It sure seems like nothing is cheap in today’s world. I recently went to a Dollar Tree and discovered that everything starts at least $1.25 now, which seems wrong. RVs are no different, whereas units with “cheap” quality don’t have a cheap price to match. Some manufacturers are fighting against high prices by going hard in the other direction. This Sunset Park RV Sunray 109 Sport is shockingly cheap for a new RV and even better, it comes fully equipped. You can get one of these brand-new for just $10,000, or nearly half the price of a brand-new Nissan Versa.
I just returned home from the 2024 Thor Dealer Open House in Indiana. It was our third year covering the event and let’s just say things were awkward. Apparently, Thor is well aware of and might not appreciate that I’ve been very critical of the build quality of the products from some of its brands. To be clear, I don’t intend to be mean. An RV might be the first or second largest purchase a person makes, so I want that person to feel happy with what they’re getting.
At the same time, I love the low end of the market, where trailers can be so cheap it’s very likely the vehicle you’re using to pull the trailer is exponentially more expensive. That’s what you’re getting with the Sunset Park RV Sunray 109 Sport. It’s so cheap that even if you bought your car used, there’s a good chance a new one of these is still cheaper.
Each year, the Thor Dealer Open House is a showcase of the latest and greatest from Thor’s many brands. However, you should never skip the independent manufacturers who rented space outside of the event. The indies are sometimes where you can find great ideas before the big guys get around to them.
Sunset Park RV Manufacturing was founded in 2007 by Merle Schmucker. At the time, Schmucker was just 19 years old and he was already a successful businessman, having founded a luxury home construction company in Florida two years prior. He moved to Indiana, the home of RV manufacturing, to raise his kids and to start an RV company of his own. Like many entrepreneurs in independent RV manufacturing, Schmucker sought to provide the kind of innovation and unique designs that you don’t often see with names like Thor or Forest River.
Today, Sunset Park RV says it’s the 11th largest manufacturer of travel trailers in America, and it’s done this on the backs of a whole lineup of tiny single-axle trailers like Sunray 109 Sport. Sunset Park RV believes that single-axle trailers are great due to their reduced weight, reduced tire wear, and lower entry cost compared to multi-axle trailers. The company says its customers are a little bit of everyone from the couple looking for a weekend getaway to off-roaders looking for somewhere remote to camp.
The pandemic was a blessing and a curse for the RV industry. On one hand, just about every popular vacation destination closed down. Americans with money dumped their cash into RVs and hit the road, leading to all-time RV sales records. However, just as the RV industry was enjoying the spoils, everything opened back up and people got back on planes, took cruises, and went to resorts.
As a result, RV sales cratered. In 2023, just 313,174 units were sold. The last time RV sales were that bad was a decade ago and the RV industry was pulling out of the Great Recession. This time, the RV manufacturers are hoping that people will start buying RVs again once the election blows over. Sunset Park RV has a different idea. The company thinks a major reason people aren’t buying RVs is because they just can’t afford them, and a new President isn’t going to change that. But a manufacturer can produce cheaper rigs.
The great part about the Sunset Park RV Sunray 109 Sport is how normal it is.
Usually, going with a super cheap trailer means giving up on features. Maybe you don’t get an air-conditioner, your electrical system is an off-the-shelf power station, or your “kitchen” consists of a portable two-burner cooking stove. A cheap camper usually constantly reminds you that you’re furiously miserly.
That’s not the case here. Pop open the door and you’ll realize the Sunray 109 Sport has a real RV electrical system, an air-conditioner, and a furnace. There are more expensive trailers that don’t even give you a furnace!
Then you move around to the back and spot a fully-equipped kitchen. There’s a real RV two-burner stove, a microwave, and a decent refrigerator. That microwave is a trip to me because so many teardrop-sized off-road campers costing tens of thousands more don’t even get microwaves. Not even the zombie apocalypse-ready ELE trailer had one!
