HI to all,

We are a family with two young boys ages 3 and 5. We are in the market for a camper trailer or pop-up. we are not sure which brand to buy! There are so many now. As a kid, my family had a Starcraft. I knew if I asked, you all could help me! Also, how much should we be paying? I could NOT find a site like Consumer Reports, you know how they tell you how much to pay and how much the dealer REALLY pays? Thanks for your help!!

Howdy and welcome to iRV2.com.

This is a great site, and everyone thinks their camper is the best. It’s tough to recommend a certain type or make of camper, you really need to decide that yourself. We can how ever suggest things. I always have to ask a few questions first. You don’t have to answer them here, but keep the answer in mind when looking.

1. How much can you afford to pay is a good start. That makes or breaks any deal.

2. Where will you mostly camp, and how long will you stay at one time? This helps decide what you need to enjoy either the weekend or you time out doors. If you’re only on weekends you can get by with a battery in most cases, longer you my think about adding a generator for power. If you’re in a campground with water and electric, and showers you have very few worries.

Another important question is what will you be towing with? Your current or future vehicles towing capacity is a big thing. In most states anything over 3000 lbs requires electric brakes on the trailer. If your trailer is to heavy for the truck that’s a very bad thing so check the max towing weight before deciding on what you need that weight - 10% is a safe GVRW gross vehicle rating weight the max your vehicle can tow or carry counting people and gear.

With the GVRW, total price and what you require you will almost be ready to start looking. Remember you don't have to buy new if you look close at everything and ask lots of questions. I have always bought from dealers, you pay a higher price but you can have protection in the right state. Get anything you see that’s wrong fixed and even a warranty in some cases.


Let us know.

Welcome to IRV2.....First off you have to know what your tow vehicle will safely tow. Not what the dealership says you can tow. In my scope of things I like to stay no more than 75% of what my tow vehicle is rated for. We do like to camp in the hills of Ohio, Western PA, NY, VT. As an example: My trailer weighs in at 3900 lbs empty. And I would say loaded I'm about 4400 lbs. My tow vehicle is rated at 7500 lbs. You also have to look at hitch weights. Two trailers of the same length can have very different hitch weights. That is one thing I like about the model of Aerolite Cub (Hybrid)we bought is that it had a 315 lb. dry hitch weight. Others of the same size were pushing 600 lbs. Before our current Hybrid trailer we had a 99' Coleman pop-up.

The next thing to think about before buying a trailer is the lay-out and size. I have seen so many trailers with zero counter place. You have to really think about where you are going to place your clothes, extra food, toys, extra shoes, coats, tools, lawn chairs, firewood, bikes, fishing poles, cleaning supplies and more. If you are going in the direction of a pop-up you will want to get a model with the front storage trunk. Trust me...In there you will keep stuff like tools, lawn chairs, grill, firewood, tarps, wheel chokes, toys. This way all these things stay out of the doorway / floor area when setting up and taking down the pop-up. I also had a few Rubbermaid containers with " this & that" items. You also have to look at inside storage cabinets and what size are they. Some models have very odd-ball cabinets that are not very user-friendly.

In 05' we were going to buy another Coleman pop-up (larger size) But once we saw the Aerolite Cub Hybrids and all the cabinet and counter space, I'm so glad we spent a little more and went with the 24' Cub. I have 25 cabinet doors and about 9' of total counter space. Withtake many cabinets things inside are neat and easy to get to. We have everything we need and extras of most supplies. With 2 kids you will be hunting for every sq. inch of counter and cabinet space. In the mornings you might have the toaster, coffee pot, bowls, plates and what ever else on the counter......If you have 2 young sons right now a pop-up or a hybrid will make sense with the 2 queen beds on either side. We used our pop-up 225 nights over 6 seasons. In our 05' Cub we average 50-60 nights a season. I sure enjoy our Cub when the weather is bad outside because I'll lay on the couch and read the paper or watch the TV. My son will be at the table playing his video game and my wife will be in the back bed reading her book. 05' Cub Good luck.....RVing is fun....we tent camped for 15 years before we bought a trailer. Wish we would have bought one earlier......even if it was used.......any more ?'s just let-um rip....

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Superslif,