Campers 101

[Dave_L]

Teach me.

I'm looking at picking up a camper of some kind in the next 6 months. It doesn't need to be anything crazy but Ive never owned a camper so was hoping for some insight. I'm looking at pop-ups and some hard sided travel trailers. Any suggestions on brands to look for/stay away from? Pros/cons of pop-ups versus hard sided? Having a toilet sounds great but then you remember you have to clean it out. How bad is that?

Any other tips/insight would be awesome. Its just the wife and I with 2 smaller dogs. We plan on kids somewhat soon so it does need SOME space/amenities on the inside.

Thanks!

[sniper7]

Better go to a dealer and just look at all the different kinds. Think about your tow vehicle and what it can pull (add in weight of gear, dogs, stuff, and more stuff).

toilets are easy to clean, if you go to campgrounds a lot have a dump station on property.

size will also limit where you can get into. I have a 19' travel trailer and it can get into some of the smaller spots in national forest, plenty big for extended camping at camp sites, isn't terribly heavy.

if you are going into the mountains that is another thing to think about if your tow vehicle can haul it up the mountain and if it can slow it down coming down the mountain. If the camper has brakes, do you have a brake controller in your tow vehicle?

[Dave_L]

I have an '06 Tacoma. No brake controller but has a solid tow rating (as far as mid size gas truck go) of like 6500 lbs or so. It towed a car on a flat trailer over Vail pass so a camper should be easy cheesy.

[Great-Kazoo]

Pop-up

POR - easy to tow, maneuver, store

CON - very unsecure . A razor knife can turn your pop up in to a gutted shell. Terrible to heat vs hard side when cold.
LEAKS unless the previous owner[s] maintaind the pop up expect some moldy and or integrity issues with the canvas.

We had 1 pop-up. It was great to tow (lost 1.5mpg) overall. Very easy to set up and store , end of year. HOWEVER it was a security nightmare. Unattended it was ripe for easy access theft.

Pull behind / enclosed unit. Great for all weather use. Security wise, much better than pop-up. A decent hard side usually has a stand up shower / bathroom.

What you decide on ends up being a split decision between you and the spouse.

The best of both worlds is an A-LINER. Little pricier, however it's a good melding of pop-up and hard side.



Another one to look at is a HI-LO. Hard side that cranks up to become a full sized enclosed unit.





Now that you have a basic idea, lets get in to inspection.

Materials to bring with you when inspecting a camper.
Tarp
Ladder
Flashlight
Gloves - work and latex . Latex for inspecting the toilet, shower and sink area (trust me)

N95 respirator. Once again trust me. N95 is worse case scenario. Hopefully you would have driven away (fast) before actually setting foot in a unit that CDC would quarantine.


Once you locate a unit. Start at the roof. Does it look like it's been resealed, does it look like repairs to sky light, around sink / toilet vent have been resealed? If so how many times?

Windows. same for sealed, check for leaks inside. The hidden areas around inside window molding, base of window, show what if any leaks there are / were . IF the window[s] show signs of resealing. was it done 1/2 ass or correct.
1/2 ass / hurry, bead of silicone around window frame.
Correct (money spent) the window will have been removed and resealed between frame and camper shell

LEAKS: The bane of any thing one buys.
Having mentioned windows. Inspect the door AND water fill area for same .
Now lets do a closer check of the camper. If it has a shower / toilet. How do the gaskets look, does the enclosure look like a flop house reseal of seams? Go under the sink area. wet spots, signs of leaks, AGAIN 1/2 seal job of fittings etc. Look at all corners under sink and toilet. Does the floor feel solid, OR some flexing? You can apply the same check around the windows. Is the framing solid or questionable?

After looking at the interior, crawl under the unit (bring a tarp and gloves, latex preferred) look at the material used to cover the bottom. 99% of the time it is a tight somewhat heavy mesh. Intact, good, shows there is minimal signs of rodent infestation. It also shows how they unit was maintained. Did they keep it clean, was it used off road or basic campground weekends. ANY SIGNS OF TORN OR DISCOLORED MESH Means potential leaks, you were unable to detect from the interior. And or Rodents have used the underside for nesting. WALK AWAY IMMEDIATELY. Inspecting a camper is like looking at a vehicle you want to buy.

