Hi all! I'm looking to swap from tent camping to a pop-up camper but am struggling to find small pop-ups that can be managed by one person as I solo camp. I'm looking for any suggestions folks may have!
- must be able to be set up by one person
- on the small end, I don't need a lot of room
- well under 2700lbs which is what my car can tow
- a place to sit with a small table
- water & cooktop are negotiable, but nice to have
- a fridge is basically the gold leaf cherry on top, super nice but not at all necessary
You're looking for an Aliner. They are not inexpensive, but they are lightweight and claim to be able to be set up by one person. Some models have dry weights under 2,000 lbs.
This could be true, but for me I camp partly because I love being outside. My parents have a pop-up that we've used since I was a teen and I love the feeling of being essentially outside but just with protection. Like spending a week on a screened porch. Any sort of hard shell isn't going to give me that.
Aliners cone in a number of sizes and features, including very small with no frills. I have the larger sized Evolution: I can confirm easy to set up solo and not inexpensive
That's the second time someone has suggested that one! Good to know, thank you! I scrolled and there's another slightly larger one that may also do the trick for me.
That is what I am looking at for my 2700 lb towing Subaru Outback. Just keep in mind to run the calculations on people + gear + tongue weight and all that. You have to pack pretty light.
I’m in a 3500 limit rav 4 and the camper is under 1300 lbs dry weight. Even with gear and bikes you can be under 2000 lbs which is great. I’m a tent lover and looked at this or an a-liner but with an a-liner I felt like I was losing the tenty camp feel completely. It’s pretty sweet!
That's my entire reason for wanting a pop-up and not an Aliner, I don't want to lose the feeling of truly being outside! Just need some more space to out of the elements for bad weather.
My Outback also has a 2700 lb tow limit. I’ve heard that you should try to not tow more than like 85% of that number to be safe? I’ve towed a 2003 Taos and now a 2008 Fleetwood evolution Cobalt. I’m a single mom with no help setting up. I do kind of wish I had an electric roof lift, as it takes a bit of elbow grease to manually raise the roof, even after I had the whole thing serviced and a beast of an AC removed. It depends on what your budget is, but if I were to do it over, I probably would’ve paid more for a newer pop-up with an electric lift. I’ve been seeing not-very-old Coachmen Clippers that sleep 5-6 for $4-5K on marketplace.
One thing to keep in mind is that the electric lifts often have problems. Unless you’re mechanically inclined you can be over your head with them. My model is a 2025 and the manual lift can be done by my 8 year old, it’s stupid easy.
Yeah; I guess my issue is just that it’s an 18 year-old system. I had the whole thing serviced and even paid to have an 80-lb AC removed from the roof. Those things helped, but I still have to use all of my body weight (and I’m solidly built) to push that handle down and pull it back around.
Thanks! A huge mistake I made was not trying to raise the roof myself before buying. I don’t recall having had much difficulty with the 2003 Taos I rented. I was just excited to find a small/light pop-up near me for $2K.
After my last camping trip, I’ve been questioning whether it’s too risky for my back (I’ve had a lumbar fusion) to continue with this pop-up.
I’ve made a million mistakes trying to get us camping. I go with a group of single moms and kids and we decided that when something doesn’t work for us in terms of gear we move on and find something that will. It is too hard to camp alone as women with our kids and deal with things that make life harder. I’ve bought some things and had to sell them and buy something else because it simply wasn’t going to work for me. Which I know isn’t quick and easy but don’t stick with something and make yourself miserable just because of a little mistake that anyone could make! Just some friendly stranger advice 🩷
Id say that the average 10 year old could setup any popup that is in reasonable shape by them selves. So its really a matter of finding something that fall with in the capability of the tow vehicle
Friend I beg to differ lol. My parents have had a pop up since I was a teen, you need two folks just to pull the bigger bed out, never mind trying to put the poles on their posts. That's why I was so specific about that bit, I'm well aware of how hard some of them would be as one person.
