Travel Trailor vs. Pop up

natepickle · 05-31-2008, 11:34 PM

What is best and can you tell me why

NINA · 06-01-2008, 08:36 AM

That's a pretty open ended post. Are you leaning torwards one
or the other? I personally own a TT now, but have owned a
pop-up, and have tent camped.
Each has its positive and negative aspects. Weather is one big
one. Towing is another. With a pop-up it will seem more like tent
camping with the tent style beds. Pop-ups tow easier, do not
require a larger tow vehicle. But still have many of the ammenties
of a TT, (ac, kitchen, toilet, awnings,some with showers, ect...).
Set up can be an issue, if you arrive at your campsite and it is raining,
plan on sitting in your tow vehicle for a while, you can't set it up in the rain.
Where with a TT just back into your site, and if necessary you can just
jump into the TT leaving it hooked to the tow vehicle until the weather
subsides.
My girls say their is more room in the TT, NO LEAKS!
Seems more like home to them.
TT do require a larger tow vehicle, a hitch setup, fuel and maintenance
cost increase due to size, ammenties, ect...
When it comes right down to it, it all depends on you. Where and
what kind of camping u will do. Which seasons u will camp.
(Some TT have an enclosed underbelly that allows four season camping)
Do much research on the web, check out dealers, talk to us,
make an informed decision. Look at brochures if buying new, go to
camper shows to walk through models.

Any questions just ask, and if your new here make sure to introduce
yourself at our welcome mat. Glad to have u here.

Nina

08flagvlite · 06-01-2008, 11:32 PM

Hi natepickle, it also depends on how much money your'e willing to spend on a camper; what area of the country your'e in, and how big your family is. I have had 2 Coleman Fleetwood Pop ups, and loved them both, Agree tht they are MUCH easier to pull, almost no gas mileage decrease, however you must pop them up to load up for a trip, then down to travel there, then up upon arrival, then camp.... Hopefully it's not too cold, although SOME have a built in heater. Then pop it down to go home... (hopefully it's not raining), then arrive home tired and have to pop it back up, unpack everything out of there, sweep and /or mop the floors, empty the water holding tank, then pop it back down...(Hopefully still no rain)! This is why I personally bought a TT over the pop up....You can leave it packed with more stuff, it usually has more and larger amenities, the appliances are much better, and, like Bob and Nina said you don't need to worry about the rain. GOOD LUCK, Randy

slpybeartx · 06-03-2008, 10:43 PM

Travel trailer.

Go sit in a pop up... close up everything... then listen. you will hear everything.

Now, leave DW in side, go outside, close doors to popup, then ask her to talk.

TT, you pull up, plug in, level, and are done.

No brainer IMHO, but YMMV.

gillguy · 06-05-2008, 09:46 PM

Which is best is rather open ended. I know people who have a pop up and love it. If your just starting out a pop up isn't bad, good way to figure out if you want to take the plunge. Some even stay with a PUP for years.
After I got married my wife would not go tent camping. We rented a Scamp, invited a niece along with the step daughter and the 4 of us had a great weekend in that tiny thing. Several trips later we went to a pop up. Then I grew tired of that once we had more kids and then got an old Airstream. Kids got bigger, had another, needed bunks then got a box TT with bunks. No more putting the dinette down making pallets for the kids to sleep.
Really the choice between a PUP or TT is which fits your wants/needs.
Good luck

eandsphotography · 06-05-2008, 11:10 PM

I had a Fleetwood Avalon which was a beautiful pop-up. had a 16ft box,dual axle, sewer hook-ups,collapsable hard sided shower and bathroom,2 really comfortable queen beds. I kept it for all of 3 weeks after i bought it.
Weather is the biggest thing with pop-ups. and it seemed in the 3 weeks i had it it rained all 3 times i used it. It is an absolute pain in the butt. Also, go to a campground and take a look at pop-ups that are older and that is what yours will look like in 5 years. I'm a clean freak and i was popping it up when i got home,wiping down the canvas, and no matter what your not gonna keep them looking new for very long. Also, another thing to consider is when it starts becoming "work" it's no longer fun. and that is exactly what a pop-up is, work.
I traded that in for a 27 ft Puma TT and it was SO much better. I've upgraded again just a few weeks ago to a 31ft flagstaff 831krss and i absolutly love it. It can rain all it wants and i dont have to wipe down canvas when i get back home and inevitably it ALWAYS rains when i go camping!!

