The temperature is rising, the snow is melting, and the trees are becoming green again. That means camping season is right upon us. For many Americans, it’ll finally be time to upgrade from a tent on the ground to something a bit more substantial. If you’re looking for something tiny, lightweight, cheap, and don’t need hard walls, there’s one choice that stands tall: The classic American pop-up trailer. Right now, you can get a brand-new pop-up camper for just $6,000, which costs less than a decent used Toyota does nowadays.
I’ve noticed a bit of a blind spot in my RV reporting. I don’t often feature America’s absolute cheapest campers. These are the iconic tent trailers. While America might be in love with giant buses and camper vans that cost more than decent homes, the tent trailer is still an important part of the American camping experience. Many first-time camper buyers get a tent trailer, as do families looking to enjoy the outdoors on a budget. Really, tent trailers are great for families who just want to get off of the ground and aren’t interested in upgrading to a rolling hotel room.
Tent trailers are already affordable, but I found the absolute cheapest of the cheap. This is the 2025 Forest River Rockwood OTG, a camper that you can get for just $6,500. If you get last year’s model, of which there are tons still for sale, the deal is even better as you can get one for just $6,000. This camper isn’t even trying to be anything it’s not. Its name is even “Off The Ground,” reminding you why it exists.
The Original Camper Trailer
Some of the first camping trailers in history were the ancestors of today’s tent trailers. Tents have been around throughout recorded history, but the idea of having a tent on a vehicle is a bit of a newer idea, respectively.
Back in the 1800s, travelers who wanted something more than a tent opted for a covered wagon. These wagons were able to carry more gear than any singular person could, and also permitted multiple people to camp from the same wagon. Here’s what I’ve written on this subject before:
In 1869, William H.H. Murray published a camping guide called Adventures in the Wilderness; Or, Camp-Life in the Adirondacks, noted to be America’s first book of its kind. Camping guides back then–just as they do today–touted camping as a way to get away from the stresses of everyday living.
In 1875, John B. Bachelder expanded on this idea with Popular Resorts and How to Reach Them. This book pitched different ways that you could camp from backpacking on foot to hitching a wagon up to horses. The latter offered the most ease, as campers could carry gear in the wagon and didn’t have to hike to get to their camping spot.
In the early 1900s and 1910s, Americans began finding ways to camp out of their cars. In those days, people sometimes camped in their cars or set up an extremely basic tent that attached to the outside of their cars. However, over time, people outgrew these setups and began going camping by hitching up a trailer to their cars and carrying gear, including a tent, on them.
It’s not known who came up with the idea, but eventually, both individuals and companies began building trailers with tents permanently affixed to them. These were often crude affairs involving removable canvas tops and extremely basic accommodations, but these were the direct ancestors of today’s tent trailers. One of the companies involved was the Detroit Trailer Company, which started making its tent trailers in 1913. Patents for tent trailers go as far back as 1914.
The creation of the modern tent camper trailer is often credited to Theodore Heil of Heilite Engineering. Heil had been experimenting with camper trailer designs since the mid-1930s, but his aluminum single-wheel tent camper design of 1953 took off like a wildfire. Because of this, the camper is sometimes called the first mass-produced tent trailer.
Heil followed that camper up with a fiberglass pop-up camper in 1954. This trailer was a commercial failure, but is sometimes considered to be the first camper of the modern pop-up design we all know of today. Take a look:
The Forest River Rockwood OTG
One of the brands still dedicated to pop-ups today is Rockwood. It was founded in 1972 by Arthur E. Chapman, the grandson of the Arthur Schrock who founded Star Tank & Boat, which later became Starcraft.
Rockwood has been building pop-up campers since 1975. In 1996, Rockwood was one of the brands scooped up during the founding of Forest River. Thankfully, Forest River has allowed Rockwood to keep with tradition, and the company still cranks out affordable and simple pop-up camper trailers.
