10 best small high-quality travel trailers

We have a list of the 10 best small high-quality travel trailers including some which can be towed by SUVs and mid-sized pickups.

While there is something for everybody in the RV space, I’m a big fan of small trailers that can be hauled comfortably with a mid-sized pickup truck or even some SUVs. There are a lot of reasons for this including the fact that your tow vehicle and trailer can fit into two tandem parking spots when you’ve stopped for supplies, you can fit into any size campground out there and you can maneuver this combination easily.

Consider that a mid-sized pickup and a trailer under 20’ is about the same length as a 40’ diesel pusher. Plus you can buy the pickup and the trailer for about half the price of even an affordable diesel pusher and you’ve got another reason I love this combination.

There are a lot of choices in this space with something from just about every manufacturer but I went through my own list and chose a few that I would recommend without hesitation.

Part of what it takes to make my list are no beds where you have to climb over each other, a “dry” bathroom, high-quality construction (there are a ton of cheap small travel trailers that are almost disposable - none of those made my list), and a dry weight of 3,500lbs or less.

I also included no stick-and-tin trailers on this list, even though the selection of these is huge. I am not a fan of wood in the structural pieces of a travel trailer as it’s too easy to experience problems in wood-framed trailers based on my years of experience.

One more thing - I’ve really focused on couples’ trailers rather than those for the whole family. There are some great choices even in this size for sleeping more than two people but it’s not something I’ve focused on here.

Lastly I avoided trailers with slide rooms simply because the idea is to have a trailer that’s as simple as possible but also one where you can stealth camp in a parking lot. It’s obvious that you’re camping if the slide room has to be extended and some trailers are designed such that you can’t simply pull over and grab lunch or visit the restroom without extended the slide room.

Casita

The Casita trailer has been in production since the early 1980s and is really an iconic travel trailer, possibly as much so as an AirStream but for different reasons. These very light trailers are compact and extremely well made, being constructed 100% of a two-piece fiberglass shell much like a boat.

Casitas have proven to be long-lasting trailers and I particularly like the “Independence” model as the back of the trailer is either two twin beds or one giant king-sized bed. During the day the twin beds are the benches for the dining room. The front of this floor plan is the bathroom so you get a really usable little trailer that is well under 3,000lbs dry weight.

On the down side, some don’t like Casita interiors as you can see the white fiberglass in a lot of places. But a little bit of wallpaper would solve that and Casitas are known for not having issues with water damage. Casitas are also unusual in that you buy them factory-direct, but there are people all over the US who would be thrilled to show you theirs. The enthusiasm of the owners is infectious.

If you like the Casita design but want to spend a lot more money and, theoretically, get a higher quality product Oliver offers a similar idea starting at just under $50,000.

Holiday House

When I first saw the Holiday House trailer, which is a modern version of an iconic classic, I wasn’t sure what to think. But after talking to the company founder and looking at how these are made, it made me love this trailer.

The design is patterned after the original 1960s Holiday House and these trailers check all the boxes in the quality control department. The entire structure of the trailer is made in house and is constructed of welded aluminum. While the interior does have a warm and vintage wood feel, these trailers are unusually well made of aluminum where you can’t see things.

I have seen other interpretations of the classic Holiday House design in the past and it wasn’t done well. This company actually owns the name Holiday House and is really doing a positive service to the vintage name.

Specific to this article the 18RB single-axle trailer offers an unusual floor plan in that there is a dinette in front with a huge wraparound windshield that is part of the signature appearance of a Holiday House trailer.

Along one side of the interior is the kitchen while the other side has the refrigerator and a folding gaucho. The space usage is really good but you’d definitely want to figure out how to bring along a memory foam pad and your RV SuperBag for sleeping. I have never found convertible seat cushions useful for sleeping unless you have a guest you don’t like which hurries their departure.

I guess this does break the east-west bed rule unless you consider that the gaucho could be for one person, the front dinette for the other. That’s how it made the list.

Rockwood GeoPro 19fd interior with the Murphy bed up.

