bradgav
New Member
Hey everyone! My wife and I are in our 40's with 6 and 11 year old kids and we just bought out first popup to start going on adventures together. I was an Eagle Scout and really into camping when I was younger. My wife, was never really into it, but then found some pictures of remodeled popups on Pinterest that caught her attention and sold her on "glamping", so I jumped onboard!
We just bought a 2002 Fleetwood Niagra for $3k that we'll be towing with a 2016 Honda Odyssey after we finish some renovations. We set it up for the first time the day after Christmas. Of course the next day it was pouring raining, so we got to learn the joys of folding a popup in the rain. My neighborhood only allows these out in the driveway overnight during the weekend and it just barely fits in the garage with a few inches front and back! A day later we took it back out to dry out and I bought a huge tarp in case we ever have to fold up in the rain again.
After a more thorough rundown, she looks in pretty good shape for 20 years old. There's small stuff like a plumbing leak where the 3/8 Pex B hose adapter enters the trailer, a 6x6 patch of rotted floor, and disconnected water lines in the slideout section (seems like some people replace these with braided).
So far, it looks like the biggest issues are that the body has dropped 1/2 inch at the front and back so there is a gap in the roof gasket (sides sit flat), and the ABS roof is cracked to hell. On the bright side, they've managed to put 10 layers of patches on the thing, so it's stayed watertight, but I'll probably end up just stripping off the ABS completely and replacing with truck bed liner at some point over the next year.
That might sound like a lot, but I'm pretty impressed with the shape of this thing. Just looking at the curb weight, compared to some of the newer models, I can tell they don't make em like this anymore.
I''ll post some of this stuff in other areas to see what suggestions folks have, but just wanted to pop my head in here to say hello. Excited to be starting on this path!
We just bought a 2002 Fleetwood Niagra for $3k that we'll be towing with a 2016 Honda Odyssey after we finish some renovations. We set it up for the first time the day after Christmas. Of course the next day it was pouring raining, so we got to learn the joys of folding a popup in the rain. My neighborhood only allows these out in the driveway overnight during the weekend and it just barely fits in the garage with a few inches front and back! A day later we took it back out to dry out and I bought a huge tarp in case we ever have to fold up in the rain again.
After a more thorough rundown, she looks in pretty good shape for 20 years old. There's small stuff like a plumbing leak where the 3/8 Pex B hose adapter enters the trailer, a 6x6 patch of rotted floor, and disconnected water lines in the slideout section (seems like some people replace these with braided).
So far, it looks like the biggest issues are that the body has dropped 1/2 inch at the front and back so there is a gap in the roof gasket (sides sit flat), and the ABS roof is cracked to hell. On the bright side, they've managed to put 10 layers of patches on the thing, so it's stayed watertight, but I'll probably end up just stripping off the ABS completely and replacing with truck bed liner at some point over the next year.
That might sound like a lot, but I'm pretty impressed with the shape of this thing. Just looking at the curb weight, compared to some of the newer models, I can tell they don't make em like this anymore.
I''ll post some of this stuff in other areas to see what suggestions folks have, but just wanted to pop my head in here to say hello. Excited to be starting on this path!