Now, let me give you what i thought was the good things about a pop-up...
easy to tow. they come in sizes small enough for pretty much anyone with any small truck or suv can tow them comfortably and affordably.
It is a good way to see if you want to get into camping. You can pick up a used one for as little as 4k or even a new one for around 10k. (i vote for new,personally)
It really is like tent camping but with convenience. I loved being able to unzip the tent ends at night while sleeping and being able to hear the bugs and the water if we had a riverfront site. in a travel trailer it really it more like sleeping in a hotel.

That's about all the opinions i have on them. If you have any other questions i'd be happy to help.

wildwood · 06-06-2008, 03:48 AM

all points already made are valid

we have had a popup and used it when our kids were young, bought it for 600.00, and sold it for 600.00 and used it 1-2 times per year for about ten years when our children were young, it was fun.

we stopped camping for a while and stayed in beach houses when the kids were older teenagers and then decided to consider return to camping.

our trial camper to determine if we wanted to camp again was a used hybrid tt. we bought used and it offers some benefits of both a tt but has both the pros and cons of pop up given it does hav slides. we use this for our camper we tow since it is light enough for us to tow with our forerunner.

we have recently got a tt and keep at a campground and use when we want. it is quieter, less trouble to setup and maintain to some degree. the only thing with a htt or popup is the canvas sides and the water /condensation issues. tts with slides have some more work and there are more systems to maintain that can fail, however they are well worth the work, because they offer addn desirable features and space.

it seems many people have evolved in their use of rvs, we went popup, htt, tt. it depends on your need, family size, budget, plan for camping, available tow vehicle. the good thing is even if you choose one, you can always change to a new style easily, there are thousands of varieties to choose from both used and new. If you are in a trial mode try an inexpensive used one; htt can be found under 10, 000, tt under 16000 or lower depending on size, popups can be found less than 5000.

Enjoy

mule0001 · 06-06-2008, 02:25 PM

Personally, we love our Hybrid Travel Trailer. All the comforts of a TT, the length of the trailer, is the length of your living space since the beds fold out and don't take any of the internal space. Our Roo 232 is a 23 foot floor plan, but with the beds expanded, it is like a 30 Ft. TT and quite a bit lighter. It all depends on what you like. Can you hear the outside, yes, do I need a huge truck to tow it, no.

That's my two cents, spend it anyway you want ;-)

JimChow · 06-06-2008, 06:04 PM

We traded our pop-up that we had for 7 years and went to a Hybrid TT. For us the reasons were the features (bathroon, larger fridge w/freezer, more room). The slide makes a big difference too. We enjoyed the pop-up but getting older causes you to want different things. A plus to us is we still have the tenting which gives us the pop-up feeling. The only down side is we had to get a new TV which wasn't that bad since I didn't like the original TV we had.

Keith and Sharon · 06-06-2008, 06:28 PM

We wwnt from tent -popup-tt-5er, as stated before yes some popups have a heater but it will run almost constantly if you are camping in a cold climate, and the heater uses a lot of fuel, also if it rains when you get home youe need to set it up again the let it dry so the canvas won't mildew.

steveqvs · 06-06-2008, 06:44 PM

Well if you have the cash you could get both in one of those Hi-Lows. They look like a pop up but they are hardsided like a TT.

turbopuppy · 09-08-2008, 11:43 AM

Real big issue is Pop-ups are not allowed at Yellowstone Nat. Park - campers are becoming bear food. Hybrids can be left closed and are permitted. Security is a bit better with hard sides, too. Bridge Bay, Canyon, Fishing Bridge RV Park, Grant Village, and Madison Campgrounds prohibit tents and other tent campers.

