Pop-up campers are great. The fun of camping in a tent with the ease and comfort of a travel trailer all rolled into one. Quick and easy to pitch, and often equipped with the gear you’d expect from a larger camper, pop-up travel trailers are a popular choice among new and seasoned camping fans alike.
Add to all this the fact that many models are incredibly light and can be towed by most family vehicles and you have a recipe for an excellent holiday, wherever and whenever you like.
If you’re looking to purchase the right camper for your needs, there are many travel trailer models to choose from. So where do you start? Here, we’ve listed some of the very best lightweight pop-up travel trailers weighing less than 1,500 pounds.
Note: All measurements are interior and do not include exterior or towing measurements unless stated otherwise. Dry weight is the weight of the travel trailer containing standard features and fixtures with no fuel or fluids, passengers, or cargo. More details can be found on the company websites.
Livin Lite Quicksilver 8.0
- Length: 16 feet
- Width: 7 feet
- Height: 6.3 feet
- Dry Weight: 994 pounds
- Standard Fixtures: 2-burner stove, dinette with bench seating, sleeps up to 6 people on 2 full-size beds and a convertible bed, air conditioning prewiring, privacy screen
The Livin Lite Quicksilver 8.0 might look like a fairly basic pop-up camper, but a lot of thought has gone into its design and construction to make sure that it lasts for decades. The aluminum galley and countertops keep the camper as light as possible whilst the freeze/crack-proof linoleum floor ensures weather protection and easy low maintenance.
The stylish and generous galley comes complete with ample countertop space for preparing meals, a sink with a hand pump, a 1-burner stove, and a water heater. A 20-gallon water tank and a hot/cold galley faucet are available as additional options.
As with most small campers, there is a variety of different packages you can choose from whilst kitting out your Quicksilver, and the easy-to-navigate website makes building your own custom camper a breeze.
Although this travel trailer doesn’t come with a bathroom or toilet, an outside shower is optional, and for those who’d like a little more space, you can add an extra awning and awning room, which creates considerably more room for you and your family.
The Quicksilver trailer is ideal for SUVs and is incredibly easy to hitch, unhitch, and set up anywhere you’d like. And for the more adventurous people out there, there are options for off-road driving which include bigger wheels for more clearance on rough terrain.
There are tons of options for this little travel trailer, so be sure to discuss them with your dealer to make sure yours is built to your specifications.
Forest River Rockwood Tent 1640LTD
- Length: 17 feet
- Width: 7 feet
- Road Height: 5 feet 4 inches
- Dry Weight: 1,465 pounds
- Standard Fixtures: kitchen with 2-burner stove and compact refrigerator, sleeps up to 6 on 2 full-size beds and a convertible bed, screened room, 7ft awning, A/C and heater prewiring
Forest River is a big name in the world of travel trailers, and the Rockwood Tent proves that it’s for good reason. The perfect camper for families, the Rockwood comes with all the equipment you need for your trip, plus optional additions including a furnace, bike rack, heated mattresses, screen room, outside grill and worktop, and a refrigerator.
Lightweight doesn’t have to mean small and cramped, and with the beds situated at each tent end, the Rockwood is spacious. The open floor plan allows for plenty of easy movement around the kitchen and dinette areas. As with most lightweight travel trailers, there is no toilet or bathroom option, but when everything else is so expertly fitted this is a small sacrifice to make for a high-class model.
Aliner Ranger 10
- Length: 12 feet 8 inches
- Width: 6 feet 6 inches
- Road Height: 4 feet 7 inches
- Dry Weight: 1,225 pounds
- Standard Fixtures: Water heater and 11-gallon freshwater tank, water pump, furnace, and outdoor shower, kitchen with sink, compact refrigerator, 2-burner stove and vent fan, skylights, porch light, solar port, sleeps up to 4
Aliner has been building A-frame travel trailers since the early 1970s and is supposedly the first company to do so. With that in mind, you can’t go wrong if you purchase one of their Ranger 10 models.