In 2024, Rockwood launched the Off The Ground “OTG” series of tent trailers. This launch was relatively quiet without a press release or much fanfare. However, from Rockwood’s marketing, this trailer exists specifically to upgrade someone out of a basic ground tent. From Rockwood:
STAY GROUNDED. SLEEP ELEVATED. Camp off the ground and elevate the camping experience to new heights. Literally. Escape uneven terrain, avoid damp or rocky ground, and even find respite from curious critters. Perched above the elements, campers enjoy a haven that combines the thrill of sleeping in nature with the added comfort and security of being elevated. It’s an enticing way to commune with nature while savoring the convenience of an enclosed sanctuary, offering an unforgettable connection to the great outdoors.
This trailer is as basic as it gets. It comes with a steel frame, fiberglass siding, a wood floor, a laminated roof, and “Vinylon” material for the soft walls and dormers. There’s nothing innovative in the features list. Instead, the list of features looks almost like a throwback to the 1970s when the most basic tent campers had nothing in them. From Rockwood:
– Wood drawers w/metal guides
– One piece screen door
– Roof vent fan
– Privacy curtains
– 2 stabilizer jacks with front tongue jack
– Solar prep on frame
– Battery box and wire
– Electric brakes
– Interior LED lights
– USB outlets
That’s seriously it. That’s all of the features you get. If you want a sink, a cooker, or a toilet, you have to bring them yourself. Even the roof lifting mechanism is old-school, as you have to crank it up yourself.
I know what you might be thinking. Given the lack of features, why not just buy a roof tent? If you’re a solo traveler or a traveling couple, I could see it. But the idea here is to give an entire family something better to sleep in than some tents on the ground. The Rockwood OTG 16OTG has two main beds plus the dinette, which also turns into a bed. The Rockwood OTG 19OTG has a slightly longer body, but doesn’t have beds that pop out. Instead, you have a main queen-size internal bed plus the dinette bed.
Rockwood says that these trailers weigh about 1,300 pounds empty. When closed, the 19OTG is 13 feet, 10 inches long while the 16OTG is 11 feet, ten inches. Either of these would easily fit in even a small garage.
As of publishing, you can find these things at dealers around America for just $6,500. If you go for a new leftover 2024 model, that drops down to $6,000 – and I bet you could do some haggling to get the price down even further.
How cheap are these trailers? A company called Let’s Go Aero recently announced the Crashpad, an upfit kit for the company’s existing compact utility trailer. This kit adds a tiny pop-up camper to one of the company’s existing off-road utility trailers. It has even fewer features than the Rockwood, and the price? A cool $6,998.
Back in 2022, I wrote about Space Trailers, the company boasting a cargo trailer-based tent camper for under $10,000. But even the cheapest version of that one has far fewer features and way less space than the Rockwood for a minimum of $7,078 if you build it through the company’s website.
It seems like some of the best competition for one of these Rockwood OTGs is really just buying a used travel trailer or a used pop-up. I know some of our readers have purchased old pop-ups for as little as a few hundred dollars and they managed to get at least a few seasons out them.
Cheap, Basic Camping
Obviously, neither of these trailers have much in the way of features. You don’t have air-conditioning, heat, or even a single cooking appliance. Soft walls also mean that you don’t want to get on the wrong side of wildlife.
However, Rockwood did leave plenty of storage behind so you can buy those items separately. Even after you add that stuff, you still won’t have hard walls. This isn’t glamping, but pretty much just a step above a tent. For many families and even some guys camping down at the racetrack, that’s actually just enough. Many campgrounds already have bathrooms and showers, so if that’s where you plan on camping then maybe you don’t need your unit to have that stuff.
We’ve written about million-dollar exploration trucks and even campers that you can tow with a motorcycle. But sometimes, you just want a nice and comfy bed, a roof over your head, and an equally comfy place for the kid to sleep. If that sounds like you, maybe a tent camper might be the right choice. Either way, I’m still stoked to see cheaper options remain in the RV market.
The doors on these are deceptively narrow, even by popup standards. I saw one of these at a local RV show and I – with my perfectly average build – could not go through the door without turning sideways. Otherwise, my shoulders got stuck on the door frame.