Now, there are some quirks. The Sunray 109 is 12 feet long with an interior height of 4’6″. Indeed, you aren’t going to be standing in this. Also, the interior is only just big enough for two people to sleep comfortably, and I sure hope you’re really close with the other person. There’s no space to fit a bathroom. However, Sunset Park RV isn’t leaving you entirely on your own. There’s an outdoor shower and plenty of space to store a cassette toilet.
I could stop here and I think I would say $10,000’s a deal, however, the company isn’t done with the Sunray 109’s standard features. The trailer features a 3/8″ walkable roof structure, there’s a water heater, a 500-pound roof rack, and a six-inch lift kit with all-terrain tires. You’re getting a lot for $10,000!
To give you an example of the value here, I found a smaller teardrop trailer for sale by Bontrager Outdoors a few displays down. It was the same price of the Sunray 109 and built the same way, but that trailer comes with nothing but a bed and a tiny table.
Of course, you won’t be surprised to read me tell you that the Sunray isn’t the highest quality trailer you’ll find. It has a PVC roof you’ll need to maintain and that little interior it has feels cheap. The frame’s only rust protection is powder-coating, so you’ll have to keep that maintained as well. The more you look around, the more you realize where Sunset Park RV saved money. But I think it’s important to note that you’re spending $10,000 here, not $70,000 and up.
There is a catch here. While you can find new Sunray 109 Sports for sale for $10,000, many dealers want to charge around $14,000 for them. Unfortunately, that’s the state of the RV industry. So, you’ll have to shop around to find one for that magical $10,000. You might even find one for under $10,000 if you get one that’s a few years old.
If you can find one for that sweet price, I think you’ll be happy with what you get. Just temper your expectations. You aren’t getting a rolling hotel room, but something several steps up from a tent. You’re getting hard walls, heat, air-conditioning, 16 gallons of running water, and a place to cook. That’s basically everything you need for a fun weekend!
If one of these won’t work for you, I hear you can still find one of those much larger Coleman campers for $13,000.
The icing on the cake is the fact that the Sunray 109 Sport weighs just 1,475 pounds empty. That means it can even be hauled by some of the more wimpy crossovers on the market and pretty much any sedan or wagon with a tow rating.
Again, I’m going to stress that quality isn’t going to be out of this world, but the price isn’t either, and that’s good. If you’re a solo camper or want to take a weekend getaway off-road with your love, I could see the Sunray 109 Sport being an option. At the very least, it’ll be likely that the car you’re towing with was priced higher than the trailer, which you can’t often say in today’s RV market.
I used to own one of these. They are solid, and I was able to pull it with a 2 door Jeep due to its light weight. It was the only camper that worked with my tow vehicle that I could “stand up” in.
Honestly, it was great for what it was. I bought a new 2020 model in 2019. Used it reliably for 3.5 years. The two years, life changed, and I outgrew it because I’m engaged now 😉
I purchased it for $8,900 and sold it for $7,400. The only real costs were covers for the wheels and top, propane, a new lid for the roof vent, an axle cover, water heater rods, new vinyl to cover the screws (it kept blowing off until I replaced it and made it much tighter). I probaby spent $400 over its life.
I was able to tow it with my 2 door Jeep Wrangler, which it did okay. With the 4runner that replaced it, I honestly would forget it was back there.
Living in Western CO, it went to every National Park in the state, Yellowstone, every National Park in Utah, and another dozen states, mostly behind the Jeep.
The best time I had with it was climbing and backcountry skiing Rocky Mountain National park. It was a great home base to stay warm in because the furnace worked extremely well. Getting out to use the kitchen in the back was part of the fun.
There are some campers that depreciate less than others, this is one of them. If/when we buy a replacement it would likely be a Scamp because it is a bit bigger. If it was just myself wandering or myself and one other person, its a great fit.
