one cable broke so I replaced it, then a second cable broke so I replaced it and the remaining two. Then the winch broke so I fixed that….
Way too much to go wrong. That being said, when the thing worked and I wasn’t fixing it or drying it out, it was a great camping tool. Easy to tow, park and set up, and the furnace made it so we could camp way later in the year when my oldest was still a baby/toddler.