Comparison of 7 Travel Trailers & The One We Chose

We have been camping in a 2001 Coleman pop-up camper for the last 5 years (see our post about that here). Bree grew up pop-up camping and we were very luck that her parents gifted us their pop-up camper when they bought a Class B Camping Van for retirement. We camp around 25 nights a year right now. The pop-up has done well for us for a long time and we’ve been really happy for the off the ground sleeping and protection from the elements (read rain) that you find in the PNW.

In 2020 we were increasing our desire to camp and at the same time we were feeling the age of our pop-up starting to show. So we looked at options for what we might want to get next. Bree got a little obsessed with the research and you can benefit from that over at the travel trailer guide. We also made a checklist that can make your camper searching easier.

We thought about how we use our current camper and what we wanted from a new one.

1. We don’t spend time in our camper except to sleep and in bad weather but we wanted to be able to camp in the shoulder seasons of our normal summer camping so having something that we could keep warm and that was bright and comfortable when we needed to be in it was important

2. We cook a lot and like to eat well while we camp so something that we could set up to facilitate cooking was important (oh how we longed for an outdoor kitchen set up but alas we didn’t find anything with our criteria that worked)

3. We wanted something that was easy to tow and easy to set up and take down so that we could go on the spur of the moment or for a single overnight.

We also some must have criteria to work with for our next camper:

1. It had to be towable by our current car, a 2020 Subaru Outback XT with a tow capacity of 3500 lbs

2. It had to sleep at least 4 so we can take a friend with us

3. It had to have a toilet for night time bathroom trips

4. It had to have a lot of windows, we had looked at some campers and found a lot of them to be very dark and cave like and we didn’t want that

While we love a lot about the pop-up we decided not to consider one for the new camper. You can read more about our pop-up camper and the pros and cons to this type of camper here. The bottom line for us was that the set up and take down take too long, making it unlikely that we use the camper for a single night or a spur of the moment camping trip. Also, the fact that you have to pop it up to get ready for the trip means that everything is harder to access.

Trailers that met our criteria

After a lot of research and many youtube videos, we found a few campers that met our criteria. You can jump to different campers using the table of contents. If you want to know what we bought, jump to the bottom!

Table Of Contents

1. Armadillo Backpack

2. Scamp 16′ Layout 4

3. Taxa Cricket

4. Taylor Coach 16′ Codester Side Door

5. Travel Lite RV Rove Lite

6. Safari Condo Alto R1723

7. Safari Condo Alto F1743

Armadillo Backpack

Armadillo is a Canadian company that hand makes small fiberglass campers. We found this one early on and were enamored with the light weight, well thought out storage options and simplicity of the campers.

Armadillo Backpack interior and exterior photos

We considered the Backpack model because it had more windows and 6 inches more space. This was one of the simplest campers we considered with no black or grey tanks it has a port-a-potty and an outdoor shower only. There are several layout options including bunk beds and a triple bunk so you can pack a lot of people in this tiny trailer! They now make a version with an enclosed indoor wet bath, so far they have only made this with a king sized bed layout so it wouldn’t work for us but the company is very open to modifications based on customer needs and so it would be worth calling them to discuss layouts if you are interested. Because they make each one to order there are a lot of options and you can make special requests that they will try to include if possible. We especially appreciated the clever storage options including the under camper storage box.

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Armadillo Backpack Specifications:

GVWR: 2700 lbs Dry Weight: 1800 lbs

Exterior Length: 14' Toilet option: non-flush toilet, outdoor shower Sleeps: 3-5 Bunk beds: Yes Fits in a standard garage: No Starting Price: $32,900 (CAD)

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In the end, we decided this was a bit too small for us, to have the bunk beds, you had to forgo the large front window, and we really wanted to have a better toilet option.

Scamp 16′ Layout 4

Scamp is a cult favorite with a long history of building well built, fiberglass trailers. There are several different models with and without bathrooms at both 13 and 16 foot sizes. We were interested in the 16 foot Scamp layout #4 with bathroom and bunk beds.

