XC Trip with 12yo - TT or PUP? WWYD?

[maria_bettina]

My son and I want to travel around the country when he is in 7th grade (a year from now). We have an old '92 Terry Travel Trailer (TT) currently. Out tow rig is a '10 Toyota Tundra 5.7L 4WD with a topper.

Last summer I saw a family with a pop-up tent trailer (PUP) at Glacier NP and packing up in the rain and folding up that tent trailer seemed... wet. Though on the other hand, the towing is so mcuh easier than a TT.

My question to you is, what would is your best/easiest mode of travel, assuming you will be driving thousands of miles (10k likely) over the course of a few months -- Old TT or New PUP?

(I have toyed with the idea of a cabover camper for the Tundra, but the payload is only 1640#, so even with a FWC Hawk shell, I would maxxing out the payload. In addition, wouldn't the small space be an issue after a while?)

Travel trailer seems like the obvious choice, but towing would get really tiring, especially if you are going 800+ miles in a couple days. And the lack of parking for RVs and any city driving... I dunno, seems daunting. Towing a pop-up seems SO much easier... but then there's the set up and take down every night or every couple nights. Is it really as bad as I imagine? Do they leak like tents when in steady rain for a few days? We will definitely be hitting rain, and we may head up to Jasper and Banff, so it'll be chilly though I intend to steer clear of snow.

What are the pros and cons of a TT vs PUP? What Would You Do (WWYD)?

PS I am also thinking of buying a new or slightly used Forest River Cherokee Wolf Pup 16BHS thinking it might be easier to maneuver and see behind me since it's 7' wide (as opposed to the 8' TT I have now). Not sure if that makes a difference. :?

Thanks in advance for your insight!

[parker_rowe]

If you were doing a lot of stops along the way with one night stays, I would prefer a TT.

Setting up the pop up and breaking it down each night to move to the next campground would get old quick. And it really cuts into the amount of time you have to enjoy each new location.

We found that out on out first long multi stop trip last summer. We have a hybrid, so set up time is between a standard TT and a pop-up.

On our next trip we plan to stop at least 2 nights at each campground to get a chance to check things out.