The first few camping trips of 2021 were great. Continuing with our back-of-the-truck setup, we managed to make it out about once a month for one to two nights at a time. Early in the year, I got rid of my fiberglass canopy after it sprang a couple leaks that I was tired of fighting. We rocked a backpacking tent in the bed for a trip or two, and then I found my Softopper. I absolutely love that thing for what it is: a modular, versatile, good-looking canopy that can easily be installed and removed by a single person. However with the setup we’ve been using, we lost a few inches of headroom with it. It’s not so bad until that middle-of-the-night pee comes a-knocking. Then we find ourselves with cramped necks and backs climbing over each other and the dog in what feels like a dark shoebox.
Flash forward to the end of May. We get a call from Kaylee’s stepdad saying they just got in a pretty decent popup truck camper at the scrapyard he works at. I scoped it out the next day and got a price from the boss man, which Kaylee and I gladly agreed to. A grand old $300 for this fairly decent shaped Jayco Series 7 popup. Couldn’t pass it up! The next day we went out and packed it home, strapped in only by a few ratchet straps to the frame. A little sketchy, but we made it ok!
Since then, it’s lived behind our garage and is slowly getting to a usable point. I had to completely rebuild the cabover portion due to extensive water damage. I’m slowly figuring out all the systems. Everything works off of shore power and propane, including the stove, fridge, and furnace. Today I’m going to finish our removable anchor points to properly tie down to the truck, and then I’m calling it usable. Other improvements can happen as we go. With that said, let’s go camping!