Bias trailer tires that have been on the market for years need to be inflated to what it calls for on the sidewall of the tire. So many trailer owners thought by puting in less air would mean the trailer would ride better but in truth they would only be toying with disaster! When the required rigid sidewalls on bias trailer tires are allowed to flex too much they begin to heat-up real fast and what follows is usually a blow-out or a tire failure of some kind. For example, I have an 8' box Starcraft popup that has the 12" tires (5.30 X 12 to be exact). But this sized tire has two different series: load range "B" and load range "C". The B's where usually put on boat trailers but on the popup campers they went with C's. Here's the difference ~ 5.30 X 12 load range "B" = 840 lbs carrying capacity at the optimum tire pressure of 55 psi. 5.30 X 12 load range "C" = 1045 lbs carrying capacity at the optimum tire pressure of 80 psi. My little Starcraft requires the "C" range tires and they jolly well mean 80 psi or do look for trouble! And a lot of popup campers with this sized tire and load range requirements have replaced a worn tire with the incorrect load ranged tire (load range "B") only to have it fail very shortly on down the road ... then blame the tire company for a defective product! Bottom line, gots to make sure (#1) your running the correct tire pressure, and (#2) it's the proper size and load range. See ya on down the road some place! Dale

You're within easy driving of the Pine Barrens of NJ. The area I'm familiar with off the Wading River offers Chips Folly or Turtle Run or Timberline Campgrounds. The restored town of Batsto offers a pleasant afternoon of learning about iron and glassmaking in the pines in the 18th and 19th centuries when this area had thriving industries (ever heard of the Mason Jar? Invented just a mile southeast where the road bends by the river in long-gone Crowleytown). The river also offer one of the best canoe trips out of Sooy's in Jenkins Neck down the West Branch of the Wading River, a pleasant day trip with no rapids and total immersion in nature. The Jersey Shore is a 25-minute trip southeast with it's well-known attractions like The White House Sub Shop on Baltic Avenue near the Boardwalk. I think you would like the area. It's my boyhood home.

Elaine - my first popup was a '96 Coleman (really a Fleetwood) that had the front storage trunk and that was a continual leaking problem for some of those models (up until maybe 2002). Anyway, there were some posts over on www.popupexplorer.com where repairs were made and some got into detail on how they made them. Anyway, had never heard of a leak problem in the front wall of a Palamino before - may I suggest - (if you have not already done so), go over there to popup explorer and make a post with your problem and see what kind of response you get. There's a gazillion popupers over there and someone might have just had the same problem and have some detailed information you could use. Some years ago a friend had one of those orginal popups that had come out in the late 1960's (Apache?) and for some reason he had some wall problems that also affected the bed rail on one side of the camper. What he did was to cut a length of 2 X 4 to fit for a brace which worked for him until he found the time to repair it right. Could that be something that might work for you until the end of this camping season? Dale

Hey joanie. We have the Big Agnes insulated air mattresses. They are fantastic and very comfortable. They are the size of a qt bottle and are easy to blow up. They are very tough and as I said I have used mine almost every night in camping set ups for months and it has no leaks or problems. I will link below to the ones we have. I hadn't thought about the truck windows having screens to that would be great. A small fan would help to move the air. You would definitely need a canopy of some kind. We got one at Dick's Sporting Goods. It is easy to set up and very sturdy. Gives great protection if it is raining. We have even pulled it over so that it is 1/2 over our tent front and we can then get in and out without getting wet :) I haven't cooked on open fires for all meals. Just an occasional cookout. We have a 2 burner propane stove that I love. I can make pancakes and coffee and great dinners with it. We have a camp fire only for warmth and ambiance. We have a folding table and set everything up the minute we get to camp and then we are done for the time we are there. We have one cooler and restock often from the grocery. When I am on the road with my bike it is a whole different setup . I have a tiny campstove and we use a picnic table if there is one or the ground if there isn't :(. I have a one person tent that is very light. I still use my Big Anges though..it is never far from me ! If I can help with any other ideas let me know. I love to camp !! c Here is a link that might be useful: Big Agnes air mattress