1st Pop-up, some questions

[Tim M.]

I'm thinking of getting into my 1st Pop-up (getting too old to sleep on the ground and crawl out of tents). I have read many of the posts here and learned a tremendous amount but I have a few things I'd still like some input on.

First - what I'm looking for:

I'll be going on some pretty rough back roads in BLM and National Forest land so I want something fairly light, small and strong
(15-16') with no bathroom capability and no A/C. I'll be pulling it with a 2003 1/2 ton Chevy equiped with the Z71 offroad and factory towing packages. I have a cap on the truck so storage space is not an issue.

Questions:

It is only my wife and I so I only need one bunk, can the rear one be removed and a canvas made with windows for over the opening?

I read alot about "65 mph" max on the 13" tires. I'll be dring to NM, ID and MT from upstate NY. Since speed limits out west are 75 mph it would be nice to at least keep up with traffic. Is this a problem?

I'm looking at a Jayco 1207, Fleetwood Santa Fe or Sea Pine or Rockwood 2270. Any insight into things to consider or watch out for?

Thanks for your help!

[Tim M.]

I'm thinking of getting into my 1st Pop-up (getting too old to sleep on the ground and crawl out of tents). I have read many of the posts here and learned a tremendous amount but I have a few things I'd still like some input on.

First - what I'm looking for:

I'll be going on some pretty rough back roads in BLM and National Forest land so I want something fairly light, small and strong
(15-16') with no bathroom capability and no A/C. I'll be pulling it with a 2003 1/2 ton Chevy equiped with the Z71 offroad and factory towing packages. I have a cap on the truck so storage space is not an issue.

Questions:

It is only my wife and I so I only need one bunk, can the rear one be removed and a canvas made with windows for over the opening?

I read alot about "65 mph" max on the 13" tires. I'll be dring to NM, ID and MT from upstate NY. Since speed limits out west are 75 mph it would be nice to at least keep up with traffic. Is this a problem?

I'm looking at a Jayco 1207, Fleetwood Santa Fe or Sea Pine or Rockwood 2270. Any insight into things to consider or watch out for?

Thanks for your help!

[Kablewizard]

Howdy andWelcome to iRV2.com.

Your the only one who really can say what you want. You could go o a lot of web sites, or dealers to check them out, I would suggest a RV show. a lot of pop ups togeather in one place makes it real easy to compare. You n have the axel turned over making the frame higher. The only thing I see all the time isthe frame is high, but the axel is the same hight from the ground. Thee are some odels out there for the type of camping and roads yu want to travel so take your time.

Let us know what you find.

[mamaloya]

Both Jayco and Fleetwood make models made for offroading. Here are a couple of links...

Jayco Baja

Fleetwood Evolution

The Baja also comes in a camoflage color but it is not shown on the website. If you ask for a brochure it is in it.

I was not sure if the size you specified was box size or open size. Most box sizes are between 9' and 12' although some are bigger. That refers to the size of the box itself that is hard sided. Then you have the open dimensions which is how long the unit is once it is opened up with the beds out. The smallest element only has one bed in it, but it also has no kitchen. Some of the larger ones have bathrooms in them and some don't.

I hope you find exactly what you are looking for.

Fleetwood Element

[Frank P. Martin]

Tim:

I wouldn't "remove" the other bunk. It makes a very useful storage area when only one bunk is being used. Most pop-ups don't have enough storage space and you find yourself moving a lot of items from the bed(s) to the dinette at night and then back to the bed(s) again during the day. This problem is even worse if the dinette needs to be converted to a bed at night. My wife and I enjoyed camping in the pop-up once our sons grew up and stopped coming with us as we could put everything on their bed and just leave it there.

Oops.. had to correct that "typo"-- converted not coverted.

[Tim M.]

Thanks for the responses.

I guess I'll keep the extra bunk, not only does it sound useful but I doesn't sound like anyone has removed it. I suspect that getting the canvas to fit correctly would be an experiment anyway and I wouldn't know how well its working until the first good downpour

My concern about the rough roads is not so much clearance since the gravel roads I'll be on are graded fairly well but they do tend to get washboarded pretty badly. I'll make sure that everything is packed well in containers, etc. so items won't be falling or flying around but I'm wondering how the PUP construction is going to hold up.

Tires aka speed - We'll be doing a lot of sightseeing along the way but a lot of the driving from point to point (NY -> NM, NM -> ID, ID -> NY) is going to be on Interstate that has 75 mph speed limits. I'm concerned about the safety of doing 10 mph under the limit with trucks running up my back and constantly passing me. Has anyone converter their 13" wheels to 14"? I've found 14" tires with the proper load range and with 75 mph speed ratings so while that will cost a few 100$ to do the conversion it could potentially solve the problem (also gives me a little extra clearance). If this is plausible does it create other problems?

BTW, went to an RV show last week but they only had 4 PUPs in the whole show. LOTS of hugh 5th wheels and coaches with double pullouts, some of them were big enough to use as dance floors. I guess one coach sale makes up for a whole lot of PUP sales.

[George Miklas]

Tim,

On some models, you might have enough tire clearance to put on 14" or 15" tires with a higher speed rating. However if you are buying used and are handy with a welder, you can modify the trailer to any clearance necessary.

I've owned both a Coleman and then a Jayco pop up. If I were buying a pop up again, I would seriously consider the lifter system. The difference is between Coleman / Fleetwood, and everything else. C & F has (approx.) 1½" x 3" stainless steel lifter arms ("C" channels) and under floor cables (exposed underneath). Everything else has 1"x1" (tubular) zinc coated lifter arms and above floor cables (confined within the cabinets). My Jayco had some rust on the lifter arms despite the zinc coating. While I never experienced a lifter cable failure, I have heard stories of people with C/F who have broken cables and had easy DIY repairs. But then I heard horrible stories of people with other brands having to practically gut the interior of the box to make the cable repair. I'm not trying to scare you, but a cable failure/repair seems to be inevitable with pop ups.

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">BTW, went to an RV show last week but they only had 4 PUPs in the whole show...I guess one coach sale makes up for a whole lot of PUP sales. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>I had a coach (motor home) too at one time and it was suitable for the purposes at the time--travelling. But for the camping experience, I prefer a pop up and my wife prefers a travel trailer. Guess who won this time?

gm

[mamaloya]

The Jayco Baja and Fleetwood Evolution both have 15" tires. Not sure of the speed rating though. If you click on the links I provided, you can get the detailed specs of each one including tire size and wt. The Baja only has one floor plan, but the Evolution has 3.

[WaveMaker]

i saw the baja today, if i had to get one that would be it...