YES! This is exactly what I need. Just a basic inexpensive camper. No heat, no a/c no damn oven. I will be buying this.
Pop-ups are a great way for a larger family to get into the outdoors at a cheap price. You can always find used ones cheap to very cheap (mine cost me $900, I used it for 3 years, and sold it for $750), but ultimately someone HAS to buy a new one to sell it used later on.
I’ve done tent, I’ve had a pop up, now I have a 26′ travel trailer I pull with my Colorado. Most of my camping is done in campgrounds, and I found that a trailer is superior for time spent in setup, takedown, packing, and unpacking. They are not that horrible to maintain but they are definitely more costly that pop-ups and tents. However once you spend the money, it’s nice to be able to set up fully in 20min and pack up in the rain without having to worry about moldy canvas or soaking the inside of my vehicle. As I get older that ease of setup gets more attractive. It’s not perfect (it doesn’t fit in the garage and it’s still way too tall/big) but it works well and it’s paid for.
Because those also cost $6000 these days? 😉
The Sylvansport GO (and all-terrain version, the GOAT) have had my attention lately. More tent than camper (which I’m okay with) and kind of pricey, but seems really well made and thoroughly engineered.
Looks to be a hybrid of a pop-up camper, a roof top tent, and a utility trailer. All your camping stuff fits under the tent portion on the trailer, which is secure and somewhat protected (just use waterproof tubs). A bike rack can go on top the tent. Tent itself can either be set up with two XL twin beds and table, or a king + XL twin. When not needed as a camper, it can be converted to a toy hauler or utility trailer.
Whole thing is under 800 lbs and towable by pretty much anything that can tow, apparently with minimal MPG penalty. Seems perfect for camping with a small car.
They also start at $13000. That is eye-wateringly expensive for what they are.
They are pretty amazing.
I still want a Space Trailer, but I’m not ready to pay the price they are asking.
Seems like a nice little utility trailer for home, that can also keep your camping gear (or whatever else) dry and somewhat secure.
Anyone know of something similar (with lid)?
Sylvansport GO is along those lines, but more open underneath and probably more expensive. I still kind of want one.
HAPPY MARCH 32ND!!!
Also, Thank you for another great article! Yeah, these are basic but it’s at least great that there are still cheap options to choose from
This pop-up and its ilk wouldn’t do so well in the Rocky Mountains, where high winds, torrential thunderstorms, snow in any month, falling trees, and bears of all varieties are encountered.
People regularly camp in all those conditions in tents on the ground here. All the time. Your ilk might not do well in the Rockies.
I have had a Coleman Popup get pretty beat up in Colorado. Severe wind damage, hail damage. .but never any rain leaks or issues with snow – its pretty easy to plan for snow.
Oh, I’ve been camping in the Rocky Mountains either cowboy style out in the open or in all sorts of tents (including Hillebergs) during all the seasons for more than 30 years. My comment was basically that a tall, straight-side fabric contraption doesn’t do well in the wind, flat roofs have a habit of collapsing under any sort of weight, and who knows how waterproof and/or condensation-prone these things are (for example, are they seam-taped?).
Not true. We did it for months at a time.
You forgot yetis and axe murderers. So many things to be afraid of in the Rocky Mountains.
Don’t knock it till you’ve tried it… we camped all over the Rockies with a pop-up tent camper. Even through some bad thunderstorms with wind and hail, we had no damage. We camped in the snow in it multiple times. Ours had a furnace and though it ran a high duty cycle, it kept the inside cozy and warm. Yes, the most inconvenient part was that in bear country we had to keep the food in the trunk of the car or a campground-provided bear box. But the trade off was that we got a family of four out camping comfortably off the ground with a Camry for under $1000.
If most people were honest about their needs they would have a pop-up or a smaller trailer. If we were constantly touring the country I could see justification for a nicer rig but for the handful of times we go camping the pop-up is the way to go. My old Coleman is less than 12 ft long and weighs about 1000lb so I can tow it with anything and tuck it away next to my shed when not in use. On top of that, maintenance and taxes are next to nothing. I highly recommend a pop-up for your first trailer.
