When I went to the RV Open House in Elkhart, Indiana I noticed a common theme among the RV manufacturers. Most of them brought the biggest, best campers that they had in production. I’m talking about campers with multiple bathrooms, laundry facilities, and interiors that look like a luxury apartment. And the technology is out there, too, from campers that park themselves to Class A rigs with lane-keep assist. Oh, and at the show I also found a bumper-pull camper that was so tall that it had an upstairs loft. But all of those campers cost a lot of money, some of them probably more expensive than your home. Thankfully, RV manufacturers haven’t forgotten about the smaller end of the market, and in-between the giants were little guys that won’t break the bank.
Aspen Trail LE 17BH – $23,104
As I noted in my cheap used camper piece, Dutchmen first opened up shop in 1988, building travel trailers and later fifth wheels. Back then, the company positioned itself as an entry-level brand, and it remains that way today. Dutchmen’s aggressive pricing caught the attention of Thor Industries, and the company has been under the Thor umbrella since 1991. And because the RV industry has so many layers, Dutchmen has a number of sub-brands under its name, including Aspen Trail, Coleman, Voltage, and more. Dutchmen’s 17-footers are some of the least expensive campers in its lineup that you can still stand up in. For example, the Coleman 17B can be had for just $21,000. And you still get everything that you’d expect in a camper from sleeping for five to the all-important shower and flushing toilet. With a dry weight of just 3,078 pounds, it could be towed by a wide variety of vehicles, too. Unfortunately, while Dutchmen brought Coleman campers to the show, I didn’t see this one there. So, let’s take a look at the next best thing that Dutchmen did bring. This is the Aspen Trail LE 17BH. It’s the same size as that Coleman, but $2,104 more expensive. As I said before, Aspen Trail is a sub-brand of Dutchmen. Launched in 2012, it exists as an entry-level camper with a few more features and more upscale looks. Keep that in mind as we go over this camper.
The first thing that I noticed is that the Aspen Trail LE 17BH isn’t as tall as the larger travel trailers in the Aspen Trail line. This isn’t an illusion, as when you count the air-conditioner this sits 9 feet, 2 inches tall. Aspen Trail’s larger campers sit about two feet taller. That said, interior height is 6 feet, 10 inches, so most people will fit fine. Before we move inside, let’s take a look outside. Yes, this unit had just two stabilizer jacks. Aspen Trail’s spec sheet specifies four jacks, so it’s unclear why this one was missing two. This trailer features corrugated metal siding, which I like more than fiberglass. This isn’t going to bubble on you less than ten years down the road!
You also get an awning, but I must note that the awning and the trailer’s small size does give you a bit of a problem. See, the door can swing open and impact one of the awning’s arms. To prevent that, this trailer has an L-shaped plastic hook that slides into a holder.
It’s supposed to keep the door from hitting the awning arms, but it doesn’t take much to overwhelm and bend that hook. The door uses friction to hold itself in place, but a good gust of wind or a kid running out of the camper can send the door crashing into the awning arm. This isn’t a big deal, but I’d recommend putting some rubber or something at the top of the door so the impacts don’t damage anything.
Inside, the Aspen Trail uses its space efficiently. Up front is a Queen-size bed. That sits up against the dinette, which also transforms into a bed. Across the aisle is a galley kitchen, featuring a small, two-burner stove, sink, microwave, and refrigerator. The addition of an electric fireplace is pretty neat. As for plumbing, all three holding tanks are just under 29 gallons each.
In the back is a bunk bed and a bathroom. The bathroom felt small, but usable. Overall, I like this interior. The quality is about as you’d expect at this price range. Everything feels really lightweight and thin. This is an interior that should last, so long as you try to take care of it. Speaking of weight, it comes in at just 3,069 pounds, so once again it can be towed by many vehicles.
