[PhilW]

Not sure if you are into building things, but here's a thought. I found my 10" sonotube dob just too cumbersome and heavy to haul around, seeing as I am a self-confessed wimp. So I rebuilt it as a super-light truss (see pic). That blue stuff is just foam board with glass resin over it. So the whole thing could be carried out in one trip, and moved around easily. Only downside is its tendency to blow around in a high wind since it so light.

If $1K for the Argo is too steep for you (it is a superb product btw, & a great idea), you can always go the low-end route with alt-az setting circles, in conjunction with a program like Cartes du Ciel. There's a forum article on doing this.

And yes, it should ultimately be driven by your observing objectives. If you are interested in deep-sky observing, I find it hard to imagine you'd be happy with less aperture than you have now.

Oh, one note to avoid confusion: that mirror box in my avatar pic was the one I built for my subsequent 14" (same technique though). I doubt I could fit my son into the 10" without protest.

Phil