After buying a small pop up camper last summer (1987 Coachmen for $250), my wife and I decided we needed a larger camper, since we tend to take too many grandkids (we took 5 on our last trip out). Last week, I found the perfect pop up on Craigslist and gave them a call. The guy said another person was on there way to look at it and if they didn't buy it, I was next in line. Well, the other guy called. It also turns out that the other guy drives for the same small company as I do (what's the chance of that?). I talked to him and it turns out the camper he bought was way too big for him and he really wanted something smaller. So, yesterday we made a trade. I paid $600 for his, plus my smaller one went to him in the deal. While he was finishing the deal, one of the lift cables broke while closing it up. Then, as they was fighting it, a 2nd cable snapped. So, that's priority number one - rebuilding the lift system. Pretty sure I'm just going to pay an RV shop to do the job.

The rest of the camper is in pretty good shape.The interior is almost spotless and the exterior has a couple small issues on the plastic molded sections (mainly from someone backing into something with the rear bumper). From what I could see, the canvas is in really good condition, but was told there's a couple really small tears in a couple corners. This pop up is freaking huge. My old one weighed 880lbs empty. This one is 2,140lbs. I towed it with my S-10 Blazer with no issues, but I wouldn't want to pull it far. I can use dad's F-150 for that. The old camper was 10' closed. The new one is 21'. The old one had 2 full-size beds that pulled out. The new one has a king at one end and a queen at the other. Plus, there's 2 seats that make into 2 beds inside. The new one has a tri-power fridge and a stove/oven combo. The old one had a cooler that looked like a fridge and a stovetop. The old one had a 5 gallon freshwater tank. The new one has a 30 gallon tank, plus a 6 gallon hot water heater. To be honest, the only thing missing from the new one is a rooftop A/C unit (but it has the prep package installed).

The new camper is a 1994 Jayco Jay Cardinal 8 Designer Series. It's a tandem axle rig.

It sounds like you got a good deal. I have owned a couple of RV's, but never a pop up. I would not mind having a pop up if I could find something like you did on the last trailer. A tandem also pulls much better than a single axle. My dad had a small single axle trailer and it was a real challenge to tow. Your new trailer should have room for all the grandkids.

I didn't go on the highway with it, just local 2-lane roads at maybe 45mph max. It tracked perfect, but because of the extra tongue weight, the Blazer had a little more front-end bounce. It's definitely not too much weight since the Blazer can handle 250lbs - I can pick up the tongue by hand, but it's at my limit. I'm estimating 125-150lbs. The old camper had a tongue weight of about 50lbs. Another thing to get used to on this one is the hydraulic surge brakes on it. Stopping/starting lets the camper 'move' front and back just enough to make you say "WTH just broke?"

The same camper as my new one, in good condition, is going for around $4,000-4,500 in general from what I've seen on the web. So, even if I have to put another $1,000 into it, it's still a great deal.

I never had problems pulling the tiny popup - backing was a different story though. Talk about something that'll jackknife on you quick - lol. The last time we camped with my old one, we pulled it with my dad's F-150. In a straight line, you couldn't see the camper whatsoever in any of the mirrors.

It sounds like you got a great deal on the new camper. A tandem is always easier to back than a single axle trailer. It is also easier to back a longer trailer than a short trailer. I think you will get a lot of enjoyment from the new trailer. I sometimes miss my old RV's.

Here's a great website for info and help and tech I used when I had a popup.

PopUpPortal - Index

Registered there last night

I love the surge brakes at times, other times I hate them with a passion. In the rain, I hate'em with a passion. My company has surge brakes on all the trailers that go behind the F350's. We call them dum-dum brakes because our dummies had electric brakes before and always had problems because they didn't know how to use them properly. The surge brakes are so simple, the main thing you need to do is make sure fluid is in the reservoir which you can do similar to a tug test. Pull forward at about 5-10 mph and hit the brakes, if it surges forward but doesn't stop you then your out of fluid probably.

$600, doesn't seem to bad a deal at all.

I went to the RV shop today to schedule to have it brought in. They can't take it until May 11th. I'm fine with that. But, I really wanted to see if there was any other work needing done, so my brother and I raised the roof on it today (it's blocked up with 2x4's on the inside). That thing looks almost 100% inside. The cushions are in great shape, the floor is rock solid and no issues with the cabinets at all. It doesn't look like it's ever had a water leak. The canvas has one hole in the bottom corner of one of the pull-outs (patched with tape) and on the back wall, which is almost completely 'open', the zippers have ripped apart from the clear vinyl. Again, duct tape.

Here's the photo's from today (slideshow on photobucket):
Camper V2 Slideshow by malaki86 | Photobucket

just so you know it doesn't stop. I'm already looking for an upgrade.....

Trade straight up? LOL