The Best Small Campers a Car Can Pull: 12 Lightweight Trailers With Every Weight Listed
Twelve small campers a car can pull, sorted by real weight band, with which ones have a bathroom, what each costs to start, and the three that have quietly left the market.
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I have lived in a Chevy Astro and a Sprinter, and the thing I envy about small trailer people is simple: they unhitch, and their car is a car again. Grocery run, trailhead, drive-through, no bed in the back.
The catch is weight. Every one of these campers advertises a dry weight, and the number that matters to your car is the loaded one. Water weighs eight pounds a gallon, and a weekend of gear, food and propane adds a few hundred pounds before you have left the driveway. A trailer that reads 1,700 pounds on the brochure can be a 2,300-pound trailer at the campground.
So this list sorts the small campers a car can pull by their real weight band, says which ones have a bathroom (five of them do), and names the ones that have quietly left the market since this list was first written. Prices are the makers’ starting prices, checked in the Sources line at the bottom.
Every small camper on this list, sorted by weight
Dry weight is the trailer empty. Add roughly 500 to 800 pounds for water, propane and gear before you compare it to your tow rating.
Under 1,000 pounds: campers almost any car can pull
Wide Path bicycle camper
The lightest camper on this list does not need a car at all. The Wide Path Camper from Denmark weighs about 100 pounds, folds out in about three minutes to a bed for two, and hauls up to 300 pounds of gear under the bed. The maker quotes each build; recent European retail pricing works out to roughly $4,800, and the kitchen and solar packages are extras.
It is a shelter, not a cabin. Think of it as the tent you never have to pitch, for the kind of trip where the bike is the point.
Timberleaf Kestrel and Pika
Timberleaf builds three teardrops in Colorado, and the two small ones belong here. The Kestrel is the bare-bones one: 860 pounds dry and $9,950 to start, a cabin with a bed and a hatch, built to be towed by just about anything with a hitch. The Pika sits one step up at roughly 1,000 pounds dry and $16,950, with the rear galley and the finish of its bigger sibling.
Neither has a bathroom. Neither needs a brake controller on most tow vehicles, which is the real appeal of staying under 1,000 pounds.
Under 2,000 pounds: the small campers with real living space
Happier Camper HC1
The HC1 is the fiberglass retro egg from Los Angeles with the interior you can rearrange like building blocks: bed, bench, table, cooler, all cubes you lift and move. It weighs about 1,100 pounds dry, starts at $29,950, and the base Essentials package includes a stowable portable toilet, which is more bathroom than most teardrops offer.
Every add-on (fridge, stovetop, inverter) adds weight, so configure it, then weigh it in your head before you call it a 1,100-pound trailer. Happier Camper now also builds the 17-foot Traveler with an integrated bathroom and kitchenette from $42,950; the maker does not publish its weight, so ask before you count on a small SUV towing it.
Learn more about Happier Campers here.
Scamp 13 Deluxe with front bath
If you want a real toilet and shower under 2,000 pounds, the Scamp 13 is the answer most owners give. It is a molded fiberglass egg built in Minnesota since the 1970s, and the Deluxe layout with the front bathroom weighs about 1,600 pounds dry with a wet bath, a dinette that becomes a bed, and a small kitchen. Current list pricing for the Deluxe layouts runs about $28,000, and Scamp sells direct, so there is a wait.
It is the one small camper on this list with a bathroom that a Subaru Outback or RAV4 can tow without thinking about it.
Timberleaf Classic
The Classic is the Timberleaf most people picture: wood cabin, baked-enamel aluminum siding, a rear hatch that lifts to a galley with sink, lighting and onboard water. It weighs 1,500 pounds dry and starts at $27,950, with an off-road package that adds axleless suspension, a lift and all-terrain tires for rough forest roads.
No bathroom; the money goes into the build quality, and wait times for a custom one run months.
Learn more about the Classic Teardrop Trailer here.
Travel Lite Rove Lite 14BH
The Rove Lite is the ultralight travel trailer that sneaks a wet bath under 2,000 pounds: 1,748 pounds dry, a shower and cassette-style toilet, a bed, a kitchen and a 12-volt ventilation fan for the bath. Its last published list price was about $30,000, and dealers routinely sell it for less.
It is less cute than the eggs and teardrops and more camper, which is exactly the trade some people want.