The Scamp Layout #4 that we were looking at

We considered the Scamp because they are lightweight, have pretty good windows, have a reputation for being well built, and they are 4 season campers. There are quite a few options with the Scamps and they built them to order so you can customize to some extent. They have sort of a retro interior which I think appeals to many but really wasn’t our style. I would have had to paint the cabinets at minimum. They also have a deluxe model that has all wood interior that, in my opinion, is more attractive but also adds too much weight. At the time we contacted them (July 2020) the wait times for a Scamp were about 12 months.

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Scamp 16 Specifications:

GVWR: 3500 lbs Dry Weight: 2000 lbs

Exterior Length: 16' Toilet option: Toilet/Shower combo Sleeps: 4 Bunk beds: Yes Fits in a standard garage: No Starting Price: $20,490

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In the end, we decided that while the Scamp was a great option, the weight was a little higher than we wanted and we liked the aesthetics of the Alto better.

Taxa Cricket

Started by a NASA architect, Taxa builds lightweight campers for off road traveling. These have a lot of thoughtful features while still sticking with a highly pragmatic design ethos (the storage cubes are all milk crates). For families who want something a step up from a tent and slightly less work than a traditional pop up camper, these are worth a look.

Taxa Cricket Layout

We really love the Taxa Cricket but it is very small. Basically the inside is a double bed with 2 hammocks above for kids to sleep in, the popup roof allows for standing height over the very small galley kitchen that includes 2 burners and a sink. There is a space to plug in a 12V cooler for your refrigerator. The trailer has fresh and grey water but no black tank so the toilet is a non-flush option and there is an outdoor shower. This is one of the few options that can fit into a standard garage so if that is on your list, well worth a look.

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Taxa Cricket Specifications:

GVWR: 2700 lbs Dry Weight: 1800 lbs

Exterior Length: 15' Toilet option: Non-flush toiliet/outdoor shower Sleeps: 2 adults, 2 kids Bunk beds: Yes (130 lbs weight limit) Fits in a standard garage: Yes Starting Price: $33,300 (you can get them used starting around $15,000)

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In the end, we decided we really wanted an enclosed toilet if possible so we decided against getting the Cricket. We’re still enamored with it though! If you have a larger tow vehicle, the larger Mantis is also worth a look.

Taylor Coach 16′ Codester Side Door

Another lightweight trailer manufacture in Canada. This is a small company that hand makes the trailers to your specifications. They will customize pretty much anything for you if you want to change dimensions etc. which is appealing. They have a lot of options most of which are very lightweight.

Taylor Coach 16′ layout

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Taylor Coach 16′ Codester Specifications

GVWR: 3000 lbs Dry Weight: 1650 lbs

Exterior Length: 16'6" Toilet option: Toilet/Shower combo Sleeps: 4-5 Bunk beds: Yes Fits in a standard garage: No Starting Price: Didn’t get a quote

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This model has a lot of great features including the option for 2 bunks where you see the overhead bins (so this camper could sleep up to 5!). It also comes with the larger fridge/freezer which we really wanted but were not able to get with the Alto. The interiors to us are not very attractive, they fall firmly into the standard RV aesthetic. We found this company after we had already put down the deposit on the Alto and the wait for these was 2 years when we reached out to them (July 2020) so we didn’t pursue it further.

Travel Lite RV Rove Lite

Travel Lite started as a truck bed camper manufacturer and launched a travel trailer model in 2011. The Rove Lite is the only travel trailer they currently make. An insulated, non-wood construction these campers may do well for cooler camping. They distribute through RV dealers so you should be able to find one near you.

The Travel Lite RV Rove Lite is new in 2020, and was not available when we were first looking so we didn't get to look at this until we had already put down our deposit for the Safari Condo. It has a bunk option, it is very light and easy to tow. It has a fair amount of storage inside (not as much as the Alto 1743). The interiors are bright and there, key for us, are lots of windows. This is definitely worth looking at if your car tows 2700 or 3500 lbs.

