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Small Pop-up camper

Lowrange2

Lowrange2

NAXJA Forum User
Location
Abbeville, SC
Fellas,

I've been camping all my life in tents and a sleeping bag... which I have no problem with.

What I have a problem with is going down the check list of all the camping gear and loading it in the Jeep before each trip.

I want to be able to hook up to the trailer and go.

I kicked around the idea of making an offroad trailer with a RTT but I figure by the time I did that I could just buy a small pop-up camper and modify it to fit my needs. Plus, we really don't have the same type of "Expedition" stuff available to us that you'd usually use a RTT for. (I'd get funny looks in a State Campground in my RTT.) I could get a mildly lifted pop-up anywhere I'd want it to go.

I checked out the nice name brand offroad pop-ups but I just can't afford a 5-10,000 dollar pop-up. I'd need to find an older model fixer upper that needed some work.

The trouble I'm having is finding a SMALL pup. 8ft? 10ft seems bigger than I want.

Who makes a 8ft p-up that I may be able to find on the cheaper side?
 
ive been toying with the same idea for quite some time.

around here 10-20 year old coleman pop-ups in decent shape go for around a grand or so. just have to find one that was taken care of.

i would beef up the frame in places i think could use it, armor it around the corners (just incase), put some taller/longer leaf springs on it and some larger tires with a fairly aggressive tread pattern. maybe even a pintle hitch.

wouldnt take it through any intense rock gardens or tight technical stuff, but it would hold its own on most trails.
 
^^^ what sam said. the only expensive part about fixing one up is replacing the canvas. everything else inside (and out) can be fixed for pretty cheap. bigger leaf packs, tires, and a beefier harbor freight trailer axle and you're set.
 
One thing to consider going this route. The old or even the new pop up trailers...even those that are sold as "off road" trailers are built super cheap and will not hold up with repeated off road use. If you plan on seeing the occasional dirt road but mostly staying on the highway you'll be fine. If you plan on extended trips on rough roads I'd advice looking for something that's built to hold up.
 
I've thought about that. I'd say 90% of the time this will be on the road...

A FS road occasionally with no more rough trail than I HAVE to do to get to where I want to camp.

Would reinforcing the frame help make it last longer?

But for most of the trips it'll probably drive on a paved road, to a paved campground and park in a paved site. I might hit a speed bump or two on the way.

But, I'd like to have the ability to head down some dirt roads and hop a small downed tree to get to my site...

I like this one:
http://greenville.craigslist.org/rvs/2901011780.html
 
The frame isn't the biggest issue. It's the cheap way they put the bodies together. Super cheap plywood and particle board. They just aren't meant to survive prolonged exposure to the harsh vibrations of dirt roads. Hell they really aren't made to last that long on the highway.
 
DrMoab said:
The frame isn't the biggest issue. It's the cheap way they put the bodies together. Super cheap plywood and particle board. They just aren't meant to survive prolonged exposure to the harsh vibrations of dirt roads. Hell they really aren't made to last that long on the highway.
Click to expand...

i hate it when people bring reality into my ideas
 
I really like the Coleman offroad type tent campers but they want 10k+. I'm in the process of building an offroad teardrop with air bag suspension, adjustable shocks, etc. For the moment it is on 31's, but it has the opposite of a drop axle so clearance isn't a big deal.
 
Growing up we took our Coleman cross country for 8 straight years, beat the hello out of it getting to state park campgrounds and 25 years later its still used so I don't know about rough roads beating them up, they are packed tight when travelling, three uncles got theirs around the same time and they are all still used, little larger than a 6 footer but same construction
 
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