Poptop or Caravan Expanda?

[Expendable]

Hi Peoples following on from my other thread is a toilet/shower necessary my next question is what are the reasons for a Poptop over a CV build.

What are peoples thoughts my main question is does the Poptop camper Aircon work well we were checking a Poptop today that was in the sun and it was quite warm but the Air wasn't on but the CV's actually felt cooler.

They were all closed up

 

[davemc]

There are pros and cons..
We would of paid extra for a full van if our Starcraft had that as an option. I like the fact you get less noise, better insulated and more cupboard space.
Pop tops nicer on a hot day to let all the heat out and breeze in, lower if you need to get in carport etc.
Towing I keep hearing some people say its not much different with modern vans now.

 

[Bushman]

I think it's personal choice, same as davemc said if our 16 was available as a full van I'd probably go that way, Pop-top is good for storage if you have restricted height carport/shed and maybe marginally better on fuel.
The A/C in pop-tops do work pretty well though roof mount would be better, ours is in a stupid spot (rear corner), in saying that we've really only used our A/C a handful of times over the 4 yrs. Again as davemc said just open the roof skirt vent.

 

[brotys]

Caravan all day every day had 3 poptops now full expanda better in every way just my 2 bobs

 

[macca]

Yep, personal choice. It depends on car size, running costs and capabilities and what you feel comfortable towing and backing. How many in family and age/size of kids? In the end it also gets down to what you can afford. When we went looking it was for a swan camper, because that's what I felt comfortable with buying however when I saw a 16 expanda, we stretched to one of those and I'm glad we did. Our 3 kids 10,12,14 are quite tall for their ages so we recently sold our 16 and bought an second hand 18 (caravan) of the same age. We just needed more space and we thought a toilet shower would be nice for the second van. For us we bought a van without bunks but with the separate shower and toilet. Our kids didn't really use the bunks in the last van which is weird because the boys sleep in bunks at home anyway, so we looked for a floor plan that suited us.
For me a poptop is lighter and cheaper to tow, our 16 had one larger bed than our 18 (true) so that's something I learnt. Our 16 was heaps of fun for the family. Easier to get on site. Noisier in a windy storm.
For me our 18 caravan is heavy and more expensive to tow but tows a bit better than the 16. It has more cupboard space and less cluttered when we are away.
I have a friend who recently sold his full van (not Jayco) and has ordered a poptop because he felt the caravan was too expensive to tow, hard to get on site and was difficult to get in his garage.

 

[Expendable]

Thanks Macca you all have me thinking, money is not so much of an issue but I dont like wasting it either if I can find something second hand fantastic but we will just have to see what around if its not available will will have to get new.

We just walked the yard deciding where we would put the Unit now I can mod the shed and get a 17.56-2 in need to change the roller door to a barn door set-up and let a bit of air out of the tyres anything higher then that would need to be put at the side of the house tight squeeze of 2.6m in width and would need to either have a good storm cover or build a lean off the house to cover it thinking this may be the better bet.

May have to get one of those caravan moving systems installed though be a bit tricky and I suck at backing up as it is lol very much a comedy routine.

 

[Antman]

very well said @macca
I wonder when you say that your 18 tows better than your 16, is that because its a tandem axle rather than a single or weight or something else? Just a thought?

@Expendable you will learn to back your van. I had only ever backed a small 6x4 trailer when we bought our van and now i can back the van into basically any spot. Sometimes it may take a couple goes but i do get it there. Those moving systems are expensive and i reckon that it would take a bit of setup time to hook it up? Don't know as i have never used one though.

 

[macca]

very well said @macca
I wonder when you say that your 18 tows better than your 16, is that because its a tandem axle rather than a single or weight or something else? Just a thought?

@Expendable you will learn to back your van. I had only ever backed a small 6x4 trailer when we bought our van and now i can back the van into basically any spot. Sometimes it may take a couple goes but i do get it there. Those moving systems are expensive and i reckon that it would take a bit of setup time to hook it up? Don't know as i have never used one though.

@Antman, I just think it tows a little better mainly due to being a bit heavier but as you say because its a tandem. My 16 was great to tow, just got a little more of that up and down movement which seems less with our 18, in saying that there were times when I didn't know the 16 was behind us. A WDH improved the 16 a lot. Time will tell with the 18 as I have yet to take it on a trip fully loaded with 3 kids worth of stuff.

 

[Curryhouse]

Interesting and informative discussion as I'm tossing up about selection of next type of van. I'm leaning towards a caravan over a poptop and one area that I struggle with is if there is a shower in a poptop, is it more likely to get mildew on the material between van and top than a caravan that may have a fully enclosed shower with an exhaust fan? Again, likely to be a personal choice in the end but interested in readers thoughts/experience.