It has a pretty low ceiling so check the interior height if you are tall (6 ft or more). While this may be a great option, for your family, when we looked at it it was clearly not made as well as the Safari Condo that we ended up purchasing - considering it is about 1/2 the price that isn't a big surprise! The workmanship combined with the low ceilings would have made it a no-go for us. One big trade off is that they are available at many RV dealerships so you would not have to wait for this like you would most of the other campers on this list.

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Travel Lite Rove Lite

GVWR: 2500 lbs Dry Weight: 1850 lbs

Exterior Length: 16'6" Toilet option: Toilet/Shower combo Sleeps: 4 Bunk beds: Yes Fits in a standard garage: No Starting Price: $24,000

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Safari Condo Alto Series

Safari Condo is a Canadian company that builds some of the lightest trailers available. They use an aluminum exterior and interior and almost no wood anywhere so you don’t have to worry about rot and they are exceptionally lightweight. All Alto’s come standard with electric brakes which is unusual for 17 foot trailers. We considered 2 different models, the F1473 and the R1723.

They build these to spec per order so you generally can’t find them in a dealership. They have an owner referral program and a very active facebook community so you can connect with a local owner to tour one in person (that is what we did). They do have a couple of dealers in Canada and depending on where you live you might be required to order from one of those vs. directly from the factory. Regardless, you will make all of your options selections when you put down your deposit but have a chance to change them up to 6 months before your delivery date. There are quite a lot of options including solar and lithium batteries and you can even make requests that are not on the options list and the factory will consider whether they can implement them. Be prepared to watch enviously as others post pictures of their Alto’s on facebook for a long time because the wait pre-COVID was at least 9 months and post-pandemic waits are now pushing into 2 years! They hold their value and if you are lucky enough to find a used one for sale, you will likely pay exactly what the previous owner paid for it. If you want to try before you buy, Durango RV in Colorado has a fleet for rent.

Alto R1723

The Alto R1723 with the roof down. With the roof down, the camper fits into a regular sized garage and the interior is still accessible

The Alto R1723 with the roof up and interior view showing the raised roof and toilet shower on the left with curtain

The Alto R1723 is a raised roof model which means that the roof can be lowered to a tear drop shape that fits into a regular height garage but you can still enter, move around freely and sleep in the camper without raising the roof. When the roof is raised, the walls are huge windows! It looks like living in a tree house. The R1723 model has a toilet/shower combo with a curtain inside. A dinette that converts to a queen sized bed, another dinette that converts to a single bed and a bunk option.

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Alto R1723 Specifications:

GVWR: 2700 lbs Dry Weight: 1867 lbs Exterior Length: 17'3"

Toilet option: Toilet/Shower combo Sleeps: 3-4 Bunk beds: Yes Fits in a standard garage: Yes Starting Price: $47,619 (CAD)

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The R1723 meet all of our criteria. While the huge windows and possibility for garage storage were appealing, we ended up liking the fixed roof alto better.

Alto F1743

The Alto F1743

Interior F1743 pictures. This model has an enclosed indoor wet bath and huge windows

The Alto F1743 has a fixed roof meaning it won’t fit into a standard garage. What you gain by the fixed roof is more storage and an enclosed toilet/shower combo. This model is actually lighter than the raised roof models. There is a dinette that converts to a queen sized bed and a smaller dinette that converts to a single bed. There is a bunk option so with that option, this sleeps 4. You have to sleep side to side in the queen sized bed which means that if you have 2 people sleeping in that bed, someone has to climb over the other to get in and out. We do that with our pop-up camper too and while it is kind of annoying it wasn’t a deal breaker for us. We were able to connect with someone via the Alto facebook group and go and see one of these in person.

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Alto F1743 Specifications:

GVWR: 2700 lbs Dry Weight: 1765 lbs

Exterior Length: 17'9" Toilet option: Toilet/Shower combo Sleeps: 3-4 Bunk beds: Yes Fits in a standard garage: No Starting Price: $43,629 (CAD)

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So what did we buy??

In case you haven’t figured it out, we bought the Safari Condo F1743. We picked up our trailer Sept 17, 2021. We love the trailer and could not be happier with our choice! We managed to fit 4 camping trips into the fall before we winterized and are looking forward to many more trips in 2022.