5 Things I Wish I Knew Before Buying a Pop Up Camper

40 thoughts on “5 Things I Wish I Knew Before Buying a Pop Up Camper”

• *Example of Fish Cleaning Sink Here: https://amzn.to/3ecp80C (Amazon Affiliate Link)*🚿🎣

• I cant more strongly disagree about the AC unit. Sure you can get by on a weekend trip without it… however lets say you are going out west in August from the midwest…. by the time you get to Colorado or Wyoming you are a couple of days into what is likely a minimum of a 2-week trip (5 days burned on getting to and from) It gets hot in Colorado where most of the campgrounds are located…. you are going to WISH you had the means to cool down your camper at night… HARD PASS on forgoing the AC

• If you need to wash your hands whilst outside cooking, take a bowl of water out. Easy!

• I found that pretty much everything in my trailer failed to work after a few years so ended up implementing alternatives out of necessity.

• My fridge didn't work. Installed a dorm fridge in it's place. Gets nice and cold, but doesn't work off propane or 12v, which I'm perfectly ok with. AC is nice, but hey, you don't have to run it all the time. And when you do need to run it, the noise is better than sweating yourself to sleep. Mine also doesn't have a bathroom in it. I'm glad because who wants to smell somebody taking a dump in the same "tent" you're living in? Just make sure you get a spot near the campground latrines and you're good to go.

• Question about the fridge: is it just that the units that come with campers are crappy? Reason I ask is, in my office at work, I have my dorm fridge from the late '80s, and it chills stuff just fine. It's about the size of a large microwave. I wonder if just getting a better fridge would solve the problem. This is, of course, assuming you go somewhere with an electric hookup.

• I had a Coleman Sun Valley that I towed behind my Jeep Wrangler. It was about 800lbs dry. We had a built-in indoor 3 burner stove that we used all the time (what do you do in foul weather?). Also, had a small porta potty inside. So we used the indoor sink all the time. No frig. I agree it's really a waste. You're going to have to bring coolers no matter what. The storage space is more valuable than the frig could ever be. Never had nor could I have an AC unit, I never camped anywhere with hookups. I did a lot of off roading in the mountains and deserts so unless I wanted to run a generator all the time, AC would have been useless. On the other hand, the factory heater was invaluable! Modifications I made to my tent trailer was installing marine batteries mounted on the hitch and running it to the indoor converter. I modified the suspension to what's known as "spring over axle" that netted me about 4" of lift (literally zero cost). Then installed new jacks on all four corners to accommodate the lift. I had no problem towing that trailer on mild trails in the mountains and deserts getting it to the more remote campsites (nothing crazy).

• What's the point of having a pop up camper? This looks like a complete waste of money. If I'm going to get a camper, it's going to be a real one not a tent on wheels.

• Thank you

• I don't like anything about canvas type fold down campers. The best type to get is a hard wall fold fold down camper. They have everything a house has including a shower and you can still get better fuel mileage only there is a bit more weight. Plus you are more likely to be able to run the refer. while traveling. Not so with the canvas type.

• This is great, thanks!

• Thanks for info . I’ve always wondered about pop ups .

• Thumbs up.(have you thought of staying at home lol).I bet you,ve had some good fun though.
  Thanks for the vid,i found pretty much the same on our sailing boat.

• Rain noise is irritating in tent. Something soft over it reduce noise.

• Must not dirty the door handle ? realy?

• The a/c on our palomino and jayflight were nowhere near that loud…but did a great job keeping them kewl in south texas summer….heater went out in our last popup and we just used a buddy heater…worked fine and no battery consumption when we were off grid and the deer lease

• I’ll be honest, the first time riding out a storm in a pop up was not like storms in the pickup camper with the jacks down in my childhood. More sound, flapping canvas, and more movement of the beds. At least in a tent, the ground stays still. Yet, I’d still rather do a pop up than a tent

• Humm , guess you do not have little kids who get really dirty. nothing like a hot wash, clean jammies, teeth brushed. Think about it. Fridge???? Hell yes, it rains and rains and weather can be cold. I am not running to a cooler outside at any time.. Buy a tray take your food that your cooking out!!!! More work with out side sink!!! Its called wipes or a small basin of water pump soap and a towel. Spot on with the outside stove.!!! Pain in the Mooses Ass!!!! Buy a real cook stove or use fire pit. {Remember you are camping} AC well, your choice, same as furnace ..cool or heat before bed time. PS GIVE BACK TO NATURE CLEAN YOUR FISH AT THE WATER SOURCE. Slide No More.. totally Right

• It sounds like you just need a tent. By the way, if you get rid of your sink, where do you get water for your ice maker because you don't like your refrigerator either?

