pop up help camper or flip pack

[98dango]

So my wife wants more room.

We started out in a 1984 Chevy with an Are Dcu topper. I bought a newer Super DUTY ccsb Gasser. It currently has a are topper with a sleeping platform. We both like the ease and size when off road. However my with is tall in the torso. She is in able to sit up inside. As we live in Montana and travel to Washington and Oregon a lot we spent much time sitting out the weather. I also have a 4 year old daughter half the time.

So she has a list that includes taller roof and a door not a tailgate. I'm not sure where to go next a pop up camper looks nice. So dose a flippac or similar. They sit close to the same price used. I do use my truck offroad Moab trails and such.

 

[mep1811]

I'd go with the popup . My friend bought a flippac and got rid of it as soon as he got it. I thought it was very impractical.

 

[bob91yj]

Twisty trails are not a pop up campers best friend. The one disappointment I have in my set up is it is not as off highway capable as I'd hoped it would be. Part of the problem may be me, and what I'm willing to subject the truck/camper to. Anything more than a rutted fire road is more than I'm willing to put it through. I haven't really reached the limits of what the camper is capable of taking...not sure I want to, it sounds expensive!:sombrero:

I'll admit that I was pleasantly surprised with how well my rig worked on a Death Valley trip a year or so ago. I went on a trip with a couple of other similarly equipped vehicles. One was a Mazda (Ford Ranger) with a Callen Camper shell. I think out of our group (2 Dmax's with pop up's, and the Mazda), that truck was the best compromise between off highway performance and comfort/convenience.

Some pics from that trip here...
http://www.expeditionportal.com/forum/threads/92106-Pop-up-Camper-run/page5?highlight=death+valley

 

[bearman512]

Definitly go with a popup.
If you are sitting out the rainstorms you can't beat a pup and as far as offroad you have a truck that can handle a pup with no problem.
You do have more maneuverability with a flip-pak but you still require all the extra camping gear to be stored somewhere versus everthing built in.
Another thing about the flip-pak is it will be very noisy in high winds and cold in the winter, not so with a pup. Ask me why I know this as I owned one for 2 months and sold it immediatly after 1 night in a driving rainstorm with 40kt winds. It gets windy here in NM and doesen't rain much but thankfully it did that night.
There are some ol'boys in Colorado that take their hardsides up and down some of the Jeep trails such as Wheeler Peak. It all boils down to the size of the cajones as to where you want to go offroad. Pups on a fullsize pickup are almost the perfect long range expidition vehicle IMHO.

 

[98dango]

Thank you all for the insight please keep it coming.

As for my cajones well I like to think of them as sizeable but still pleasing to the eye. Not much stops me other than sheer size.

I did just get a call on a 7 foot callen camper or that's what the owner thinks it is.

 

[bill harr]

Twisty trails are not a pop up campers best friend.

Has not been a problem for me slick rock road video here.

 

[bob91yj]

^^^^I'm not saying it can't be done, but it is going to take a toll on the camper in the long run.

My camper is wood frame construction. I bought it first, then did the research (I'm old, and depending on who you ask, stupid). I was assured by the interweb experts that my camper would be kindling if I even parked in a dirt lot. It has held up to more than that quite nicely, but the hammering I have given it down a few dirt roads (and some paved ones) in Baja have been hard on it. Hindsight being 20/20, the roof air was my biggest mistake, I keep expecting to find it laying in the floor after some of the pounding it's taken. A window rattler A/C in the back window would have been much smarter.

I can't/won't try to keep up with a similar truck that doesn't have a camper in it off highway, and there is no way it would ever keep up with my Jeep on any off highway travel (but the Jeep doesn't have a place to sleep/eat/poop!)

Don't get me wrong, not a chance that I would trade my pop up for a Flip Pac, but they do have their limitations IMO.

 

[austintaco]

Do you use your truck's bed for other than camping? If you plan to remove your camper when not using it, than this won't be an issue. However, if you still use the truck for home depot runs, and plan to leave the camper on, the Flippac is the winner.

They really are apples and Bananas, not even oranges, when you compare the two.

I recently had my Tacoma with Flippac on some trails that I didn't feel comfortable on. Actually, I kept it off the trails and at camp. Why? The trails were overgrown, with low branches and tight turns. One wrong off camber tilt into the wrong thick branch, and I might have been looking at some fiberglass repair. I think a popup would have had the same issues, but that's just something you will run into on tight trails, at times.

 

[98dango]

My current set up can be pulled by my wife and I in 30 minutes. I am willing to beat bend and repair things just don't want to do it every weekend. We go at least 3 weekends a month and make at least 2 10+ day trips a year. I also drive 2800 miles every other month to see my daughter. On top of all this I use my truck as a service truck for work.

I like the always ready to go of my current set up. However having to put 6 foot long semi drive shaft on my bead gets less appealing every day. I also tow quite a bit. My home depot trips are more like junk yard parts and quads.

Hear is a very common weekend load for me.

 

[topofpalomar]

I vote popup camper. We're on our 4th one and wouldn't go to a shell for the type of travel we like to do. And that's the main thing to consider. How it's used.

