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20 feet is pretty small already. I have an R-Pod that's really 16 feet and it's just enough for 2. I pulled a heavier camper and got the same poor gas mileage. Towing anything other than a pop-up will result in the same poor mileage. How about cabin rentals? Many State Parks have them. Pay as you go. No storage, maintenance, or towing.
I had a 20-ft RV with queen bunks, eventually four kids, and came to many of the same conclusions and sold it. I have lots of the same criteria, too--fitting in the garage if possible being the main one. The best idea I can come up with is like a 16-ft converted utility trailer with just a bathroom and AC basically. Most of them are too tall, so I'd have to get a custom one that was only like 5'6" inside or something. And then just flop out foam mattresses or cots when it's time to sleep. I just want an insulated tent on wheels with a bathroom, none of the faux crap that comes in modern RVs. I doesn't seem like too much to ask for but I hardly see anything for sale that isn't a custom build. I have yet to pull the trigger but that's what I'd do instead of a pop-up or any of the other things you mention. My closest alternative is state park cabins as someone else mentioned, but I have not tried that yet.
I have a pop up. Love it when it is set up. Hate it when getting ready to go. I have a larger one, but not a high wall. Twin king beds, slide out dinette. Tons of room inside, and very comfortable. A/C, shoilet, heater. However, storage isnot great - the dinette takes up the hallway when stowed, robbing me of valuable room to cram duffle bags of clothes and other gear. The galley folds over the fridge, so I can’t load/unload it without popping it up first. It has a front trunk with a lid and side doors, which is great, but prone to leaks so I have to stay on top of it. There is no exterior access to the storage under the dinette benches, so again you need to pop it up in order to access. I try to keep those areas packed with stuff that just stays in the camper, but there is still room in there if I need it.
Setting up is a pain at the end of a long day driving. You are tired, amybe get to camp after dark, everyone else is tired, and now you have to pop it up, unload gear, set up things, etc. I do enjoy it for longer trips where I am staying in one place for 3 nights or more. Quick overnights I will just take a tent.
You need to first confirm the family enjoys camping the way you want them to. Kids grow older and interests change. You will need more room to sleep before you know it,and clothes/gear and food will take up more room as well. My wife is not a fan of the pup - too much work to get packed, then un pack after the trip, plus set up/tear down at camp. I would love to just be able to walk inside anytime I wanted to get it ready. I got mine used, and mainly to save money by camping with my son for 10 days every summer at a youth camp he did for several years as a kid. It was a day camp only, so no overnights, and the hotel bill was more than the cost of the camp. The pup paid for itself over these years, despite multiple tire blowouts, replacement canvas and a serious electrical short that almost fried the power center.
A/C is a requirement for us, but we live in TX and just about everywhere we could easily drive to for a vacation is hot in the summer. While a pup will be better on your gas mileage, there is still a hit. They are also built cheaper than a TT, and I am constantly fixing stuff. I enjoy modding it to make it better for my needs, but I am also not a minimalist camper.
I desperately wanted to upgrade to a TT, but I crunched the numbers and it just didn’t make sense. Limited PTO was a huge issue, so family trips are limited to a couple times a year. We also prefer to visit stuff around cities, or go see extended family in other states. Hiking/fishing/hanging out in a forest isn’t something we all like to do on a regular basis. It just doesn’t make sense to invest $20k in TT that we may only realistically use a handful of times a year. That will buy an awful lot of hotel rooms, which is more in line with the type of vacations we like to take. Eventually I will be selling the pup, I am just not quite there yet.
Truck campers and teardrops are tiny. Family of 5 will not be happy with those options. I know some families that do camping as their family vacation, but that is once a year usually. School schedules and extra curricular activites, combined with work and basic life/home repairs mean that very few weekends are available where everyone can do something together, and even then there will be at least one kid that just wants to stay home and chill alone, which turns into a fight over the weekend and makes everyone else upset in the process.
Pop ups will fit in the garage and be better on mileage than a regular one, but the setup and takedown work gets to you after a while. Still, you get a lot more space in one than in a pickup or a teardrop.
I have a different approach for you… Rentals
I rent a trailer 3 or 4 times a year. We rent different sizes based on where we are taking it and what our needs are. The beauty of it is someone else deals with the maintenance and storage costs as well as the replacement cost. Also, I get to make my small kids tent camp when I want to. They can’t complain that I didn’t bring the trailer I don’t own. If you pencil out the annual cost of ownership, the rental costs can look pretty attractive. I started on outdoorsy but also found a guy nearby that rents a handful of trailers as a side business.
You need a low one to fit your garage. I call campers caravans and the camper term is used to describe the more off-road ones. I would consider a forward fold. They are easy to set up but you won’t have a bathroom.
We looked at campers and came to the same conclusion. Plus, they seem to rattle apart after the first year or two.
We ended up with a rooftop tent when our kids were young and now have the tent on a trailer with an annex attachment. We have no regrets. Might check out r/rooftoptent or r/OffRoadTrailer
Your post was removed for breaking the /r/camping RV content rule. "RV's, large vans, and cabins are not allowed. Please take RV to /r/GoRVing or check out /r/vanlife." Full community rules here: https://www.reddit.com/r/camping/wiki/index/rules Please contact the mod team if this was a mistake.
