How it works
A pop-up camper (a folding trailer or tent trailer) is a low box with a hard roof. At camp the roof is cranked up, the tent walls unfold and a bed slides out at each end.
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Two drawings
View 1 shows the camper set up, from the door side: the roof on its lifter posts, the tent with its windows, the awning in its bag, a bunk end at each end, the door and its step. On the tongue at the front are the coupler, the front jack, the safety chains, the propane tank and the battery. View 2 looks down into the box with the roof off, at the dinette and the sink.
From road to camp
For travel the roof sits on the box, with the tent and the beds folded inside. At camp a crank raises the roof on its posts, and each bed is pulled out and its tent pushed up.
- The dinette does two jobs: the table drops between the seats to make another bed.
- A wet tent should be left to dry completely before the camper is closed.
Questions and answers
What are the parts of a pop-up camper called?
The box, the hard roof, the lifter posts that raise it, the tent walls with their windows, a bunk end at each end, and the door and step. On the tongue: coupler, front jack, safety chains, propane tank and battery. Inside: dinette, sink and stove.
What holds up the roof of a pop-up camper?
The lifter system: a telescoping post at each corner. Turning a crank extends the posts and lifts the roof; turning it the other way lowers the roof back on to the box.
What are the beds that slide out of a pop-up camper called?
Bunk ends, or bunks. Each is a bed board that pulls out past the end of the box, with its own section of tent over it.
What is the front of a camper trailer called?
The tongue. The coupler on its tip latches over the hitch ball of the tow vehicle, the front jack holds it up when it is unhitched, and the safety chains hook on as a second link.