Hello I'm Ben and I just purchased my first camper, a 1997 Coleman by Fleetwood Sea Pine (aka Lucy) yesterday, graduating from tent camping. We're a family of five in Maryland and I grew up camping with my family in a pop up camper and loved it. When I first started looking at pop up campers I knew it would need to have AC for the wife and kids (ages 2, 8 and 11), and I also wanted a slide out and a front storage compartment. Other than that it needed to be in good condition, ready to go camping. Eventually I decided against the slide out and storage compartment since we'll be towing with a Honda Odyssey minivan and didn't want the extra weight. I figure this is our first "starter" camper and we can always upgrade later. When I found the Sea Pine for sale I started looking into it and liked that the base vehicle weight is 1,545 which I think is a reasonable starting point before gear, etc. I'm sure most of my posts on here will be related to questions and concerns about towing with a minivan and asking what others have done.
Hello and welcome from Minnesota! Congratulations on the graduation!! I also ruled out a slide out when I was looking, not because of a weight issue, but instead, the loss of storage space in the pup when the slide out is in the travel mode.
Welcome from N/W Fl Panhandle and congrats on the NTU PUP. Take the time to get to know everything about the unit especially the set up and take down. I bet the kids are excited and ready to start camping. Good luck and Happy Camping
Welcome from Georgia! Sounds like you found something similar to what I need in a popup, weight-wise. Our tow vehicle-to-be is limited to 2000 lbs tow weight. 1600 dry would let us keep it loaded. I loved the first pup I looked at ('98 Coleman Bayside), but it weighs 2600 lbs dry. About minivans: we've had four, and the primary failure point (3 out of 4) were the transmissions. Personally, I think they put sedan drivetrains in a heavier vehicle, but I'm spitballing. Anyway, some minivans have built-in transmission coolers, integrated with the radiator… and if you get a crack in the right place, you can end up with a tranny full of radiator fluid (ask me how I know). See if you can get one separate from the radiator… and especially get one if it's not there already. It's cheap insurance—$40-$50 plus installation, and they aren't that hard to install. I'd love to get a full-size conversion van for a TV, but the wife has nixed the idea.
Years ago we towed our 2000 Santa Fe (~ 2500 lbs fully loaded & ready to camp) with a Caravan and predictably it's transmission did fail. To be fair, it did by that time have 160,000 km (~100,000 miles) on it but shouldn't have failed so prematurely. My current 1/2 ton Silverado has 150,000 km, has no issues I'm aware of, and I expect will continue to tow at least twice this without any concerns. Minivans serve a purpose but IMO towing isn't one of them.
Welcome from Southern Kentucky. Towing with a minivan can be challenging. Just because you can make the numbers work doesn’t mean that the experience will be “pleasant”.
Thanks for the warm welcome and the feedback about using a minivan as a TV. The pup is going in the garage in a few weeks until spring so I've got some time to weigh my towing options.
For Colemans, the site below has been helpful. Choose a year and it will open the brochure with all of the model specs for that year including layout plans, base weight and much more info. So it would give you an idea of which lower weight models to target. https://colemanpopupparts.com/pages/model_specs
Welcome from your neighbor in northern Virginia and a fellow fleetwood owner. When I was growing up we towed a popup with a minivan and the only problem we had was stopping a camper without breaks and a bad squat. Back then campers didn't come with breaks especially ones considered lightweight. Thank goodness this has changed for the most part. The squat is common on minivans and many have put airbags on the van to help. You may also want to look into getting a transmission cooler.
Thanks! A transmission cooler and a Timbren suspension enhancement system are on my shopping list before next spring.