Figure a Callen or even just a shell on a truck for the rough stuff (been there-done that) or a popup for the long trips where comfort and convenience are important. Sure, a small truck with a 4-wheel popup, like Bill Harr's, can work well in rough stuff but we realize we're not gonna run the Rubicon in our rig. Got a Jeep for that, or the wife's 4-Runner. Before we went with the service bed we pulled the camper off the truck during the off-season and used the truck like a truck. Now it stays on all the time and I use a trailer for the Home Depot runs.

I've considered a 4-wheel popup for many years but the better half wants the under bed storage and the nicer interior, and Lord knows how important keeping the lady happy is. Although ours is pretty dated it still does the job. The way it's set up now it hums down the highway smooth as silk. Feels safe and secure. When we hit the trail it does just fine, within reason.

Good luck with the hunt.

​

 

[Jr_Explorer]

Well I guess I need to step up and present the Flippac advantages... As you can see from my signature I have basically the same full size Chevy Duramax that Bob91yj has so our rigs make a good side-by-side comparison of this exact eternal debate.

1. The first advantage is virtually zero reduction in off-road capability vs a regular shell/topper. This can be a big plus. The second is ease of set-up: Unlock two latches, install crank, flip open, secure two posts to hood fittings, remove pillows from storage and fluff to suit. Doesn't take much longer than it takes to read about it.
2. Internal volume is GREAT. I'm 6'-1" and on my full size Chevy with the 6.5' short bed the Flippac is a cavern.
3. You leave the Flippac on like a shell/topper. Often with campers people remove and store the camper when not in use.
4. With the Flippac you get to do your own buildout of the interior.

Now the downsides...
1. If you are going to be camping in the rain a fair amount of the time the storm fly probably doubles the set-up and takedown time (goes from 2 minutes to five) and then having that wet rain fly to deal with regularly would be a pain (maybe a separate Action Packer for rain fly storage). Get the aftermarket rainfly from SLO Sail and Canvas (http://www.slosailandcanvas.com/servlet/the-1491/FlipPac-Rain-Fly--dsh-/Detail).
2. With the Flippac you have to do your own buildout of the interior!

I get that the Flippac is NOT for everyone but we love, love LOVE our Flippac. There is no other solution that is as easy and light weight. But there are other solutions that have more amenities and barriers between you and mother nature (which is a plus or a minus depending on how pissed of Mother Nature is at the time!).

One more point... If you are looking at a full size truck then right off the bat you are probably NOT expecting to go rock crawling down some tiny little goat trail anyway! So you are pretty much accepting a certain maximum trail difficulty right from the beginning. But even that argument is a little thin as I've seen many full size trucks that are quite capable on some twistier trails.

I hope this helps.

 

[JHa6av8r]

I would bet pop-up campers and RTT types in full size trucks 99% of the time go down the same roads. Size of the truck will limit the road you can travel way more than roughness. You can get a pop-up as a shell or fully built. Just depends on what you want. My set up and take down is as fast or faster than described above. My pop-up stays on almost full time and only comes out when I want to use the truck to haul. The main advantage of my pop-up is I can camp in almost any weather and wind condition. I personally can't see any advantage to an RTT.

 

[98dango]

So my father in law told me about a camper its hard sided. I dident really want to go that way but its free and has been on my truck before it was my truck. Its a Security Travler very short cab over hang. It has a fridge stove and come full of fishing supply.

 

[98dango]

 

[98dango]

Well I guess I need to step up and present the Flippac advantages... As you can see from my signature I have basically the same full size Chevy Duramax that Bob91yj has so our rigs make a good side-by-side comparison of this exact eternal debate.

1. The first advantage is virtually zero reduction in off-road capability vs a regular shell/topper. This can be a big plus. The second is ease of set-up: Unlock two latches, install crank, flip open, secure two posts to hood fittings, remove pillows from storage and fluff to suit. Doesn't take much longer than it takes to read about it.
2. Internal volume is GREAT. I'm 6'-1" and on my full size Chevy with the 6.5' short bed the Flippac is a cavern.
3. You leave the Flippac on like a shell/topper. Often with campers people remove and store the camper when not in use.
4. With the Flippac you get to do your own buildout of the interior.

Now the downsides...
1. If you are going to be camping in the rain a fair amount of the time the storm fly probably doubles the set-up and takedown time (goes from 2 minutes to five) and then having that wet rain fly to deal with regularly would be a pain (maybe a separate Action Packer for rain fly storage). Get the aftermarket rainfly from SLO Sail and Canvas (http://www.slosailandcanvas.com/servlet/the-1491/FlipPac-Rain-Fly--dsh-/Detail).
2. With the Flippac you have to do your own buildout of the interior!

I get that the Flippac is NOT for everyone but we love, love LOVE our Flippac. There is no other solution that is as easy and light weight. But there are other solutions that have more amenities and barriers between you and mother nature (which is a plus or a minus depending on how pissed of Mother Nature is at the time!).

One more point... If you are looking at a full size truck then right off the bat you are probably NOT expecting to go rock crawling down some tiny little goat trail anyway! So you are pretty much accepting a certain maximum trail difficulty right from the beginning. But even that argument is a little thin as I've seen many full size trucks that are quite capable on some twistier trails.

I hope this helps.

My issue I guess the more I look in to flip pack and things it this. I live in Montana I woke up one month ago with 9" of snow on my truck while camping. I got away from tents for this reason. I'm leaning more to the pop up and keep my current set up if I need to really push it.