Rockwood Geo Pro/Flagstaff ePro

I often have to apologize for my bias when talking about Rockwood and Flagstaff trailers but, having a lot of experience with these, I think they are among the best made trailers in the RV business. Period.

The GeoPro/ePro lines from Rockwood and Flagstaff respectively are a new entry into the small trailer field that has been a giant hit and for good reason. My favorite floor plan among these is the 19FD which is the same floor plan as my own trailer, but these are a foot narrower.

Part of the reason I like these so much is the welded aluminum construction as well as fully vacuum laminated walls, 5/8” tongue-and groove flooring, Dexter MoreRyde suspension, integrated 110 watt solar system with 1000 watt inverter, WiFi Ranger, GoodYear Eagle tires, MaxXair fan and more. There are a lot of best-in-class features yet these trailers aren’t horribly expensive, all things considered.

Best of all the wall structure is Azdel which is a plastic material that won’t get damaged if it gets wet. I also like that, when you look beneath things like the bed or in storage compartments that structure is also welded aluminum instead of wood. No, I do not like seeing wood used in structural elements in a travel trailer.

The 19FD floor plan has a Murphy bed at the front which is the same as the trailer that I have and we’ve found that it really makes a lot of sense. In the day you get a couch, at night there’s a real, adult-sized bed.

The 19FD has a dry weight of under 2900lbs and I’ve towed one and found that the narrower body and curvy front make it a much easier towing trailer than even my own.

Rockwood GeoPro 19TH with couches folded for seating. The couches can be flipped up for toy hauler capability or rolled down to become a large bed.

Another floor plan in the family that I really like is the 19TH, which is a short toy hauler. This floor plan offers a drop-down rear wall as you would expect in a toy hauler and two HappiJac beds on either side of the trailer. These can be flipped together to form one giant king-sized bed as well.

What I was really impressed with in this trailer is that it has an air ride suspension that allows you to raise and lower the trailer making it easier to get gear in and out of the back but also allows you to optimize the suspension based on the things you’ve loaded into it. Very cool.

No Boundaries - NoBo

Forest River has a newer division called No Boundaries, or NoBo. This line was designed for more adventurous buyers and offers a number of models. The 19.2 is my favorite with a full-size queen bed in a front that flips up to reveal a couch by day.

This floor plan is similar to the GeoPro 19FD as well as the rPod-192

What also appeals to me is that there are two recliners instead of a dinette which is reason alone for myself to consider this over the GeoPro 19FD. The folks at No Boundaries reached out and indicated that they have switched to even more welded aluminum in the construction, replacing some wooden parts, which is even more reason to look at these.

The NoBo 19.2 with the Murphy bed up. I like the two chairs instead of a dinette.

Like the rPod, the NoBo 19.2 offers a built-in central vac feature which has a foot-operated vacuum port, which eliminates the need for hoses. It is also LED back lighted. You simply sweep the floor debris into a pile, lift the flap with your foot, and sweep the debris close to the port which will suck it right up into a bag that is easily replaced. Another thing I like is that this features the Lippert torsion axle system instead of traditional leaf springs and is built using Azdel instead of Luan. The Lippert axle allows for a smooth ride and provides industry-leading ground clearance without having to resort to an axle lift kit.

I also like that this comes with a JBL BlueTooth speaker instead of the horrible IRV stereo.

The floor plan of the No Boundaries 19.2.

rPod

Another Forest River product that is a big hit is the rPod, so much so that there’s manufacturing in both Indiana and Oregon. Their 192 model has the same floor plan as the GeoPro 19FD and NoBo 19.2 but with a few minor differences including the fact that it has a front outdoor kitchen, which is pretty darned cool. It also has the same built-in vacuum as the NoBo, also cool, but I like the placement of the TV in the NoBo better and that TV is 12volt so you can run it off-grid, if that makes a difference to you.

Again, the rPod is like the NoBo in that there’s wood used in some of the construction instead of welded aluminum. My own personal bias but based on years of RV experience.