TAXA Cricket
TAXA’s Cricket is the NASA-engineer-designed adventure trailer with the pop-up roof: 4 feet 2 inches tall closed, 6 feet 10 inches open, 1,753 pounds dry with a 245-pound hitch weight, towable by a four-cylinder car. It sleeps two adults and two kids, has integrated plumbing and electrical for boondocking, and a marine-grade kitchen. Recent list pricing is in the $33,000 to $34,500 range, and the Overland version with the off-road package costs more.
A portable toilet is an option, not a bathroom. Learn more about The Cricket here.
High Camp teardrop
High Camp handcrafts a classic wooden teardrop in Portland with a pop-up rear galley, dual doors, a queen mattress and a serious electrical setup for a trailer this size. Owner listings put it around 1,450 pounds dry, and the company quotes pricing directly rather than publishing it, so treat this one as a phone call.
Learn more about High Camp Trailers here.
Just over 2,000 pounds: still a small camper, now with a shower
nuCamp TAB 320 S
The TAB 320 S is the teardrop that grew a wet bath. The current model weighs 2,069 pounds dry (the Boondock package a little more), measures 15 feet 6 inches long and 6 feet 9 inches wide, and fits a cassette toilet and shower, a 12-volt fridge and a bed that converts to twins. Dealer list prices sit around $43,000, with discounts common.
It has crept over the 2,000-pound line in recent model years, which is why it lives in this band now. Find the right nuCamp trailer for your tow vehicle.
Airstream Basecamp 20X
The Basecamp is the Airstream you can tow with a mid-size SUV: riveted aluminum, a panoramic rear window, a real kitchen and an enclosed wet bath with a porcelain toilet. The current 20X runs about 3,400 pounds dry with a 500-pound hitch weight, and dealer list prices land between $71,000 and $73,000, so it is the heaviest and priciest trailer here by a wide margin.
It earns its place because it is the smallest trailer that feels like a full RV inside. Learn more about the Basecamp here.
Small campers that have left the market (and what to do if you find one used)
Three trailers from the original version of this list are no longer built. They still show up on the used market, and some are worth buying, so here is where they stand.
Little Guy Mini Max and MeerKat
Little Guy Trailers, which built the Mini Max (about 2,320 pounds dry, with a wet bath) and sold the MeerKat, closed in May 2024, and the parent company has since confirmed it no longer produces campers or offers warranty support. Used Mini Max trailers are common and well liked; buy one knowing parts come from independent suppliers and the owners’ groups, not a dealer.
Casual Turtle Hatchling
The 840-pound cedar Hatchling was the cheapest trailer on this list at $6,250. Casual Turtle Campers says it is no longer taking orders, so the only Hatchlings are the ones already out there.
Winnebago HIKE 100
Winnebago’s narrow, stand-up HIKE 100 (about 2,800 to 3,300 pounds dry, with a wet bath and a garage) no longer appears in Winnebago’s travel trailer lineup, and owners’ forums report it was dropped for the current model year. New leftover units were listed by dealers this year around $20,000, which is less than half its original price, so a leftover HIKE is one of the better small-camper deals going if you can find one.
What a small camper gives you, and what it costs you
The advantages are the reason this list exists: almost any car can tow one, you sleep on a real bed instead of an air mattress, several of these handle rough roads, and on a rainy day you have walls. Many of them fit in a normal garage, which matters more than it sounds in a city.
The trade-offs are just as real. Storage is minimal, with no pass-through bays like a bigger RV. Bathrooms are small or absent, and the ones that exist are wet baths, where the shower and toilet share one space. Cooking mostly happens outside, under a hatch or an awning. And guests get a tent next to you, not a bed inside.
How much your car can really tow
Your tow rating is the loaded weight of the trailer, not the dry weight on the brochure. Add the water in the tanks, the propane, the cooler, the bikes and the people in the car, and err on the heavy side. Most mid-size SUVs are rated between 1,500 and 3,500 pounds; most sedans and small crossovers sit at 1,000 to 2,000 pounds, which is why the under-1,000-pound band exists.
Camping World’s towing guide is a quick way to look up what just about any car can tow. Want something even smaller? Check out these motorcycle campers, or go the other way with the smallest RVs with a shower and toilet and these teardrop camper interiors.
More stories about trailer campers: 8 micro campers any car can tow · the best pop up campers with bathrooms · hard side pop up campers · the best camper trailers under $10,000
Which small campers under 2,000 pounds have a bathroom?
