How to Put Up a Pop-Up Camper

Pop-up campers combine the lightweight qualities of fabric tents with a wheeled hard-shell frame. Pop-ups have sleeping areas that are housed under fabric side-outs that come out of the hard shell. Setting up these campers requires raising the roof, securing the jacks and leveling the camping cabin. Each camper maker uses its own proprietary system to raise the roof, but the basic formula is the same for all pop-ups.

Instructions

    • 1

      Unhitch the roof locks around the perimeter of the camper. Look for these at the corners of the hard shell. They look like trunk locks with a hinge and lock.

    • 2

      Remove the pop-up towing arm from the towing rig. Unplug the light plugs from the towing vehicle and then lower the towing arm jack, a single wheel in the center of the towing arm that has a turning handle. Lower the wheel until it touches the ground.

    • 3

      Place chocks under the pop-up wheels and the tow-arm wheel. Raise the pop-up roof; pop-ups are powered with a small motor to raise and lower the roof, or in older models, a hand crank.

    • 4

      Pull out the sleeping area fabric from the camper. Go inside and push up the sleeping panel frame poles so the sleeping tent sides are erect and tight.

    • 5

      Drop the four leveling jacks. These are found at each corner of the pop-up. Hand cranks or small electric motors raise and lower them. Adjust the four while an assistant watches the camper level bubble, either outside near the camper door, or by the right side panel where the water tanks are housed. Adjust the jacks until the level bubble is plumb in the middle.

    • 6

      Plug in all campground connections if so equipped. These are the electric, sewer, water and cable TV. Find the plugs on the outside of the camper, typically on the right-hand side.