The good/bad/ugly of campers?

[North of Mouse]

Originally Posted by PixieCamper

These are the absolute devil to find but if you can find one, they are perfect for those who want a hard side trailer with bathroom and have limited tow capacity. Only 2400 pounds. Of course it's very 80s looking but I have seen remodelings on these that are fantastic. We almost had one but someone bought it right out from under us

http://www.spacenut.net/space/Apache...ache_Royal.htm

Some friends of ours had one of these, and they had lots of problems with it *sweating*. Not having insulation, the panels around the beds stayed wet inside, and at night would drip on them. They weren't very happy with it for this reason. The concept sounds very nice, but it definitely had issues.
Maybe they got a *fix* on them as that was the only time we were around one.

[PixieCamper]

Originally Posted by North of Mouse

Some friends of ours had one of these, and they had lots of problems with it *sweating*. Not having insulation, the panels around the beds stayed wet inside, and at night would drip on them. They weren't very happy with it for this reason. The concept sounds very nice, but it definitely had issues.
Maybe they got a *fix* on them as that was the only time we were around one.

Yeah, that condensation in the bunk ends can be a bear. Think it comes from the interior being warmer than the bunk ends. We had that occasionally with the popup but much more so with the hybrid, probably because the hybrid was more airtight maybe? Leaving some windows cracked really cut down on that for us.

[bama_ed]

Originally Posted by PixieCamper

Yeah, that condensation in the bunk ends can be a bear. Think it comes from the interior being warmer than the bunk ends. We had that occasionally with the popup but much more so with the hybrid, probably because the hybrid was more airtight maybe? Leaving some windows cracked really cut down on that for us.

Actually it is the water vapor from your breath while you sleep. It does form when there is a temp differential across the canvas. As you said, cracking the windows and allowing a little air movement will eliminate the issue. Or running an interior fan will help too.

Bama ed

[~Kristina~]

Popup gizmos work great for alleviating condensation on the bunk ends.

[PixieCamper]

Originally Posted by bama_ed

Actually it is the water vapor from your breath.....

Bama ed

And the shower, and the sink, and the kids' squirt bottles....

[lukenick1]

Ugh! Thats exactly what I want to avoid. Humidity and condensation like you get inside a tent. Hated waking up to everything wet inside. Figured pop ups would still have that problem, but not a hard sided travel trailer. So do toilets not flush inside a camper if you go #2? Sorry if tmi.

[2goofycampers]

Originally Posted by lukenick1

Ugh! Thats exactly what I want to avoid. Humidity and condensation like you get inside a tent. Hated waking up to everything wet inside. Figured pop ups would still have that problem, but not a hard sided travel trailer. So do toilets not flush inside a camper if you go #2? Sorry if tmi.

You can do everything in a camper toilet you can do at home.

Would a dehumidifier help?

[arthuruscg]

We have only camped a little in our popup (still new to us) but we have not had issue with condensation. We also use a small plug in electric heater that blows air around in the camper. So maybe the combination of moving air and heat prevented the build up.

[~Kristina~]

They say to keep a fan on with fresh air. But honestly, the gizmos work great and mine doesn't get condensation. Without the gizmos, I do. The inside of my hybrid doesn't get damp like a tent does.

In our pop, we never had condensation.

[bama_ed]

Originally Posted by lukenick1

So do toilets not flush inside a camper if you go #2? Sorry if tmi.

Most popups that have a built-in toilet use the Thetford cassette model. There is a removable tank about the size of a large gym bag to hold the contents. But built into the toilet is a small reservoir for fresh water that you have to keep filled (mine only needs filled about once a season) that is used for flushing. There is also a wheel on the inside of the camper in the toilet stall that you turn repeatedly to pull up the fresh water to flush with. There is also a door to open and close to the holding tank.

I don't mean to make it sound worse than it is. We are "state park" campers so the camper potty is only set up at night for emergencies. All I mean is that if you think you might get the "at home" bathroom experience in a popup, you won't. The hard-sided travel trailer is more like the at home experience. But you can do everything in a popup if need be.

And it SURE beats tent camping and not sleeping on the ground no mo!

Bama ED

[jojosam]

I'm not sure how many if you will be traveling in your camper, but while shopping for ours yesterday we saw a cute little hard sided one called the R-Pod by Forest River. It may be an option if it is just 2 of you, although there looks to be a floor plan with a bunk as well as a slide out Queen bed.

[ctpooh]

We have a toyota sienna as well. We toy a 19bh Sportsman classic and absolutely love it and the van toys it with no problem!

[North of Mouse]

Originally Posted by jojosam

I'm not sure how many if you will be traveling in your camper, but while shopping for ours yesterday we saw a cute little hard sided one called the R-Pod by Forest River. It may be an option if it is just 2 of you, although there looks to be a floor plan with a bunk as well as a slide out Queen bed.

For what you get, these little guys are *very* expensive

[lukenick1]

There are 4 of us!

[WDW1979]

Originally Posted by lukenick1

I would love to pick up a camper that has a full bathroom and something small enough I could tow with my Toyota Sienna minivan.

If you're looking for low weight in a camper, take a look at Livinlite campers at http://www.livinlite.com/. Their hard-sided campers with toilet and shower are almost all-aluminum and are very light. They're not inexpensive, though they also sell light aluminum pop-ups (cassette toilet only, no shower) that seem to be a little less expensive than other pop-ups.

I don't own a camper but I have a new van with tow package and I am considering purchasing a camper. Not yet sure which make or model camper, but the Livinlites are one option for me.