The question I always ask myself is how many times a year would we go out, where would we go, what would we do and for how many days at a time? The math usually says a couple of tents, some decent air mattresses, and basic Walmart camping gear is more than enough.
The ONLY reason I keep coming back to a small camper is how unbelievably hot it is during the night (Texas) for most of the year, to the point I literally cannot sleep. We went out last October and it was still almost 90 degrees at 90% humidity at midnight. Zero sleep. Even a half-assed window unit AC would help.
But then I start looking at used Casitas in the $12-15k range, that have bathrooms, and I think that’s the way to go.
The closest dealer has 2 but they somehow have this on their website.
Retail Price$21,006.00
Our Price$12,498.00
People don’t compare prices much do they
Campers are the worst of janky cars and cheap stickbuilt houses put together. Accept this and it makes the inevitable problems a little easier to mentally deal with.
This looks good for the price. For a couple and their dog, it’s a great way to have a roof overhead.
For amenities like a toilet or shower, most state parks I’ve been to take pride in their bath houses. NY state parks have some really nice ones. The more rustic ones in Vermont were still clean and well maintained. Private campgrounds are hit or miss.
NY and VT state campgrounds are really really nice for the most part.
That’s another bonus of a small camper. Some parks and/or good sites have limits on trailer length. Being able to sneak into those places is awesome.
Minnesota state parks are fantastic and the tent campgrounds are so much quieter than the RV campgrounds and the have nice facilities.
I want to rent one of these for a long weekend. I’d pay like $400 for that.
But owning one? There is no way I’d ever use it enough to justify the investment.
Something I started to do since I moved to the US and so far has worked, speak up! don’t let people make you feel less or treat you like you are not worth your knowledge. There is always going to be someone trying to make your day awful, if your coffee taste like shit, return it. Your rear camera is glitching? File a complain to NHTSA (They contacted me).
If your noise is making them nervous, don’t stop. I learned so far a lot from your RV articles, when I am ready to pull the trigger, I know where to go back and read everything about them.
I love this camper, its perfect to me. Now I need to sell some cars lol
…founded in 2007 by Merle Schmucker. At the time, Schmucker was just 19 years old and he was already a successful businessman, having founded a luxury home construction company in Florida two years prior.
A 17 year old ‘luxury’ home builder in 2005 Florida is absolute peak housing bubble.
With a name like Schmucker, it HAS to be good!
A hardtop tent trailer is a more spacious alternative to this little box, although an outdoor shower would be something that both would have in common. A relative of mine had one with a nice kitchen it it, room to stand and walk around, and two good-sized comfortable beds. It was compact and easy to tow. A good used one would cost much less than ten grand.
40% over list price is highway robbery. A pox on any RV dealership that does this.
I get that this is a good deal by camper standards but from the outside of the hobby looking in that comparison seems crazy. A Nissan Versa is a new car with a warranty, equipped with the incredible (if now commonplace) complexity of an ICE with all it’s supporting and auxiliary system as well as a variety of electrical and electronic features run by dedicated computers and with many forms of crash protection.
For half that price Thor will sell you a box on two wheels with an AC/heater, a rental grade studio kitchen, a water tank/pump and some lights plus enough wiring to run all that stuff. And some interior furniture.
Is it just the difference in market size and thus economies of scale between Nissan and Thor that allows one to sell a product that’s an order of magnitude more complicated to design and build for only half the price instead of 10x? Or does Thor just have a much larger profit margin?
That’s a $144.00 Walmart A/C, by the way. A small heat pump would be quieter and more efficient, but would cost several times more than the cheapo AC unit.
This looks like a sweet spot for couples, or even families with a decent sleeping option in the minivan. It’s cheap AND inexpensive. Not a bad combo.
I know that I would in theory prefer something with better quality, the difference between this and the expensive big boy campers that cost 60k, is risk. Risking 10k isn’t nothing, but at least I could theoretically buy one without taking on massive debt. If the 10k camper sucks and needs work, it’s a far less daunting project to rehab. Depreciation is also less of a concern. As long as it doesn’t go completely rotten, this thing is never going to be worth less than 3k.
