Whether it's your first Bonnaroo or you’re a music festival veteran, we welcome you to Inforoo.
Here you'll find info about artists, rumors, camping tips, and the infamous Roo Clues. Have a look around then create an account and join in the fun. See you at Bonnaroo!!
we are looking to buy a camper to take to roo, and other festies... does anybody have a small rv trailer they would recommend? we want something new, or close to it.
Hello, the first question is....what is your tow vehicle. The camper you choose is going depend on the vehicle that you plan on towing it with. What is the vehicle? What is the tow rating? Does is have a towing package?
We have a Jayco 23B and we tow that with a Ford F-150 Our trailer has a gross weight rating of 4950lbs Our truck has a tow rating of 8200lbs and a gross combined weight rating of 14,000lbs
With that said we are under our trucks ratings even with other items that go in the bed of the truck like generator, gas, grill, propane, chairs, etc.
Remember even after you purchase the trailer other items will be needed like, weight distributing hitch, generator and other household items for the camper.
Sorry to ramble...let me know the information on the tow vehicle and I will look up the rating.
I just got a pop up camper in october and love it. It's super light so it's really easy to tow. I have a honda ridgeline....great truck for the urban truck person like myself. The pop up is the smallest model they made, 12 fl long, but it still has 2 double beds and a table that turns into a single bed. Also has sink, refrig, and stove with a nice awning. I would most definitely recomend a pop up if you are use to camping or just starting out. We got ours off of craigslist.com after looking for a few months. I can't wait to take the thing to Bonnaroo and have some glorious A/C in the morning.
I just got a pop up camper in october and love it. It's super light so it's really easy to tow. I have a honda ridgeline....great truck for the urban truck person like myself. The pop up is the smallest model they made, 12 fl long, but it still has 2 double beds and a table that turns into a single bed. Also has sink, refrig, and stove with a nice awning. I would most definitely recomend a pop up if you are use to camping or just starting out. We got ours off of craigslist.com after looking for a few months. I can't wait to take the thing to Bonnaroo and have some glorious A/C in the morning.
good luck
We also started out with a pop-up and you are right they are a lot easier to tow, but we both agreed that to have our own bathroom, shower and storage would be ideal.
Iforgit, what are you using as a generator for the A/C on the pop up? You will need at least a 3000 watt to run your air.
Jmkm, without knowing the year of the Explorer I can’t look up the rating. If is doesn’t have a eight cylinder I am going to guess the rating Is below 4000 lbs. Even some of the lightest 17 foot hybrids will have a gross weight of around 4000 lbs. So I think a vehicle upgrade is necessary before you look at the travel trailers. Do tons of research and buy your second camper/trailer first. Look at this website: www.hybridexplorer.com/forum/forum.asp?H_FORUM_ID=2
I just got a pop up camper in october and love it. It's super light so it's really easy to tow. I have a honda ridgeline....great truck for the urban truck person like myself. The pop up is the smallest model they made, 12 fl long, but it still has 2 double beds and a table that turns into a single bed. Also has sink, refrig, and stove with a nice awning. I would most definitely recomend a pop up if you are use to camping or just starting out. We got ours off of craigslist.com after looking for a few months. I can't wait to take the thing to Bonnaroo and have some glorious A/C in the morning.
good luck
We also started out with a pop-up and you are right they are a lot easier to tow, but we both agreed that to have our own bathroom, shower and storage would be ideal.
Iforgit, what are you using as a generator for the A/C on the pop up? You will need at least a 3000 watt to run your air.
Jmkm, without knowing the year of the Explorer I can’t look up the rating. If is doesn’t have a eight cylinder I am going to guess the rating Is below 4000 lbs. Even some of the lightest 17 foot hybrids will have a gross weight of around 4000 lbs. So I think a vehicle upgrade is necessary before you look at the travel trailers. Do tons of research and buy your second camper/trailer first. Look at this website: www.hybridexplorer.com/forum/forum.asp?H_FORUM_ID=2
It is a 2002... We are looking at a 19 foot with a bathroom and shower...
It's funny, because we are also looking into buying a Ridgeline.
I have always thought those trucks were sexeh.... Thanks for the info, we really appreciate it...
You will not be disappointed with the ridgeline. That trunk in the bed is totally awesome, and the back is sweet, there is tons of room inside. Not to mention they aren't too terribly expensive, I got the 2006 about a year ago for 24,000.
