Moving while popped

[jeffr]

This next week we're going camping and will meet up with my parents and family friends.  I booked a group site with three pullouts for each family for 60 bucks a night.  I only got it for two nights because thats what we all agreed on, but my wife, kids and I can stay another two or three nights.  But we don't want to pay 60 bucks a night on top of all we paid out so far, so we are thinking after everyone goes home we will move to a single site for 20 bucks a night.  So we would need to break camp and move the trailer just maybe a quarter mile or so, tops.  Has anyone slowly rolled the popped up trailer, or maybe has pushed in the bunk ends and SLOWLY towed to another spot?

[sgip2000]

My father did this once with our Apache when I was a kid.  There were no problems with it.  Another time, the lift broke and he towed it to the dealer with the top up because iit wouldn't go down.  That was about an 8 mile drive.

[clemlaw]

Boy, I don't know if I would risk it.  As I understand it, the lift system consists of a bunch of links that sit one on top of each other.  It doesn't seem like a good idea to move it around.

You probably need to slide in the front bunk anyway, in order to hitch up.  I would probably slide in the back bunk as well, since it's possible that one of the supports could bounce out of place on one bump, and then stress the bunk end on the second bump.

If you're sliding those in anyway, I would take an extra minute to crank down the roof.  You don't need to do a neat job of it, since it would be OK if canvas is sticking out and it's not clamped down.

You still need to unplug everything, level it, stabilize it, etc.  It's tempting, but cranking down the roof won't add much work.

[Microvoltz]

I agree with Clemlaw.

While you can tow the PUP while open, why take the chance of catching canvas or the support arms on a tree limb or other protrusion. Just push in the beds, drop the roof and go. No need to lock everything down.

[TimK]

Boy, that's an awful lot to risk to save a little exercise.

[Oz and Us]

While at RMR05 in Rocky Mtn NP our friend Mtncamper towed another friend's popup from one site to another in the same campground with the roof up.  It worked, with no adverse effects, but I'm not sure there really was any advantage to simply taking a few more minutes to first pull the bed platforms in and lower the roof.

[Rockywood]

^^^^^  What he said....^^^^^^^^^

[spicyville1]

Hmm let me answer this one for you...UHHH NO. Drop it down and do not take the risk. Cost my sister and brother in law about a $750 repair for doing it. Save yourself the time, money and the heartache. 

[xeriminox]

Don't do it! It's one of those things that would start with someone saying "Hold my beer and watch this...".

[cjpoppin]

My husband did it when we had our pup but it was only about 50 feet.......

[wavery]

The canvas is an integral part of the structural design of the PU. If you can tow the PU with the canvas all in place, it should not cause any more harm than a gusty wind storm.

Towing the camper with the canvas unfastened and/or bed platforms pushed in could be problematic because that will degrade the structure. The weight of the bed platform and stress on the canvas is part of what keeps the roof sway to a minimum. If you are towing across a very flat surface, you should have no issues at all (going slow). I wouldn't suggest getting on the freeway with it but they are designed to take winds in excess of 40MPH........

Don't tell the current owner of our PU but we towed our 2002 Coleman Tacoma (fully set-up) on a few occasions. One time was about 1/2 mile, from the day use area at Leo Carrillo State Beach to the far end of the CG....... we got a few funny looks but there were no issues at all. Then again, the Coleman has a full box frame. If your PU has a "C" channel frame, your results may differ.

Have you ever been in a PU in a wind storm?? The roof sways like crazy, a lot worse than when we towed it. The roof barely moved at all.

A lot has to do with the terrain that you are towing over. If it is unpaved, uneven road I would think twice. We did it on ~fairly even paved road.

I don't know what the weight of your trailer is but if you plan on pushing it 1/4 mile on the tongue wheel, that may damage the wheel and/or jack. If the trailer gets away from you, that could be a problem too. Pushing by hand might be an issue. It would be safer to hook it to the tow vehicle and tow it (if you can).

If you have a trailer dolly, that may be OK if the trailer is light enough and you have helpers to block the wheels if the going gets tuff.

 

[Mom and Dad of 10]

I moved my open pup a couple of weeks ago when, after setting up, I found out the electricity didn't work.  My cord was too short to go to the next spot even though it was pretty close.  I was unbelievably frustrated with the situation (popping up in overwhelming heat and humidity in Nauvoo, Illinois, by myself, with three young children), and couldn't face closing it up just to move it. 

"Just" pushing in the bunkends would require almost the same effort as completely closing it up, what with undoing the supports, the hoop, the shepherd's crook, swinging down the galley, lowering the storage shelf, putting the bathroom down, removing the seat cushions, lowering the seatback supports, stowing the cushions, lowering the table, oh yes, and actually pushing in the bunkends.

So . . . I hitched back up, which I can do because I have a trunk, and s-l-o-w-l-y pulled it out and forward, then slowly backed it into the next space.  Worked like a charm and I'd do it again in similar circumstances.

[ghacker]

A few feet on fairly level ground, no problem. Yes longer distances may be doable, but a 1/4 mi, is a risk I wouldn't be prepared to accept.

PUPs obviously are designed to be towed roof down, not up. They can handle a fair amount of wind without problems-mine's been in 35-40 mph winds. But towing one is not the same. Wind isn't the problem towing a camper; inertia is. The roof, especially with an A/C unit, has a fair amount of mass which will tend to keep moving in the direction it's going. The camper is not designed to handle that type of force. If you have to stop suddenly, there's several hundred pounds that will want to keep going.

If you decide that it's ok to try, I'd have someone in front of the TV to make sure no kids dart in front of you and someone in the back to yell out if you snag a tree or bush. And by all means-go SLOW.

[ngatel]

RV dealers do it all the time, using a fork lift with a ball attachment. They leave the bunks out. But for a 1/2 mile, I would lower the roof. But I would never take a trip that requires me to move 1/2 mile in the middle of it.

[Oz and Us]

Here's a pic showing Mtncamper pulling a friend's popup to another campsite in RMNP during RMR05.  As I said earlier it worked just fine, no issues at all.