Wolf Pup 18TO Adequate for Fam of 5?

[Boomerweps]

Originally Posted by Maticuno

The smaller trailer is a must in my situation. Not because of my tow vehicle (V10 F250) but because I want to be able to drag it out into the back country without having to worry about overall length or weight when off the pavement.

In that case, I strongly recommend you work into your purchase deal to have the axle "reversed" or placed UNDER the springs for clearance. I'm looking at doing this with my 16BHS because I get tired worrying about my sewer drain dragging going in and out my drive to get on the highway. Plus I cannot use my factory rear rack for the same reason. Kind of a Drag. If the spare tire mount wasn't a welded part of the rear rack, I'd try to use it. Even removing the spare leaves a metal V bracket hanging down ;(
As is for now, I pull out of my drive and go to a level place to install my load bars on my WDH ;(

[Culdesac]

We're a family of 5 happily camping in an 18TO. Kids are 5, 8, & 9. We upgraded from a pop-up that we used for 4 years. Our kids use sleeping bags. We bought a mattress topper for the sofa. It hasn't been a big deal to set up beds each night and tear them down each morning. We've had it less than a year and taken it out 6 times. Our longest trip was 9 nights. Once we even took grandma. We're comfortable even on rainy days. We do tend to spend a lot of time outside. We like the smaller RV because we camp mostly at State and national parks where the spots aren't as long.

[67L48]

Welcome to the forum.

I'll share my camping journey and some of it may resonate with you ... and other bits will be useless.

I have a family of 6 ... though I'm losing them now. Camping started with me and my two oldest boys in a tent, which works quite nice in arid CO. When the younger kids were old enough (2-ish for us), we tent camped for 2 years. It was good, but my wife was done with tent camping and air mattresses pretty fast.

Then, we rented a popup trailer in Denver for pretty cheap. That was a game-changer. There was no going back for us. The next spring, we bought a used popup. Lots of considerations here:

• Cheap. We bought a top of the line, 5-year old popup for $6,500.
• Depreciation. Popups hit a floor of around $2-3K, unless there's something wrong with it. I sold that same trailer after 6 years of use for ... $6,500.
• Sleeping capacity. I had two king sized bunks, a dinette, and a sleeper couch. Slept 6 easily and, with all beds down, you could walk around with ease. I slept as many as 4 adults, 4 kids, and 2 80 lb dogs. Easy peasy.
• Towability. Most popups will be single-axle in the 2,500 - 3,500 lb range. Most V6 vehicles can tow that.

For us, camping is about the outdoors. Popups support that. A popup is a place to get out of the rain and a place to sleep off the ground. The entertainment is still going to be outside.

We actually had a toilet in ours. Didn't use it once in 6 years. Didn't use the water heater. Didn't use the plumbing. Didn't use the stove but for a couple of rainy lunches. And mainly just because those things are all a bit cramped in a popup. We use our toilet all the time in our trailer ... because it has hard walls and door. So, expect a utilitarian experience in a Popup ... which we loved for 6 years.

My buddy liked my popup and bought himself a used one for $2,000. It was old and small ... and worked great for his family of 4. Used it for 2 years and sold it for $2,100 when he moved out of town. So, for just a few grand, you can get a nice popup and, later, get nearly all of your cash back out of it. It's just a great way to test the water, see what you like, and have some fun.

You mentioned, at one point, not wanting to get too carried away in the event that camping didn't turn out to be your thing. That's another reason to get a used popup ... or a used trailer. They won't tie up as much cash and you won't lose much if you end up not using it.

If you're set on a regular trailer, then it's much tougher to find a small, cheap trailer that has enough sleeping surfaces for a large family. Hybrids are great, but it's a small used market and they're relatively expensive.

Let's talk about that Wolf Pup:


From what I see, you could shoe-horn a 3 kids into that ... maybe 4 if they were small enough. But, it looks really nice. The slide-out is great. I had one in my popup and would never buy a trailer of any kind without a slide-out.

Good luck.

[Maticuno]

Originally Posted by Boomerweps

In that case, I strongly recommend you work into your purchase deal to have the axle "reversed" or placed UNDER the springs for clearance. I'm looking at doing this with my 16BHS because I get tired worrying about my sewer drain dragging going in and out my drive to get on the highway. Plus I cannot use my factory rear rack for the same reason. Kind of a Drag. If the spare tire mount wasn't a welded part of the rear rack, I'd try to use it. Even removing the spare leaves a metal V bracket hanging down ;(
As is for now, I pull out of my drive and go to a level place to install my load bars on my WDH ;(

An axle flip and 16" E rated off-road truck tires are in the immediate future.

[pilotpip]

Everybody will have different needs and those needs will vary as much as the opinions here. For me, there's no way my wife, 2 kids and I could do an 18' camper. I don't think my wife and I alone could do that. Have you considered a hybrid? You'll have much more floor space and keep the weight down. The downside is that you'll have the issues associated with a pop up. Some don't see them as downsides.

My wife and I both grew up with pop-ups and tent camping. It is nice to open the windows and be sleeping "outside". It's not nice having to make sure everything is dry when you head home, or setting back up to dry it out when you get home.

We don't go to sit inside and watch TV either, but the fact is there will be stormy days. I can deal with the rainy ones as the kids love going outside and playing. We're going with either a rockwood 2509 or Grand Design Imagine 2400. I'm towing with a new F-150 and want to keep things under 30' for a number of reasons. Both campers have enough space that we'll be able to grow into the camper.

[67L48]

Where you camp and how long you camp also makes a huge difference, as noted above (at least implied).

I grew up in SW Washington. Tent camping was brutal. It didn't always rain, but it did a lot. Even when it wasn't raining, things were always sort of damp. It might not have rained for 2 days, but if you brush up against a bush on a trail, your whole side would be wet. It was messy all the time with mud, pine needles, and such. Not so horrible in a trailer, but tenting really was miserable.

In Colorado, different story. In 13 years of camping, I've canceled one trip because of rain. It just doesn't rain much. When it does, it does for a very brief time and, 2 hours later, it dries up and you can't even tell it rained. In the 6 years I used a popup, I think only once did I have to come home and dry out the tenting prior to storage ... and that took only as long as it normally did to unpack, anyway.

I may not have liked my popup as much living in a different area. In CO, it was just a great way to get off the ground, roof for short rains, and a more convenient place to dress, nap, etc.

So, it's a good point. If you're in an area where it might rain off and on for basically the entire day, then having a roomier place might be a good thing. If you need to dash in for 45 minutes and play a board game while the CO afternoon thunderstorm rolls through, then a small trailer or popup is all you need.

Popup tenting is an interesting topic. Some people just love the more open, tent-like feeling it gives. You can hear nature, particularly if there are birds or a running river/stream. You can also hear people walk by, dogs barking, and every other noise. It didn't drive me crazy, by any means, but I much prefer the better noise insulation of a hard-sided trailer. Some people would hate to silence the sounds of nature.

And, sometimes you just need to experience these things first-hand to get a better feel for what works for you. That's why renting is a great idea.

Good luck.