Must-Have Features for a first time pop-up.

[PoppedDancer]

Are there any features in a first time pop-up camper owner that I should insist on?

I am looing at a bare bones camper, but it is newish and great condition, reasonably priced.

But there are literally no "extras"..
Fixed gas stove, and no outside gas / grill (We'd use our own outside).
No power roof vent.
No outside cubby/storage door (for jack pads, water hose, tools, etc). Typically can a travel door be opened with the top down? May be a non-issue...
No fan/lights for above the bunks (seen that in many, which are nice).
The travel door isn't a fold-down step kind, so it has smaller metal pull-out step.

It does have cable supported beds. No support bars. Is this OK?
It also does have dual propane tanks, which I very much like to have. I assume I could add that to any camper though, relatively easy.

I know I didn't give the model number, trying to keep things very general here. It's a basic 10' box.

 

[eoleson1]

It really depends on your camping style. Are you a tent camper moving up? Are you used to hotels, but now have an itch for the great outdoors? My first popup was literally a tent on wheels and it was perfect for me back in my younger days. Now I wouldn't buy a camper without a toilet.

 

[Annunzi]

Agree with @eoleson1, everyone's list of "must have's" will vary. Our first pop-up had to have: fridge, stove, furnace, water pump
We had a Coachman Clipper pop-up with the cable supports, while the supports never felt unsafe, the support cables would often get caught in the bed slide during set up, and being taller (6'2") I found the cables limited my head and foot room in the bunk.

 

[Musictom]

When we bought our popup (with a shoilet), my wife said "that's a waste of space -- we'll never use that".

Fast forward two seasons, and both of us find the toilet by far the best accessory in the pup. I can't say I miss the 3:00 am find the flashlight/find the slippers/freeze my butt off looking for the restroom/nearest tree.

Having said that, with the exception of a couple of grandkid hose downs, neither one of us have used the shower, and I can't imagine we will.

 

[PoppedDancer]

When we bought our popup (with a shoilet), my wife said "that's a waste of space -- we'll never use that".

Fast forward two seasons, and both of us find the toilet by far the best accessory in the pup. I can't say I miss the 3:00 am find the flashlight/find the slippers/freeze my butt off looking for the restroom/nearest tree.

Having said that, with the exception of a couple of grandkid hose downs, neither one of us have used the shower, and I can't imagine we will.

Thanks.. I can't imagine using the shower inside either. Maybe.. hard to know how much of a mess that would make. On the other hand, I like the idea of the outside shower option. I think we would use that more, even if it's just rinsing feet or a kid, washing face/hair.. i know there are cheap shower tents too.

Cassette toilet would be a plus. It certainly increases flexibility of what camping we could potentially do. Without it we're stuck at a campground with facilities.. And that might be OK too.

 

[jmkay1]

Typically can a travel door be opened with the top down?

This depends on the camper. I know that mine I have to crack the roof to open the door, but my first popup a Jayco I was able to open the door when in it's travel position. Now I've seen where people attach waterproof amo boxes on the back bumper so people can store those odds and ends you are talking about.
Pretty much everything you are talking about to me is a non issue as they can be added later if you find you want them. My first popup was bare bones as well, now the only thing I regret was not having an AC unit for my summer trips. Then again where I live we see really hot and sticky summers.

 

[PopAnimal]

I wasn't really thinking about using the cassette toilet in mine but nice to have, the inside shower wont be used but outside shower is on the " maybe " list. I'm not really looking to fill a whole lot of water if i use outside shower. The front storage was a selling point for me. As was dual propane and battery. Outside stove was a creature feature and probably most used. Inside stove for coffee or hot water. A/C wasnt a selling point either. Its all on your style and travel needs. I'm going to mostly be boondock or dry camping si I dont need too many frills. To each their own!

 

[Sjm9911]

If you plan on summer camping in hot weather, ac is a must in some places. Cassette toilet is definitely worth it. Heater, you can add a buddy heater later, or electric if you have hook ups. How many people are you? If a lot, space is at a premium and you may need a bigger pup for storage. What do you plan to take? Where do you plan to camp? Hook ups or no hook ups? A hot water heater is a good feature. If just to have warm water to wash your face in the morning. It all matters. And adding something later may cost more then adding it now. The power vent fans are good for boondocking and you dont have ac. As then run off 12v. Longer trips boondocking need bigger or more batteries and maybe solar to charge them. So, as stated, depends on your wants, and style of camping.