Coachmen Apex Nano 187rb

Coachmen’s Apex Nano series has a lot to like about it including the fact that the walls are constructed with Azdel which is a waterproof substrate while most laminated trailers use Luan which can easily be damaged by water. The Nano line also has a solid core roof which is less susceptible to damage as well. Another plus in the Nano’s favor is the nice front window in this layout - to me more windows are a good thing because you’re taking your RV to places that you want to see or at least that’s my goal.

Wolf Pup 16fq

The Cherokee Wolf Pup line is generally an entry level line but their “Black Label” series is a notable upgrade from the basic models. Thus the Black Label Wolf Pup 16fq is actually a fiberglass laminate construction with a walk-around queen bed in the front. Surprisingly this trailer comes with a lot of upgraded features including frameless windows, composite counter tops and more. This would be a worthy contender considering the price.

Others not mentioned

There are a few trailers that I also really like but broke some of the rules for being included here.

The Little Guy Max is a great trailer with a lot of high-quality features and I love the layout, except that it’s an “east-west” bed so whomever has to visit the bathroom in the middle of the night is going to be crawling over the person who doesn’t.

When I was selling RVs we sold a lot of the Keystone Bullet 210RUDWE models. These have a real queen-sized bed in front and a dinette along the entire rear of the trailer. It’s a really nice floor plan that’s quite open and airy but it’s about 1,000lbs too heavy for this comparison. Still, definitely worth a look if this is the general place you’re interested in being.

Likewise Jayco offers the 18RBM that is the same layout as I’ve been all excited about but their trailer has a dry weight of 4,305lbs. That’s a big difference for a similarly-sized trailer and while I understand that Jayco trailers are well made 900lbs is a lot of additional weight. The trailer does have really great tank sizes with a 42 gallon fresh tank and 30.5 gallon black and gray tanks.

I’m a huge fan of Lance and will likely buy a Lance when it’s time to trade. Lance has two models that almost fit in this article, the 1475 with a dry weight of just and the 1575 with a dry weight of just 2775lbs. But both of these feature an “east-west” bed and the 1575 has a slide. But, still, with the quality of Lance products I wouldn’t worry about the slide mechanism, honestly. If you can tolerate the east-west bed, the Lance is a terrific choice. Their quality is outstanding and these smaller models feature a Truma Combi water heater and heater system which is a great product.

Speaking of Lance, my next trailer is likely going to be the Lance 2075 but I wouldn’t tow this with a mid-size pickup even though, in theory, it’s well within my truck’s capacity.

The Winnebago Hike line features an innovative exoskeleton for bringing all your gear.

Winnebago has a huge hit on their hands with the new Winnebago Hike series, which has a really unique exoskeleton that enables you to store kayaks and other things on top. It really is a unique design and great for the realities of bringing your adventure gear with you. But, again, this model only had east-west beds and most models had slides, both of which were deal breakers for this article.

Still, that exoskeleton feature means you can carry the goodies that help with the adventure and the steps on the side of the trailer actually mean you’ll likely be able to use that exoskeleton for the purpose intended.

When I first saw the Airstream Base Camp trailer I was really intrigued and love the front kitchen layout. They’re light and unique but you can almost buy two Rockwood GeoPros for the same price and get more features.

The Happier Camper is another intriguing trailer that uses a series of building blocks enabling you to almost configure the trailer however you want. This is another trailer built like a boat of two large pieces of fiberglass but the Happier Camper features a huge rear hatchback. The various components can be brought outside so you can literally take the inside outside if you choose and re-configure the trailer however you choose. In fact, you can have various configurations depending on your plans. It’s very unusual and definitely cool but not for everybody.

The Adaptiv system from the Happier Camper

There are a lot of choices in small trailers and while I like specific floor plans as mentioned here, that doesn’t mean that they’re ideal for everybody.

As we’ve mentioned on the podcast and in articles, the best way to find a new or used trailer is to find a great dealer first. From there use your checklist so you get the specific features that are most important to you. And then share your ideas and photos with us on social media. We can’t wait to read what you’ve chosen.

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