Available with 2 different floor plans, you can either buy a trailer with less sleeping space and more storage space or more space for beds and less space to store your camping equipment. The front kitchen model sleeps 2 on a convertible bed whilst allowing for bigger cabinets, and the front bunk model sleeps 4 on the convertible bed and extra bunks, doing away with the extra cabinets. This does make the storage space smaller, but not too small, and with both models cabinets, a refrigerator, sink, and 2-burner stove fit nicely into the space.
With the added options of a soft front dormer for added light and ventilation, A/C and heat pump, an outside grill, and a setup time of about 5 minutes, the Aliner Ranger 10 travel trailer lives up to the company’s hard-earned reputation. Many models that the company builds are ultra-lightweight, and they offer a huge variety of layouts, packages, and options to suit anyone’s needs. Check out their website to request a brochure and get more details on the Ranger 10 and their other campers.
SylvanSport Go
- Length: 7 feet
- Width: 10 feet
- Height: 6.5 feet
- Dry Weight: 840 pounds
- Standard Fixtures: Sleeps up to 4 adults on 4 self-inflating, insulated mattresses, stargazer windows, large awning, dinette table
The SylvanSport Go is a truly versatile little travel trailer with three modes: Camper, Gear Hauler, and Utility Trailer.
The Camper mode is, obviously, the mode you’d set up for living in, and gives a very similar experience to camping in a much more basic standard tent. The SylvanSport Go doesn’t come with any luxury amenities or fixtures like a kitchen or cabinets but makes up for this by boasting plenty of comfortable space that sleeps up to 4 adults. As well as the self-inflating, insulated mattresses, the tent offers a huge amount of headroom and a table with seating. The beds can be arranged as 2 extra-large twins or 1 king-plus bed
A front storage box allows you to safely stow away any equipment and when you put the trailer into Gear Hauler or Utility Trailer mode, it can carry anything from mountain bikes to quads and kayaks or canoes to bulkier heavy-duty equipment.
Coachmen Clipper Express 9.0TD
- Length: 13 feet
- Height: 3 feet 9 inches
- Dry Weight: 776 pounds
- Standard Fixtures: LED lighting, laminated countertops, deep bowl acrylic sink, Bluetooth stereo, refrigerator, furnace, ash cabinets, air conditioning, propane camp stove, folding table and chairs, 2 windows, pop up rear entry hatch, outdoor grill, solar panel adapter, port-a-potty, sleeps 2
Another high-class RV from the famous Forest River family, the Coachmen Clipper Express travel trailer is a compact and sleek teardrop design trailer that brings comfort, style, and convenience to camping. With plenty of storage under the bed (which is also where the toilet lives) and in the kitchen, the Clipper Express looks smaller on the outside than it does on the inside, and a surprising number of amenities fit neatly in the space.
The 1.6 cubic foot fridge sits underneath one of the kitchen counters and the propane stove fits into a mount on the outside of the trailer, allowing for alfresco dining and leaving the countertops free for food prep. Two large windows and a mesh pop-up window provide plenty of natural light and ventilation and built-in A/C helps keep the tent cool in the hot weather. In the deluxe version of the camper, a butane furnace is also available.
As with many of these travel trailers, an off-road package is also available and comes complete with a built-in sink and 16-gallon freshwater tank, water heater, outdoor shower to wash off the dust and mud from a long day out on the backroads, and a roof rack to store your bulkier items.
With top-quality laminate flooring and dark ash wood cabinets, the Coachmen Clipper Express, as with all Forest River RVs, brings a real touch of class to your camping trip.
Roadman Camper
- Length: 5.1 feet
- Width: 3.1 feet
- Closed Height: 2.9 feet
- Dry Weight: 250 pounds
- Standard Fixtures: LED lights, aluminum luggage rack, storage under the bed platform, carpeted floor, heavy-duty canvas tent, dressing room, inside pockets, 4 windows, awning, sleeps 2
Something a little different, the Roadman Camper is designed specifically to be towed by a motorbike. About as basic as you can get, the Roadman comes without kitchen or bathroom amenities but does provide warmth and comfort to your motorcycling journey.
