# Pop up camper - Accessories / must haves?



## Big Da

Whiskey and Firecrackers.


----------



## robanna

A big gun with stopping power for the bears.


----------



## Livingston

spare tire


----------



## Livingston

Actually, I picked up an '84 Westfalia last year. Here are a few ideas:
Candles (heat + light), Pie Irons, couple wine keys, old nalgenes to fill with boiling water to put in you sleeping bags on cold nights, french press and tea kettle (or percolator), fire starters, lighters and flashlights in every drawer, surf colorado sticker.

-d


----------



## seangar5

I have been a long time paddler (20+ yrs) and just discovered the Westfalia/vanagon utility vehicle  a few years back. I now own a Syncro 4 wd model for my primary boating escape pod !

I carry french press and coffee for sure, spare clothes, smoked oysters, corkscrew-bottle opener, mac and cheese, energy bars... all sorts of stuff. After a season of trips under your belt you will begin to whittle it down. Pmail me if you want my excel spreadsheet <grin>

Sean


----------



## BoilermakerU

Really big cat tubes for each side so you can river camp...


----------



## Jensjustduckie

condoms, lots and lots of condoms- once the chicks see your sweet home on wheels you'll need them.


----------



## NolsGuy

Cool dude...stock up on pasta and all kinds of dry goods...some booze, a good first aid kit, sun screen...plenty of sleeping bags, french press and coffee and I say yes to the condoms and guns. Oh, and make sure you get some spinners.


----------



## El Flaco

You can now graduate to the Van Bag:








_"Wwwwhaaazzzuuuup, Chica?"_

And all the sensuous delights that await therein.


----------



## erdvm1

I got one too.
I'm so stoked I gotta post a picture. 
The raft and keg go on the front cargo shelf the kayaks on top


----------



## goofy_girl

erdvm1 - Sweet popup! 

cokayakn- I used to keep all kinds of dried food goods in my popup along with warm clothes that I just kept in there for the season. Not sure if your rig has the built in stereo or shower, if not ipod and speakers and a solar shower come in handy. Camp chairs to sit in outside of the trailer and a headlamp or flashlights for when you're drinking with your buds at night outside of the trailer. 

The one thing that was the biggest necessity to keep in there... duct tape.


----------



## brendodendo

I love my 84 Westy: aka the adventure mobile. Been in the family since, well, 84. 300 something K on her and still running strong. 

I hate sleeping bags. So I would recommend a down comforter and some nice sheets.

I recntly bought a Mr. Heater Big Buddy catalytic propane heater. It's great in the van when its cold out (with the sunroof cracked and a battery Carbon Monoxide detector) and makes a nice sudo fire in camps that do not allow the real thing.


----------



## pbowman

dawg has a sweet ride, the pimped out off-road fleetwood is a very nice rig.

i did a lot of research before buying my 2005 fleetwood tucson used, and it has been a great purchase. we lived in ours for almost 4 months in the summer of 2007 driving around the northwest US, and it was perfect sized for two of us and two dogs. now it makes w/e trips relaxing and we actually come home well rested instead of going to work monday morning worn out b/c we didn't sleep for crap for two nights in a row. entering year #4 with ours, and i will gladly take all the ribbing anyone cares to throw my way.

we don't use the fridge on ours except when we can have a full electric hook up, which is rare. running our small 3-way fridge on propane will suck a 20# tank dry in about 3 days, so we just take the cooler. the fridges are too small to hold much beer anyway, and they are not a true refrigerator - they generally only cool to about 40 deg below the outside air temp.

we put a feather bed mattress on the crummy foam pad for sleeping, and it is very comfy and warm. they are somewhat expensive, but we had it for an old queen size bed we gave away so we threw it in the camper. we also make the bed with sheets and a down comforter like brendo. it is not like sleeping in a real bed, but it is pretty close and better that a lot of hotel beds.

also get an awning if it didn't come with one - it is great for shade (when in moab or fruita) and also makes a nice haven in the rain. then go to home depot and get a piece of outdoor carpeting (not the green fake grass stuff) to go under your awning. my awning is only about 7' wide and extends about 6' out from the camper, so an 8 x 6 piece of that carpet works great for me.

i put racks on mine, yakima of course. it is nice to have some added gear capacity for longer trips taking both bikes and kayaks. i have also put the raft frame on the pop-up rack before too.

i use some cut up pieces of 2x6 to go under my jack stands. you can buy sand pads (or some other name) to go under the jacks, but i found having one or two 2x's to help level off the grade helps on more sloping sites. getting it nice and level adds greatly to the quality of sleep.

mine came with two propane tanks up front, one hooked up and one as a spare. i think you can buy a spare mounting kit if yours only has one tank now, which i would highly recommend.

finally, most have a fully mounted and inflated spare on the back but i also carry a spare tire (not mounted to a rim) in the trailer as well. the tires are not overly difficult to find in decent sized towns (i have bought new spares in gunnison, steamboat, and missoula), but if you do blow a tire somewhere remote and have to run on the spare it is not a good feeling to have a long drive ahead of you. most gas stations with a tire changer can mount and balance any size rim/tire, so at least you can get a spare back if you have your own tire. when you blow a tire, try to get slowed down and off the pavement as quick as safely possible to not destroy the rim too. i blew 2 or 3 tires when driving around in 2007 (about 12,000 miles that year) and have blown 2 since then, so the small tires do have a somewhat short life.

can't say enough good things about ours, taking it out this w/e for the first trip of the season. later.


----------



## NolsGuy

Cool post Bro. I agree with it all. I have a rack on mine, and your point about adding to the mattress is dead on.


----------



## Aquaholict

A well stocked tool box, the VW idoits guide to engine repair, spare parts(engine) and a skate board to drop and roll out the engine on. If it's a V.W trust me, you'll need it.


----------



## DurangoSteve

Love our pop-up. Get LED lights to conserve your battery. 
Super Bright LEDs - Brake Light, Turn Light and Tail Light Bulbs


----------



## Hey Zeus

Steve,

Are those LED's bright enough in your FWC? My thought and concern was to maybe replace,switch one with LED and leave the second on a standard bulb.


----------



## DurangoSteve

Hey Zeus - they're not quite as bright as standard bulbs, but bright enough for us. I'd try one and see how you like it. The "PCB Series" is best. They sell them with up to 36 LEDs. Super Bright LEDs - Boat, RV and Other LED Bulbs


----------



## montuckyhuck

get a 20 gal propane tank and a real stove/ grill deal. This is sooo much nicer than trying to deal with BS camp stoves especially if you like to eat well. I have spent a long time on the road and just can't hang with mac and tuna after so long. Also a minimum of a 10 gal water tank. If you don't have to go to town as often you will be stoked. Always keep the kitchen stuff clean and out of your living area to avoid bear break ins and for general sanity. I keep all of my cook wear in one rubbermaid and all of the stove gear in another, this way it does'nt end up floating around in the pile of used condoms in your bed. oh, lots of bins, crucial for organization. I like having a shotgun for personal amusement AHEM, I mean defense.


----------



## NolsGuy

I agree on the nice stove, nice BBQ Grill, and the shotgun.


----------



## mttodd

I added a memory foam mattress topper to the crappy pad in my scamper pop-up and its better than my bed at home now. Also consider a spare propane regulator, absolutely necessary in my opinion. I had one fail and had no heat, stove or grill. totally worth the twenty bucks.


----------



## goofy_girl

I also always kept a bundle of wood and an axe in my popup.


----------

