I just did 9 days of Muley hunting with a pop-up. I was planning to just ground tent camp but since my wife came as well as my two boys, oh yeah, and my non-hunting dog (he stays in the trailer until after-hours because he'll chase deer), I rented a pop-up and it's a good thing because we had weather as cold as 8 deg. F and wind some days. I know some people roll with 5th wheels and everything. I've rented huge trailers and motorhomes of all sizes too but not for hunting. The pop-up I rented was a beater and I'd never want to own it, but I saw possibility in the concept. It had high ground clearance and an ATV rack on the front which I just used for coolers and gear boxes. I pulled it with my old-school land rover which is what I use in the field, though I do the hunting on foot not from the drivers seat. I came across one fella who was just car camping with a Cherokee and an ATV, and another guy had a tent on a utility trailer. I'd do something like that if I solo'd but I'll be up to four people and a dog for at least 5 to maybe 10 years (then the kids will probably be doing their own thing).
One of the reasons I like a pop-up better than a full-height trailer is the lower wind drag and lower weight. I have one of those full-size "HD" 4x4 trucks that is a great tow vehicle but no good offroad. The land rover is what I want to take and it is wimpy at towing. I also don't want a heavyweight trailer offroad.
On this last trip, all our water and liquids froze solid, and other trips will be colder, below zero. Water, sewer and greywater tanks and plumbing will fail unless they're heavily insulated and that all adds weight. So I'm looking for something lightweight and simple. Just want to sleep, change clothes, cook and eat out of the wind. My little 4x4 doesn't have a lot of room for gear when it's loaded with four people and a big dog, so having a trailer to haul gear/coolers and so on also helps a lot.
I considered just a utility trailer to carry gear and tent, but I'm glad we had a pop-up tent trailer because I don't have a tent that's very comfortable for more than a couple days. Still, I don't really care for the soft vinyl sides of the pop-up. This one was 12 years old and it was bad. I remember when I was a kid in the 70's, we had a popup with fiberglass panel sides. It wasn't rugged though.
For the future, I thought about a utility trailer with a wall tent, but that much flat ground is not common. We got the trailer level by perching it over the ruts in the downsloping road with some firewood stacked under the stabilizers.
I thought about using hammocks instead of the slide-out beds that a pop-out has. Don't really know what I want yet.
So I just wanted to see what ideas other people have. What works well for camping with a few people when you're hunting in cold weather?
One of the reasons I like a pop-up better than a full-height trailer is the lower wind drag and lower weight. I have one of those full-size "HD" 4x4 trucks that is a great tow vehicle but no good offroad. The land rover is what I want to take and it is wimpy at towing. I also don't want a heavyweight trailer offroad.
On this last trip, all our water and liquids froze solid, and other trips will be colder, below zero. Water, sewer and greywater tanks and plumbing will fail unless they're heavily insulated and that all adds weight. So I'm looking for something lightweight and simple. Just want to sleep, change clothes, cook and eat out of the wind. My little 4x4 doesn't have a lot of room for gear when it's loaded with four people and a big dog, so having a trailer to haul gear/coolers and so on also helps a lot.
I considered just a utility trailer to carry gear and tent, but I'm glad we had a pop-up tent trailer because I don't have a tent that's very comfortable for more than a couple days. Still, I don't really care for the soft vinyl sides of the pop-up. This one was 12 years old and it was bad. I remember when I was a kid in the 70's, we had a popup with fiberglass panel sides. It wasn't rugged though.
For the future, I thought about a utility trailer with a wall tent, but that much flat ground is not common. We got the trailer level by perching it over the ruts in the downsloping road with some firewood stacked under the stabilizers.
I thought about using hammocks instead of the slide-out beds that a pop-out has. Don't really know what I want yet.
So I just wanted to see what ideas other people have. What works well for camping with a few people when you're hunting in cold weather?