I know some people are lamenting the lack of bathroom, but let’s get real, most of these and other campers spend their time at campgrounds with toilet and shower facilities. The purpose of something like this is a weatherproof and noise reducing place to sleep. A lot of campgrounds in the northeast are noisy, and near highways. Sometimes being in a tent in these places, sucks.
Mercedes, if you are getting the cold shoulder from Thor and the other brands that make expensive garbage it means you are doing your job right. Keep it up! Consumers deserve to know if they are about to drop $50,000 or more on something made out of particle board and Elmer’s.
wholeheartedly agree!
See how close to the wall the burner top is located? Also note how the wall is plain wallboard with no backsplash, etc. You’ll find this “feature” in many campers and it just blows my mind. I had this in a 43′ 5th wheel and couldn’t believe this was how it was designed. The wall gets ridiculously hot when you cook. Like hot enough you can’t even put your hand on it after you are done cooking. On top of that, it gets filthy dirty and won’t come clean. Never understood why this setup is even allowed or why you can’t have a piece of stainless steel or something here to protect it. What are talking, like $5 extra?
I saw the same thing and it was driving me nuts.
I assumed this burner isn’t expected to be used, since it seems to offer even chances of boiling a pot of water or starting a fire.
There’s campers. And then there’s camping. And this is straddling the line between cheap hotel and should have stayed with the tent.
I will never understand North American camping/caravan culture…
You know you don’t spend the entire time inside the camper, right? You take it to a place you want to go and then you go explore the area or hang out outside with your companions. Generally there aren’t cheap hotels right on the side of a mountain or a few yards from the water either.
All these little trailers look good to me until you get to the no bathroom part. I can handle the outdoor shower but I’m too old to go out into the woods at 3am. I want a bathroom with a door.
Lots of people camp at campgrounds with the amenities already included.
A bath house with a once-a-week cleaning schedule is often worse than the woods.
I’m sure some campgrounds are rough. But the one we stayed at for a few days last summer, the bath house was genuinely good. It looked like it was being cleaned twice a day.
In my experience, this has been horribly hit or miss. Some are perfectly fine, others… if I peek inside and feel I have to wear by boots in the shower, I’ll just stay dirty.
You have gone soft…
Old age gets to us all sooner or later. One day you’re backpacking the Appalachian Trail with a single change of clothes, a sleeping bag and a tiny tent, the next you’re complaining to your wife that they rearraigned the supermarket again and you couldn’t find your favorite brand of spaghetti sauce.
Have to agree. I’m still pretty young, but IBS is a bitch and it always gets worse when I travel. Yes some campgrounds have nice bathrooms but you usually have to walk some distance to access those and that’s never fun (from my experiences tent camping).
“Apparently, Thor is well aware of and might not appreciate that I’ve been very critical of the build quality of the products from some of its brands. To be clear, I don’t intend to be mean.”
Why not? They certainly deserve it. If you don’t call them to the carpet and demand they answer for the shoddy materials and abysmal build quality who will?
Thor isn’t a small start-up. No need to treat them gently. Outside of a few brands, it’s been a race to the bottom in rv manufacturing for a couple of decades. I remember going to RVIA shows and almost accidentally putting a finger straight through a bathroom sink molded from thinner material than held my Star Wars figured to their backing card when I was a kid.
I’ve got a hard job, time to let AI do the work here:
The Versa is better than this trailer! It doesn’t have that fancy Jatco Xtronic CVT. #NoCVT #VersaPower
You know, I think I’d be better off keeping AI out of this.
You’re correct. The whole idea is that you never have to shift. So no shifting writing styles!
Interesting to see this review now. A couple of weeks ago we were at a rest stop in Montana and there was a trailer with a couple of Sunrays and a Sun Light heading west. The opening for the outside kitchen was what prompted my wife to ask what that was and for me to look them up and find out a bit about them.