Little Guy Micro Max – About $30,000
One thing that I noticed at the Open House is that a number of manufacturers do not advertise their prices. I was told by a dealership at the show that manufacturers will sometimes change pricing throughout the year, so a price published one day might not be valid a month later. For this camper, I looked up advertised prices at dealerships. And, depending on the dealer and options, you’ll be paying around $30,000. Over in the independents area of the Open House were a few companies selling teardrop travel trailers. One of these companies was Little Guy Trailers, a company of Xtreme Outdoors. Little Guy tells its history like this:
As the quantity of trailers ordered increased, the operation was moved out of a garage and into a manufacturing facility. Over the next couple years, production gradually and consistently ramped up from 2-3 a week to 3-4 a day. The company’s founder, Joe Kicos, wanted to revive the teardrops of the 1930s and on. In an interview, Kicos indicated that Little Guy campers were specifically inspired by the Benroy teardrop of the 1950s, but adapted to have some modern design and amenities. Since then Little Guy has assembled thousands of teardrops, some so lightweight that they could even be towed by a motorcycle. The Little Guy Micro Max is Little Guy’s smallest camper that you can stand up in, and it has a lot going for it. This trailer weighs just 1,860 pounds, allowing it to be towed by an even greater variety of vehicles. It also sits really low to the ground, which is great for people who don’t want to climb into a camper. Oh, and it’s as small as it looks. Total length is 15 feet, 11 inches with an exterior height of about 7 feet. That means that it could fit into many residential garages, saving you money on storage costs.
Having a camper this tiny does come with some drawbacks as compared to the cheaper Aspen Trail. The biggest, I think, is that the interior is just 5 feet, 9 inches tall. I’m 5 feet, 6 inches tall and had just a few inches of headroom. Taller people will have some problems.
The Micro Max is also not the best equipped for being off-grid. Its fresh water tank is just 12 gallons, with the gray tank being just 8.5 gallons, and Little Guy says that those capacities are subject to change due to supply problems. You’ll notice that I omitted a black tank, and that’s because there are no bathroom facilities of any kind onboard. You can get an optional toilet, which takes up about half of the space of the front dinette area.
That toilet is also in an awkward spot, where you’ll be pooping in full view of whoever you’re camping with. But if you don’t care about any of that, the interior is pretty nice inside. Quality feels better than the Aspen Trail, and you do still get a functional galley kitchen. Little Guy does sell an off-road version of this camper, but I must note that the off-road version is the standard camper plus bigger tires and a 3.5-inch axle riser lift kit.
There’s no underbody protection, so this isn’t something that you’re going to be dragging too far off of pavement. All of this said, if you must have something that fits in your garage, I’d grab one of these with the optional toilet.
Little Guy MyPod – About $15,000
Once again, Little Guy didn’t publish pricing, but it seems that you can get them for about $15,000 at a dealership. When I was at the Open House, I chatted with a motorcyclist who owns one of these. They told me that they tow it with a Boss Hoss V8 trike, but he’s seen them hauled by Honda Gold Wings and Harley-Davidsons. These are the kinds of campers that you get when you need something that weighs under 1,000 pounds, but don’t want to have tent walls.
The Little Guy MyPod weighs in at 840 pounds and for your $15,000, you get a tiny fiberglass camper with a tongue weight of just 110 pounds. This is a trailer that even a 25-year-old kei car from Japan could tow. There’s not much to it, as your amenities are largely just a TV, an air-conditioner, stereo, and power outlets. However, you do get a 6-foot, 3-inch bed to sleep in. Again, this is really meant for motorcyclists traveling across the country wanting to sleep in something more solid than a tent. Alternatively, you can tow it with your Smart, Mitsubishi Mirage, or any other small car, really.
Riverside Retro 135 – About $18,500
Riverside RV is another company that I found out in the independent manufacturers area. This company is still somewhat a startup, and it specializes in modern campers that look like they come from the 1950s. What I liked about Riverside’s trailers is that the company essentially sells three variations of the same travel trailer. Riverside tells its story like this: In recent years, the company was traded from Vohne Liche Manufacturing to Chinook Motor Coach. Riverside says that it’s still a small operation, where its factory builds just a few campers a day. The company thinks that by taking its time, better campers will come out of the other side. In 2012, Riverside was bursting at the seams, desperately needing more space as it continued to grow, the business was relocated to east of LaGrange. Growth took Riverside from a 50′ x 125′ building to a 150,000 sq. ft. building. Riverside offers the Retro, Intrepid, and Xplorer. The floor plans and overall dimensions appear to be exactly the same across the board, so all you have to do is pick the style that you like best, then choose the size that you want it in.
