Here Are 5 Cheap Campers That Prove That You Don’t Need To Spend A Million Bucks To Have Fun

The biggest complaint I’ve heard from countless people about RVs is that they’re just so crazy expensive. Understandably, it’s hard to justify spending over a quarter million on a camper van or dropping close to six figures for a camper with “overland” in its name. The market appears to be responding and there are tons of super cheap campers that you can buy without breaking the bank. I’ve picked out five interesting models that you can buy right now and one of them is nearly the cheapest full-featured camper in America.

I’ve noticed an interesting trend at RV shows. A few years ago, manufacturers and dealers loved displaying flagship models at the front of their displays. These RVs would be mammoth structures with a shocking price to match. A lot of the new RVs I write about also come with price tags so high that many people wouldn’t buy them even if they had the cash. It appears that manufacturers are listening. At this year’s Florida RV SuperShow I was inundated with a flood of affordable models and the manufacturers didn’t even try hiding them. Instead, they were proudly at the front of the displays.

Cheap campers have always existed, but I do like how manufacturers and dealers don’t seem to be so ashamed of them anymore. I firmly believe that anyone who wants to get into RVing should be able to, regardless of their budget. So I’m happy to see the championing of more affordable models lately. I encountered too many sub-$30,000 models to count this year. If I wrote about all of them I would probably be writing all day, so I chose the five that captured my interest the most. But I must warn you from the start, you should temper your expectations.

The Second Cheapest

Recently, I wrote about the 2025 Keystone Coleman 13B. That camper, which retails for $9,999 at Camping World right now, is being hailed as the cheapest bunkhouse travel trailer. But to my eyes, it’s pretty much the cheapest full-featured and “full-size” travel trailer that your money can buy right now.

There’s another wildly cheap trailer out there and its price is similarly ridiculously cheap. That is the 2025 Keystone Springdale 1400RE. This trailer is a new floorplan for 2025 and it has a MSRP of $18,804. However, here’s the kicker. A representative from General RV told me that dealers are already discounting these things to $13,000 and you should be able to get the dealer down to $11,000 without much of a fight. Still, you’ll have to pay other fees and shipping if the unit isn’t local, but $11,000 is a cheap floor to start with.

Springdale was one of Keystone’s first model lines and today it’s considered to be a trailer for families just getting into RVing or for the buyer wanting to save lots of cash.

Despite the low price, there’s a lot to like here. Keystone isn’t advertising any special construction materials or techniques, so you’re looking at a pretty standard stick build. However, I do like some of the touches at work. The exterior skin is classic corrugated metal and the front cap has a flat metal shield. It’s a great look, and I think good enough quality that you could get some fun years of use out of it.

Keystone also wasn’t lying about the features. Trailers in this price range often come with just two stabilizer jacks, but this one has four. I also like the entry stairs. Cheap trailers typically have the old-school step that comes down from the entry door. If you’ve ever owned a vintage camper before you know those don’t age very well. I’m a huge fan of this new style of step that braces itself on the ground and provides a sturdy way in and out. It’s nice to see that on such a cheap unit.

The things that made me say “wow” ended the moment I stepped into the trailer. Look, you can’t expect too much from $11,000. The cost-cutting is immediately apparent in here. The boards making up the walls are practically credit card thin and it seems as if the cheapest of everything was used in here. The table isn’t super sturdy and the cushions compete with a bus stop for comfort.

Look, it even looks like Keystone chose the cheapest possible cooktop and just plopped it down. If you do any serious cooking on this thing you’re definitely staining those walls.

How basic is it in here? The controls attached to the walls weren’t even straight. But aside from staring at a crooked carbon monoxide detector, nothing seemed particularly offensively bad in there. You even get a dry bath, which is pretty cool. Holding tanks include 21 gallons for fresh water, 30 gallons for gray water, and 32 for waste, so you could even park it up next to a lake for a day or so.

You’re looking at a dry weight of 2,799 pounds and a total length of 16′ 10″. So, a wide variety of crossovers won’t have a problem towing this and you might be able to hide it in your backyard.

A Little Bigger, Still Cheap

If a wee 16-footer is a touch too small for you, one option is the 2025 Jayco Jay Flight SLX 170BH Sport Edition, another new floorplan for this year. This one weighs 3,000 pounds dry and stretches out 21′ 3″, giving you a bit more room. Yet, it remains nearly as cheap as the last one with an MSRP of $19,495. However, dealers are trying to sell these for $13,000 or $14,000. Look, I know, RV pricing doesn’t make any sense.

