Ruffling feathers ? Pop up

[Nobody]

I have a small (8' box) 1995 Starcraft Meteorite pop-up trailer. It's one of the smaller units but it definitely ain't lightweight. I throught it'd be light but after pulling it on a couple of trips as my hunting rig, I took it to the local CAT scale & had it weighed. Knew it wasn't light bet was surprised that it weighs almost 1500#, with a hitch weight of more'n 150#. I realize that the AC adds to the weight, & I have a battery under one dinette seat but even together I don't think they weigh more'n a couple hundred pounds. I still use the trailer for my hunting/fishing rig, just not as much as I used to. I've recently bought a '99 Ford F-250 Super Duty pickup with 7.3L power stroke diesel, & a 2003 pop-up truck camper, to replace the Starcraft, & my old '85 Ford diesel & pop-up camper that was totaled in Nov 2014. The 'new' Ford diesel actually gets better mileage hauling the pop-up camper than my Toyota Tacoma towing the Starcraft trailer. I've used my TD for lotsa hunting/fishing trips but I usually need more room & the pop-up campers provide that...

[rustytoolss]

I have a small (8' box) 1995 Starcraft Meteorite pop-up trailer. It's one of the smaller units but it definitely ain't lightweight. I throught it'd be light but after pulling it on a couple of trips as my hunting rig, I took it to the local CAT scale & had it weighed. Knew it wasn't light bet was surprised that it weighs almost 1500#, with a hitch weight of more'n 150#. I realize that the AC adds to the weight, & I have a battery under one dinette seat but even together I don't think they weigh more'n a couple hundred pounds. I still use the trailer for my hunting/fishing rig, just not as much as I used to. I've recently bought a '99 Ford F-250 Super Duty pickup with 7.3L power stroke diesel, & a 2003 pop-up truck camper, to replace the Starcraft, & my old '85 Ford diesel & pop-up camper that was totaled in Nov 2014. The 'new' Ford diesel actually gets better mileage hauling the pop-up camper than my Toyota Tacoma towing the Starcraft trailer. I've used my TD for lotsa hunting/fishing trips but I usually need more room & the pop-up campers provide that...

I've been doing a lot of research on pop up camper empty weights. This is from the NADA RV price website.
A 1995 StarCraft Meteorite model 817 is as follows length 17'4", width 6'6", sleep 6, and has an empty base weight of 1140 lbs. when you add options (AC, battery, full propane tank, water and camping gear) 1500 lbs. is quite possible.
But when you look at a 1990-1994 starcraft Meteorite the base empty weight is 902 lbs. a 238 lbs. difference.

[les45]

My Jayco 1006 was listed as 1,300 lbs empty and I estimate that I removed at least 400 lbs when I gutted it, including that big 100 lb AC unit on the roof. I'm hoping to keep my add back weight to about 200 lbs with a final empty weight of about 1,100 lbs. My TV (Nissan Xterra) is rated at 5,000 lbs so weight is not a big factor for me. My main criteria for the project is to have a standy that I can see over while towing.

[rustytoolss]

Starting to rethink my popup option. After a campout last weekend. Watch a father and son , sweat there butt's off closing down their popup . Remembering what you guys posted about, The work involved with popup setup/teardown I did have a popup about 30 years ago, was younger. But forgot the amount of work involved . And another guy in our group, then hitched up his TD. And drove away , never broke a sweat .
A TD or TTT is starting to look like a much easier way to spend my time. And not wasting time with setup'teardown.

[rebapuck]

Set up/break down is one reason I love my VW bus. Even so, I watched a lot of other VWers unload a ton of stuff from their busses to set up. I made it my goal to be able to pull in, set the hand brake, open side door, be camping. Someone told me to never have kids or pets.

[S. Heisley]

Rusty,

If you haven't already done so, you might want to look at all the pop-ups/pop-tops that our forum members have done. Most are hard-sided and don't use canvas or nylon on the pop-top sides: viewtopic.php?f=5&t=50969

Also, have you considered a "Slouchy"? A few forum members have been happy with those. They are usually a basic box-like structure that will just barely fit in the garage but have a solid roof. There's also the "Puffin" idea. That one took the "Slouchy" to a whole new level by sinking the floor about 9" between two of the chassis' cross braces; thus, making a roughly 15" standing aisle across from the door to the other side, at the base of the bed.

If a tree or branch falls on a trailer, regardless of the type, it's going to do some damage. It's the same with most houses. They get damaged, too.

If you look at some of Cracker39's work, he made a small raised roof in the kitchen area; but then, decided it was too heavy and changed just the lifting roof portion to a Foamie-style. Foamies have proven themselves to be inexpensive and reasonably tough; and, if they do get a dent, they are really easy to patch.

The weight of what you build is in your hands. If it is too heavy, it is considered a builder's problem, not the type of build. If you look here, you'll see that TD/TTT weights tend to vary quite drastically, even for the exact same size:

viewtopic.php?f=21&t=60392

...I was just in O-HI-O last week!

[Camp4Life]

Anymore thoughts or plans on your end Rusty? Kinda curious since we both seem to be heading in the same general direction

[rustytoolss]

My build plans are : find an old pop up frame 6x10. It will have a rear entry door 24-28"x72" (old RV door, I hope with screen door) 2 Rv widows (crank out type) . The shape will be like yours. 4 foot wall at the front. 6 foot wall at the back. The 6 foot standing length will be 4-5 foot. The rest of the roof line will slant like yours.
The interior is a bit different than yours.
Mine will have 2 couches, on right side, other left side (2x6'). The couch on the right side, will also be my galley. By removing the right side cushions. And putting a removable cabinet onto the couch frame. The removable cabinet will sit on the flood went being transported (like a popup). 99% of the time I will only need one couch/bed. But if I need two beds. just put the galley box on the floor. The galley box will be 2'Wx2'Hx4'L , and will sit on the couch frame work.


It will be a foamie. )I've got a 4cyl turbo street rod truck as a tow vehicle. So lite weight is important. Right now I'm looking on craigslist for a frame.
Like you said, got a winter to change plans.

[OP827]

If you are thinking of building your own TTT popup, did you check the tip top build by wizzardofOdds on this board and there is some good and old simple design from Australia, the propert caravan, see video here -https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SGULhAWLNvM . Is this something that will be of interest to you?

[OP827]

Tip top - http://www.tnttt.com/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=56232

[dancam]

When i looked at tent trailers the light ones cost too much and the ones in my price range were heavy and older (in really bad shape). People want a lot for them. Check out my build. A hard sided pop-up. Top half should be 200 pounds max, so i push it up and my wife sticks up 4 or 6 supports. Should weigh 700 pounds or so total for a 5x10 that you can stand in the whole thing.
Pop-up foamie for Cross-Canada trip
http://tnttt.com/viewtopic.php?t=66816


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[rustytoolss]

Yeah, I've pretty much given up on the pop up camper thing. I'm working on plans for a TTT, very similar to Camp4life's design. Using a 6x10 pop up camper frame. Those can be bought on craigslist in the $100-150 range . Cheaper than HF. And the size I need also.