They can be some of the least expensive RVs on the market. Many can be had brand-new for as little as $4,000, and used units can cost as little as $1,500 if you aren’t afraid of a little cleaning and repair. Even the biggest, most luxury-laden brand-new models with all the options are generally priced under $20,000.
They’re lightweight — usually under 2,000 pounds — and ultra-compact when folded down. That makes them easier to store and easier on your gas mileage, compared to a larger trailer. Nearly any midsize car can haul one, and even the very biggest pop-ups generally weigh under 3,500 pounds.
As RVing has gotten more popular with younger campers, companies have offered lots of variations of pop-ups to attract first-time buyers and tent campers in search of a more comfortable experience. On the other hand, new designs of “off-road” pop-ups have a nearly military look, great for fishermen and hunters. The least-expensive units use a mechanical crank to make the magic unfolding operation happen, and the final setup of the tent portion requires an arrangement of poles and straps. More expensive models motorize the process or use a hydraulic lift to simplify the deployment of the tent into a push-button operation. A few even combine an air compressor with a nylon tent that actually inflates in a matter of a minute or so. And as Figure 2-9 shows, not all pop-ups are soft-sided tents — A-liner, Chalet, and Forest River’s Rockwood line all feature an unusual hard-sided, pop-up design that ditches the tent completely. When fully opened, they resemble tiny A-frame cabins on wheels.
Photographs courtesy of Christopher Hodapp
FIGURE 2-9: A hard-sided A-frame pop-up trailer by Aliner.
All of these reasons make a pop-up trailer an ideal way to get started with RVing. In fact, more than a few families pass them down from one generation to the next. Even if the canvas tent portion gets tattered and torn after a couple of decades, a pop-up of any vintage can usually be re-canvassed for around $1,500 or less.
Fifth wheels
Although technically a towable, RV people give fifth-wheel trailers (see Figure 2-10) their own category because they have specific requirements and features over and above the typical travel trailer. Fifth-wheel trailers (sometimes nicknamed fivers) are the giants at the top of the towable beanstalk. If you want an RV that you can tow and park with your own separate tow vehicle, and still have the most interior floor space and onboard features possible, this is your answer.
Photograph courtesy of Christopher Hodapp
FIGURE 2-10: The distinctive overhanging design of a fifth-wheel trailer requires a special kind of hitch mounted in the bed of a pickup truck or other utility truck.
What puts a trailer into the fifth-wheel category is its unusual shape and towing method. Instead of the usual trailer chassis and frame that hooks on a hitch at the back end of your car, SUV, or truck, the front end of a fifth wheel stretches its neck out and hangs over the top of a truck bed. And instead of the usual trailer hitch with a ball on it mounted below the rear bumper that most trailers use, a fifth-wheel utilizes a king pin hitch, a large metal bracket mounted in the middle of the truck bed itself, to more evenly spread the weight of the trailer into the center of the truck. What this means is, you must pull a fifth wheel with a pickup truck, and usually a heavy-duty one.
Of course, if you decide to buy a different truck a few years down the line, your dream trailer goes right on being your home on the road. That’s not the case with a motorhome, where your RV is your truck, and vice versa.
A different option is available for fifth-wheel RVers if a pickup truck seems too limiting for your taste. Freightliner, International, Peterbilt, and others make 2-ton diesel towing trucks that resemble a small semi. These unusual trucks have a low deck in the back made just for towing fifth wheels (or horse and livestock trailers with gooseneck hitches). Companies like SportChassis and Utility Body Werks take these trucks and further customize them inside and out. Depending on how far into the deep end you wade with options, these are the luxury Cadillacs of the tow vehicle world, often costing well over $100,000 and frequently closer to $150,000. But you’ll have a truly one-of-a-kind towing vehicle and an impressive rig. We talk a whole lot more about tow vehicles and options in Chapter 7.
In return for being forced to buy a special truck just to haul a fifth wheel, what you get are the largest possible travel trailers on the market. Manufacturers stress wide-open spaces in fifth-wheel trailers. The large living spaces, better insulation, residential-grade appliances, and other luxury amenities of a fifth wheel make them the top choice for full-timers. If you travel with lots of family and friends or you’re expecting lots of houseguests, a fifth wheel is probably your best choice. They can typically sleep 8 to 12 people.
The largest fifth wheels are 45 feet long and as tall as the tallest motorhomes. Even though they have a head start in the square footage department, most fifth wheels also have multiple slides that dramatically increase the living spaces even more when they’re fully opened at the campsite — having five slides on a fifth wheel is not uncommon.
The raised, gooseneck portion of the interior is reached by a short staircase inside and is commonly a large master bedroom suite with loads of closet space, or a spacious split-level living room area.
Fifth wheels are available with countless options and decors. Depending on your needs and wants, you can get full-size appliances, washers and dryers, electric fireplaces, home theater seating, big-screen TVs, multiple bedrooms, plenty of sleeping options, and lots more. The area inside the unique overhanging upper deck up front is reached by a short set of stairs and is generally used for a roomy master bedroom suite with loads of closet space or a spacious split-level living room area. And because your towing vehicle is not built-in as it is with a motorhome, your RV money is spent on the trailer itself.
Unlike with a motorhome, passengers can’t ride inside a moving trailer. That means if you have a large family or a gaggle of fellow vacationers with you, passengers are limited to how many can fit inside your towing vehicle, or they have to follow in a separate car.
For safety-conscious owners, it’s a comfort that modern trucks are engineered with the latest air bags and anti-collision warning systems, whereas a comparably sized Class A motorhome probably won’t have any of these.
Of course, the RV world being the RV world, someone out there built a very different sort of fiver, the Scamp fifth wheel, tiny and adorable, which can be towed by just about any truck. If nothing else, it proved that a fiver can still give you all sorts of options.
Truck Campers
If you already own a pickup truck or like the all-in-one convenience of a motorhome but you don’t like the price tags, a truck camper (sometimes called a truck cap or a camper shell) may be just the right solution. Once the favorite weekend solution for hunters and fishermen, truck campers are getting more popular as entry-level units for new or single campers.
Essentially, a truck camper is an RV shell that is plopped into the back end of an existing pickup truck bed and rides piggyback (see Figure 2-11). They’re extremely versatile because they can be easily removed and left behind when your camping trip is over, returning your truck to its normal, daily uses.