| I remember the day we decided to buy a pop up | | | | romance of sleeping on the ground is long gone. The |
| trailer. It was a rainy April weekend in Pennsylvania | | | | idea of a pop up trailer was now taking root. We were |
| and we were camping in French Creek State park | | | | on the hunt for our pop up trailer and after looking at |
| with friends. My husband arrived two hours earlier than | | | | what felt like hundreds of new and used pop up |
| the rest of the group to set up our site. Two hours | | | | trailers we finally found our home-away-from-home. |
| later one of our friends rolled in with his new pop up | | | | Here are a few tips we learned during the purchasing |
| trailer. He backed his trailer into their site, unhooked the | | | | process. |
| hitch and cranked up the tent. All of this took him about | | | | First, decide on the lay-out that best suits you and your |
| ten minutes. Of course, he was not finished but it only | | | | family. There are hundreds of different lay-outs ad |
| took him about another twenty minutes to set up his | | | | choosing the wrong one can take away from your |
| site. He still had to unload his tow vehicle but he was | | | | families enjoyment of the trailer. Visit showrooms and |
| more than half way done. In fact, he was very close | | | | try out the layouts. |
| to sitting down under his canopy and relaxing in a | | | | Second, search the internet for reviews and |
| camp chair with a cool beverage. | | | | complaints. No one is always satisfied but an unusually |
| My husband, on the other hand, had watched the | | | | high number of complaints and bad reviews may |
| process with envy while he went about the business | | | | indicate that something is amiss. |
| of setting up our campsite. A project he had been | | | | Third, get qualified for a loan in advance. We priced out |
| working on for over two hours and was destined to | | | | a few pop up campers, and came very close to |
| continue for another hour. He was soaked to the bone | | | | purchasing one, before becoming qualified. We later |
| and too exhausted to enjoy the time he would have | | | | learned how much more negotiating leverage we had |
| left later on to relax. The idea of buying a pop up trailer | | | | when we walked in with cash in hand. We were able |
| was beginning to take seed. | | | | to negotiate approximately 25% off the sticker price |
| My husband told me the story of watching our friend | | | | when we had our financing prearranged. |
| pull up later that evening. He mentioned it casually | | | | These are just a few tips. There is a lot to learn about |
| about 4 more times that weekend. He also did not | | | | purchasing and caring for a pop up trailer. A little |
| forget to mention later how quickly they had packed | | | | research and time will save you thousands and help to |
| up and left either. He did not need to twist my arm. I | | | | pro-long the life of your trailer and increase you and |
| enjoyed tent camping when I was in my late teens | | | | your families enjoyment for years to come. Happy |
| and twenties. Now that I am in my late thirties the | | | | camping. |