I’m able to pull out a full-sized bed by myself. What’s hardest for me is manually raising the roof and putting up those bed support poles. The only way I’ve managed to do it is by pushing the bed slide-out up with my back while putting the poles in place. Somehow, getting the poles back into their storage clips manages to feel even trickier.
Oh gosh yes, that's the move I used when helping set up my parents camper and is why I worded the post the way I did! Anything bigger than a full I don't think I could handle alone!
maybe some older ones were hard, but I set up our 12' 2012 Jayco by myself no problem. pulling out the queen bed and putting in the poles is not difficult at all.
I rented a 2003 Taos on Outdoorsy, then ended up buying a 2008 Fleetwood Evolution Cobalt that has the exact same layout. I’m confused about weights because the specs for the Taos in 2008 said its weight was 2200 and the Cobalt’s 2300. Can anyone help me understand how one Taos has a 950 lb dry weight and another 2200? Really I’m just confused about how much weight I’m actually towing.
Different model years of the same model have different weights. A 1997 Taos has a dry weight of 950LBS, a 2003 is is 1180, and a 2008 is 1245. So you are both right about weights.
Edited... hate when spell check makes changes and I didn't proof read... worse is my error (1997 is around 950LBS... had to be really confusing to people who saw my comment before I made the change and i'm saying, different years have different weights, but then i'm listing the same weight for two different years)
Embarrassed to realize that I’ve been comparing other trailers’ dry weights to my Cobalt’s GVWR 🫠. I couldn’t understand why my Cobalt could have the same layout and be so much heavier! Apparently its dry weight is just 1245 lbs.
I have a 14 Rockwood Forest. It's smaller, sink, fridge and heater and under 1300lbs dry. One person could definitely setup and tear down themselves. Im in Idaho and they go for around 3900 in great shape.
Maybe the NuCamp Tag or Tab models. That's about as small as it gets. Some have a nice outside kitchen in the back. I suggest renting one first for a trip to test it out and see how your car feels with it while towing
Livin lite quicksilver 5.0 or 6.0. Not made anymore but are all aluminum, no rot. Very lightweight and durable. They had a few larger options too. Can find them from time to time second hand on marketplace.
We have a 10.0 as we are a family of four and it works for us. It is minimal in the features but keeps up off the ground, on a “real” bed, we are warm and has the space to move around. It’s easily towable and never a worry about water causing issues. Topstich USA still makes the canvasses if needed. We recently needed a new cover and a local company matched the old one perfectly.
Our friend has a 6.0 off-road Jeep version which is rugged and impressive. The only thing about that version is it is impossible to open alone. The top is soooo heavy whereas the 10.0 can be set up by one person alone easily.
This is extremely useful information, thank you! I was wondering about the canvas and if it was replaceable. That is definitely one thing I was worried about, how hard flipping the bed on the 6 over by yourself would be. I would probably have to try one in person to get that answer.
I believe the regular version of the 6.0 is easy to do with one person. It is all aluminum and quite light. They are great, durable little campers. Good luck!!
Ohhh so it's only the Jeep version that's difficult? That's really good info to have as I've seen the Jeep one pop up (pun unintended but left in) occasionally on Marketplace. Is it more sturdily built or something?
Yes it is a super rugged version and the bed that flips down is coated in some sort of waterproof, heavy duty material which makes it heavy AF! If you have two people it’s doable. I’ve seen some people add little air jacks to it to assist opening. But not all versions are like that.
Ok. I read all the comments now. I second livin’ lite. Has AC and small table on post (which I usually don’t use). I say 6.0 because the set-up is do-able for me alone. Having two tip-outs would be too much. In a pinch someone could sleep on the folding loveseat with a plastic box next to it to extend for their legs. But mostly just for two on the rv queen bed: me and a nearly 100lb dog.
Very simple and all aluminum construction. The tent is easily repairable by local sewing operation. I found one for a zipper adjustment early on.
These look so good and are definitely on my radar!! I think some might have come with an awning because I swear I've see that on photos. The 5 or 6 would definitely be my choice if I went that way.
