Pop Up or Slide In?

[spudhauler]

Hi guys, have been thinking about getting a small camper with a budget of around 2 grand or less. I am married with 2 small children. We have a boat that we like to bring with us when we camp. We have a pickup and mini-van. We typically camp about 1 hour away.

Question is:

Should I buy a pickup / slide in camper so we only have to bring one vehichle or buy a pop up and pull it with the van and then drive 2 vehichles.

I know a fifth wheel in tandem is probaballty the best, but I have a $2000 budget and I don't want to finance a camper so a fifth wheel is out.

So what do you recommend, pop up or slide in for my family? I am leaning towards a pop-up and driving 2 vehichles beacuase I think a pickup slide in would be too small for our needs.

[eyemaster]

I would say a pop up and get a small boat to put on top of the pop up. With the price of gas these days it would save a little.

[Wish-I-Were-Fishn]

You might be able to find a farmer that you can pay to store the camper near the area you camp, assuming it is the same relative location each time.

That way you can pull the boat up, drop it off at the camp site then go get the trailer.

Sort of a hassle, but it's an option.

[IFallsRon]

The slidein is pretty popular but you can run out of sleeping space in a hurry as you kids grow. I had a popup for a long time and we'd bring carry a 14-foot cartopper boat on top when we wanted to bring it along.

There's some good deals to be had on slideins and popups. For your price range, I'd suggest checking them over good. The popup will give you more room. With the slidein, it's a hassle to move your rig around once you get set up.

Is an tent an option?

[zamboni]

My folks had a Nu-Wa pickup slide in when I was a kid. Not too roomy, they upgraded to a 26' RV when I was in high school, weird thing was my brother and sister had already graduated HS and had left. I bought a pop-up last friday and love it so far, only hassle is taking up and putting down, but I am still new at it and figure once I get the hang of it- I'll be able to do it in less than 20 minutes. I would definitely go pop-up, my wife and I have 3 small kids (5,3,2 years old) and I don't think a slide in would have been big enough.

[spudhauler]

Thanks guys I bought a cheap pop up, so we will see how it works for our needs. My kids are pumped.

[IFallsRon]

Put checking the bearings at the top of your list. You never know how they were maintained.

[woodsmanmn]

Besides packing the bearings every spring, it's my practice whenever I tow anything is to touch the trailer hubs every time we stop after being on the road for a while. Gives you an early warning if they are heating up. I also carry grease, bearings and the proper tools. Ended up spending an extra hour at a rest stop in South Dakota with my pop-up once. One hub got almost too hot to touch, but I had what I needed to fix it before it failed.

[Redlantern]

Good point about the bearings and tools for changing them. I'd also add that a person should make sure they have a spare tire and a way of jacking up a trailer.

[zamboni]

I have been told by a few pop-up experts that a torque wrench is a must as well, as pop-up wheels need to be set properly. I have one question about bearings- is a bearing buddy changeover recommended?