If you don't know what you're looking at bring someone who does.

You will see a cherry unit. The seller says, we redid the floor and replaced water lines. RED FLAGS Possible the owner failed to winterize, or maintain it. Walk Away.

I mention leaks and repairs a few times. Why, it's the unseen that will bite you in the ass after buying. We have seen more units with MOLD, Mushrooms / fungus , serious piles of rodent droppings etc.

One unit the seller said they redid the flooring, because the hot water heater sprung a leak. Looked underneath, literally 1/2 the underside covered with mushrooms, NOT some small caps. MUSHROOMS, Shittake size caps!!

Spoke with another seller , said their pull behind was CHERRY. Hardly used, mostly for visitors in town. Well after driving behind the cow pasture manure hill, we saw the CHERRY camper. It was painted CHERRY! Broken windows, roof had more water damage then a septic tank. PILE OF RODENT DROPPINGS, LOOKED LIKE ANTS

Regarding a toilet. You pay to dump your sewage. Us we never use the toilet , prefer the utility version of a crapper. Luggable LOO, or any other camping portable unit. Why? easy to maintain, and dispose of waste bags.

If you were close,r i'd say hire my spouse to look at campers with you. We've owned slide in's, pop-ups and pull behind's a few years. Know what to look for and what to avoid. Once you look at 2-3 campers you'll see what i'm talking about.
YMMV

There are other things when looking, i'm sure i forgot to mention.

[Dave_L]

Thanks Kazoo! That's what I was looking for. You confirmed what I was already kind of thinking in terms of hard side vs pop up. Pop-ups are just so cheap compared but there's a reason.

Can you get good used deals at dealers? Is it safer to buy a used one at a dealer? Or is it like used cars where it's still a crap shoot?

[Great-Kazoo]

Thanks Kazoo! That's what I was looking for. You confirmed what I was already kind of thinking in terms of hard side vs pop up. Pop-ups are just so cheap compared but there's a reason.

Can you get good used deals at dealers? Is it safer to buy a used one at a dealer? Or is it like used cars where it's still a crap shoot?

BUY USED, BUY AFTER LABOR DAY, BUY FROM ANYONE BUT A DEALER. Window shop at the dealer. Buy after labor day, road test the new camper, then winterize it. OR if you decide it's not you, winterize and resell in mid april, may.

Based on your vehicle an A-liner, or tent, would be your best bet. Hard sided will be a death trap on anything over 4% incline. Factor in water (8lbs per gallon) gear, food etc you'll peak out before you're fully loaded.



We fill up close to our destination, if not at. Based on your vehicle, i would buy a basic A-liner, use a port a potty / Luggable Loo, solar shower , use the melted ice water for cleaning dishes etc.

Option D would be a slide in unit for the taco.








OR buy a 10-12' enclosed trailer, air mattresses , small propane stove, and enjoy the weekend. Our 12" trailer is storage and or camper, as needed.

[brutal]

There's very little (or none as I recall) camping permitted in Yellowstone with any soft-sided camper due to bears with razors.

[Dave_L]

I'm coming from tent camping so a pop up isn't really putting me worse off as far as security goes.

[JohnTRourke]

so, you mean trailer, not camper right? And Kazoo's post is really good.

pop up trailers (and campers) have all the minuses of both a tent and a trailer. Bleech. Stay away IMO

Your tow rating is barely going to get you much, the light weight trailers are lightweight for a reason. They aren't built very well/strong (even for RV's which aren't built very well period)

BUY USED
The only thing that depreciates faster than an RV is a boat. (maybe). Lots of people wanting to get out from their RV that they haven't used in a few years.
Toliets and black/grey tanks are easy. One thing that really allows you to boondock for a long time is big tanks. The size of the tanks is a big plus. You won't find big ones in pull behinds, but even a couple gallons makes a big difference.

the arfcom of RV's is rv.net. TONS of information on the forums there.

All RV dealers suck. suck suck suck suck suck. Suck. Figure you are going to repairing stuff yourself, finding parts is a pain, but the internet makes this WAY better than it used to.

As Kazoo said, water leaks is the most important thing to look for, after that it can all be fixed.

[Dave_L]

Any "better" brands to look for? Any brands to stay away from?