This thread overly generalizes rather badly.
I agree that a loaded highwall popup makes little sense financially compared to a comparable camping space TT.
But the good old days of popup are NOT gone. One can still buy a Jayco 1207 for about $10k and sleep a family of five in considerable comfort.
And you can tow it with a minivan easily (My 2003 Odyssey has 210,000 miles on it and pulled our comparable Sun Valley up and down Rockies and Appalachians many times - all original powertrain.
And it lasts virtually forever when stored in the garage (with no worries about vandals or roof leaks in off season storage).
And the van rear view mirror works on the road.
And I get 18-19 mpg towing interstates and a van that can flirt with 30mpg when on highway NOT towing. (2011 and later Odyssey's anyways)
Van tires cost me $550 a set and last about 65,000 miles. Can't do THAT in a Burb.
Pups still give families the opportunity to camp in comfort at a modest entry price and without the camper owning YOU (assuming garage storage anyways). Fixed height RVs eat your life. They own you.
The average family that owns a minivan or CUV like a Pilot or Acadia wants to start camping. They can:
1. Buy a TT and a double cab pickup truck all at once, along with accessories (brake control, wdh, setup gear, etc).
2. Buy a midsized, non-slide popup, add tow equipment to the vehicle they already own and buy similar accessories as in #1 above.
Honestly, somebody is going to argue that #1 above is CHEAPER? Not unless you already own the truck or beefy SUV. Fewer and fewer families like that in this auto market. #2 is dramatically cheaper. In fact we've taken enough of our vacations in the pup now that had we gone the same destinations and stayed in hotels and eaten out we'd have spent MORE. A basic pup allows camping vacations to be cheaper AND better than traditional hotel vacations.
Our 10 year old garage stored pup still looks nearly brand new when setup. Looks better than most 3-4 year old TT's stored outside.
