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What I appreciate about state parks is their consistency in how they are run. I don't want to have to wonder if the people running my campsite are going to be reasonable, or if they're going to be control freaks with weird rules. At state parks, everything is largely consistent from place to place. No, they don't enforce quiet hours that well, but you know the bathrooms will be reasonably clean, the rules and generator hours are the same from place to place. And there is a good park police or security presence. Plus, there is usually something interesting to SEE at a state park (of course, if you just want to hide out in your giant RV and watch your big screen TV, you may not care about that). And state parks (at least where I go) are always at least $10 cheaper per night. I just have no desire to stay in privately run campgrounds. I suppose it depends on how well the state runs the parks system. Some states are better funded than others and going private may be more appealing. New York's state park system is excellent and the scenery is (usually) to die for. Probably in less wealthy states the state parks are not as consistently run.
I think the Columbia A-liner one-person is pretty rudimentary though - just room for a bed, I don't even know if it has a kitchenette? I could be quite wrong, though.
I had a hilarious experience on my last camping trip of the season a few weeks ago. I had just got done commenting to my dad, "Gee, it's weird nobody has come up to us to ask about the A-liner this season" (because usually we get rubberneckers on every trip!) No sooner were the words out of my mouth, when a couple of people from the next campsite come walking over to chat about the A-liner! Too funny.
These folks were actually seriously interested in buying an A-liner, had done some research and so on. They were even trying to narrow it down between a Columbia Northwest and a Chalet. Usually we get people who don't know much about the chalet type campers.
I'm so glad I read all the posts on this thread. I've been thinking about a pop up since my friend bought one and we really enjoyed using it this summer. She has a couple of kids and I have a couple kids, so getting my own seems like a good idea. Plus they are relatively inexpensive, so I could get one and if I love it, keep it for a long time, or upgrade to something bigger if I want to.
I love the look of the A Liner but do they only sleep 2-3 people max? Is there a bigger one that will sleep 4 people comfortably?
My friend and I camped several times with the pop up and it took a bit of time to set up our campsites. Of course, we are not experienced w/opening the popup, I will admit that. The worst part seemed to be rolling up the awning and getting it back into the hanging bag thing. It seemed like it would take me a lot of practice to be able to open it up all by myself. (Her's is used, though, and about 10 years old, so I don't know how much they've changed since then)
I am a little intimidated by towing something honestly, I guess I'd have to practice.
In any case, I have really enjoyed camping this summer and definitely want to move up from a tent! I just don't want to have to upgrade my car as well, lol!
We recently bought a Chalet Alpine camper. It is a hard-sided pop-up camper with 1 double bed that is made from the table and bench seats. We added an air mattress for comfort. It has camping stove that can be used outside on the side of the camper. It has a fridge, shower/toilet, a/c, and furnace. We bought a Honda generator for it. We are going to take it in October to Dover, Arkansas and stay at Macks-Pines Rv camp. This will be a first for us. We haven't camped in years. We used to own a Ford Econoline van that my husband made a camper out of the back. Now we stay in cabins. We go four-wheeling to Colorado, New Mexico, and Arkansas. This camp will allow us to set up and ride our four-wheelers directly to the trails. We are getting excited about going and trying out our Chalet. I will add a photo when I figure out how.
Mommytotwo, we have an A-Liner Expedition which sleeps 3. That is one of the larger models of A-Liner. The Chalet brand (looking at its website) has larger models that sleep up to 4, but I'm not familiar with Chalets myself. Keep in mind, though, that the larger the trailer, the less likely that a regular car can tow it. Both companies make smaller models that can be towed by a car (as opposed to a truck), but of course they don't sleep 4.
("A-Liner" and "Chalet" seem to get used interchangeably for the hardbodied popups, but in fact these are two different brands.)
we have a starcraft 2002 pop up It is a great starter and pretty easy to move around and park. The one thing about the rain,like mentioned before is the tops get wet,but we have a 5x6 blue tarp under each bed,(in case of leaking,it keeps mattress dry)and when we get ready to put down the top, the tarps go over the top of the mattress's then let the bed slide in and the top goes down. we still pop it back up when we get home but the covers are usually dry.we put 5 moisture containers in the camper for over the winter storage,and so far have had no mold issues. Remember that body heat makes for moisture also the inside of the camper.Don't seal yourself up in the pop up,make sure there is always a small open flap or on the door, and the top vent. cooking inside also makes for alot of steam,just keep it well vented.
Red Neck camper. ....A couple years ago I bought a pop up camper, but the box only, no top. Didn't know what I was going to do with it but couldn't pass it up for $50. I ended up buying a 7'x10' tent (the size of the box) for $40, cut the floor out and attached it to the top of the camper box. Presto, new canvas and screens. Made sure the tent door lined up with the camper door. Made a fold down table, collapsible cabinet, and a place for a double size mattress, and other creature features. When towing I just collapse the tent and cover box with fitted tarp. Kind of hassle to set up and take down but I use it as a camper only once a year for 4 days at the Iola Old Car Show in Iola, WI., making it my "Hotel Iola" as a sign on it indicates. Kinda funny, last year at Iola, a couple guys walking by actually thought it was "factory made". Other times of year it is my "hauler"; firewood, lumber, large wedding arch, 60 rolls of sod, etc. Built a new garage last year and it hauled all my materials (except trusses). Best $50 bucks I ever spent.
Might take a trip to Maine this summer. However, for that I will probably use my Dodge Van and fit that out as a camper.
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