OldCamper · 09-11-2008, 09:58 PM

Had two Pups, enjoyed them, but got real tired of the lack of privacy. I don't always want to get up when my camping neighbor does, listen to his conversation, his music, his kids cry @ 2AM or his snoring at night time. Sleeping with ear plugs in isn't fun. (Don't get me wrong, TT are not sound proof, but a lot better).

Benefits of a TT or 5ver: Having my own shower, bathroom and all that is great .Rainy days are a lot more tolerable in the 5ver than in the Pup. We do 2-3 week trips in the summer. The 5ver makes that a lot more tolerable. Having a freezer for ice cream is great, as well as an oven for baking.

Benefits of the Pup, better mpg's, don't need to own a large tow vehicle, can fit it on almost any site.

j2detroit · 01-28-2009, 07:49 PM

pop ups are great we had ours for about 5 years and had lots of good times in it and put on lots of miles. after a few years we decided that we wanted to go bigger and seasonal now we just got to our spot at the campground turn everything on and lite the campfie

cmcct · 01-30-2009, 10:27 PM

We recently moved up to a hybrid TT. We used a '89 Starcraft Starmate for 5 years and put a lot of miles on it. We got it because it was an excellent price and in amazing shape for it's age. We were not ready to totally give up tent camping, but we didn't want to be on the ground anymore.
After a couple summers of bad weather following us around, AND our boys growing a lot bigger, we decided to get a travel trailer, a hybrid one. Reasoning for this was we could get a 19 foot trailer that can sleep 8, good for parking in smaller camp sites, and as we loved our pop up, we really liked the idea of pop up style ends for the beds. As for noise, we only go where there are very fer people (dry camping), and usually a river for fishing, you know, nice nature sounds. The choice is entirely yours, there are benefits to each, especially being out with family.

**bikendan** · 02-04-2009, 09:01 PM

notice the OP never responded and hasn't posted again.

WB4MBV · 09-10-2009, 04:49 PM

There is an old Indian saying that may shed some light on this subject: "White man builds big fire, stand far back; Indian builds small fire, stand close".

If you like to tour camp and visit multiple sites on your outings, go with something smaller and easy to tow/set-up. If you'd rather go to one spot and stay a while, then try something larger and more comfortable.

There is no one "perfect" camper for all, you must balance many competing issues and decide what's best for you. My single person tent strapped to the motorcycle gives the most freedom to go where you want, but the htt is a great deal more comfortable for me, the wife, and Chester (Black Lab).

Just get out there and do it!

tchart · 09-10-2009, 07:02 PM

We just sold our pop-up and ordered a travel trailer. We went from tent camping to pop-up to travel trailer several years ago and had to sell the trailer because my husband had to work too much to use it. Then about 3 years after that we started the cycle again, tent, pop-up and now a new travel trailer again, which I can't wait to get. I thought I would be happy with a pop-up since it basically had everything in it but after 2 years I wanted a trailer again. My biggest problem besides poping it up after it rained and like someone else mentioned, you can hear everything that is going on outside, was climbing over the beds to make them. I like to take sheets and blankets so that was a real pain and Im getting too old to do that. Whatever you decide Im sure you will have a ton of fun in it.

Bill U · 09-10-2009, 09:37 PM

Went from a tent to a pop-up to our TT. Really miss the outside air and free space of the pop-up. However, in my humble opinion, I prefer the TT. Lots of space, better heating and cooling, more privacy...etc.... If you can pull it go with a TT.

Jon Breen · 09-11-2009, 08:25 AM

my advise is go with the most you can afford now. because if you get a pop up you will want a tt soon. we looked at pop ups and realized that for a few thousand more we got a nice used tt that was twice as big. we bought the tt which we have since upgraded to a fifth wheel. my neighbor bought a pop up and within two years has sold it and bought a tt. they are nice if that is all you can do but I suggest you get a tt. and never look back.

You may also like: