Hi Matty,
I chose aperture as i have reasonably dark skies here. I also consider my 12"Dob portable.No different to putting any other scope in the car,ie; same precautions need to be taken. My wife is not into astronomy so if i go anywhere i'm on my own, room in the car is not important for a passenger.
Cheers
I have chosen "portability" lately. I now have a high-quality APO refractor of small aperture that still gives great views with the right kind of EP and is fantastic for widefield photography. It'll get far more airtime than any other scope I own. It fits (with equatorial mount) into a single briefcase. It goes everywhere with me.
At the other end of the spectrum though - I'm still building my dual 12" binocular telescope - which isn't any where near as portable. Being a collapsible truss system it's still more portable than my 12" LX200GPS - which is too much for me to lug around any more. The views are phenomenal though a 12" bino.
If the question were:"If you were only able to have ONE, SINGLE scope...." than I'd have to answer "aperture". I'd then hire a slave to move it around for me.
Yep portability is for me as well, if the set-up job is reasonably easy when on the road you would probably be prepared to use the set-up much more than having to lug around a big scope and mount, IMHO.
for me the 10" dob is big enough to keep aperture fever at bay, but too big to simply "throw in the boot" without having to consider luggage space. so if i was choosing another telescope i'd go for something small that i could travel with easily.
I've realised I need it for the 12" And I can get the 8" in as well for anyone else tagging along (and a few sets of binoculars!). Only one minor problem - what to do with all the camping stuff currently stored in the trailer
Portability for me just now - goes well with buzzing around the country.
BUT - have you seen those Britz hire campers? Maybe they are really mobile observatories - you know, opening roof and all? If this is true, then portability could mean pretty reasonable aperture? Must sneek up on a couple and have a look......!
And I am luckly enough that my scope is able to be wheeled out into position, fully assembled, in 30 seconds flat. But then, it takes a fair bit longer to pull it apart and reassemble it when travelling to a star party.
And I can get the 8" in as well for anyone else tagging along (and a few sets of binoculars!). Only one minor problem - what to do with all the camping stuff currently stored in the trailer 
