What makes you Happy?

[docjohn]

Lol so we can now end this thread because ............true happiness=hamburger feet....

 

[Mac Attack]

That is a nice trailer. My family started camping recently, we are using a Vintage Apache PopUp, also aluminum. Not quite an Airstream, but a good fit for our needs at the moment.

Very cool! I looked into a popup when I (briefly) considered a Model X as a tow vehicle.

I have a lot of fond memories camping in a popup when little! Enjoy!

 

[Mac Attack]

PopUp trailers are cool. We were going to rent one a few years ago, but when we went to rent one were told that the comparably-sized hardtop trailer would be slightly less. Rented the hardtop and took it from Chicago to Yellowstone and back. Had a great time but didn't consider how much additional drag the hardtop created vs. the popup. It was like pulling a parachute!

Most of the camping that I've done in recent years has been with my son in the form of backpacking. It can be back-breaking work carrying a full pack up the sides of big mountain passes. It's hard to stay clean (you really can't), are frequently attacked by mosquitos and/or biting flies, have to dig latrines, sleep in the tent and hope that the waterproofing keeps out the water, eat freeze dried camping food. Feet look and feel like hamburger. But the rewards! Seeing magnificent scenery that 99.9% of the public never lays eyes upon, the total absence of ANY noise (save an occasional airplane overhead or another hiker that you might encounter), the wildlife (this can be good OR bad!), etc.. It rocks!

That's a lot of good memories you two will never forget.

My oldest daughter and I have been out for 6 days at a time up in the Canadian wilderness like that. I just hate being wet. We rent a sat phone for those trips because there's no one around for a hundred miles....

 

[Miner]

Very cool! I looked into a popup when I (briefly) considered a Model X as a tow vehicle.

I have a lot of fond memories camping in a popup when little! Enjoy!

Yes. Me too. My family had an Apache when I was a teenager, so finding one as an adult and parent (~30 years later) brings back memories. I didn’t realize until buying my current (1980) Apache that the bodies were aluminum too (like an Airstream). We were impressed by the hard sides of ABS plastic instead of canvas as kids. Our two daughters are 4 and 8, so a popup is still big enough for the family, and since I live in an HOA that doesn’t allow parking a camper in the driveway, a popup fits in the garage and keeps the hassles down. Plus it tows (QX-60) easy, I barely notice it.

We were all set to go camping the weekend when covid really hit and the state shut down. Haven’t camped since (other than in the driveway / don’t tell my HOA), but am ready to go back out.

Our neighbors bought a 23’ Flying Cloud a coupLe months ago. It is sweet, and a bit nicer than a 40 year old camper, but the memories of a skunk fight with the dog (Mother’s Day last year) would be just the same.

 

[jeffreygebhart]

That's a lot of good memories you two will never forget.

My oldest daughter and I have been out for 6 days at a time up in the Canadian wilderness like that. I just hate being wet. We rent a sat phone for those trips because there's no one around for a hundred miles....

Our favorite places are Yosemite and King's Canyon/Sequoia National Parks in California's Sierra Nevada...have done 5-day trips in the latter parks. We've been to Banff and Jasper up in Alberta and would love to go back up there, too. The last trip that we did nearly did me in(!) and I'm beginning to think that the guys who like the Apache pop-ups may be onto something! That or a Westie VW camper, although finding one for sale with under a quarter million miles on it can be a challenge.