Pop Up the Jam

[the bodj]

Alright, so I guess I can make a thread for this thing.

A little background - I had been looking for a way to up my camping game. Getting older, bringing my wife, potential future children, dogs, longer trips... all have been pointing to a better camping setup. I've been tossing around getting a class C, but then I have to deal with smog, registration, and get a trailer to tow the prerunner... all of which is expensive, and I don't have the driveway space for it. A slide in cab over could work for my silverado, but it's a 1/2 ton with an 8ft bed, so most slide-ins that size would be overweight, and I wouldn't have anything left to tow the prerunner (plus having to buy a trailer). That's when I saw pop up campers. I've only ever seen them in their closed state - I've never seen one opened up, so I started looking into them, and they seemed to check all of the boxes. Small and compact but opens to have plenty of room, sink, cooktop, storage, furnace, fridge, toilet, outdoor shower, and light enough (1750#) to pull with the prerunner!


Anyways, I bought the camper last year the day after the November Clean Dezert event. At the time I didn't have my RTT, so for the event I slept in a ground tent with a queen air mattress, and I have to say that I HATE setting up and taking down tents. To add insult to injury, my little propane heater melted a pinhole in the air mattress, meaning I slept on a huge rock on the ground that I didn't bother clearing because I had an air mattress. On top of that, not having a place to really get out of the wind, make food, or take a dump... I was frustrated to say the least. Got home and my wife and I immediately found this 2002 Coleman Santa Fe down the street for us for the price of $3000. SOLD.











Granted, I'm 5'7", but being able to stand upright (with room to spare) is super nice!

 

[the bodj]

I had only towed it with the prerunner once, about 10 miles, and it did really well. There's quite a bit of gangster lean, so I'll add some more preload to the rear coils and add shorter limit straps while towing so it doesn't push the rear to full droop under hard braking.




We used it in this semi-updated (from the previous owner) configuration for around 9 months, taking it on maybe 5 trips in the process (none being towed by the prerunner), and it's an awesome thing to camp in!

One of the trips was to our family property, and the low height of the camper led to the front corner support jack getting ripped off from a turn with a slight dip in it. I knew I didn't want to drag this anytime I touched dirt, so a lift was in order. As I disassembled the old 'slipper' leaf springs I found that the slipper portion was binding in the guiding bracket, so it had essentially one inch of wheel travel, which was very apparent by everything inside falling whenever we towed. So some suspension upgrades were definitely in order. These come spring under axle, so I cut a piece of 2x6 rect tube in half and used those for new spring perches on top of the axle - this is where the bulk of the lift came from. Additionally, the new leaf springs utilize shackles to ensure free movement (this added a little more lift). My goal was 4-5", but ended up with 8.5" of lift lol. Oopsies.

The raised ride height and now free moving suspension had me pretty concerned with sway while towing, so I got some cheapo shocks for a Nissan Altima from Amazon and made mounts. My concerns were for naught, as this thing tows straight as an arrow behind the Silverado! Additionally, it is no longer bouncing around when hitting potholes in the road.



Here's a before


And after


Shocks can be seen in this picture. I also added a 2x4x.125" rect tube bumper that I will be welding a hitch to so I can get a basket to mount a small generator.

 

[the bodj]

At this point things are working great on it, and I'm slowly getting it where I want. One thing that's been really annoying, though, was the interior. The previous owners tried? making it nicer, but the colors weren't great, the white got scuffed easily, handles were ugly, paint got everywhere but the places they wanted it, flooring was done poorly so there are gaps all over the place, the peel n stick contact paper they used for the surfaces were coming off and done poorly around the corners...

Before





And here is where we are. Added some floor moulding, made all new tops, new cabinet hardware, painted the hinges, fridge, furnace, walls, fire extinguisher mount (needs a new extinguisher), and put in a new outdoor shower. My mom sewed new cushion covers, and we are about to start looking for material to make new curtains. I still need to clean up the nail holes in the moulding and do some touch up paint, but it's more or less ready to go.

PS: The color is a darker blue in person. It's not as bright in person.






We're towing it up with the prerunner for the Clean Dezert event this weekend. I'm praying it tows well, otherwise I may need to reach out for help hah!

 

[SaltyMethods]

Where is the 85" flat screen?