This trailer hits on a lot of the same notes as the last one. It’s a stick build with corrugated metal siding. However, unlike the Keystone, you get just two stabilizers and an old-style entry stair. Both of these trailers also have really basic steel frames. But they’re cheap, so that’s expected. Sort of disappointing but not unexpected was the very beginning of surface rust on the Jayco’s frame. I think a liberal application of rust protectant should work well here.

Should you choose to park it away from a manicured campground, you’re looking at 30 gallons of fresh water, 20 gallons of gray water, and 20 gallons of waste. Like the Keystone, this trailer just uses a basic battery for off-grid performance, but you can hook up your own solar panels.

The interior of the Jayco also feels exactly as cheap as the Keystone. I mean, these trailers are so cheap that neither brand even bothered trying to color-match the kitchen equipment. The main kitchen counter is also sort of weird. It looks like there should have been a third drawer in this photo, but maybe that would have added too much cost?

Ignoring that, the Jayco did feel a bit less cramped than the Keystone and I feel like two adults and two kids could have a darn fun weekend in this little guy. Technically, six people can sleep in this one if you turn the dinette into a bed, but that’s a lot of people in such a small space.

This one also has a real bathroom and while everything is super duper cheap, I could see this getting a nice handful of years of use.

The Sharp One

For the third pick, I want to show how quality can go very wrong in one of these cheap units. The first two trailers thus far were from brands of Thor Industries. Well, here’s a cheap unit from the competition over at Forest River. This is the 2025 Forest River Aurora 13BHX and like the last one, you can bring one home for about $14,000 before fees and shipping. Forest River does not advertise the original MSRP.

There’s a lot going on with the exterior of the Aurora line. Once again, you get a very basic frame with a hand crank jack and only two stabilizers. The body on this one is also a stick build with corrugated metal siding. However, there’s a slight twist with this model as it has a glossy black front panel. If you love dark colors, this might be your jam.

This trailer also has all-terrain tires even though I would not recommend taking this trailer on anything more hardcore than a dirt road. But the knobbies do look cool, I guess. Other notes about the exterior include the presence of JBL speakers and a place to attach your dog’s leash. I also like the inclusion of the sturdy stairs.

It was also where I spotted the first bit of odd quality. For whatever weird reason, both of the Aurora models on display had an unsightly bend on the siding near the front cap.

It’s almost as if someone bumped something into this metal, but on both trailers. The issue was also only on the right side. The left side was perfectly flat as you’d expect.

Moving inside, I was happy to see that Forest River took better care to adhere to a theme. The appliances match and look at that, Forest River chose a better stove than we’ve seen in the other trailers thus far. Everything in here seems a bit more coherent.

Yet, the quality is somehow worse than in the other trailers thus far. I felt like I could have broken the front shelf just by sneezing on it, the kitchen counter had flex to it, and the bunkhouse was legitimately dangerous.

When I was taking pictures of the interior, I felt a sharp pinch on my arm. I turned around and immediately noticed the problem. Take a look at this metal trim. It’s so sharp you can slice your hand open on it. That’s not at all kid-friendly, guys. So yeah, the quality is pretty questionable here.

Forest River had a sister floorplan on hand that switched out the bunkhouse for a dinette. The table was pathetically flimsy, but at least there wasn’t sharp metal to cut me open. I also liked the JBL sound system, too.

If you’re undeterred, you’re looking at dry weight of 2,681 pounds and a total length of just 16′. These Aurora things are puny! Yet, the water stores are actually pretty neat for a unit this size. The fresh tank holds 44 gallons while you get 30 gallons for gray water and 30 gallons for waste. For comparison, my family’s 35-foot Thor Adirondack has tanks about the same size. This little guy will also carry 1,500 pounds of gear if you can find a place to mount it.

Just be aware that quality will not be this unit’s strong suit.

The Weird One

Alright, so “cheap” and “weird” don’t often mingle in the RV world, but I found one that seems to be weird enough for the price. This is the 2025 Coachmen Remote 15R. It’s a new floorplan for this year and you can get it for about as low as $18,000 right now.

Despite appearances, the Coachmen Remote series is supposed to be a lot more substantial than the previous trailers. Coachmen says it’s built with an aluminum cage construction and it has two layers of Azdel composite walls. Coachmen further says that the floor is laminated aluminum, the front cap is fiberglass, and the roof is vacuum-bonded laminate. All of these are good things to hear in a cheap unit.

Starting with the exterior, the Remote 15R has distinctive oval frameless windows and pretty neat green LED lights. Unlike my family’s Heartland Mallard M33 which has cheap stick-on LEDs that look like they came from Amazon, these LEDs are smooth tubes that look like they belong in an RV.

Other great notes about this trailer are LED perimeter lighting, four stabilizer jacks, a factory place to mount bicycles, and the addition of the sturdier entry stair that I like so much.

