Which one Pop Top V Caravan???????????????

I have a poptop, simply because I can keep in the shed.

Don't believe there is much difference in fuel consumption when towing.

The poptop is very quick and easy to setup so that is not a hassle. It has a double bed and really is no different to a full size van.
You do not have as much storage space in the poptop, one blessing with that is, you don't tend to cart as much junk around so the van is lighter.

I have to move the tv from the shelf to under the bed when travelling and the poptop is colder in winter.

Shower toilet is available in both vans but I would be looking at something over 18 feet for that configuration.

Caravan I think, if you will be living in it. Dont skink on price, you have to think of comfort and ability. We just took the plunge and brought a 29 foot Traveller, made in Melbourne. We will be living in it for at least 5 years, and we have had it now for a month. Just waiting for the house to sell and look out Australia,,,,,here we come!. lol. I was like you and thought we only needed something really basic, but hubby put his foot down and said no we are having something decent. Now we have it, I am really glad he did put his foot down.

We are really happy with our new van, and it was built to exactly how we wanted it, with all the extra's. Yes it may have been a little more than we wanted to spend, but I am so glad we went that way now.

Traveller will custom build to what you want, how you want, and when you want it.

Do your homw work real good before you order it, and look at all the vans you can. Especially things like air condtioning / heating, fridges, stoves and I upgraded to a full size front loading washing machine.

Karen

if you're traveling for 'at least a year' a full size van will be better, putting the roof on a pop top up and down constantly will send you around the bend,

brother has a pop top..we have a full size van, it's a pita for him to stop on the road to have a bite to eat so he ends up just stopping at roadhouses or servo's to eat,
with a FS van it's easy to stop at that nice view and enjoy it without having to put the roof up or bend over inside and still hit your noggin,

just my experience anyway

I've had both and prefer the full height vans.
- Less stuffing around (lifting a lowering roof),
- more storage cupoboards (advantage & disadvantage),
- Easier to use with a pull out awning for a dill like me who kept forgetting to pop the top before pulling out the awning.

I don't think I got better noticibly better fuel economy from towing pop top and I was wondering if the wind resistence difference was just an urban myth.

WBS

Gooday,
Go for a Hardtop (full caravan) no question. No advantage in economy etc with a Pop Top, extra material goes into top of walls for strength because of Pop Top, they are cold in winter due to canvas between lid & wall, the top can get an awful wobble up in windy conditions , we have had to put ours down at night to feel safe when we had one, It is the last straw at the end of the day to push the top up again after doing it 3 times during the day for coffee & lunch. The Gas struts and Scissor Lifts don't take effect until you have raised the first end about 6 inches.
Most Popops are sold to fit under a normal garage roller door. We had a Pop Top and have had Hard Tops ever since. Know a lot will disagree but that's our experience.Cheers
Boroma 604

We have travelled since Dec last year and lived in our pop top full time for the past two months. I would prefer the full height van with shower, toilet and large fridge to live in.
However stopping for lunch has never been a problem as we have ducks disease and don't need to lift the roof have even stayed over night with out lifting the roof. We have had some pretty wild weather lately and haven't had any problems with the top swaying. It has a split system air which works realy good but is noisy. I still wouldn't be with out it. When those dust storms hit I shut the windows and put the air on that kept the dust at bay. As mentioned above you really have to remember the sequence of jobs to do before lifting the roof regarding the awning. One of the kids got a bit excited and opened the door while I was putting it up. Ripped a hole. Wasn't impressed.

If money isnt a problem and your tow vehicle is big enough go for the full height.

We have had both and there is little difference in fuel use. The pop top becomes a bit tiresome after the first couple of weeks. If it has roof A/C then it is much harder to do the push up. You can stop anywhere for a cuppa or a sleep without putting up the tell tale pop top. The cold really gets in through the vinyl and you get lots of condensation build up during the night in cold weather. One of the wall cupboards fell off the wall in our pop top as there is little available material to attach it to whereas the full van has a roof. I would go for a standard bedroom A/C rather than the van type as the cost is much much less. Normal roof or split A/C's in a van run to about $2500.00 when a small bedroom room split can be bought for a couple of hundred.

Go for the full van every time. So many advantages.

Pooley
www.bycompass.com

G/Day night train. .....Have had both, Poptops are a absolute pain in the ....if you start to get water leaks and i have seen very few that haven't leaked!!. also the construction side of things in the walls is very sus in some models....Go the full van is my opinion.


Cheers Axle.