Jet Ski or Pop-Up Camper?

I grew up riding stand-ups and love them. If I were single and buying for just myself, this is the way I would go.

But...I'm not single, and I have 3 kids. This past weekend at one point, I had 3 people on the SeaDoo, and was pulling a tube holding 2 more. You can't do that with a stand-up. I was riding a SeaDoo GTI 130 and it was hauling 5 people and a tube and had power to spare...I was pretty impressed. It's a 4 stroke too so no mess with mixed gas and more reliable.

 

Yeah totally understandable. If you're looking at SeaDoos and you're looking for some power... one of my best friends that I ride with all the time has the fastest motorized thing I've ever been on haha Look into a Sea Doo RXP... 1,500 CC 4-stroke supercharged motor, 255 horsepower on a 2 seater jet ski... thats from the factory. I've done 70 mph+ on it on ROUGH water, and you'll hit 60 from a standstill in literally less than 2 seconds. Its crazy fast. Check those out! They make a 3 seater version of it too, which is what you technically need to tow someone behind you if you're trying to do it legally

 

I vote Pop Up, jet ski's are soo expensive and the only thing you could pull behind it is a single tube with one person on it, grant it its fun as hell cause it can turn alot sharper than a boat , it's still not very practical!!

 

Saw a couple of those on the water. You can spot the supercharged ones right away with their distinct sound...pretty awesome.

 

I'm online right now looking to rent a pop-up for a 3 day weekend in October. I figure that would be a good test to see if the wife will enjoy it or not. I know the kids will, and I certainly will.

Which brings up a good point. Buying versus renting. You could rent one probably 10 times for the price of buying a decent used one, not too mention paying for storage. I guess it all depends on how much one will use one on average to justify buying versus renting.

 

The whole "sit downs are for women" argument is so bogus. We have 2 sit downs, and love them. They're much more comfortable, you can haul balls on them, and can actually ride WITH someone (i.e. girls). That being said, all skis are a total money pit. We have 2 Kawasaki's (Ultra 150 and 100 STXdi), and while they're a blast, they are always needing some kind of work, and right now the Ultra is a big paperweight due to a siezed motor, with only 90 hours on it. And Kawasaki's the most reliable, with Yamaha.

Bottom line? If you really enjoy the camping aspect, get the pop-up. If you want to be on the water, either get a boat or be prepared for a continuous investment in your skis. And do yourself a favor and stay away from Sea-Doos. Everyone I've ever talked to or known who has had one regretted it due to the reliability.

 

I think you'll find that's not the case. Skis are cheap, because of the maintenance costs. When we looked at ours, we figured renting 2 skis for 3 days would have equaled the cost to buy them. That's because they require SO much maintenance.

 

The 2 stroke motors are always high maintainence. The newer 4 stoke motors are not as bad.

Just like dirt bikes....I had 3 growing up...2 of them were 2 stroke, 1 was a 4 stroke trail bike. The 2 strokes were way faster but needed constant work. The 4 stroke trail bike was extremely dependable...never needed work done, always started right up.

 

Sorry not to be clear...but I was referring to renting versus buying a pop-up. My math logic was thinking I can get a decent pop-up for about $4000 on craiglist right now. Renting one for a 3 day weekend costs about $400. That is renting a nicer one than what I could buy for $4K too.

I still think this would be true with seadoos, jet skis, etc. Buying a decent used one will run around 5-6K. I'd imagine you could rent them quite a few times to get that high.

This is almost always going to be the case...especially when looking at buying new. My dad and I were doing the math one day when in Bass Pro Shop...when looking at the pontoon boats. We figured you could rent one on Lake Travis in Austin about 400 times for the cost of buying a new one there.

 

Sorry, didn't realize you were referring to campers. I know when we rented jet skis it was very expensive (I want to say $100 an hour). You're right, it's much different when buying new.

4 stroke ski's are going to be more reliable, I completely agree. They're also going to have a lot higher start-up costs (cost to get one). IMO, skis are a lot more fun when you have 2 of them. Just 1 can be a big hassle if you have more than 2 people.

The Sea-Doo quote was just from what I have heard from everyone who has owned them. I don't know what the 4 strokers are like, but the new Kawi Ultra 250s are, in a word, AWESOME.

 

$100 an hour? you got screwed! even on a busy weekend somewhere they shouldn't be more than $200 for a DAY.

Aggie, I'm with you on the fact that you may be better off just renting. If you only plan on using the skis and/or camper for vacation, it's probably not worth the hassle and money for you. The only way its worth it is if you live near the water and plan on riding every weekend of the summer. and with the camper... well.. that's obviously only gonna be for vacations, although you could tow it to the bar, have a fun night with your buddies, and not worry about getting a DUI...

 

pop up just because you could use all year if you wanted and a lot less maint. on trailer. I have skis and although very fun while you have its only a few months outta the year. Price and cost of services of a sea doo will quickly make you regret not getting the trailer. My friends have told me the same

 

I really don't remember the exact amount, to be honest. I do know that we sat down and said that if renting 2 jet skis, we could buy 2 nice used ones, and if we used them for a summer we would break even. And before my family decided to blow up my ski (the Ultra), that thing hauled. It would do 64 on GPS all day, even in moderate chop. It will kill big, powerful, 3 seaters with ease. It's just IMPERITIVE that they get maintained.

 

$100/hour is not far off. I've seen lower and I've seen higher...depends on the location and demand. I've seen them rent for $120 right on the beach in Galveston near 61st Street, and close to that in Cleark Lake.

I've definitely leaning toward the Pop-up at this point. Will probably rent one to make sure we'd enjoy it (I'm confident I will, we'll see with the wife). Renting long term would probably be more cost effective if only using 3-4 times a year, but owning (if getting a good deal on used) would be nice for spur of the moment trips and not having to locate one to rent, and reserve in advance.

 

That would be awesome! I try to do a beer and wings night with the guys about once a month or so...it would be sweet to just walk out into the parking lot and go to bed.

 

Im the opposite. Having owned a boat the id much rather have a pwc. The best day to have a boat is the day you sell it.

 

A boat is a hole you dig in the water to dump money into.

I like boats but way too much $$ for me considering how little I'd use it.

 

Pop up. You said it yourself, "need it to get the wife and kid out". Plus you can camp anywhere... you can only jski at a lake.

Just buy a used version of each.

 

i vote used sea doo jet boat. fast with manuverability of a jetski and you can have more than 2 people with you. i plan on doing a truckbed tent.

 

i vote a pop-up. and if not a pop-up, something light like a Sportsmen classic or some equivelant (not trying to advertise, only mentioning bc thats what i went with). i had a similar choice to make last year between a boat or a camper.

i know that a pop-up was out of the question after using one for hunting and freezing one time. after that i swore to get a regular travel trailer. if you are using a pop-up in warmer weather you will be fine though. just my two cents.

as far as a sea-doo, they are a lot of fun! but as someone said before, they are only used during one time of the year, depending where you live, whereas a camper can be used year round.