I’ve camped in a tent in the rockies more times than I can count, including in high winds, thunderstorms, and snow. This would be more secure than I ever was.
My best childhood memories are camping in our ‘85 Coleman pop-up in the Rockies. I plan on taking my kids back there in the same trailer when they are old enough.
I grew up camping all over the USA in a Puma pop-up and I am so grateful for the experience. We’ve owned pop-ups for my entire life. They are freaking awesome!
This basic unit is fantastic in my opinion. While bare bones, it has some wiring prep which is the one thing that’s hard to buy off the shelf or jury rig.
Now, the one single reason almost everyone should want one a pop-up over a travel trailer. Fuel/Charge mileage. Nothing comes close to the living space/mileage equation advantage.
Nailed it. The space, weight, and form efficiency of a trailer where the beds slide all the way out of the living space, combined with the towing efficiency that comes from a profile that’s shorter and lower than your tow vehicle, is really underrated. I tow mine with my Mazda daily driver and I only take about a 20% hit on mileage. High crosswinds and semis don’t phase it at all.
Also, when I get home from camping I back the thing right into the third bay of the garage and close the door. In the winter I store bikes and patio furniture on top of it. A hard-side takes up maximum space even during the 350 days a year you’re not using it, and one with as much usable space inside as mine would have to live next to the house or in a paid storage lot somewhere.
It’s crazy to me that a bigger, less efficient trailer actually costs more to buy and operate. I would have paid more for the convenience of the popup. Everyone has their own unique situation but the popup is really perfect for mine.
Right On! And Drive On.
Not only that but just the weight, I would love a small trailer, but I am not buying a truck to tow it with so it needs to be small and light so my Sienna has no issues with it, something like this would be perfect for our use!
Still too much. Take a look at your local Facebook marketplace at the numerous pop up campers for sale to see the future you are guaranteed when you buy something like this. It’s all the same issues, for too much money.
The hard thing with used campers, is that lots of owners neglect them and they are gross. You’ve got to dig through a lot of shit to find a diamond.
At least this you know what you are getting up front. It’s cheap, but seems… fine?
As you said, you can find some really nice used ones. But many cheap campers are treated like cheap campers. And a lot of them sit for extended periods unused before being sold.
Relatively cheap memory foam mattresses (many available in camper sizes) have changed the game for used campers, but the rest of the interior still can’t be gross and rodent infested even if it is super cheap.
Pop-out pop-up campers are the only kind I’ll ever have anymore. I’ve had all the others, and they’re not only crazy expensive, they require absurd attention to maintenance and repair of things that shouldn’t be breaking in the first place. I’d rather use a pair of coolers than a camper fridge anyway. I wouldn’t object to water tanks and a sink, but 5 gallon jugs and manual pumps are more in the spirit fo camping.
That said, everyone should buy a little better than this.
A trailer with a decent suspension, AC and heat aren’t that much more than these are, and do a great job of giving a comfortable place to sleep, tidy up, and get dressed in the morning. Get out further from the popular campgrounds. Hearing the sounds around you is part of the charm.
Most camping trips, I don’t fully rough it more than two days in a row, if that. Camp showers have almost always been pleasantly surprising. Camp site toilets are more hit and miss, but truck stops are almost always nearby. Those have evolved to have showers and toilets nearly as nice as a private hotel room for a small fee.
As someone who grew up with tents and moved up to a Scamp trailer, I never gave pop-ups much thought. My guess is that they’re more at home in the mild climates such as the northeast in summer or the South in spring. Down in Dixie, a pop-up would be a mobile version of the beloved Southern Sleeping Porch, a calm refuge from all the bugs. They wouldn’t fare so well in harsh weather, or the all-night winds of Wyoming.
Still, for a larger family this might seem like a perfect solution.
You want cheap basic camping? I highly suggest motocamping. You can do it cheap also. I have a decent $60 tent, a 50$ sleeping pad a $50 sleeping bag, a $15 pillow. Some fire wood, a tiny gas stove, most of which can be picked up off of amazon for a decent price. When you go too big and fancy with big agnes tents, and klim gear you end up looking like a douche in the road.
