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Old 04-19-2020, 08:17 PM   #1
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Popups not as popular ?

Is it just me or my location but new popups and pretty much non existent in the Charlotte area. Are they just not as popular anymore ? After going through different size trailers we are back in a popup but had a time trying to find a new one.
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Old 04-19-2020, 08:27 PM   #2
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I think it's all just what you're into personally. Who wants what and why.

We went out west to Mt Rushmore a couple years ago and had 5 or 6 in a row at our campground! Was pretty cool to see. Gives me hope. :-)
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Old 04-19-2020, 08:38 PM   #3
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The first two campers I owned were pop-up. A step up - no pun intended - from sleeping on the ground. Light weight and low drag made it the logical choice for a young family. Hope they're still making them for starter campers.

Heck, my sister and her husband spend six weeks on the road a year (well, not this year) in an A-frame. And that's a kissing cousin of a pop-up!
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Old 04-19-2020, 08:54 PM   #4
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I wonder if a part of it might be that over the years there seems to be an increasing number of mini lightwood hard sides that can be pulled with smaller Tow Vehicles.
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Old 04-19-2020, 09:17 PM   #5
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Well, since a lot of factories are shut down and delivery drivers have probably been diverted to deliver 'essentials', it's possible that they just haven't reached the dealers yet.

It's also possible that the Aframe have taken part of the market.
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Old 04-19-2020, 09:21 PM   #6
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Here's a few down here near ATL

They're out there..

https://letgo.onelink.me/O2PG/3fdc9320

https://letgo.onelink.me/O2PG/f6f5eb75

New or used?
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Old 04-20-2020, 06:41 AM   #7
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Here's a few down here near ATL

They're out there..

https://letgo.onelink.me/O2PG/3fdc9320

https://letgo.onelink.me/O2PG/f6f5eb75

New or used?
Actually New plenty of used out there. Tom Johnson / Camping World here in Concord, NC and in Marion NC I bought their last new one last week a 2019 Forest River Fleetwood 627-D . Jayco doesn't have any listed for 2020 at all that I can find.
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Old 04-20-2020, 06:42 AM   #8
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I wonder if a part of it might be that over the years there seems to be an increasing number of mini lightwood hard sides that can be pulled with smaller Tow Vehicles.
This plus the fact that you can get some really nice smaller TT's for sometimes the price of a really nice popup. We loved our popup just out grew it.
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Old 04-20-2020, 11:52 AM   #9
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My whole RV adventure began with wanting a pop up. Then when we went to Hershey RV show, neither Rockwood or Flagstaff dealers had any of the hard side pop-ups to show. I still remember the model I wanted, HW214. Dealer talked me into GeoPro, told me it's less stuff to break, more amenities, and only sticks up a couple feet above roofline of truck. Plus setup time is limited to leveling it, something you would have to do with a pop up also. And the best thing about not having canvass wall, better climate control, and it takes longer for a bear to claw through canvass and pop your skull in it's massive jaws while you are asleep.
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Old 04-20-2020, 11:57 AM   #10
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and it takes longer for a bear to claw through canvass and pop your skull in it's massive jaws while you are asleep.
Can't you just flick their noses to get them to run off? I think I saw that on Scooby-Doo....
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Old 04-20-2020, 11:59 AM   #11
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Not when you are sound asleep, lol.
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Old 04-20-2020, 12:29 PM   #12
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For us personally, price was a factor. When we first started looking at RVs, we were open minded to a pop up, A-frame, or "traditional" trailer. Since it was our first trailer we just explored the RV shows to see what was "speaking to us". And when we compared brand new pop ups to brand new "traditional" RV trailers, it seemed like a no brainer for us. The pop up that we were looking at, I dont remember the model now, was about $3000 more than the Mini Lite we bought. Usually you pay more for convenience, we felt like we would have been paying more for "inconvenience". Like NJKris alluded to, with additional set up and tear down time. Inconvenience of opening it up when you get home if it was put away damp. Things like there. Not knocking the pop ups or the people that use them. But our expectation was that they would be less expensive, not more expensive.
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Old 04-20-2020, 12:35 PM   #13
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Some brands, like Jayco, have stopped making them. If you can't find a pop-up try looking at some Hybrids.
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Old 04-20-2020, 12:39 PM   #14
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Some brands, like Jayco, have stopped making them. If you can't find a pop-up try looking at some Hybrids.
We actually found a new one was just curious as to why they were so hard to find. We went from Tent to small popup to big popup to 3 travel trailers now back to a popup. We always felt more like we were "Camping" in a Popup. Plus we like the mobility when it was being towed.
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Old 04-20-2020, 01:19 PM   #15
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We started with a 10' pop-up when our kids were young. We took it to Maine, Orlando, Florida and mid-Arizona with the kids and the dog, all pulled by a Ford Escape. We had it for thirteen years but the last few years it was hardly used at all because the kids grew up and moved out. Those were some of the best times we had.

We stayed for a week a the Hard Rock Hotel at Universal Studios. They happily let us park it in one corner of the parking lot because it fit easily in one parking space. That was a pet-friendly hotel so the Golden Retriever had the run of the hotel on a leash, and every time we took the dog up or down in the elevator the adults would give us a second look but their kids all knew the dog and wanted to ride with her.

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Old 04-20-2020, 01:26 PM   #16
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Popups were probably more 'popular' in the past since they could be towed by almost anything, maybe even a bike!
So, anybody could get into 'camping' without much fuss, and it's easy to park it next to your home, probably most can be handled and moved even without a vehicle.

I would suppose that the lack of factories building many anymore is more due to the nature of the beast - credit is so easy, and we have more 'spendable' or 'disposable' income these days, that getting that 'bigger and better' RV is more appealing. Folks probably also want a more 'self-contained' RV, and one that is much more usable while traveling - a 'bathroom on the go' of sorts.

My brother probably could easily tow a popup with his Honda Odyssey van, but since it's just him, he just sleeps in the rear of the van.
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Old 04-20-2020, 01:27 PM   #17
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A few pop-ups in the Southwest dealers we pass by. Not near as many as there used to be. I'm sure if you pick a model, you can find one via a search or let your preferred dealer find one.
We had a pop-up for a few years. Loved how it would go pretty much anywhere the truck would go, so we could go way back in the backwoods. What we didn't like was the noisy canvas (especially when windy) and the effort to put up and take down. And yes, the older we get, the lazier we are
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Old 04-20-2020, 02:02 PM   #18
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Some brands, like Jayco, have stopped making them. If you can't find a pop-up try looking at some Hybrids.
Yep, Jayco stopped making Popups. This would indicate that if one of the largest popup manufacturers discontinued manufacturering them, then it's no longer profitable or not enough sales.
It seems that the rise in popularity of trailer lines like No Boundaries and Geo/E Pro, is what the public is preferring, especially younger buyers.
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Old 04-20-2020, 02:23 PM   #19
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Once small trailers started to have slide outs, the popularity went away since you can have a small trailer to tow with good room inside.

Our family started with a popup. The setup was a PITA for us so we moved to a regular trailer.
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Old 04-20-2020, 02:47 PM   #20
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We wanted one briefly when we first got into RVing until we started pricing small trailers. Pop ups are too expensive and they don't have bathrooms, which turned out to be a deal breaker. I always enjoy watching people struggle to set them up in state parks, the only place you really see them anymore
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