 

[kitphantom]

Personal preferences vary widely and can change from time to time. If you are an experienced ground tent camper, you may not want/need as many things as you would if you've never camper. Where you plan to camp makes a difference too. Summer camping in the mountains of Colorado is different than doing the same in the deep south
Our first popup was really not much more than a tent on wheels. We removed the less-than-useful sink and water jug "tank", but kept the stove, exactly opposite of what we assumed we'd do when we first bought that camper. It had no electrical system, we just used an extension cord on some trips. Battery lanterns, etc, just like camping on the ground.
Second camper did have a battery, so we had 12v ceiling lights and a furnace. Again, we removed the sink and water jug. We worried that it didn't have a ceiling vent, let alone one with a fan, but the Sunbrella canvas was breathable enough that we were fine in hot weather. We camped into the teens in that one, even woke up to 6" of snow on one of our first trips in it, but we did have power to supplement the furnace with a space heater and electric mattress pad.
We used a folding toilet with gel bags at night in both. Being able to heat water on the stove for a basin bath inside the camper was a huge step up from ground camping.
We never even considered a/c for a popup, most of the time we're dry camping anyway. The original owner of the first, tiny, popup had added a home a/c, cutting a large hole in the front wall, the removal and repair of that was done within days of buying it.
We now have a 17' TT, it's shorter than the larger popups are when opened. We have a flush toilet, sink and hot water tank, which are great. The waste tanks aren't large, so we have to be conservative in water use, since we often dry camp, with no place to dump, for 5-8 nights. We'll do a 10-night stay this season, so we are making plans to manage that. We have a wet bath, but we'll never take a shower in it, short of absolute desperation. Too tight, we don't want the moisture inside the trailer, and there's that waste tank issue.
Having a good fridge/freezer, larger than those in popups, has improved our meal choices by a huge amount. The trailer arrived with a microwave and side (home) a/c, which we thought silly. We do use both. If we know it's going to be very hot or cold, we try to find a campground with power. The microwave is handy when we have power, especially for overnight stops. When not in use cooking, it's a good place to stash our light but bulky supplies (dish drying mat, paper plates) that are easy to remove/replace.
We do cook inside more than we expected we would, but we still often have our outdoor cooking area set up.

 

[Anthony Hitchings]

it seems to me that there is at least one older thread with almost the exact same title

 

[PoppedDancer]

it seems to me that there is at least one older thread with almost the exact same title

I saw that thread, yes..! But it is about what the people should bring camping. Not what features the camper should have.

 

[Dingit]

I have decided that I really like an onboard water system with a water heater. We don't camp where we have enough water to shower but it's nice for dishes, sponge baths, and washing hair.

I prefer a portapotty to a builtin toilet with a cassette in second place (really dislike a non-removable black tank). BUT!! It is important to have a private place for that toilet to be used. So a shoilet kind of edges up in the rankings because it gives you a room. (Especially with families where a kid might also want a private place to change clothes.)

furnace--must have for me. probably location dependent. (If I camped with hookups I'd prefer portable electric ones.)

AC--not for me. We don't camp with electric, we don't like generators, and we don't like camping in hot places.

ceiling vent--nice but not important. Also a possible leak source.

cables instead of poles--haven't tried it. Love the idea. Not a fan of poles. I mean they're okay as a necessary evil but no poles? yesss!

Fans and lights can be added easily.

Outside cubby is nice but if you can store your crank/leveling gear in the TV or open the door with top down, not crucial.

There's different door styles. The stepper door was a Coleman/Fleetwood thing and they didn't even use it on their more expensive highwall models so don't worry about it. Pull-out metal steps are fine.

And yeah, it's not a big deal to add or remove propane tanks. I don't know why they put two on...they last a long time.

Also look for brakes unless it's a tiny trailer with a larger TV.

 

[kitphantom]

Many things can also be added/subtracted, once you figure out how/when/where you like to camp.
We added a second LP tank, with an auto-changeover on our last popup, becasue even in summer we had some use of the furnace in the high country. We didn't want to have to chance running out in the middle of a cold night. The furnace actually used a bit less than we expected, but it was always nice to have that assurance. We have the same set-up on our TT, if the dealer hadn't included it in the "standard options", we would have added it. Now we have not only the furnace (a good thing, since I don't tolerate cold as well as I used to), but fridge, HWT, as well as stove top. Again, LP lasts pretty well, but having the extra is peace of mind when we camp for 5-8 nights in one spot.
One thing I would not do without anymore is the electric tongue jack, which we only added last year. My shoulder is deteriorating, and cranking the tongue jack and then stabilizers was just oo much stress. Now that we have it, my husband is happy too, it's just easier. Downside is that we have to stash the chocks and leveling blocks in the truck on my solo or girls' trips, since the tailgate doesn't open as wide as it once did 0 which I dicovered on the frsit trip with the electric jack. Solo, arrived at camp to realize I had to get out the step stool, open the bed cover, and stretch to reach the Lynx and chocks.

 

[jonkquil]

Yes, this is definitely a tricky post to reply too. A must have feature can be so many different things to different people with different pop ups.
A must have in each pop up I've owned was a toilet/potty, an inside sink to clean my teeth & wash my face at night and a fridge I could access with the roof down.

