Okay, someone talk me into the pop up

[house_of_princesses]

Bibbidy, Since DH has some time off, perhaps shopping some more, instead of pressuring yourself into a purchase, may be the thing to do? I've been where you are.... But I only Have Three Days until The WEEKEND!! Take the time to enjoy your neighborhood, then go shopping, come back and take the dog/cat/hamster around the block, go shopping. When the right one comes along, you'll know. No hesitations, no worries. Don't force yourself into a decision.. takes all the fun out of it!!

 

[BibbidyBobbidyBoo]

LOL
Well, see that's the problem.... you said you know when the right one comes along and even after all the looking in papers, online, and in person all over God's creation (okay, so it just FELT like it LOL) -I still came back to that one. So it does feel right (the first one) but it's the most expensive one and well, I'm little on the "frugal" side and price always gets me. It's hard for me to spend like that -even on cars, house, etc. Although I have no problem whatsoever buying kids clothes - what's up with that? (not for myself- just the kids...)

Anyway- atleast that is what I thought until I saw these- then I was like whoa... I like these almost as much as the other and lookie lookie at how much less we'd be spending on them. Problem is that one is newer and beautiful and 2 bunks (more sleeping area actually- which suprised me... more sleeping area in pop up than 21-22 foot trailer? LOL But ofcourse that bathroom takes up space) -and the other is older but cost less and has a bathroom/shower.. and no setting up like the pop up. I have been doing a lot of reading and realize it's not all THAT hard to put it up- but you'd just have to know my husband to understand. It will be a breeze for him- don't get me wrong... but he can be moody sometimes and who needs to start off a camping trip with him upset if it's taking him longer than he thinks it should or the kids are misbehaving while he's doing it/etc.


I haven't given up on the pop up yet though. I saw those myself this evening while DH and the kids were in the pool here at home- I think I'll take him up there tomorrow to see those and see what he thinks. He said whatever made me happy was fine with him but if I can't make up my mind-maybe I'll just say..... which would YOU pick and go with that. Darn indecisive women.
HA!

Whosemom- I appreciate your post too. The only part I wanted to say is that if something came up in 2 months we'd be fine anyway. We have almost $10,000 coming within 2 months. So all would be fine even if we DID decide to get the more expensive one now and then later something came up (as we know it always does.... LOL)

I hear what you are saying though. Oh to be able to foretell the future. Because I don't want to be kicking myself FOR getting it- but I also don't want to be kicking myself for NOT getting it. Yanno?

 

[BibbidyBobbidyBoo]

Thanks for the link! I'll definitely check out that board also.

 

[tiggereyore]

Okay you can kick me now cause you aren't going to like this story. (BTW I left this earlier and wasn't going to comment but can't help myself).
Okay last yr we talked abt buying an older trailer found one couldn't stand all the brown so mom and I worked to recover and new curtians spent 200 on fabric (but it looked good) this tt had no AC and in July in the white mtn of NH we were dying. (i'm going to disney in this NOT) You can see where this is heading. One Sat in Sept I'm at work and DH calls guess what honey? I've found the perfect camper!ARGH!!!!I've got to save money for spending at Disney (anyway out the window went 1/3 of the camper price and my spending money) But I ended up with a wonderful 98 with ac bunks full bath (a life saver with 5 and 2 1/2yr old) and a bed for us).
One to the story. Some friends wanted to join us camping in Maine for Mem Day (read cold) they have a pop up not thinking I said sure. The arrived at 9 pm had to set up in the dark my DH holding a flash light and it went down hill from there. Their 3 yr old refused to use public potty had to use mine (read dirt and pee all over) the second 2 days I managed to keep them out. It was freezing 30 at night and rain. Now they want to go with us in July and some friends of ours have a 19' for sale with ac and heat and bathroom and table and couch for sleeping they only want 4500 and they (friends #1 think they'll be fine) july no ac in the white mtns again. Been there done that will NEVER do it again!! Remember the begining of the story? Oh well when you find it you'll know. I learned the hard way.

 

[campingcorgi]

I would strongly recommend that anyone looking to purchase any type of RV check out rv.org It costs about $100 to join, but the information you can get about safety, value, etc., is priceless. When you are making such a large purchase you need to be as informed as possible, and don't rush into anything!!

 

[campingcorgi]

Originally posted by YellowXterra
What part of the state is Jonesborough, TN.

Upper-east.

 

[TRAPPED-PARENT]

We have a small pop-up that we bought when our two kids were small. If I had it to do over again, I would have gone up just one size so that one of the beds was a queen.

