Small and light weight campers and travel trailers seem to be rather popular among those buying new RVs currently. I, myself, am interested in a small travel trailer to pull so I can drive down some of those scenic back roads and byways that larger RVs just can’t follow. My wife and I currently tent camp. We enjoy tent camping but wouldn’t mind some air conditioning on those really hot days. I began looking into small campers to provide that climate control a few years ago.
I was aware of pop-up tent campers but was more interested in finding an air-conditioned, hard-sided camper where we could escape the daytime heat but return to the tent for sleeping. I first became aware of “mini campers” when I came across Runaway Campers, makers of what I call an air-conditioned box. They offer campers with “living space” that is 4 or 6 feet wide by 8 feet long and 4 feet tall. You can buy one of these mini campers for less than $6,000. Some folks might even call these micro campers.
Further research lead me to the discovery of inTech RV and their Flyer Explore model. It, too, was basically an air-conditioned box but it did have a tip-out bed similar to the slide-out beds found in pop-up tent campers. (The only issue was the bed is a small 46 inches wide.) It also had a slide-out kitchen with two-burner stove and a 50-quart Dometic refrigerator. A plus was the interior height is 5 feet 6 inches; my wife could stand upright in it but I would have to crouch over a little. To me the biggest downside was the cost as it will set you back between $15,000 and $20,000 for one of these. For that amount of money, I can buy a traditional travel trailer with a full bathroom, kitchen, and sleeping accommodations. I really like the simplicity of the Flyer models, though.
I’ve provided links to the website of several mini camper makers below. I believe there are more that I came across during my research but can’t seem to find them now. If you know of other mini camper makers, feel free to contact me. Teardrop campers could also be considered mini campers but I’ll cover those in another post.
Mini Camper Manufacturers