I would think about the type of camping you do, what do you need to make it comfortable for you and your campers, what can you do without? What can't you do without? It might also be a progression, start with a basic rig, use it for a few seasons to figure out what you need/don't need, then go from there. Most of all have fun and enjoy the camp journey!

 

[PoppedDancer]

Thanks Everyone. I think we'd be camping mostly at state parks, or camp grounds with facilities/services. But you've given me good ideas and some thoughts. I think the bare bones model is too limited, and why limit our possibilities?

It's January in MN, but spring is coming!

 

[Sneezer]

When I got my first (and only) pup I spent a ton of time researching this and other pup forums. Trying to figure out what I wanted and how I intended to camp. I have always been a state park camper, coming from tents. I camp almost exclusively with water/electric hookups. It is too damn hot in TX to not have power for fans and A/C.

My list for must have features:

slide out dinette
12’ box
dual propane tanks
A/C and furnace
Water tank and water heater
outside shower
front storage trunk
outside stove connection
sink and counterspace
cassette toilet at minimum, shoilet was a plus
awning
lots of interior storage
tinted windows
fridge

I really wanted a floorplan that had some sort of countertop across the aisle from the dinette. I had no need for an extra bed or sitting area - I wanted it to stack drawers/bins on for clothes, or to put my TV and playstation on while I relaxed in the dinette.

I found several that the floorplan would have worked, but the units themselves were overpriced given their condition, or had issues that I was unwilling to tackle. The one I ended up getting I didn’t even know existed, despite all my research. It turned out to be damn near perfect for my needs.

I personally would never go bare bones - I like my comfort while outdoors. The only thing I would change on mine would be a different galley and fridge location - I can’t access the fridge when it is closed up, so I have to pop iy up before a trip in order to load it. Eventually I hope to ditch the 3-way in favor of a 12V compressor fridge as I could also use it on road trips and tent camping.

I use the interior sink a bunch for washing up, brushing teeth and refilling water bottles. I removed the stove in favor of more counterspace. I use regular camp stoves outside the pup for all my coooking. They work far better than the crappy factory one. If weather is really bad I can bring one inside and cook with it.

Good luck on your search!

 

[PoppedDancer]

A few have mentioned being able to reach the fridge with the top down. Is that having the fridge directly across from the door? Assuming the galley wasn't in the way too, I suppose. The fridges are too small to be super useful.. It would help, but we would still need a cooler. So I have not been too focused or worried about the fridge. Might be good for the beverages I suppose...!

 

[MNTCamper]

Even though our 2001 has a fair number of features, we don't use many of them. For us, beds that are comfy, propane fridge, in and out stove, ceiling lights for at night. All the other stuff is extra. On our jayco, door opens with the top down and fridge is accessible. We use this every trip, super handy even though we bring a cooler if we have more people or longer trips. We have a furnace we rarely use, water system we never use, including a water heater and outside shower. Did install a car radio which is nice. If you are mostly at SP and established campgrounds, you really just need the basics.

 

[eprovenzano]

Battery cutoff switch. I added this to all of my campers. Most units have a CO2 detector, which is powered by a 12 volt source. I've unintentionally allowed the CO2 to drain the battery when the camper was stored. With the addition of a battery cutoff switch I just flip the switch cutting all 12 volt power to the pup. Now my batteries stay charged and will last a long longer then those that are being completely drained.

 

[davido]

Thanks.. I can't imagine using the shower inside either. Maybe.. hard to know how much of a mess that would make. On the other hand, I like the idea of the outside shower option. I think we would use that more, even if it's just rinsing feet or a kid, washing face/hair.. i know there are cheap shower tents too.

Cassette toilet would be a plus. It certainly increases flexibility of what camping we could potentially do. Without it we're stuck at a campground with facilities.. And that might be OK too.

We have a built-in Thetford Shower/Toilet. It doesn't make any mess at all to use. And I can't imagine why it would.

The shower curtain goes ceiling to floor, and keeps all the water inside the shower pan area. The shower head has a quick on/off switch, so that you just run as much as you need, not a drop more. The drain leads outside to the same sort of drain pipe as the sink.

Inside the shower pan I have some Dri-Dek cut to fit. And outside the shower I have an absorbent bath mat so that when someone steps out the drips don't make the floor slippery. But we usually towel off still inside the shower.

As a matter of fact, the built-in shower is actually also useful when it's time to clean the toilet; you have the shower head / sprayer right there by the toilet, and it's all waterproof.

The shower was a feature I didn't think I would need or use, but it has turned out to be a really nice feature to have. We don't always use it; sometimes if we're in a campground with clean showers we'll use those instead, rather than dealing with disposing of grey water from the built-in shower. But anywhere else we use the built-in shower.

If I didn't have a built in shower, I certainly would have one of those vertical tent shower enclosures, and would use the outdoor one.