Things I like about a small pop-up though:

> Get's us off the ground (vs a tent)
> Low weight doesn't put a strain on our tow vehicle (mini-van)
> Didn't cost so much that we feel guilty for not using it more than 2-4 weeks per year
> Doesn't take up much room for storage (we store for free at my brother's farm)

If you are going to use it a lot, I would go for something more expensive/bigger. If you are like us and just use it for 2 weeks at WDW, 1 week at a State Park and 2 days at an amusement park, then you might not want to have so much money invested in it.

 

[disny4fun]

Yes, we live in the upper east tennessee area.

Our Hybrid is completely self contained. The ends pop down just like a PU and both of our ends are queens. We have a 19' trailer so the sleeping capicity is 6 adults (more if you have little ones). The living area of our trailer is much larger than a TT. There are many hybrids that have bunks in the back as well as a popdown queen bed in the front! They sleep 8 or more people. We have a couch, dinette, refrig & freezer, bathroom with a shower (pretty good sized too!), awning, kitchen, AC, Heat, and CD, Cassette, radio and plenty of cabnets for storage! Hybrids have the same options as most tradtional TT. You can get them with outside BBQ and Showers. I believe they are a little more verstile than a PU or TT. You can camp in any weather and if it's a bad storm - close up the ends and sleep inside (we've done that)!

I really recommend you check them out. They are very reasonably priced, especially used! There was one that we looked at that was a bit larger than ours with all the bells and whistles begin sold privately for $5500. It was only 2 yrs old! They were moving up to a larger unit!

 

[BibbidyBobbidyBoo]

Thank you all for your posts- I really appreciate them!

You bring up a good point about how much invested vs. how much it will be used. I do think we'll use it a lot more often than what was mentioned- simply because DH wants to camp out a lot and we just haven't because I can't deal with going in tents with the kids and all. Also he is already buying a deer lease and would use it for that. Plus we could do a lot more traveling (not just vacations- but all of his family lives in other states and as we "added" children- we stopped visiting as much because of the cost of hotels and no longer being able to just sleep on a relatives sleeper sofa and stuff like that. Plus I'd be able to go to Disney more often because DH is seriously not interested in going again after this next trip... but he's coming around as I show him more and more info about FW and he likes the idea of camping there (he really hates staying in hotels and resorts. This would be like taking our own little "mini-home" with us plus he likes all the stuff he can do at FW and those combined are more appealing to him than just going to Disney in of itself)

BUT - even if we used it the most I can think of... I still have to consider if the investment is worth that and how long it MIGHT last to be able to use it in that way/etc. So that's why I want to get the best deal possible and why I'm leaning towards the cheaper pop up or TT (both cheaper than the other TT I mean)

BTW- they called to say the smaller TT checks out perfectly on everything and are leaving it all hooked up so we can go check it out this evening when DH gets off work. Since everything is working and without anything needing repairing that might add to the cost also... if DH likes it, we might just get the cheaper one. Going to show him the pop up too... I may just leave the choice up to him since I can't make up my mind. LOL

 

[Tiger Fan]

Here's our story. We had a Coleman popup that sleeps 8. It was the largest with the nice dining slide out and two king beds, plus a small potty and shower area. I was miserable each time because of the constant set up and take down. My parents had a 36' Allegra Bay motorhome with all the features of home. He did not like the huge investment and feeling like you had to use it ALL the time to get your money's worth. Just week before last my dad and I went together and got rid of the motor home and the popup. We both now have 26' Coachman TT (his has a slide out den/dining area and queen size bedroom), while our's has a queen bed and 3 bunks. Both have great sized bathrooms. Our's is a 2002 model and we paid $10,000 and they threw in the stabalizer and some other extras. Dad's is a 2004 and he got them down to $15,000 since we were buying two. We both feel we are much happier with these TTs. Good luck as you decide - we love camping.
Lisa

 

[BibbidyBobbidyBoo]

Well, we're now the proud owners of the 2000 Skyline Nomad 26'.

LOL
Well,we put down on it- we pick it up Thursday for the walk through to make sure everything is working/etc.

We got it for $9270 including the equalizer hitch. From what I can tell online it's a good bargain- we sure couldn't find anything in that price range LIKE THIS anywhere else. It looks so new that if they told us it was a 2003 or 2004 new one we'd have believed them. LOL

We went and looked at the pop up camper and that other smaller TT at the other lot together. We both think the pop up is soooo beautiful- but neither of us wants to deal with the set up while dealing with 3 kids, not having a potty (and couldn't figure out where we'd put it either!) etc etc.
Then on the smaller TT I really thought DH was going to say he wanted that one instead- for various reasons but one being that it had a tow pkg on the back where he could also tow our small boat. (that would really freak me out though- towing both the 22' trailer plus a boat behind that?? EEK!) Also they called earlier saying everything worked and they'd leave it hooked up for us to look at this evening- and when we got there we found out the fridge had some problems that they fixed and the stereo didn't work at all/etc. So it wasn't "all" working condition -yanno?

