Archive for month: May, 2020

We purchased a brand new pop up a year and a half ago so I figured it’s finally time I share our thoughts on it. The past 18 months have been So. Much. Fun! We have camped at least once a month, some times more, and have taken a couple longer trips – the longest being 11 days. Every time we go camping we state over and over how much we love this pop up.

We spend a lot of time off the beaten path and had been wanting something with higher ground clearance. When we learned that Forest River has an off road line with 12 extra inches of ground clearance, without the custom price tag, we were stoked! I look at all the different manufactures off road pop ups and the Forest River Extreme Sports Package models (or Flagstaff Sports Enthusiasts Package – they’re the same but under different names) have the best combination of features.

We purchased a 2018 Forest River Extreme Sports Package 1910 model. The size and layout is almost the same as our old pop up but all the extras are what sold us. It’s like your first car. It’s important to start with no AC or power steering so that later in life you appreciate the upgrades.

Our favorite features of this pop up are:

Most importantly, extra ground clearance! There isn’t anywhere we haven’t been able to take the new pop up. In fact, we had to put a lift on my 4Runner because we couldn’t see over the top of the pop up while towing, among other things. The picture below is prelift and you can tell it needed it.

The storage bin on the front is high on our list of favorite features. With our old pop up, all of our gear was stored in the pop up during travel. This made set up and take down a little longer because we had to get everything out every time. Now we just set the stabilizers and and worry about the extra stuff whenever we’re ready for it.

The dinette has extended cushions for a couch area and the table has an extension. With two teens, having more rooms around the table is huge.

The bunk ends came with overhead storage as did the kitchen. These are not deal breakers but all the little touches are what sold me on the this camper.

We have a heater and a fantastic fan! I know heaters in pop ups are not a new thing but we’ve never had one. I didn’t think a heater was necessary but boy was I wrong. We rarely run it all night, only on super cold nights, but we do use it right before bed to knock the chill out of the air. These options make it so we can camp more often because we can withstand lower and higher temperates, so they’re keepers.

The roof has cross bars that we can put our bikes on! We wanted to put cross bars on our old pop up but the roof couldn’t handle them.

The front bumper has a retractable cable lock which is really useful for locking up bikes or extra propane tanks. We don’t typically leave anything of value locked up outside while we’re away but at night or at a busy campground it’s nice to know our bikes are a little more secure.

The pop up came wired for solar. The solar ready RVs appear to largely be wired for one particular company whose panels are on the more expensive end. We purchased a less expensive panel from a different brand and had to change the connector, but other than that it works great. One more thing that allows us to be off the grid for longer.

The awning hooks into the side of the camper! Our old pop up had cords that tied to the ground and were tripping hazards, so this is a huge step up.

We have an outdoor shower and water heater. We only have these features because they were on the model we purchased but I’m growing fond of them. We used the water heater for the first time a couple months ago and it is really nice to wash your hands in warm water when it’s cold outside. We’ve used the hose to spray off muddy bikes and plan to use the shower this summer when camping off the grid for a bit.

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It comes with LED lights under the awning which is nice at night. It’s not too bright but gives enough light to see the camper and light the door.

We have all the standard pop up features like propane tanks, fridge, sink, indoor stove, a few drawers as well as a couple other random features. It has an outdoor grill that ties into the camper propane. I think most pop ups have these but we do enjoy ours. We prefer to cook outside when camping. Our old pop up did not have trailer brakes but this one does. We appreciate having the extra support and find them useful when towing. A wifi booster is an option and the dealership we purchased from had already installed it on our camper. It is a wifi booster, not a mobile hot spot, so it only works at campgrounds with wifi.

What could be better:

This first one is actually a plus and minus. We have a power winch, so lifting the top is easy peasy. No more cranking until your arm is sore. The downside is the winch is SUPER loud. I feel bad when we are setting up or taking down early or late in the day, or are close to other campers, but I’m not going to stop camping over it. Forest River, if you’re reading this please figure out how to make the winch less obnoxious. My campground neighbors would greatly appreciate it as would my ears.

Some of the parts feel cheap. Within the first six months our hot water heater door blew off. The cover to our outdoor speaker has since fallen/rattled off, and recently the metal cover that goes over the stove burners cracked in the middle. This is an off-road pop up, so we take it off road, but it seems like the components aren’t necessarily built for that. So just check your stuff and tighten things with screws regularly, I guess.

Speaking of the stove cover issue. There isn’t much counter space in the 1910 floor plan, particularly when the whole family is camping and seating is at a premium, so I put my purse, drinks and whatever else doesn’t have a home during the day on top of the stove cover. The metal is very thin and has since cracked in the middle from the weight. Our old pop up had the same design, but the burner cover was very sturdy. We used it the same way and never never had an issue in the four years that we owned it. This cover broke probably around 12 months. It’s still usable for the time being but it’s disappointing that they used such thin metal.

The pop up comes with a bluetooth radio and indoor/outdoor speakers. We were really excited about these features at first, but haven’t used them much since. The problem is that the radio always plays on both the indoor and outdoor speakers and you can’t change that. After doing some research we learned that this is an issue with the newer models. The older models had a toggle switch but for some stupid reason they got rid of it. We have talked about rewiring the speakers but it’s currently easier to play from our phones directly or on a portable blue tooth speaker.

After 18 months and 18+ camping trips, the mattresses are starting to wear down. It’s a simple fix (purchase a mattress topper) and probably common for most pop up camper mattresses. The mattresses come with heaters which we have not used. They can only be used if you’re plugged into electricity and that’s not now we spend much time camping.

Overall we love the pop up and are so glad we made the purchase. It’s super capable, goes anywhere, and looks sweet. We get compliments all the time. People regularly stop to ask questions and some even ask to take pictures. I feel like we should be Forest River ambassadors. 🤣

The popularity of this line seems to be growing and we had a hard time finding ours. Our options were special order and wait four months or drive 13 hours to a neighboring state. We opted for the latter and drove to Texas. If you are in the market for a pop up and are looking for something to camp in while on outdoor adventures, check out the Forest River Extreme Sports Package pop ups.

Feel free to comment if you have any questions or share what features you love about your pop up!