• My first RV was a 1995 School bus. We love the bus but wish we had started out with a pop up camper.
  Thanks for the insight.

• Excellent Video! Well done and I agree 100%

• Too me… camping is about Adventure and being outside it's not about having every single comfort you have at home..
  Use them hand wipes in a jug to clean your hands..
  Bring a small Coleman stove or cook over the fire and use paper plates..
  No reason to bring two or three stoves portable kitchens portable sinks LOL

• Spot on. We did that 8 yrs ago to a popup. All the inside stuff gone. We added storage instead. All cooking outside over the fire or a Coleman like you have. We got fittings and tied our Coleman to the front mounted tanks.
  For heat, they sell reflective mylar sheets just for pop-ups that reflect the sun off the slide outs. Keeps it much cooler in the summer, warmer in the winter. Also, cut 2 to fit under the bunk mattresses for winter. We do mostly winter camping, so no AC for us. We use a lil buddy heater inside. Finding a pop-up without all those items saves $$$.

• No such thing as a “ hot water heater” there are water heaters though.. sorry I’m a plumber and that’s a pet peeve.. I
  I would of just taken out the sink and cabinet .. put in a storage area.

• This guy isn't a camper, he needs a Class A coach!

• Why the hell would anyone remove the sink????????

• The fish cleaning station is brilliant. I will definitely be picking up one of those for my girlfriend and I to use with our Palamino hardside popup.

• Get an Alpicool fridge. 4 watts when in idle and 40watts when cooling. I run mine entirely off a solar panel and a Jackery 500.

• What is your diy group link?

• Rent one next time

• Thanks for the tip on the fish cleaning sink! How about a shower and toilet? Do you think it's important to have? Or, do you come up with other better solutions as well?

• My first experience with a pop up camper was with friends, in Texas, in August, in 105° temperatures. It has an AC they said (it did), but it reached over 130° in that temperature. I say over because the thermometer stopped at 130° f. Air conditioning a TENT in the middle of a Texas summer as pointless as a screen door on a submarine. You mention the noise, which would be an issue if the AC had any effect.

• frig is storage space.sink is covered for counter space.good points we found out the same things.AC also have never used it.Gen. same thing never used it.We bring gal of water.we bring solar lights,bat. op lights.we do use the propane stove outside sometimes.good video for the beginner.

• Are you seriouse dude…you should quit camping with Any kind of rv, asap!!! Do you even expell the energy to pick up your package at the front door, or do you have a special service that does it for you?! Why post this video even?! PS. Bears will raid you camp for the smell of toothpaste alone!

• Agreed on most. No comment on the AC as ours doesn’t have it. Disagree on the 3 way refrigerator. Ours works fantastic and burns very little propane. We love it.

  Great idea on that fish cleaning sink. I’ll be borrowing that!

• I live in Florida and was thinking about a pop up as to avoid storage fees (would like to be able to fit it inside my garage, can't have rv in driveway and backyard is out of the question). AC is the primary concern living in the south but I didn't realize the noise would be ongoing during the day as well and pop ups are not much better insulated than tents. Would you say that the pop up was truly an upgrade over tent camping? Would you do it again or go with a different option? My dream would be to have something small enough to tow with a Van (3500 lbs), has AC, and fits In a garage

• This was amazing! I'm looking into buying a pop up, so this was very helpful!

• that's why we went back to tent camping. bought a cargo trailer and we have room for everything.

• We just bought our first pop up. Looking forward to getting off the ground (even though we've been using an air mattress in the tent. Also looking forward to having the AC, running water and fridge. We usually do 3 to 4 nights so we can deal with using a cooler till the fridge gets cold. One more plus is that bench and table if it rains. Someplace to actually sit and work on crafts, or read.

• If I lived in a car I would buy a pop up camper to stay in if i could even use one

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