by daveesl77 » Tue Aug 16, 2022 9:30 am
I know this is a 2 year old thread, but I thought I would pipe in here. I have a 2018 Kia Soul. Originally I was going to build a super-lightweight camper, but the arthritis in my hands has gotten pretty bad so I did not feel I would do a quality job with all the curves I intended.
Instead, last month, I bought a 30 year old, 8' Coleman popup that originally had a dry weight of 985 pounds. I was looking for this specific model as I knew its dry weight and size. I bought it and pulled it back from PA to my home in WV (180 miles), mostly curvy mountain roads with three 9% grades. I got (not kidding here) 29 mpg at a 45 mph average speed. I have a 6 speed automatic, but used the manual mode, never going into 6th gear. It towed and braked ok. It does not have trailer brakes, but I will be adding them in the future. Oh, and I can actually see over the camper with inside rear view mirror and the sides with my standard side mirrors. I was amazed at this. Actually, I must say it towed very straight and the Soul did not mind pulling it or stopping it.
Once home, I stripped the interior, which was a bunch of crappy old particle board. I figure that reduced the weight another 100+ pounds. Now have used it camping twice and will go more before autumn. This autumn I'll replace the OSB flooring and bed pullouts. I'll use thin plywood, sandwiched rigid foam. I will also build a new roof, using rigid foam, aluminum and PMF. I may be able to knock off another 50 lbs.
While the canvas is in great shape, it was replaced by the original owner, I am considering building collapsible rigid/PMF walls. I saw how another small popup builder did this with an amazingly nice result. That would probably be a wash with weight, the towing height would be the same, but would make it into a 4 season camper. I added in a 100 watt solar panel system I had from my previous build and a maxx air vent, with my 200mm computer fans for ventilation.
I am able to do this economically, as three years ago I had purchased all of the XPS foam board I would have needed to build another camper, plus the titebond, canvas and other misc stuff. I have 1/4", 1/2", 1" and 2" foam boards. The previous owner had a lot of spare parts for it, parts I don't need, such as 2 gas stoves, sinks, propane heater and more. I'll sell all of that, since I have the same stuff from Conch Fritter.
So yes, a Kia Soul can work with a lightweight camper, even a popup. IT does it well, but you have to be mindful that you have a trailer behind you.
dave