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Van life is definitely real but I think people are starting to get over it. I like pop ups more anyway. I'm 6'4" so the only van I can stand in uber expensive, but I can stand in any pop up. You can build them out to a more apartment-like aesthetic just like van-lifers do. You also have a legitimate SUV/truck instead of some oversized box too. I get like 25 mpg when towing which is pretty good. A hybrid SUV would do even better and they aren't that much more expensive because they've been around for a while.
What else? Get some solar panels and batteries and you have AC all summer. I actually just fold a few up and stash them when I'm moving. As far as I can tell, they offer all the same benefits but with more room and for significantly cheaper.
The lifestyle is a little different though. You're going to be stashing the popup somewhere and making that your home base for up to 14 days (BLM maximum I believe) at a time. That's not that bad. Takes like 15m to get setup/take down.
Downsides are you can't do cities. BUT if I wanna "van life" in a city (which itself is increasingly harder for vans), I just take my SUV which is very spacious inside and has some amenities. It's like a van-lite. Ditto for traveling and sleeping at a wal mart or whatever. Another downside is noise. Outside noise is louder because the vinyl doesn't block as much noise. Ear plugs and you're set on that one though. Safety is another concern. It's obviously nice knowing you can just hop into the driver seat and bail whenever but...get a gun lol. And I have a safe in the pop up and keep my extreme valuables in my car.
