Easy trailering with a popup

[Tom]

My parents started RVing over 40 years ago when they graduated from a tent to a popup trailer. I don't recall the brand and wish I had a photo of that trailer. The light weight and very low profile in the folded position made it ideal for towing with a small car. On arrival at a campground, they'd merely open a few latches, lift (or pop) up the walls, close a few latches, and they were done. When it was time to leave, they'd just reverse the process and they were ready to hitch up and hit road.

[Woody]

Tom,

I'm not sure but I seem to recall that Starcraft made one of the first popup trailers.

Woody

[Tom]

They probably did Woody and Bob Maxwell would know all about that. IIRC he was Marketing Manager for Starcraft. My parents' popup was in the UK and I don't think Starcraft was selling over there in those days. I suspect it was a UK brand. In fact, it was generically called a "folding caravan" because what we call trailers in the RV world here are called "caravans" or, more correctly, "touring caravans"  over there.

Just found this site, although it's not a brand name I remember.

[Bob Maxwell]

While Starcraft/Venture and Jayco are veteran pop-top tent camper manufacturers, Apache and Bethany [from MN] were there before both of them. Palomino, Viking, Coachman and Coleman were in the next wave and Dutchman [I dont like that brand at all] came later. Coleman seems to have been the top of the line ths last decade.

Apache's Eagle had perfect balance on one wheel and went anywhere. For decades, hunters used them as hunting camps. Smart hunters!

I was Inter-Company Purchasing Manager for Starcraft doing the purchasing and shipping for plants in Listowel ON CN, Independence KS and Harrisburg PA. The '72 oil embargo killed the KS & PA plants so I went to Coachmen where I was the first Marketing Manager for Viking/Coachmen. The oil situation might lead to an RV shakeout once again.

[John From Detroit]

My first camper was an apache popup.  Interesting rig,  Finally died of total canvas decay and to be honest due to other issues that caused me to get a great deal on it when I bought it... It was not worth new canvas... So I got a SCAMP 13' polystyrene bubble.

Used that til this summer... Got a calss A

[FX]

Started with a Coleman Westlake 4 years ago.  Traded it in not too long ago for a TT.  Glad I did.  Although defintley a step up from tenting, still quite a job getting everything set up.  The one thing I do miss was that I was really getting into the boondocking thing when I had my pop-up.  Great to go way up in the mountains and travel down the logging roads for miles and miles until you found a little spot off the side of the road to call home for a few days.  Things are different now and there has been no boondocking yet.  Things change when you move up to a large trailer.  Now I have to think of getting stuck, much more weight, tree limbs, turning around....

[Just Lou]

FX,

That is exactly why I kept my old Coleman Chesapeake pop-up when I got my class-A this past spring.  I can experience the wet lands, waste lands, back roads, back woods, sea shore and mountains in the old pop-up in ways that just aren't possible in a large MH.  The Class-A was purchased to facilitate a three month Quest to Alaska in June '06 and hopefully open up a new RVing world for me.

Actually, I kept the pop-up because it was so full of great memories that I couldn't bear to part with it.  In addition, my grand kids still love to use it for sleep overs and slumber parties.  With Air, microwave and color TV it makes a great extra bedroom.

lou

[FX]

Lou-
Although I didn't like a lot of things about my PU, I find that I used my PU 3x's as much as I use my current 27'er.  The PU was used about once a month, where as the TT is used about once every 3-5 months