Coachmen does expect you to use this trailer off-road and gives you all-terrain tires and a lift kit to go with the aluminum structure, but that’s it. I wouldn’t take this on anything more difficult than a fire road. But hey, that’s pretty neat for a camper under 20 large.

Moving inside, I like the little extra detail going on here. What you’re looking at is only a stone pattern, but hey, I dig it. I also like the matching sink cover. The appliances are also just a cut above what we’ve seen in the other trailers thus far.

Coachmen says that this trailer has an instant hot water heater, a cast iron griddle, a tire pressure monitoring system, 200 watts of solar, and heaters for all of the tanks. Speaking of those tanks, you’re getting 52 gallons of fresh water and 27 gallons for both of the other tanks. This trailer measures 18′ 3″ and weighs 2,940 pounds empty.

Overall quality felt pretty ok for the price. I mean, there’s nothing in here that’ll make you say “wow,” but this time there was nothing that disgusted me, either. My biggest complaint was the shower. This trailer has one of those annoying showers that you have to step up into, which robs valuable headroom. If you’re any taller than about 5′ 8″ you’re going to have a bad time showering in there.

I could see the 2025 Coachmen Remote 15R being a nice budget camper for a couple. I probably wouldn’t take it off-roading, but that’s fine. It can sit pretty at a campsite. Hopefully, the construction techniques with this one give it a fighting chance of lasting longer than the previous models.

The Other Forest River

We’re going to round out the five options here with one more Forest River model. This is the 2025 Forest River Ibex 16RKB. Ibex is sort of an odd one as it’s Forest River’s take on the overlanding trailers that are so sizzling hot right now. This one allegedly has an MSRP of $31,654 but dealers are already advertising them for as low as $22,000.

This trailer is built somewhat similar to the previous model. It has an aluminum cage for structure with a laminated wall and Azdel composite for substrate. Still, it’s a cut above your standard travel trailer. Forest River makes no mention about the floor or the roof but does say that the underbelly is fully enclosed and uses some radiant foil. Like the other trailer, you get tire pressure monitoring, 200 watts of solar, and heated tanks. There’s no mention of the water heater, but Forest River does say you get a central vacuum system and a Klipsch Nashville speaker.

If you pay an undisclosed amount more, you can get your trailer with “Beast Mode,” which adds an independent suspension, a second 200-watt solar panel, and a 30A charge controller.

Walking around the Ibex, I noticed this is the only trailer of the one on this list with a power tongue jack. It also had the most rust. Every unit I’ve featured today are production models no more than a couple of months old, yet the Ibex’s frame was covered in surface rust in its nooks and crannies. The bumper had internal surface rust that ran its entire length. If my family’s Heartland Mallard’s frame is any suggestion of how this will progress, the buyer will want to take care of this sooner rather than later because it will get worse.

Once you get past the rust, at least it’s nice that there are four stabilizers and the nicer stair setup. However, this trailer is supposedly $31,000 before automatic discounts, so now I’m at the price point where I’d expect some nicer stuff.

The Ibex had my favorite interior yet.

While I do prefer lighter colors, this trailer looks pretty classy. I like how the wood and bronze accents add contrast to the primer gray. I also like how all of the appliances and the sink match each other. It’s amazing how this costs just a little bit more than the others but has just a bit more attention to detail. I even like how the kitchen counter is pretending to be a roughed-up butcher block when it really isn’t.

The materials in the Ibex aren’t nearly as bad as the frame rust would suggest. The materials in here are pretty good for the price. It doesn’t feel like I’d destroy the entire interior if I tripped and fell inside. To put it another way, I could see this interior in a trailer with a higher price tag. My family’s trailer was twice the money with worse materials.

Sadly, my praise once again ends in the bathroom. The shower is just too small for someone who is big or someone who is tall to comfortably get clean. I’m also not impressed with this trailer’s off-grid capability. Forest River talks up this trailer’s ability to go where there aren’t campsites, but you have 400 watts of solar at best and only 30 gallons in each holding tank. At any rate, you can also expect an unloaded weight of 3,024 pounds and a 14′ 11″ footprint.

To be clear here, this is just a small sampling of the cheapest fully-featured RVs on sale this year. It looks like the manufacturers are working toward providing usable trailers for the lower end of the market and I love that. Not everyone has six figures to blow on what’s pretty much a toy.

Unfortunately, you have to be very careful on the low end, because quality is going to be all over the place. As always, it pays to have the unit inspected before you buy. But, with a little bit of work and research, I have no doubt you can get a fun little camper for your family to enjoy for at least some years. Just make sure the sharp edges aren’t present.