For me, I loved the Retro 135. Once again, pricing isn’t on the manufacturer’s site, but it looks like you’ll be paying about $18,500 for one, which is pretty darn cheap. Part of why it’s so cheap is because it’s a little stubby trailer. At 15 feet, 9 inches-long, it’s just a touch longer than the Little Guy. But unlike the Little Guy, the Riverside Retro maintains a ceiling height of 6 feet, 3 inches. It comes in at 9 feet, 6 inches, which unfortunately means that you’re not parking it in your garage. Starting with the exterior, the siding is finished in metal. It’s not a traditional corrugated style, but it looks the part. The Retro is supposed to look like a teardrop camper from the 1950s and I’m not sure that it pulls off the look. However, I absolutely adore the bright colors and a dedication to the theme down to moon caps, matching wheels, and white wall tires. These trailers are certainly pretty! Another thing I like is that the entry door is at the rear. That means that the door isn’t going to get in the way of the awning.
Inside, the retro theme continues with the interior. Right next to the door is a small bathroom, which includes a flushing toilet and a shower. In front of that is a small galley kitchen. To your right is a sofa (or optional dinette) and up front is a Queen bed.
You also get over 36-gallon fresh and a 32-gallon gray tank. They’re accompanied by a 17-gallon black tank. Add a generator or solar panels and I bet this little guy could spend a weekend off-grid, maybe longer. You get all of that, including an air-conditioner and heat in a package that weighs in at 2,640 pounds. You could probably squeeze four people in there, but honestly, I think this would be perfect for a couple. It’s cheap, it’s lightweight, and it looks neat.
As for quality, one of the trailers that I toured had a seat cushion that was too small, which revealed the plywood underneath. And when I touched most surfaces, I was reminded that the trailer was under $20,000. That said, nothing felt like it was going to break in a stiff breeze, so it should last a decent amount of time. I will note that this list isn’t a complete round-up of all of the cheaper campers at the RV Open House, just some of my favorites. There were plenty there!
After all, I never even got the chance to see what Forest River is selling. And if you want to go even cheaper, there are always pop-up campers and tent-based campers. Going fiberglass is an option, too, as you can still get absolutely adorable units from the likes of Scamp and Casita.
But if you want a new camper with hard walls and don’t want to spend a ton of money, you can get some good bang for your buck out there. Going inexpensive means giving up on luxury materials and there might be some weird design decisions here and there, but I’d absolutely go camping in any of these trailers, the little motorcycle trailer included.
(Photo credits to the author unless otherwise noted.)
I added two aftermarket scissor jacks to the front corners and improved stability greatly.
The l-shaped door latch broke on me almost immediately. After modeling and 3d printing several replacements, I ended up re-engineering an infinitely more robust door prop made from PVC pipe and 3d printed parts.
All of this and more are detailed in my thread on the keystone rv forums. Read more here: https://www.keystoneforums.com/forums/search.php?searchid=15039202
Camping World bought out the big local RV dealer spring 2021.
https://www.mdcusa.com/product/robson-xtt-dual-fold-pop-up-camper-trailer/
https://www.rvtrader.com/listing/2023-Opus-OP-2-5017014991
These are at least built like…well…not like RV’s.
That being said, if you want an easy to setup tent, you should go for it. There is no best RV, there is the best for your needs.
Looks like the feline overlords would own a new camper in short order. 🙂 But yes, you’re absolutely correct! The best camper (or tent) is the one that fits you best.
I have seen the ones with huge sunny window areas and beds that do not fold. I know where they would be.
Marking pee is a powerful force!