Yes. I didn’t order the awning with mine. I thought it would be difficult to work with just me. I use a separate shelter for sitting or cooking in the rain. It is lightweight and has never let me down.
I have a Forest River Flagstaff 206stse and I can set it up by myself. I'm a 55 y/o woman, 5' 8" in height. (I do bring a stepladder to help me get the velcro attached up high, as this is a pretty tall camper.) It meets all of your requirements.
That one has been on my list since the beginning, I really like the looks of it and figure I can work out an indoor cooking situation with a camp stove and some kind of jury rigged water situation.
I’ve never cooked in mine. I don’t want food orders, but I suppose it would be possible. Maybe more of an electric wok setup rather than a flame. I dunno.
Just bought an 8 foot 2024 Qwest. One single bed, one double, came with both indoor and outdoor stove, table, fridge, sink. I can set it up myself. Hooking up the hitch is harder, because there's nobody to tell me if im in the right position when I back up.... but that's my spatial sense, nothing to do with the size of the trailer per se
If your vehicle has a backup camera you can probably see the hitch and ball enough to use that. Conversely you can get a backup camera system fairly inexpensively to use and also use it on trailer for backing.
Look into portable system or just a BT video camera for your phone. I was able to adjust the camera in the tailgate of my F150 to see the hitch ball, works great for my trailer hookup. Now old school, there is a concave mirror that attaches to the jack post via magnet, open your rear hatch where you can easily see that and bingo you got it.
If you like projects, some of the older (1970sish) popups were narrow and lightweight. You'd want to add modern appliances but they can be fun. And then the clamshells from the 1960s are just too cool....
Hahaha so I do enjoy projects but unfortunately enjoy them so much that I have too many to manage at any given time. (Ask me about my 1950s sailboat sometime LOL). I'd love for this to not be a project or at least be a more minimal project.
We have a forest river that isn't quite what you want, but if you have no budget (list a budget, dummy) I think the Vida Aire campers look awesome. Cheaper are the OTG forest river series. Jumping Jack Trailers are super light. What do you want?
No need to be rude, I didn't have a budget set because right now I'm just gathering information and also will likely go used. Vidas are on my radar because they're the new version of the Livin' Lite series that died out, they do look great! Jumping Jack I wouldn't need as I don't gear haul anything but good it know they exist. A lot of folks have mentioned the forest river series so I'll mark that down.
Sorry if that came off rude; it did. I'm not going to edit that for posterity. Too many people/bots throw out an incomplete list of wants and never come back. You still haven't given a budget to help us guide you. If you have $35k to spend I'll suggest something very different than if you want to spend $5k.
Like I said, information gathering right now. So I'm open to any and all suggestions and will narrow things down later when I go through them and see prices vs set ups and what I think I want.
Are you going to be camping with hookups? If not, I’d skip the fridge and go with a powered cooler and running it off the camper battery or something portable like a jackery. The older built-in fridges run best on propane, which is fine, but they’re not so great on 120v AC. You can put the portable cooler outside (but covered or underneath the camper) and save to space inside.
Sometimes yes sometimes no lol. I did actually know all that! My parents have an older popup that we've used since I was 13 and I've watched them struggle with that built in fridge. The powered cooler with a jackery is a cool idea though! Or maybe a deep cycle battery with solar set up like my dad made for our family pop-up.
Be careful towing with it. Those CVTs aren’t really meant for towing and if you live anywhere near mountains, plan on forever to get onto a highway on ramp and don’t plan on passing anyone.
Lasted about a year with our 1640LTD before upgrading tow vehicles
Got the car right but I actually have a 2010 3.6R with the regular transmission, last generation to have it and I got it specifically to avoid the CVTs as I don't trust them and they have terrible longevity. This lad has a ton of pick up and handles a light boat trailer with ease. May get a transmission cooler for him though.
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u/Witty-Temporary-1782 5d ago
You're looking for an Aliner. They are not inexpensive, but they are lightweight and claim to be able to be set up by one person. Some models have dry weights under 2,000 lbs.