When we first started looking for an RV, we considered a pop-up trailer as a choice. We had a Honda Ridgeline and wondered if we could tow a pop-up tent trailer. So what does a pop-up trailer weigh? Pop-up trailers weigh anywhere from 600 lbs for a lightweight model to 3400 lbs for a toy hauler model that brings everything in your pop up trailer. A typical trailer, 8 feet by 16 feet weighs about 1,000 lbs to 1,500 lbs.
The typical trailer weight that most people think about does not include the cargo carrying weight. The full answer to the question is a bit more involved than just asking what the weight of a pop-up trailer weighs. First, let get some terms out of the way to answer the question in a little more detail.
Terms To Know About Weight
Unloaded Vehicle Weight/Dry Weight
This is the weight of the pop-up trailer with nothing in it when it rolled out of the factory. It includes all the part of the trailer like the heater, beds, awning, tent, beds, fridge, bathroom if there is one.
Dry Hitch Weight
The weight that is placed on the hitch on the vehicle. This is an important number when looking at trailers as the towing capacity of the hitch may not be able to handle the load of the RV weight. The tongue weight of the hitch on your vehicle has a certain carrying capacity, you want to make sure not to exceed that weight capacity.
Cargo Carrying Capacity
This is the maximum weight that you can add to your RV like people, food, water and does not include your RV. It is everything that you want to be carrying with you when you go out camping.
Gross Vehicle Weight
This is the total maximum weight that this RV was built to handle with all the cargo and the vehicle weight.
Water, Propane and Contents weight
Water weighs 8.34 lbs per gallon. The average tank is about 20 to 30 gallons in the average tent trailer. So this gives you 166.8 lbs to 250.2 lbs of additional weight. Propane weight alone is 4.2 per gallon. The average weight of a typical propane tank on a pop up is 20 gallons tank, an empty tank weighs 17 lbs roughly. So the total weight of a full of tank propane is about 101 lbs. So just the two water and propane has added 267 lbs to 351 lbs. When you add your cargo of clothes, personal stuff, and food you could easily add another 500 lbs to 1000 lbs. And we have not even added toys yet. That alone could add another 500 lbs. The weigh situation can quickly get out of hand. Here are a few pop-up trailers and what they can carry for weight from the lightest to the heaviest that I could find.
Different Sizes Of Pop-up Trailers From Small to Large.
Pop up trailers vary greatly between the lightweights and the heaviest that I have found. On the light end are the smaller models that are intended to be pulled by a car or small SUV. On the larger side, a larger truck like a Ford 150.
Lighter Pop Up Trailer Models
| Model | UVW | CCC | GVW |
| Sylvan Sport GO | 840 | 1,000 | 1,840 |
| QuickSilver Rock Climber Tent Camper | 1,270 | 930 | 2,200 |
| Quicksilver Ultra Lightweight | 694 – 1,106 | 506 – 1,140 | 1,200 – 2,246 |
Larger Pop Up Trailer Models
| Model | UVW | CCC | GVW |
| Jayco Sport Series * | 1,570 – 2,385 | 680 | 2,250 – 3,375 |
| Coachman Clipper | 1,305 – 2,182 | 514 – 1,353 | 1,819 – 3,535 |
| Rockwood Tent Trailers | 1,465 – 2,278 | 747 – 1,359 | 2,322 – 3,289 |
| Rockwood Extreme Trailers | 1,722 – 3,377 | 656 – 1,844 | 2,378 – 5,221 |
*Jayco Sport Series comes in 4 different models that sleeps from 5 to 8 people.
Related Questions
How much towing capacity do I need for a pop-up camper?
The towing capacity for a pop-up camper will depend on the total gross weight (total cargo weight) of the vehicle plus the weight of the pop-up trailer with cargo. If your vehicle has a total tow capacity of 3,500 lbs. The trailer weight is 1000 lbs, plus your stuff weight of 800 lbs for 1,800 lbs. You’ll have to also include the cargo weight or the people weight in the car being added to the equation of 1000 lbs for the total weight of 2,800 lbs. In this situation, you are under the maximum tow capacity of this vehicle.
Tow Capacity Cushion Required for a trailer
When towing your trailer, consider allowing for a 20 percent cushion below the maximum vehicle tow capacity to prevent component failure. This Cushion allows for going up hills or mountains on the highway. So in the example, we have 2,800 lbs plus 20 percent for a max weight of 3,360. We are still below the 3,500 maximum tow capacity of this vehicle.
How Wide Is A Tent Trailer?
A vehicle towed tent trailer are typically 7 feet wide, give or take an inch or two. Smaller lightweight tent trailers can come in at little over 6 feet wide. Tent trailers towed by motorbike come in even smaller at 4 feet 6 inches.
Can I find Tent trailers under 1000 lbs
When it comes to tent trailers there are a few that do come in under the 1000 lbs mark. However, this is the unloaded vehicle weight, this means it does not have any cargo in it. A fully loaded tent trailer will weigh more. This is ideal for a small family. If one or two people will be using the RV, It is even possible to find some hard body trailers under or near 1000 lbs such as teardrop trailers, fiberglass, and hardwall trailers. Teardrop trailers can in at around 500 to 600 lbs dry weight which can easily be towed by a midsize car.