Pop ups and camping trailers in general, tend to live a lot of their lives in campgrounds. Which is fine, campgrounds (while mostly disliked by the people here it seems) provide cheap lodging for families looking to go on vacation, often in places where hotels are either uncommon, or extremely expensive.
Expensive campers don’t tend to make much sense to me as they kill the thrifty spirit of camping. This is where pop ups shine. Unfortunately, the lack of hard sides means NOISE. Other campers (people partying, the people who showed up at 11:30pm to blow up air mattress in the site next to us), potential highway noise (a lot of campsites are placed in low value real estate near highways) etc. Hard walls won’t fix everything, but they certainly muffle unwanted noise better than a thin sheet of nylon.
im fine with campgrounds while dispersed camping sounds like a challenge I really dont want to dig a hole to use the bathroom
Some campgrounds have surprisingly decent and clean bathrooms so yes, if your vision of camping isn’t purely roughing it, having a real bathroom to use is a real plus.
I found one with a heated outdoor shower, I was thrilled
My Westfalia VW T3 has canvas walls in the poptop and we have gone to a few music festivals where the noise can get hectic but at least we can fold down the poptop at night (as long as its just my partner and I and no one in the bunk bed) when we are not needing all the headroom to keep things quiet.
As much as I love the Westy I don’t think the perfect camping vehicle exists for everyone that is why we also have a lightweight tent and camping gear for hiking / bike packing when needed so we can get away from any cars.
It’s nice to have options when you like both forms (campgound/backpacking) of camping.
I think thats the best approach. Have a few options (including destinations ) depending on the weather.
Campgrounds are about the only type of camping you can do on the east coast. If you don’t want campgrounds, that generally leaves you with a few backpacking spots.
It’s true, for the most part you’re looking at one of two extremes, campground, or backpacking in thick state forests that only provide so many opportunities for backwoods tent camping. I’m sure out west there are far fewer limitations.
Campgrounds vary wildly too, as usual, the further out you’re willing to go for either state or private campgrounds, the quieter and nicer they are.
Even being willing to go “further out” isn’t really possible on most of the east coast. Basically everywhere is within at least two hours of some mid-sized (or larger) city. There’s but a few exceptions.
True. Other than northern Maine, you’re within a 4 hour drive of a major, and a 2 hour drive of a midsize city.
I live in one of these places (the ADKs) and it’s certainly possible to find remote areas to camp, but a lot of those places have become more frequently traveled since the pandemic. Forget about the High Peaks, which seem to have a queue from the trailhead to the top for the more popular ones.
That’s why Aliners exist. A hard sided popup. Much easier to heat/cool than a tent. A bit more secure during weather too.
I do like the Aliners, but to fit a family of 4, you’re likely looking at an Aliner with the canvas dormers, which while providing a solid roof over the dormers, sort of defeat the purpose of the Aliner.
There are hard dormer versions too.
It depends on how comfortable people are being cooped up and the sizes of everyone. It can be a tight squeeze.
We don’t need much space. A camper would really only function for a place to sleep and escape heavy rain. But we do need enough space for two adults and two kids to sleep, and those kids aren’t getting any smaller.
I have an Aliner Expedition with the solid dormers. Definitely the preferred configuration. It’ll sleep 4 if two of them are kids. The dinette bed is essentially a twin XL mattress.
Ah ok, I see the solid dormers.
I’m going to bet my daughter is not going to be too keen on sharing a small mattress with her brother for long though, lol. A bunk arrangement is probably what we’d prefer as they get older.
Yep, there’s also the Apache Solid State hard sided popup campers from the 70s and 80s. They’re pretty nice, but you definitely want to be prepared for the maintenance required on 40+ year old trailers.
They are also not designed around A/C, and if you don’t have AC they are miserable sweat boxes. Source: neighbors had one in the 80s, and sold it for a traditional pop-up.
