Best lightweight options for popups travelling with minivan?

Thanks Stovepipe!

I pull an 8 foot box Starcraft easily with a 2010 Town and Country mini van. Most of the time the van is loaded down with firewood, bikes, wife and two kids, two coolers, a canopy, and other gear. I've been up some moderate mountains with no issues whatsoever.

I did add a transmission cooler to the van and I'm careful to gear down when going down steepish hills. I think if you go with an 8 foot box pop-up, even with fridge, furnace, microwave, etc. you'd be perfectly fine.

Thanks Ken and everyone else.
I am also skittish about towing anything heavy behind the van ('04 honda odyssey) as they were notorious for transmission problems. So I'll steer clear of the max towing capacity for sure.
Thanks again!

Knowing the towing capacity of your Honda is important. If you indeed have a 3500# capacity, you'll probably want to find a PUP under 2000#. There are many older models in that range. If you want to research some of them, check out this link that has brochures for some manufacturers going back a number of years. You'll have to register (free) to be able to download, but you'll be able to see what is available. At one time, we had a Coleman Chesapeake that weighed in around 1700# with battery, propane, etc. By the time you get water, dishes, etc., you'll be around 2000#. As you add clothes and food, you'll get up in weight pretty quickly.

Thanks everyone for the good advice and for taking the time to help! Its much appreciated.
A lot of food for thought here.

Bob

Except for the tent campers like QuickSilver, the lightest popups are going to be about 1200-1500 pounds, with GVWR around or over 2000 pounds. I depends on size and type. For example, from 2012 and 2013 Jayco and Rockwood brochures:

Cold-water campers with ice box, no heat or A/C, 10-12 gallon water tank:
8-foot box 1200 empty, 2000 GVWR
10-foot box 1400 empty, 2300 GVWR
12-foot box 1500 empty, 2400 GVWR
A/C will add 100-200 pounds, depending on size installed. This is never in advertised weights for tent-wall campers, because A/C is optional for the type.

Hot-water campers with 2 cu ft fridge, hot water, 15-20 gallon tank:
10-foot box 1700-2000 empty, 2600-3000 GVWR
12-foot box 2000-2500 empty, 3000-2500 GVWR
14-foot box 2400-3000 empty, 3300-4000 GVWR
Again, empty weight does not include weight of optional A/C. Furnace is sometimes still optional, but is not a big addition to weight.

The 500 pound range on the larger boxes is the difference between having a slideout or not having a slideout, which is usually a dinette. Some of these models have an option for a cassette toilet/shower combo, which adds about 600-800 pounds depending on whether that includes waste tanks for the shower. This added empty weight cuts into carrying capacity, there is usually not an increase in GVWR.

Then there are high-wall pups, 12 to 16 feet. The greater height means more cabinet room, allows for a larger refrigerator. These might go over 3000 pounds empty, up to 4500 GVWR at 16 foot.

There is a balancing act, how much room, how many comforts you want. The offering range from not much more than a tent up off the ground, to a fully equipped RV that happens to be covered with tent fabric. If you try to load too much RV comfort into a PUP it gets heavier than a small TT.

When I was looking at PUPs and small TTs, I was surprised to find that 16-17 foot molded shell TTs (e.g. Scamp, Casita) come in around 2200-2500 pounds empty, even when fully equipped with A/C, heat, and bathrooms. This is considerably lighter than a comparably equipped 14-foot high-wall folder.

Of course, TTs this small do not have the room of a pop-up, and with two adults and two children you often have to sacrifice that bathroom to get bunk beds instead, and the adults' bed has to convert to dinette for the day.

Make sure your minivan has the 'tow package', and then it is good to go for 3500lbs, but that also includes the stuff in your minivan (including the kids...)

Our first PUP was a 10 foot Coleman - dry weight was 1750. We pulled it just fine but felt it going up mountains. Still, those were the days when we took monthly trips and we used the Minivan for about 4 years, and then replaced it with a larger vehicle. We still have the minivan, though, 200K miles, drives like a champ, so I do not think we did it any harm.

Perhaps you should take a look at the QuickSilver line up from LivinLite.

The 10.0 model for example only weigh 1050lb, and have a max GVWR of 1500lb when fully loaded, that is very light for any vehicle.
Also, this unit is all made by aluminum (no wood)

Certainly in older PUPs, such a rig exists, because we once owned one we towed with a minivan. The only time the van struggled was on the long, fairly steep climb from Rapid City up into the Black Hills - but we still made it.

In order to keep the PUP as lightweight as possible, you'll need to opt for one that's relatively small and has no shower or toilet, no built-in furnace, and few options. (Though for where you're going, an a/c sounds like a necessity.) Travel with the water tank empty as often as possible. (If you can find one with a cabinet that can store a portapotti, you'll at least minimize those hikes to the bathroom in the middle of the night.)

Good luck!

Are you sure such a rig exists in a popup?