Pop up campers

[mamacedge]

I'm considering purchasing a pop up camper. I'd appreciate any input on others' experiences on the playa with pop ups. My biggest concerns are how it will deal with wind and dust since the end walls are lightweight. Thanks!

[Bob]

You'll find a few threads on this if you drill down in Shelter & Camping and look at older posts. The search engine isn't helping me at all.

Key from my observations is tying the thing down to stakes to keep it from wandering around in high wind gusts. Opinions vary on dust infiltration. Might want shade netting over the top to keep it cooler.

[Bob]

Here you go, this works better.

[dragonpilot]

It's better than a pup tent, but not as good as a 31' RV with AC and a microwave...all depends on the level of comfort you desire in a very harsh/hot/cold/dusty environment.

[BBadger]

A pop-up is nice for some casual car camping in the woods, but you'll probably want a shaded structure in addition to anything you have, short of a full-size camper or RV. Maybe consider whether the space would be better used for parts for something like a monkey hut and some regular tents. Then you can spend the money on a generic trailer and pack in more goodies than your camper would otherwise support.

[mamacedge]

After reviewing some of the old threads on pop ups and doing additional research on the A frame pop up variety, I am feeling more and more leery of its ability to withstand high winds. Drag, because it would be perfect for camping pretty much anywhere else. Thanks for the input

[CornMan]

This is a pop-up camper:





This is a pop-up trailer:





This is a pop-up, hard-side, A-frame trailer (good for the wind):

[Leo]

I have had my pop-up trailer on the playa for the last three burns and haven't had any problems with the extreme winds. I typically park at "J" or "K" streets, so there are RV's parked around me that serve as a windbreak. I haven't seen any need for guy lines, but then I pack plenty of gear and water in my trailer. Keeping the weight low is helpful to counteract the "sail area" of the canvas. YMMV

[Sassy Britches]

Our camp had two pop up trailers, a tent and a trailer carried on back of a pickup truck. The single problem was the leak in the air mattress of one of the tenters. Our pop up trailer held up just fine, as did the other.

[FireTommy]

Mine is the smallest one Coleman made, and I love it. It got permanently playafied, but hitting it with a leafblower seems to have taken care of most of the dust. This year I'll hang a tapestry inside to isolate the sleeping area, which I'll cool with a small swamp cooler

[PurplMyst]

We took our popup trailer out for it's virgin Burning Man last year & it was awesome! Of course with the great weather we didn't get any super-high-wind experience; so I can't comment on that. With carpet on the ground out front we managed to keep the dust level inside to a minimum.

We also have pop-up Gizmos which are reflectors that go over the bunk ends so we could get a few more hours of sleep in the mornings. And don't even think of using the canopy that comes on the trailer; those things can't stand a large sneeze. We used a totally separate EZ Up shelter for shade.