My wife & I are thinking of a folding camper to replace our 22 year old lunar Meteorite.However is raising lids to create the shape & rooms a physical challenge. How strong do you have to be?
Is a conway Challenger heavy to lift
We are fairly minimalist in our requirements.
Another option might be a Sunncamp 240 or a Trigano Arpege.
John has put ours up on his own but really its a two person job if for no other reason than you have to keep running from side to side if you are on your own. Larger pennines have gas struts which hold the weight so its not that physically demanding. I do all the inside on my own leaving John to do the cold wet bits outside!
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Had gas strutts put on mine and it appears to have taken the major strain out of the situation. You can get these fitted if you have a Dandy, on a new or secondhand one to order.
Hard Tops like my Cardinal, it's predecessors the Conway Tardis and Laser, and the American imports like Bonair, are easy because the top winds up and then you pull out the beds at either end.
Smaller ones like the Conway Countryman, Pennine Fiesta & Aztec are quite heavy but the larger ones like Jan P's Pathfinder have the gas struts which help.
More basic ones like the Commanches & Combi-camps are lighter and easier to lift over.
------------- Caz
If you can't see the light at the end of the tunnel, just keep going till you go round the bend.
Now we have a Pennine Pullman which is much easier for either or both of us to open out and tension. Initially we needed 40 minutes to erect and tension the canvas but we now take about 20 minutes.
One advantage is once the trailer cover is off the lid opens the unit up so if it is raining you can then do most of the work undercover, but it is much better done with the sun shining and a glass of beer or wine available.
We have had 40 years experience of caravans and motorcaravans, but were unaware of folding campers until 2 years ago. For us they are wonderful being a fraction of the height and weight of a caravan but having so much more space with the fixed interior sprung beds.
Another advantage is the ease of moving them off the tow ball.
We have a Fiesta which is very similar to the Challenger. The beds are too heavy for me to lift over on my own although Dave has no problem doing it by himself.
My 87 cruiser is a doddle to put up. You just flap the fabric to get air in the pull out the beds. Then its just a case of pushing out the rods inside to lock it in place. Easy.
The tardis is just a wind up handle then pull out the beds. Again easy.
Got both so we know! The Cruiser is for sale by the way :-)
I've got a Trigano (04 model) and I can put the whole lot up myself including the awning but, even though the folding camper is a piece of cake and can be done in about 5 mins but there are lots inner tents and bed tents inside to put up and they take longer. The awning does make me sweat to put up but I can do it on my own. Trouble is that its not the sort of job one wants after a long journey. If your the patient sort its easier to wait till the next day and then put the awning up.
Don't know if your interested. I'm selling my Trigano 575 LX (2004) with an awning annex, toilet tent and porter potty for £4,500 which is, I think a fair price when Barrons are selling one, an 02 model for £6,250 which is a daft price to pay for an older model. The new 06 models are nice but nearer £8,000. Ouch.
The reason I'm selling is that the wife who has osteoporosis and my 85 year old mother in law can't help me put it all together so I do it solo apart from the 'verbal advice' which gives me earache bless em.
What ever you get, I sincerely wish you all the best of enjoyment in your camping.
There is no reason why anyone cannot put up the main unit - unless it's a height thing rather than weight! I have done it alone couldn't make up my mind if he was pleased or not! It's the awning that requires a certain amount of help, I have put up the Suncanopy alone too. Once th eUnit is opened in the Pathfinder the bedrooms are erected too ( mattresses just need unstrapping. The inner lining remains in place too. The sink and top part of oven are lifted from the floor and the walls are put in place. The canvas is velcroed - no problems - REALLY
HI Steve, i suffer with rheumatoid arthritis and can easy put our FC up with only a little help from me son. We have a MH at the moment bought in a moment of madness and are now selling it to go back to the FCs.
ONly time i need more help from son was with awning put put up correctly you soon get into a routine and can do it no bother.
Dont know about the Challenger, but weve had a Dandy 4 and that took 2 of us about 7 minutes to put up. We have a Gobur folding caravan which my husband can just about manage on his own with a mover, but our last Comanche Montana was light enough for him to put up on his own in seconds without one. Not always the actual putting up , but the getting into pitch postion, isnt it thats the bugbear.
Hello Steve, Can only talk about Conway and Pennine products.
The larger Conway units Cruiser and Crusader have slide out sideways beds which are very easy to erect,especially on the new for 06 models the runners have been coated with supaglide stuff.(They also have a bigger front bed.)
The smaller units and all of Pennines FC's have the gas struts so are ok, and not too difficult but easier with two people to put up.
The main advantage of the Conway FC's is that the central living area and all kit stored in there during transit is kept dry during erection as the canvas sides are down and fastened, whereas on Pennines the sides are looped up and can allow heavy rain into the insides.Hope this helps you.
It is possible, with care, to fold a large Pennine, or a smaller f/c (Challenger size) with the canvas down, so protecting the insides from the worst of the weather - it takes a bit longer, as you have to fold it slowly and make sure all the time that nothing is getting caught as the poles fold. Same care needs to be taken when putting it up again with the canvas down. But it CAN be done if necessary (I have done it with both a Challenger and a Pathfinder - used to leave the awning canvas fastened to the Challenger when folding it too, as I never used it without the awning).
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Topic: f/campers heavy to put up?