 

[the bodj]

Where is the 85" flat screen?

That would add too much weight lol

Speaking of which, I'm going to add more preload and maybe adjust the crossover nuts to help with towing. It it's dumb and doesn't work, I'll probably add a set of these between the axle and frame to pull double duty of supporting the load and limiting travel while towing. 4 quick release pins and we're back on the trail.

Amazon product

 

[WW_RANGER_X]

Heck yeah kevin, looks great! i need to make a thread fro my trailer.

 

[the bodj]

Heck yeah kevin, looks great! i need to make a thread fro my trailer.

Do it! It's pretty fun getting to make it our own and to suit our needs.

 

[85Yota]

This camper is way nicer than the old Coleman pop up got back in the day. You have a toilet and fridge that's a win right there.

 

[the bodj]

This camper is way nicer than the old Coleman pop up got back in the day. You have a toilet and fridge that's a win right there.

Honestly the toilet is a game changer. It's a cassette toilet, so I have to take it out and dump in our house toilet when we get home, but it's not too bad. Beats digging holes or bagging your crap and hauling it around the desert with you lol

 

[Cleandezert]

congrats on this pop up. Looked great at the cleanup. So nice to have something to get off the ground and room to move in. I am sure your pups appreciate it as well.

 

[the bodj]

congrats on this pop up. Looked great at the cleanup. So nice to have something to get off the ground and room to move in. I am sure your pups appreciate it as well.

Thanks Adam. It's honestly a game changer for our little family. Makes a huge difference especially for my wife who didn't grow up outdoorsy. I'd like to upgrade in the future, but at this point I really don't see a reason why. Well within our budget, does everything I need it to, don't need a 3/4ton+truck to pull...

 

[Cleandezert]

Thanks Adam. It's honestly a game changer for our little family. Makes a huge difference especially for my wife who didn't grow up outdoorsy. I'd like to upgrade in the future, but at this point I really don't see a reason why. Well within our budget, does everything I need it to, don't need a 3/4ton+truck to pull...

i think you are in the perfect spot really. I have a big trailer and its nice and all, but a pain and cant take a toy with me.

 

[the bodj]

i think you are in the perfect spot really. I have a big trailer and its nice and all, but a pain and cant take a toy with me.

That's been the struggle - finding what checks all of the boxes. I'd really like a slide in camper for my Chevy, but then I couldn't use it if we wanted to use the prerunner unless we also bought a trailer and towed it out, which would require upgrading to a 3/4ton.

I'm just going to pick up some paracord and tensioner clips to make guy wires for when it's windy out. The top was definitely racking back and forth and I was really worried it was going to buckle to lift system

 

[DP_Tundra]

I’ve thought about the popup camper idea for years to tow behind my tundra, stoked to see it done with your Sonoma. The wind has always been a factor with them though so how was your real world experience with it in Barstow? Was it to the point you thought you might have to close up shop and head home? What wind speeds do you think are acceptable for them to handle?

 

[96f-u250]

That's been the struggle - finding what checks all of the boxes. I'd really like a slide in camper for my Chevy, but then I couldn't use it if we wanted to use the prerunner unless we also bought a trailer and towed it out, which would require upgrading to a 3/4ton.

Flat tow the prerunner .. I just cant backup while flat towing mine..

 

[the bodj]

I’ve thought about the popup camper idea for years to tow behind my tundra, stoked to see it done with your Sonoma. The wind has always been a factor with them though so how was your real world experience with it in Barstow? Was it to the point you thought you might have to close up shop and head home? What wind speeds do you think are acceptable for them to handle?

Honestly I didn't get much sleep out of fear of the uprights collapsing. Doing some research, people say they are very robust and have had them in some gnarly stuff without issue. That said, I am building an amazon shopping list to include paracord, screw in ground anchors, and cinch clips so I can add guy lines if we are ever in similar weather again. I don't doubt that it'll be fine if I had guy lines. My guess is the wind was somewhere in the 40-50mph gusts, and consistently around 30mph overnight. I never once thought about closing shop.

Flat tow the prerunner .. I just cant backup while flat towing mine..

Meh. I'm really liking this setup at the moment so no need to change it up just yet. When the time comes, I'd rather do it right with a cab over and trailer for the prerunner.