On the 18th of July, my wife and I purchased a 2000 Dutchman M-1203 Classic Pop-up camper. I couldn't post a picture until today because I immediately took it in and had air conditioning installed. It's in great shape and it seems we got a good deal on it.
My wife wanted a full-fledged RV - I did not. I like RV's and would enjoy one but, this was not my goal here. I bought a camper. Campers are great and RVs are great but, they are two distinct creatures in my mind. I sold my wife on a pop-up by highlighting the gas saving ability of these campers. I would have given gas mileage zero consideration, just a short time ago. With today's gas prices, I like the idea of the camper folding down to a height which really minimizes wind drag. Aside from that, I discovered something I really liked at the dealership, which I had not considered before - the openness.
After sitting in a couple of pull behind trailers of full height I suggested we check out the pop-ups. I sat in one and fell in love! With the window covering fully open I could look around in a panoramic view, in every direction. This may not be important to others but, to me this was huge. I know of no other camper style or RV which can offer this. Hell, you can't even get this 360 degree view in most tents. As far as I know, this is unique to pop-ups. I was sold on this style of camper. Now with a specific style in mind, it was time to do some horse trading.
After a few hours, at a couple of dealers, we were not happy with the price quotes given us. We almost purchased a new 10 footer at one dealer but, decided to return home and think about it further. On the ride home we were considering putting off a camper purchase for a while. Suddenly, on the last main road just before our house and only two blocks from home, there was a pop-up camper parked close to the roadside. It was completely set up and looking good. My wife said to stop and check it out. I pointed out that it had no for sale sign in it and somebody was probably just airing it out.
The next day she proved me wrong (again), when she stopped there on her way home from work. It was for sale. It was in great shape. And it had an excellent price. And it was a 12 footer. We could save tons of money and gain 2 feet buying this camper instead of the new one we almost bought. Two feet in your living room may not be much but, in a pop-up it's a huge difference. The rest is now history. We consider it fate, as we were talking ourselves out of a camper purchase on the way home and then spotted this gem just 2 blocks from our house.
Happy camping coming soon!
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