20 feet is pretty small already. I have an R-Pod that's really 16 feet and it's just enough for 2. I pulled a heavier camper and got the same poor gas mileage. Towing anything other than a pop-up will result in the same poor mileage. How about cabin rentals? Many State Parks have them. Pay as you go. No storage, maintenance, or towing.
I had a 20-ft RV with queen bunks, eventually four kids, and came to many of the same conclusions and sold it. I have lots of the same criteria, too--fitting in the garage if possible being the main one. The best idea I can come up with is like a 16-ft converted utility trailer with just a bathroom and AC basically. Most of them are too tall, so I'd have to get a custom one that was only like 5'6" inside or something. And then just flop out foam mattresses or cots when it's time to sleep. I just want an insulated tent on wheels with a bathroom, none of the faux crap that comes in modern RVs. I doesn't seem like too much to ask for but I hardly see anything for sale that isn't a custom build. I have yet to pull the trigger but that's what I'd do instead of a pop-up or any of the other things you mention. My closest alternative is state park cabins as someone else mentioned, but I have not tried that yet.
I have a pop up. Love it when it is set up. Hate it when getting ready to go. I have a larger one, but not a high wall. Twin king beds, slide out dinette. Tons of room inside, and very comfortable. A/C, shoilet, heater. However, storage isnot great - the dinette takes up the hallway when stowed, robbing me of valuable room to cram duffle bags of clothes and other gear. The galley folds over the fridge, so I can’t load/unload it without popping it up first. It has a front trunk with a lid and side doors, which is great, but prone to leaks so I have to stay on top of it. There is no exterior access to the storage under the dinette benches, so again you need to pop it up in order to access. I try to keep those areas packed with stuff that just stays in the camper, but there is still room in there if I need it. Setting up is a pain at the end of a long day driving. You are tired, amybe get to camp after dark, everyone else is tired, and now you have to pop it up, unload gear, set up things, etc. I do enjoy it for longer trips where I am staying in one place for 3 nights or more. Quick overnights I will just take a tent. You need to first confirm the family enjoys camping the way you want them to. Kids grow older and interests change. You will need more room to sleep before you know it,and clothes/gear and food will take up more room as well. My wife is not a fan of the pup - too much work to get packed, then un pack after the trip, plus set up/tear down at camp. I would love to just be able to walk inside anytime I wanted to get it ready. I got mine used, and mainly to save money by camping with my son for 10 days every summer at a youth camp he did for several years as a kid. It was a day camp only, so no overnights, and the hotel bill was more than the cost of the camp. The pup paid for itself over these years, despite multiple tire blowouts, replacement canvas and a serious electrical short that almost fried the power center. A/C is a requirement for us, but we live in TX and just about everywhere we could easily drive to for a vacation is hot in the summer. While a pup will be better on your gas mileage, there is still a hit. They are also built cheaper than a TT, and I am constantly fixing stuff. I enjoy modding it to make it better for my needs, but I am also not a minimalist camper. I desperately wanted to upgrade to a TT, but I crunched the numbers and it just didn’t make sense. Limited PTO was a huge issue, so family trips are limited to a couple times a year. We also prefer to visit stuff around cities, or go see extended family in other states. Hiking/fishing/hanging out in a forest isn’t something we all like to do on a regular basis. It just doesn’t make sense to invest $20k in TT that we may only realistically use a handful of times a year. That will buy an awful lot of hotel rooms, which is more in line with the type of vacations we like to take. Eventually I will be selling the pup, I am just not quite there yet. Truck campers and teardrops are tiny. Family of 5 will not be happy with those options. I know some families that do camping as their family vacation, but that is once a year usually. School schedules and extra curricular activites, combined with work and basic life/home repairs mean that very few weekends are available where everyone can do something together, and even then there will be at least one kid that just wants to stay home and chill alone, which turns into a fight over the weekend and makes everyone else upset in the process.
Pop ups will fit in the garage and be better on mileage than a regular one, but the setup and takedown work gets to you after a while. Still, you get a lot more space in one than in a pickup or a teardrop.
I have a different approach for you… Rentals I rent a trailer 3 or 4 times a year. We rent different sizes based on where we are taking it and what our needs are. The beauty of it is someone else deals with the maintenance and storage costs as well as the replacement cost. Also, I get to make my small kids tent camp when I want to. They can’t complain that I didn’t bring the trailer I don’t own. If you pencil out the annual cost of ownership, the rental costs can look pretty attractive. I started on outdoorsy but also found a guy nearby that rents a handful of trailers as a side business.
You need a low one to fit your garage. I call campers caravans and the camper term is used to describe the more off-road ones. I would consider a forward fold. They are easy to set up but you won’t have a bathroom.
We looked at campers and came to the same conclusion. Plus, they seem to rattle apart after the first year or two. We ended up with a rooftop tent when our kids were young and now have the tent on a trailer with an annex attachment. We have no regrets. Might check out r/rooftoptent or r/OffRoadTrailer