re: Looking into my first camper

Reading this thread and similar posts on RV boards, i don't know how our family of up to 5 kids and 2 parents survived in a Starcraft popup with no a/c or heat, no toilet or slideout and an icebox in the 60s and 70s.

Towed by Mercedes 4cyl diesels (W110, W115) throughout the US...

The Oliver and Escape Fiberglass RVs are nice but $$ like Airstream. The number of horror stories on the stick-built trailers, esp the "lite" variety is pretty high.

Hope you find what you need... love camping but wife and I are still in a pup tent in our 50s

Airbags on truck , sway bar, buy used, and 2 AC units . “What goes in camper stays in camper”, don’t pull from the house.

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Oliver and Escape Fiberglass RVs are nice but $$ like Airstream.

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The escape is actually a great bargain, at least last I shopped for one. Their prices are listed in Canadian dollars so it throws you. They’ll throw up a brand new one that someone canceled on, for pretty cheap. The decor is simple and perhaps a bit dated. But I don’t care about that. Great campers.

Oliver is a whole other ballgame. $$$.

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So is the general consensus that fiberglass ones are worth the extra money over the stick built?

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It's sorta been my understanding that in terms of build, get one with an aluminum frame, not wood or any other material. Now mine also has a fiberglass shell but I don't know how much that matters.

I have 2013 starcraft hybrid with 3 pull outs. I bought it used about 2 years ago.

Every single thing on it WORKS. Everything.

When it comes to interior components. Manufacturers have to strike a balance between weight and quality materials. Sometimes it's a struggle.

I got a pop up when my kids were the age of yours. We had a great time. The time to camp is before they get to high school because high school activities will take your camping time away.

Advantages of a Pop Up.
Easy to tow and store. I keep it in the garage.
I bought mine used and it was not to expensive.
One air conditioner unit cools very well.

Allowed us to take several cheap vacations to the beach and stay in State Parks.

Cons of the pop up
It takes 40 minutes to set up and take down and I get sweaty doing both.

Hard to cook in. I just bought an electric stove with two eyes and cook on the campsites picnic table.

Great for sleeping but if it is raining you don’t want to spend the day in there with the family. When it rains we go to an aquarium or something.

Overall, we used it a lot when the kids were three and four until they got to high school and made some fun memories.

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Yall tell me about this. How does a baw in ascension parish rent a camper and whats it cost him?

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im right there with you on wondering this exact question. I’ve checked sites like Rvshare before and by the time you factor in all their fees, and campground fees you can stay at one hell of a nice hotel each day.

I charge $165 per night for rental and $200 for delivery/setup/pickup. I try to rental privately as opposed to RV Share. They add a lot of fees for me and renter. I only do delivery within around 40-50 miles of my house to local campgrounds. Its just a small side business for me.

We bought a pop up when our kids were your kids age and loved it. We mostly cooked over the fire. It was a jayco with a front storage. Easy to haul, set up and take down. We still use it and have had it now for about 12 years.