I had an 8 foot Coleman Columbia. It was tight squeeze for My wife, our dog, and my 5 year old nephew. We upgraded to a 10 foot box now with a sideways dinette. Much more comfortable.
Matt O 2006 Skyline Nomad 27' travel trailer. Previously owned 1986 Coleman Columbia / 1992 Coleman Senecca / 1989 Born Free Class C RV.
Its kinda like having a boat and getting "2 foot-i-tus". I am sure you could make an 8' work for you, but that extra 2 feet when you see it elsewhere will get you thinking. I have found its better to get bigger then what you think you need the first time if you can, you will always like to have more room no matter what you end up with though.
There is one thing I like about hybrids. That is the ability to close the bunk ends when it rains. No worries about closing up with wet canvas, etc. On the other hand, I get pretty claustrophobic in them. I love that 'open air' feeling of a pop up.
We sleep five of us in our 10 foot box with one queen and one double bunk. We're not really cramped for space. But, pretty much all we do in there is sleep or play games when it rains. The rest of our time is spent outside.
We do all of our cooking and entertaining outside, even when it's raining. Between the canopy and the 10x10 over the picnic table.
It also depends how much camping you will be doing. Will you be using it one weekend every month or three times a year?
For sleeping and changing, an 8' box would be comfortable for a few times a year.
There is much less to setup and breakdown in a hybrid camper over a popup. You can also do an overnight in a hybrid without unhooking or opening up everything. Hybrid campers usually have more amenities including, larger frig, oven, stove, microwave, hot water, etc. Popup camper has some of these amenities but they are usually additional options and are small in size.
We started with an 8' box and used it for about 2 years. I loved that camper, however we upgraded b/c there was simply NO ROOM for stuff like clothes and dirty clothes and shoes. I had to set up a small 3 person tent outside and would keep our clothes, shoes, towels, dirty clothes, etc. in the tent. Other than that it was great.
When we first started looking at Popups, the first thing we looked at was an 8 foot box. We figured it was just 2 of us and we do everything outside and coming up from Tents it had a ton more space..... We found a low tech problem, we both could not sit at the table, the space was so tight, you have to be a teenager or or a very small person to use both sides of the table at once.
We ended up going with a 2008 SeaPine which was an 11ft box.
It has been 2 full seasons with it and we just traded it in for a new Flagstaff Highwall - 14 foot box. Storage, Storage, Storage, and Storage.
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[quote author=here2stay link=topic=281.msg1187#msg1187 date=1290629985]This might be the basics, but what the pros and cons of a hybrid over a popup besides not needing to raise the roof?
popup pros- low profile(better MPG), smaller size(for campsites/storage), lighter weight(you can move it around by yourself), open-air feeling and can tow with a smaller vehicle, such as a minivan.
hybrid pros- full-size bathroom/fridge/freezer, can "turtle" when weather is bad and still sleep on dinette/sofa, can have 3 queen-sized beds, can use everything(toilet, fridge/sink) while traveling without raising roof and pulling out beds, tons more inside storage, way more room, quicker setup/take-down, having all the pros of a TT with the openess of a popup.
we owned two popups over a 18 year period and then have had a hybrid for the past 4 years.
would never go back to a popup. would have bought a hybrid sooner if we had known they even existed.
My wife and me started in a 8 ft. box camper. Biggest problem was not enough room for "stuff". We are not minimalist, and take a lot with us when we camp. That, along with our two camping dogs on the floor made that 8 foot box really small. Our 12 foot Bayside with slide out made all the difference. More room for "stuff" and the gurls have plenty of room to stretch out..Wolfie
Start looking at every PUP you can find. The RV Shows are a great place to start but the bigger PUP dealers often have lots of them on display. Take all three of you and spend some time in an 8' box and a 10' box. I think you would grow out of an 8' box pretty quickly with Kid/s. The kids often want a friend to go so now you have four people.
Personally I would think an 8 ft box would be snug but you could tolerate it if need be.....it all depends on how much time you plan to spend inside the PUP....if you are the type who spend all day on bikes, or at the beach and merely use it as a place to change/ sleep then no problems.....if you plan to take several guests, kids, pets and a bunch of stuff and stay inside alot.....maybe not so great! 😉 Also if you have a screened in area or a canopy that gives your more living area....we love our outdoor " porch" on the side of our PUP and we also have a screened in area over the picnic table....so between the three we have plenty of living space and you could too! 🙂
[quote author=Wolfcat1 link=topic=281.msg3108#msg3108 date=1296529487]
here,
I am suggesting this because it is the camper I own..lol...If you decide on a pup, check out a Coleman Bayside..12 foot box, and more rfloor room than most small travel trailers..wolfie
We love our Coleman too Wolfcat....We have a 12 ft box and 2 Kings in ours and I think I read it was one of the biggest ones Coleman makes....I think ours is a bayport but very similiar to yours....love love love all the room!
Of now having had three popup campers, one 8' and two larger, I can now say my favorite of them all was the 8 footer! Plenty of room for two adults and a breeze to tow. Here's a pic looking forward from the rear ~
[img width=640 height=480]http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h226/dww0825/DSCF0285.jpg[/img]
And looking from the front to the rear ~
[img width=640 height=480]http://i227.photobucket.com/albums/dd98/DaleW1010/DSCF0287.jpg[/img]
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