BUT -then we went over to look at the other one again- just to remind ourselves what it was like/etc and I really thought that when we did I'd still be indecisive and he would be pushing for the smaller less expensive one and that would make up our minds. But we walked in and the first thing he said was this one is sooooo much nicer.
LOL
Well that certainly didn't help me decide to get the smaller one! Seeing that bathroom again didn't help either. LOL I mean full size tub/shower, toilet not IN the shower like the other one and all that. Plus when all 5 of us were in the smaller trailer it's really made to have all the amenities plus lots of sleeping area and there is not much walking space at ALL. I mean literally just a tiny walking area and so narrow that only one adult OR child could walk at a time- we couldn't even get past one another without someone sitting down to let us by. LOL The big one is much roomier and I think that will do wonders with our "camping mood" while there. I can see getting irritated by being so cramped in the long run. Even the pop up had way more walking area/space than this smaller trailer! And the bunk beds/etc. It's a little more money- BUT the big one is a bargain from what NADA says... the smaller one is just OVER what NADA retail avg says! So even though the little one is less- it's not a bargain by any means. And we have to consider that paying $3500 more is probably worth it when there's so much difference in size, amenities plus 7 years difference (one is 1993- the bigger one is 2000).

The only thing I would like to get soon is a generator. I don't like the idea of camping ALWAYS hooked up on a campsite. Yanno?

Oh and also- the little one's a/c worked great/cold/powerful- but it is only on the top with the air coming out of it- that's it... just out of it. The other one we haven't seen how it works but they said it works great and will show us in the walk through when it's hooked up and all- before we take it- and it has vents through the ceiling (the kind you can adjust popping the cover down or up -so you won't have cold air blowing where someone might not want it to be) all through the entire trailer. So it's not just air coming out one spot. Lots of stuff we liked better. I'm frugal though and really thought I'd pick the smaller trailer- but I kinda let DH have the "lead" so to speak and he liked the bigger one better too.

So that's that. We'll be getting it Thursday (or Friday if DH has to work late Thursday) and going on a camping trip this weekend to break her in.

 

[house_of_princesses]

WHEW!!! I'm glad that's over!! CONGRATULATIONS!! I hope you have nothing but happy memories built on your new 26' TT foundation!

Can't wait to hear about the inaugural run!!

 

[allshookup]

Congratulations! I hope you love it! Do let us know how your trip went.

 

[Tiger Fan]

Wonderful news!! I think you made the right decision. Have a great weekend.
Lisa

 

[tiggereyore]

I too think you made the right choice and got a great deal. I think you'll be happy in th long run. Let us know how the trip goes. ( don't be to upset if not everything is perfect yet. I'm still changing where I put things 9months later.
~christy

 

[BibbidyBobbidyBoo]

Thanks everyone- I'll definitely let you know how things go! I think things will be fine though. Anything goes wrong all I have to do is remind myself that I COULD be out in this Texas heat in a darn tent! LOL

Oh and btw- we tried to change our upcoming WDW trip to FW and it's a no-go. Guess it's the time of year or something- or maybe the winter settlers thing makes it pretty full. But they said they don't have a site at all from Nov 19- Dec 14 or something like that. So that's right when we'd need to go. Ohwell- we'll keep our plans to fly this time- first time for the kids anyway and they are excited. We'll work on camping at FW in 2004 or something.

 

[chagdizkid85]

Hello

I agree with Praise2him...Get the pop up now and upgrade later.
We just bought a pop up and are loving it...potty but no ac.

I'm not a gambler...and don't like to leave us short....why stress out about "over-buying"...do what's financially comfortable for you....knowing you'll be wanting to upgrade in a few years you'll have a few years to save and make another comfortable purchase! Enjoy and have fun.....also congrats on your weight loss!

 

[welovemickey]

If you really want to stay at the campground, keep calling CRO. There's bound to be a cancellation. Try calling early in the morning.

Good luck!

 

[BibbidyBobbidyBoo]

Thanks for the tip- I'll try that. We went camping for 4 days this past weekend (just got back last night) and thoroughly enjoyed ourselves- plus having the trailer didn't hurt matters. Loved it! We'd love to camp out like that at FW.

 

[house_of_princesses]

We, too, have been out of town. So.... how did things go?? What's the best thing about the trailer? The least favorite? Glad to hear you had fun!!