The Scamp 13 Deluxe with the front bath (about 1,600 pounds dry, wet bath with toilet and shower) and the Travel Lite Rove Lite 14BH (1,748 pounds dry, wet bath) are the two under 2,000 pounds with a real bathroom. The Happier Camper HC1 (about 1,100 pounds) includes a stowable portable toilet, and the TAXA Cricket offers one as an option. The nuCamp TAB 320 S has a wet bath but weighs 2,069 pounds dry.
What is the lightest camper with a toilet?
The Happier Camper HC1 at about 1,100 pounds dry, because its base package includes a stowable portable toilet. For a built-in wet bath with a shower, the lightest is the Scamp 13 Deluxe front-bath layout at about 1,600 pounds dry.
Can a car with a 2,000-pound tow rating pull a small camper?
Yes, if you count the loaded weight. A 2,000-pound rating comfortably tows the teardrops under 1,000 pounds dry and the Happier Camper HC1. A trailer that is 1,500 to 1,750 pounds dry can exceed 2,000 pounds once you add water, propane and gear, so match the loaded weight, not the brochure number.
Should I use dry weight or loaded weight when choosing a camper?
Loaded weight. Dry weight is the trailer empty. Water weighs about eight pounds per gallon, and propane, food, bedding and gear typically add 500 to 800 pounds. Compare that loaded figure to your vehicle’s tow rating, and leave a margin.
Which small campers can a Subaru Outback tow?
An Outback is rated for 2,700 to 3,500 pounds depending on the engine, so it can tow every trailer on this list except the Airstream Basecamp 20X, with the nuCamp TAB 320 S near the top of its comfortable range once loaded.
Are any small campers on this list no longer made?
Yes. Little Guy Trailers (Mini Max and MeerKat) closed in 2024, Casual Turtle Campers stopped taking orders for the Hatchling, and Winnebago dropped the HIKE 100 from its current lineup. All three still appear on the used market.
Sources
Prices and weights checked October 2026: Happier Camper HC1 and Traveler · Timberleaf Classic, Pika and Kestrel · Scamp 13 Deluxe list price (J.D. Power) and front-bath weight · Travel Lite Rove Lite 14BH specs · TAXA Cricket specs (RV Guide) · nuCamp TAB 320 weights and list price · Airstream Basecamp 20X dealer list · Wide Path Camper weight and current European retail · Little Guy Trailers closure (RVtravel) and Xtreme Outdoors notice · Casual Turtle Campers · Winnebago lineup change (owners’ forum) and Winnebago’s current lineup.
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Hello Kristin and thank you for this article. I was looking for a camper that could also do a little bit of off-road and it seems that the Cricket Small Camper could do the job.
Thank you, I will have a deeper look and I might buy it ahah can’t wait ! ! !
I’m so glad you found this helpful! You might also like this one: https://www.thewaywardhome.com/off-road-camper/
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Hey Kristen,
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The Hatchling small camper looks awesome! We had one like it years ago, it was made of wood too. But all that weather and rain over time caused it to fall apart. We got a new camper to replace it, but we aren’t really feeling this one. So we’ve been talking about getting another small camper since many used positive words on s to describe that tiny camper. Think we’re gonna check out that Hatchling model! Looks like it’d be perfect for our camping trips.
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Impressive content, really useful suggestions. I definitely would like to try one of them in the future.
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Those campers should be really comfortable for users, and I need to ask my friend – Basic Trailers to expand their business to campers.
Those campers should be really comfortable for users, and I need to ask my friend – Basic Trailers to expand their business to campers, and provide more Trailers for Sale.
Really enjoyed this overview of small campers. It’s amazing how much comfort and functionality can fit into such a compact space. Perfect inspiration for anyone planning affordable adventures and road trips. I also came across Immediate Felon Hiring, which offers helpful opportunities for people rebuilding their lives.
I genuinely find one of these campers interesting, but the price tag got me 😳.
Except that, all on the list are space friendly and movable with no much stress.
thank you for the piece!
I’m planning for a tour and may consider one of those campers anytime soon. (:
As a traveler it’s very important to have one.
Aliner have announced the return of their Alite folding A frame camper (no bathroom but room for a porta-potty), sleeps 2, 672 pounds dry weight. No price yet but pictures are on their website. With a 7 foot free standing height when erected it feels like a teardrop that you can stand up in.