Question about Pop-Up campers

[Hoss50]

Are they any better insulated than a tent? I have been contemplating buying 1 but most of the hunts I would need it for have been cold weather. I was near flagstaff this year on the late cow elk hunt and it was cold and windy. Do the pop ups do ok in this weather?

 

We spent a night out in my Kodiak Canvas tent during the hunt. It wasn't terrible, but it wasn't as nice as the toyhauler we had been in for sure.

 

Have pop-ups become better than just tents on wheels?

 

Harley

[CouesFanatic]

It's not going to be warmer than your kodiak with a buddy heater. I've found a lot of the popup campers have gaps from the material to the metal and let a lot more air in the the Kodiak would.

[AzDiamondHeat]

Not warmer, but in my opinion more "comfortable". I just like being off the ground. We would put a buddy heater in it and were quite comfortable. Plus all the other benefits.

[HuntHarder]

My pop up has a heater in it, and it will keep at a very comfortable temp. I usually set it for55*- 60* and it stays right there.

[creed]

i have owned 2 popups. My last one had a slide out. It leaked cold air much worse than my old one. Unless you need the extra room I would stay away from the slide outs. Another thing I did was duct tape all the cracks on the doors. They leave a lot to be desired. Both had heaters which helped but I carried a champion generator with me and ran space heaters in extremely cold weather.

 

I have since bought a toyhauler but am considering buying a smaller used popup. I can get them into rough places and they have features that are pretty nice. Also have a Kodiak Canvas 10x14 that gets a lot of use at times.

[CouesWhitetail]

I do a lot of tent camping and I find my popup to be much warmer and more comfortable in general than my tent. I use a buddy heater to warm it up before I go to bed and when I get up. It heats up so fast that it amazes me! Mine has slide outs and it's still much warmer than my tent. You can use bungee cords to tighten the canvas around the slide outs if there are significant spaces. Mine gets gaps between canvas and bed when my pillow pushes out on it, but I actually like that small bit of air periodically and it only happens if I actively push on it.

 

If you want something better than "tent on wheels" you could get hard sided A-frame popups. Those are more solid, but can be much smaller if they don't have slideouts.

[MT. CAT]

FWIW I owned a pop up for a few years. I think pop-ups are great for spring and early season hunts. Not much insulation and the winds can whip completely around the bed. Canvas on them seems to be on the thinner side. A Kodiak tent with a buddy heater or a big buddy heater hooked up to a bulk tank is money in my opinion. The hot set-up would be a Jumping Jack trailer but they seem way over-priced for me.

[cactusjack]

I own 2 popups. A Fleetwood Niagra and a Jumping Jack. They have their advantages but also their disadvantages. When sharing a tent or popup, whenever the other person moves there is too much movement for me to sleep soundly. I even bought 4 scissor jacks for the corners of the Jumping Jack. I prefer my Kodiak Canvas on a cot with a pad.

[trufletch]

I owned a Palomino slide in cabover, pop-top camper for many years. Walls/roof are better insulated than a tent, but still have the canvas pop-top part, which equals about the same insulating properties of a canvas tent. That being said, it was always warm and comfy, mattress to sleep on, furnace with a thermostat and the best part, had a 3 burner stove so at the o'dark-thirty wakeup call- reach over to the stove and crank up the coffee. Always stayed warm even in some single digit weather.

[StickFlicker]

For the same reason that ice forms on bridges before the rest of a road, the beds on a pop-up allow air to flow under them, which can cause them to get cold if it is cold and windy. I have one though, and like it. I just don't tend to hunt during the really cold times of year. I'd still rather be off the ground than in a tent, however, so would choose the pop-up over a tent.

[cactusjack]

Rent or borrow for a weekend before you buy one.

[AZbowhntr]

I have had one for about 10 years now. I have been on the fence for a few years about selling it and getting a wall tent with a stove in it. I like the comfort part of it but I don't like having to tow it around which limits where you can go. I hunted Colorado some years ago with the pop up and it was so cold that the furnace never shut off one night. That tells you how insulated they are.

[Whitesheep]

We popped up and down for years as a young family as far as Montana and on many hunting trips. The Coleman was lifted with heavier duty springs and an angle iron rear bumper. It could go places in this configuration a TT could not and was great in rainy weather, but hanging out over the air sure made it cold on some winter Javalina hunts. If the wind really blew you were about flapped to death. My wife abandoned the popup on several occasions because she couldn't stand the flap flap. We now have a TT and stick to improved fire roads at worst. I use a Cabelas Alaskan Guide tent with a cot for hunting deeper in. No more flap flap and a little warmer to boot.

 

The suggestion to rent one and try it out is solid. Pop ups are definitely more work than a TT, but less than a tent. The type of lift mechanism is important. I think Coleman has the best, but you might like others.

 

Enjoy.

[Curtis Reed]

i've had two popups before I moved up to a large travel trailer. if you are going to go that route heat it with space heaters or a big buddy. The temp swings using a thermostat/furnace in a popup is uncomfortable. When the furnace kicks on, it'll run up to 10° warmer than your desired setting, then when it turns off, it doesn't kick back on until it's freezing inside. That can be improved though with installing a RV 12v digital thermostat.