For those reading this article, hoping to find a list of the best small campers, or the best campers, on sale, you might be disappointed. I do not plan on providing that list.
I do plan, however, to provide you with a bit of wisdom, which should serve you well as you begin your search for a camper trailer, so I invite you to read on while I share with you my thoughts on finding the best travel trailer available.
Too many options to choose from
The problem facing most people as they begin their search for the best small campers on the market is this: there are too many to choose from, and it all becomes a bit overwhelming. Sizes range from very small to very large, with everything in-between. Amenities are many; it is possible to purchase very spartan trailers, with few amenities, or very luxurious trailers, with more amenities than some actual houses.
There are small campers made from aluminum, and there are small campers made from fiberglass, and besides all of those there are small campers made from composite materials
The number of choices for an RV camper is truly mind-blowing, and that number increases yearly as new models arrive on the market.
The truth most trailer manufacturers won’t tell you
It is only natural for trailer manufacturers to think that their RVs are the best on the market. That’s the nature of the manufacturing beast. They will all tell you, in their brochures, the reasons why they believe their trailers are better than all others, and they are most likely being very earnest when they think that.
Determining fact from fiction as spoken by travel trailer salesmen
Not quite as earnest are the travel trailer sales people, who are paid commissions based on their sales. They will all tell you the wonders of the brands they sell, and why they believe those brands are the best, but their words are tainted by the possibility of a quick payday based on you purchasing from them.
And what about the many articles listing the best small campers?
Go online, type in “best small campers,” and you will find dozens of articles, and none of those articles list the same small campers. Surely, you will find some trailers which appear on most of those lists, but generally speaking, those lists are about as different as night and day.
The only determining factor is this
Which leads us to this conclusion: the best small camper on the market, for you, is the one you can afford, the one you can safely tow, and the one which has most of the features you want in a small camper.
Period! End of story!
I will tell you a truth right now, and you can take it to the bank: all travel trailers, all campers, all RVs of any size and style, will have something go wrong with them, and it usually happens sooner rather than later. Either the fridge will stop working on your third RV trip, or a leak will develop near the skylight, or the heater fan will break down. It just happens. Trailers undergo a great amount of shaking when being towed, shaking which is the equivalent of a 4.0 earthquake, and that shaking is going to eventually cause some sort of malfunction to the trailer and its components.
But, then, the same can be said of the vehicle you drive on a daily basis. Eventually something will go wrong, and that’s just the real of it. Every single trailer on the “best trailer” lists will experience some malfunction. You can’t let that be a determining factor in your purchasing decision.
The only way to make this decision is to base it upon what you want, what you can afford, and what you can safely tow. If, in a year or so, you find your financial situation has changed, and you can afford a larger or better RV, do so at that time. You can always upgrade in the RV world.
Bottom line, don’t let fear hold you back from an RV lifestyle, and don’t suffer from the paralysis of analysis. Get out there, purchase the best small camper you can find, and start enjoying the absolute wonder of it all as a member of the RV community.
That would have been terribly disappointing for a child, to have to wait, after looking forward to something for so long. The converted van chassis is called a Class B here. I don’t know who coined all of the terms for RVs, but I think they are confusing.
I really appreciate this honest, down-to-earth approach. I recall my parents buying a new small RV many years ago. It was a big event for us. A company had converted the van chassis. We collected it from the dealer, drove it home and put it in the garage. The next day there was a strong smell of petrol. It turned out that the converters had drilled a hole in the fuel tank! I recall having to wait for it to be replaced at the garage before we could head off to visit family in the south.
Things do go wrong. Hopefully you can iron out the glitches before a long trip.