Sold our 22 foot Nash TT, which we loved, but it was just too big for us any more and after a recent month long trip to Utah, we realized that there are way too many places we couldn't get to with it. Soooo, sold it and are trading down to a pop-up truck camper. We looked at four-wheel, and while we liked it I was really not impressed by the way they do the shower.
Having the benefit of having family in Denver, we were able to justify a trip to Denver to ground zero of pop-up campers. While my mother thought we were visiting her (little white lie) we were really hitting the big three. We drive a Tundra 8ft bed. Our must haves - beyond the basics of a bed, sink, fridge and a stove were 1. cassette toilet 2. shower 3. NO tanks besides fresh water 4. Keep it inside the bed so we can close the tailgate. Our reasoning on these items were that I/We are too old to walk to the pit toilet 3 times a night, I'm horribly sensitive to poisen ivy and need a place to sluice off after hiking, finding a place to dump tanks in our area is a PITA, and we want to be able to close/lock the tailgate when the truck is parked in front of our house. We live on capitol hill in Washington DC - parking is at a premium, I don't mind if people tap my bumper when they are parking, in fact I almost expect it - but don't want them tapping my $20,000 plus truck camper! Plus with the tailgate locked, it's really difficult to break into the unit - an issue in the big city.
First was outfitter. Took a couple of hours there, focusing in on the Caribu 8 ft. Had everything we wanted. Husband not over impressed with lift mechanism. As a short person, the overhead cabinet is not accesable for me. I'd have to have a step stool in the unit.
Hallmark. Matt took us all through the factory. He was incredible - took the time to explain/answer all our questions, even the stupid ones! We were focusing on the K2/Guanella. The big issue was that to get the wet bath we wanted, we would have to go to 8.5 feet - which would put is right at the end of the bumper. The weight was getting up there. I think of the three, Matt was probably the most up-front about what the finished weight would be. I really like the way hallmark does their upper cabinets. I also think overall it was probably the best made of the units....unfortunatly it was also the most expensive.
Phoenix. Next day went to see Cari and Rob at Phoneix. JACKPOT. We arrived right as they were loading a new unit onto a Tundra short bed. The new owner let us crawl all over his unit. After seeing the units they had on the lot and seeing what they could do for us, we took a long lunch and made our decision. Ordered a PULSE to fit our truck, it will be just shy of 8 foot long. We'll have a cassett toilet, shower that drains into a bucket, heki skylight, cool Cramer sink/stove unit. Some outside storage. A N/S bed - or at least it will be NS for us - it will be six feet, normal sized people will still have to sleep EW. Two solar panels. Bike racks....other stuff.
We go out in June to pick it up! I'll make sure and record our mileage there and back with/without the unit and see what the difference is. We'll also record our truck weight before and after we get the unit if possible.
Oh...and if anyone in the DC area needs an ARE cap to fit a 2007 Tundra long bed, let me know - it's that goldish color.
Having the benefit of having family in Denver, we were able to justify a trip to Denver to ground zero of pop-up campers. While my mother thought we were visiting her (little white lie) we were really hitting the big three. We drive a Tundra 8ft bed. Our must haves - beyond the basics of a bed, sink, fridge and a stove were 1. cassette toilet 2. shower 3. NO tanks besides fresh water 4. Keep it inside the bed so we can close the tailgate. Our reasoning on these items were that I/We are too old to walk to the pit toilet 3 times a night, I'm horribly sensitive to poisen ivy and need a place to sluice off after hiking, finding a place to dump tanks in our area is a PITA, and we want to be able to close/lock the tailgate when the truck is parked in front of our house. We live on capitol hill in Washington DC - parking is at a premium, I don't mind if people tap my bumper when they are parking, in fact I almost expect it - but don't want them tapping my $20,000 plus truck camper! Plus with the tailgate locked, it's really difficult to break into the unit - an issue in the big city.
First was outfitter. Took a couple of hours there, focusing in on the Caribu 8 ft. Had everything we wanted. Husband not over impressed with lift mechanism. As a short person, the overhead cabinet is not accesable for me. I'd have to have a step stool in the unit.
Hallmark. Matt took us all through the factory. He was incredible - took the time to explain/answer all our questions, even the stupid ones! We were focusing on the K2/Guanella. The big issue was that to get the wet bath we wanted, we would have to go to 8.5 feet - which would put is right at the end of the bumper. The weight was getting up there. I think of the three, Matt was probably the most up-front about what the finished weight would be. I really like the way hallmark does their upper cabinets. I also think overall it was probably the best made of the units....unfortunatly it was also the most expensive.
Phoenix. Next day went to see Cari and Rob at Phoneix. JACKPOT. We arrived right as they were loading a new unit onto a Tundra short bed. The new owner let us crawl all over his unit. After seeing the units they had on the lot and seeing what they could do for us, we took a long lunch and made our decision. Ordered a PULSE to fit our truck, it will be just shy of 8 foot long. We'll have a cassett toilet, shower that drains into a bucket, heki skylight, cool Cramer sink/stove unit. Some outside storage. A N/S bed - or at least it will be NS for us - it will be six feet, normal sized people will still have to sleep EW. Two solar panels. Bike racks....other stuff.
We go out in June to pick it up! I'll make sure and record our mileage there and back with/without the unit and see what the difference is. We'll also record our truck weight before and after we get the unit if possible.
Oh...and if anyone in the DC area needs an ARE cap to fit a 2007 Tundra long bed, let me know - it's that goldish color.