Bug, I haven't got a generator yet. I haven't done any dry camping so far, and have been looking at the generators. I've read your camping post and I like the sound, or a lack there of with the honda. They are kinda expensive though. I found another brand at the comp usa that is going out of business a 3000 watt for 170 bucks. I'm just worried it is going to be so loud that I can't sleep and my neighbors will pull the plug on me too. I'm pretty new at this and you seem like a wealth of knowledge, what are your thoughts on this? My other option I haven't looked into yet is renting a generator for roo. Everywhere in FL has hookups just about, and I hate to spend a couple grand on something I use a couple times a year.
Jmkm Again I think you will be pushing it with the Ford but then again I just looked up a Honda Ridgeline and from what I see the limit with that is 5000lbs.
Remember when a camper manufactures post their "dry"weight, that is the weight of the camper with no options. A option can be air conditioning, this can add 200lbs. to the dry weight.
The number to look at is the gross vehicle weight rating. This number is posted on the trailer. This is the weight of the trailer and everything else you can load in it. water, propane, dishes, clothes, basically all your stuff..an it really adds up quickly.
Years ago we had a Jeep with a 5000lbs tow limit, there would be no way that I would tow a hard sided trailer with that. It' just wasn't the weight rating it was also the wheelbase of the tow vehicle.
Find out the camper you want/need, look at the weights and then look at tow vehicles.
A good rule of thumb is to tow only 80% of what the vehicle is rated for.
Iforget, The generator of $170 is going to be loud ....I'll bet a case of good beer on that. Your neighbors (especially if they are in a pop-up) will not like you.
Yea a Honda EU3000is will set you back around $1,800, I use ours for at least four NASCAR races and two music festivals a year along for emergency power backup for the house.
Another Honda knock off is Kipor, I have seen them at the races and they seem to be quiet.
Look into renting, call around and ask if they rent Honda's EU series. Note: not all Honda's are quiet. Also look into Yamaha's they can be very quiet.
You have time to look on Craig's List for one, you never know someone might need the cash..
A generator that runs at 68dB compared to 58dB is twice as loud. dB is a logarithmic scale/measure.
I hope this helps and doesn't discourage you both. I can say from experience that we first had a pop-up and then bought a trailer, a small pick up, now a larger truck, a 1000 watt generator now a 3000 watt generator. I guess it is all a good experience.
If you are investing in a camper then also investing in a good quality generator will always be the best idea. The higher quality, and more expensive, generators will last longer and produce much cleaner power.
I use my generator to power some lights and an in-tent portable A/C unit so I can sleep in comfort after the sun comes up. I only use this generator about 2-3 times per year so investing in a good high quality generator does not make sense for my situation.
What I have found is replacing the stock muffler on a general contractor grade generator with a simple bolt on SuperTrapp 3s muffler and resonator works very well. This resulted in taking my cheap $200, 3000 watt rated contractor class generator from 68 dB to 60 dB.
For those of you who do not understand how the dB scale works, an 8 dB drop is a 40% reduction in sound. After installing the SuperTrapp my generator is only 20% louder than the Honda EU3000 which is rated at 58 dB and is much more expensive. Without the SuperTrapp the same generator would be twice as loud as the Honda.
You can find the SuperTrapp 3s muffler on the Internet for a total cost around $120 including the base, the diffuser disc's, and the resonator. You need all these parts to make the SuperTrapp as quiet as possible but the actual installation is so easy anyone can do it in only a few minutes.
On the Internet I have also found instructions on how to adapt a cheap car muffler to a generator. This is supposed to be a cheaper and more effective option however I have never tried it and you would need to modify you exhaust even more with some basic welding involved.
I would recommend one of these modifications to anyone running a contractor grade generator as those trying to sleep in surrounding campsites will very much appreciate the extra effort you took to greatly reduce the noise level of your generator.
I've owned a 18' ultra light cub and a 32" hard side Innsbrook. My favorite has been my Rockwood High Wall pop up. It's got all the extras of the bigger ones, but it pulls like nothing. We pulled it with a 2007 Jeep Wrangle unlimited last year. We had to problem at all and that's the limit for that vehicles tow capacity. This year the H2 is coming, so again not problem with towing. It all depends on your needs and what you are willing to deal with. You need a place to keep and camper when not in use. The pop ups fit perfect in the extra garage bay. We also use a EU3000 Honda, great generator. We are going to 10KLF this year and they have electrical sites in the VIP campground, so no need for a generator there. There are lots of good choices, take your time and get exactly what you want.
As my Inebriated buddy walks out of the Porto, he yells out, "Dude...I love this place...bonnaroo thinks about everything...they even put beer holders next to the toilet!"
Had to break it to him that that was the urnal. Good times good times!
....I'll bet a case of good beer on that. Your neighbors (especially if they are in a pop-up) will not like you. 