Elevating the bed above the ground makes for a warmer and more comfortable sleeping experience, and the height means no awkward crouching or crawling around in the dark after a long day on the road.
With a built-in dressing room, ample space is provided to change in and out of bulky biking gear, and the sleeping area comfortably fits a double inflatable mattress. Unlike other lightweight travel trailers, the tent does not automatically pop up and you’ll have to manually erect it. But with a setup time of around 7 minutes, this is hardly a problem, considering the quality of the product. This also means that the trailer can be used just for cargo, as the tent and all of its equipment can be removed if not needed to make room for other items.
When stowing the tent, there is also room in the trailer for everything else you’ll need for your adventures, including a stove and food. The trailer can carry an overall weight of 275 pounds.
Also available in queen size, which essentially has the same features but on a slightly larger scale, or just as the cargo trailer without the tent, the Roadman is incredibly versatile and ideal for any motorbiking trip you might have planned. Of course, the lightweight trailer can also be towed behind a car or truck.
How To Choose A Pop Up Camper
With so many different travel trailer models on the market, it’s important to know exactly what you’re looking for before you start your search. Narrowing down your choices before heading to the store can save you an awful lot of time and effort and make the final decision much easier. You might even consider this article on “How to Buy a Used Tent Trailer” to help with your choice. Because often buying used may be the way to go.
What you want from your trailer is dependent on a lot of factors. The article, “Should I Buy a Tent Trailer, Travel Trailer, or RV?” can help you decide based on your camping style.
Vehicle Towing Capacity
Some travel trailers can be towed by a family sedan, or even, as we’ve seen, a motorbike, whilst others will be more suited to an SUV or a truck. Ensure that you’ve checked your vehicle owner’s manual and established just how much yours can tow before buying a trailer. It’s recommended that you always stay below your vehicle’s towing weight to give you optimum acceleration and braking power.
How Many People
The size of lightweight travel trailers varies. Take into consideration the maximum number of people that will be sleeping in it at one time. It’s also worth remembering that just because a brochure says a trailer can sleep 4 doesn’t mean it will be very comfortable, and some trailers do require you to get quite cozy. If you want 4 to live happily in it for a week, consider buying a trailer that sleeps 5 or 6 instead.
Many trailers also have the added option of purchasing an extra tent or room to expand the living space inside, so thoroughly check the list of options.
Remember that more people require more space to store their belongings, so keep in mind how much the trailer allows you to stow.
Taking It Off-Road
Whether or not you want to take your trailer off-road or stick to well-maintained public roads will make a big difference to the model you choose to purchase. There’s no point in buying a fully-armored, extra reinforced travel trailer if you’re going to be sticking to highways and popular routes.
On the other hand, if you’ll be spending the majority of your time camping in the middle of nowhere, across country roads and rough terrain, a standard trailer just won’t cut it and you’ll need to think about purchasing a trailer designed for the backroads. Think bigger wheels, stronger axles, and tougher bodywork.
Many travel trailers come in standard and off-road models, so check with the dealer or on the company website to make sure you get exactly what you need.
If you are planning on taking your travel trailer into the middle of nowhere, you’ll also want to keep in mind its off-grid capabilities. Making sure water and fuel tanks have a large enough capacity, heating, A/C, insulation suitable for the conditions, and batteries, solar panels, and lights are all in working condition and can last for as long as you want to be off-grid is a must and needs to be carefully considered.
Do You Want A Bathroom Or Kitchen?
As we have seen, many smaller travel trailers don’t come with any sort of kitchen or bathroom, although some do offer these as options for an added price.
If you are going to be spending the majority of your camping time on sites where these amenities are available, or in the backwoods away from others, you may not need to bother taking up precious space with a toilet or kitchen.
But if you’re not a fan of campsite facilities, or not keen on the idea of leaving your trailer on cold, dark nights, definitely opt for whatever toilet and kitchen options your trailer may come with.
Wrapping It Up
Most travel trailers come with a huge variety of customizable options, with prices dependent on the fixtures and gear you choose. With so much to offer, you’re sure to find a fantastic travel trailer that works perfectly for you for years to come.
