Trailer/RTT combo for long-term travel?

[outdoornate65]

What are the generally recognized problems with pop-ups? Weak cabinetry, stables, what else?

I also keep thinking that a beefed-up pop-up might be an option for me. I can stomach general "repairs" but if these things leak all the time, fall apart, can't be towed on freeways at >50mph, etc. then that'd be great to know. Hoping some feedback here further helps the OP (I'm not trying to hijack, just also interested in the topic and the suggestion of a pop-up intrigues me).

As the economy struggles the RV industry has to adapt. People buy smaller more fuel-efficient vehicles that can't tow much weight. The RV industry responds by making smaller/lighter/cheaper campers to meet demand. Problem is, they are NOT using light weight space-age materials to cut weight. No, they use thinner/cheaper/crappier materials and pass that off as the latest/greatest camper capable of being pulled by a one-man rickshaw.

In the past an "off-road" pop-up was simply a lifted version of the same camper with some bigger tires/wheels. So to answer your question, yes, you are still dealing with lots of stapled together particleboard junk waiting to come apart after a few washboard roads. Like you, I'm cool to do upkeep on my rig but I don't want to have to rebuild a pop-top just to make it dirt-road worthy.

Hope that makes sense....

 

[Deleted member 9101]

Even if you buy a brand new popup and pay to have it reinforced, you'll still spend less money than buying a poptop van plus you'll have 2x the space.

You can put your kayaks on top and still have room for more gear. If you lengthen the tongue/rear bumper you will have room for more stuff.

 

[outdoornate65]

Even if you buy a brand new popup and pay to have it reinforced, you'll still spend less money than buying a poptop van plus you'll have 2x the space.

You can put your kayaks on top and still have room for more gear. If you lengthen the tongue/rear bumper you will have room for more stuff.

All true and worth consideration.

 

[windtraveler]

Get a 2wd van with a locked differential and a winch up front. Loads cheaper than a 4wd van and will probably handle 99% of the places you want to go.