I’m a popup fan and I like campgrounds too, but noise is definitely a consideration. I really like smaller campgrounds off the beaten path anyway so it works out. Campgrounds with trailer size limits and posted quiet hours / generator restrictions tend to be winners.
On the opposite end of the spectrum I stayed once in a KOA campground near the interstate and it felt like sleeping in a truck stop parking lot. There were lots of class-A and fifth wheel retirees there doing cross country travel, and they were super friendly but man that sound environment could not have been a worse match for me, with diesels idling and generators running all night. Yuck. In a small campground, I find the muted chatter and crackling campfires from other campsites to be more of a feature than a bug. Except when it’s not, of course.
I’ve also had luck using the Hipcamp app where you pay someone to camp on their property. I’ve had some memorable experiences camping in quiet farm fields and beaches that way.
I grew up backpacking and camping most weekends, including in the winter months making igloos in the snow. For a brief period we had a pop-up trailer, as an attempt to get my non-camping mother to join the rest of the family. I learned quickly that the theory of a pop-up is a lot better than the actuality of a pop-up. It is all compromise: it is as thermally efficient as a tent, for better or worse, but has the placement limitations of a trailer, so you are pretty much always camping near other people – no hiking a bit further in to get more space. My mom joined us once and never again, so my dad sold the trailer six months after he bought it. It doesn’t appear that much has changed about pop-up trailers in the last 30+ years.
Do motorcycle pop-up trailers count?
The Kompact Kamp is listed at sub $4k and sleeps 2. That’s about all it does, but certainly checks a box.
Yeah, that’s a cool little design. I think not enough of a camper for anyone who isn’t actually towing it with a motorcycle (even a Smart ForTwo can at least pull an A-Liner Alite), but it’s fantastic for its specific niche. Really fast setup, too
I love the motorcycle trailers and always on the lookup for a used one nearby (but never pull the trigger). I think there was a discussion about them in one of Mercedes’s articles once (apparently that style of camper is very popular down-under -which makes sense given how many things that live on the ground want to kill you) but I don’t think there’s been a dedicated article.
I’ve been torn between suggesting a full article and wanted to keep people’s eyes off of them until I finally buy one myself….
I don’t know, if you can reach your campsite with a car, is it really camping?
Depends on the car I guess.
This is just a portable tent on wheels, for which you will have to buy tags and possible pay taxes annually.
For $6500.
Six thousand five hundred American dollars.
Just…No.
I think I’d invest in a really nice tent and a whole bunch of premium camping gear and be way, way ahead. You could get a four seasons done tent that will stand up to wind (this thing will not), tarps, lanterns, stoves, ice chests, aluminum cots, really nice sleeping bags, a catalytic propane heater, a bunch of other stuff and still have a big wad of cash left in your pocket.
Agreed. When we looked for camper after tenting for years (now with infants to consider) we skipped right over any soft sided units, including hybrids. Just too much compromise. I miss tents for absolute flexibility but in making decision to get a camper we knew it had to add a level of comfort to compensate for the cost.
You do not want to look at the prices for roof tents.
Hi! I’m spyderfan it has been 45 years since my last camping trip. As a person from a huge family where camping was the only affordable regular vacation option I have to wonder is there a dictionary for camping terms. Is a tent a fabric structure on the ground? Is a fabric structure on a detached pickup bed a tent or trailer or camper? Shouldn’t motorhomes have the term in regards of the large RVs? And tiny motor driven class Cs be campers? Shouldn’t there be terminology so this tent on wheels is not classified a camper? In a world where 4 door cars are called coupes can’t we establish a proper terminology for camping used vehicles? I leave it to our RV expert Mercedes to develop a lexicon for camping structures, Autopian to push the terminology and members to strictly stick to terminology until it sticks.
I have to say, I do like the style of popup without the side fold-outs for beds with the extra brackets and supports that have to be put in underneath, and the fabric always seems to wear out on the roofs of those first, way before the vertical walls
I think it’s just great for its intended purpose. Modify or upgrade it as you use it to suit your needs or taste. Tow it with anything. If you decide to move up, it’ll be easy to sell and even if you lose 60% of your purchase price upon resale, so what?