The one I think would be great for Mercedes is the 109E with the toy deck on the front The 129 and up do give you a toilet. Not sure how much more expensive they are.
As far as what to tow it with it would defintely be less expensive as I’d probably tow it with my $3500 F-150, $8500 F-250 or my SUV, that I did pay $40k for, but that was over 20 years ago and it is certainly worth much less than $10k today.
Our daily drivers are worth more than $10k but they aren’t set up for towing and I would never consider them for that.
This looks like a pretty fantastic option for my partner and I. I showed it to her and she was excited. Definitely not a right now purchase, but certainly on my radar for when it’s time.
Deliver mine to Costa Rica please.
Well, now I understand why you didn’t get the invitation to the Thor event and Jason got it instead. I didn’t put two and two together when I read Jason’s article.
If it helps, you’re in good company. Didn’t Jeremy Clarkson get banned from reviewing Porches on Top Gear?
Don’t forget the Tesla incident too.
If Thor doesn’t want what it thinks are mean reviews, maybe they should think about getting their shit together. I was poor enough long enough to know the difference between cheap and shoddy—and much of what you’ve highlighted in their stuff is completely unacceptable.
Mercedes loves her some campers. I think to the point she has love goggles on for RVs. Might be a family affair, due music. I bought a lovely Camry for $2,300, what is this $10,000 for a car? Of course the car has a motor is self propelled and 4 tires. Why not compare this to a Moped which is cheaper? Honey I love your writing but you need a RVIntervention. Get yourself a Pickup truck bed on frame with a camper shell for under a grand and that leaves $9K for camp stoves, tents, grills, ac units, generators and all kinds of Bigfoot search gear.
But just remember if you see Bigfoot he sees you!
I’ve actually been shopping for a diesel E-350 van to sleep in. I can tow my car out to a Gambler 500 event, not worry about that car making it potentially over 1,000 miles back home, and I’ll have a nice place to sleep! Yes, I’m still unhappy some drug enthusiasts stole my last diesel van.
And why would that be a problem?
I think I can speak for myself; my father, His Majesty Grandeped III, King of all the Sasquatches; and all of the subjects of our realm when I say that we would welcome Mercedes with open, albeit fur-covered, arms. And we would not let the unpleasantness both my father and I experienced the last time a staffer from this website visited deter us, even if both that staffer and my father have since moved on.
Prince Grandped! Long time no see! Oh wait. I forgot that is kinda your folk’s thing.
Hello! And, really, can you blame us for staying out of sight?
Can’t blame ya. Us lizards stay out of sight, albeit for different and nefarious reasons
If you noticed any headline oddities, that’s our fault. We were doing some testing with headlines from old articles and headlines from new articles and accidentally applied one of the old article headlines to this live article. Whoops!
Thanks for that: I’m on call, so not indulging this week: thought I’d lost it when I remembered the headline saying 13k for a minute
The one thing that bothers me about the RV and trailer industry is the fact that they don’t have a published MSRP or Monroney labels.
Back when I was in the market for a camper I always priced out new ones for fun…. You’d see one dealer listing them as “on sale” but their “sale” price was thousands higher than the competitors standard price. Sometimes certain sellers would list the “suggested selling price” almost 2x higher than street price, just so they could say it’s on sale…. Despite the sale price being 130% of MSRP.
Or they would price them out by monthly payments. “Buy now for only $144 a month!” but the terms would be for a 12 year loan.
It’s basically all the worst shady used car dealer tactics in one frustratingly unregulated market.
Many (but not all) of the independents are kind enough to list an MSRP. But yeah, it’s annoyingly like the wild west out there where pricing is all over the place and you have no idea who is being honest.
Yeah my friend bought a new trailer (impeccably timed in 2019) from an independent dealer. I think he paid $13,000 for a single axle 21-22ft trailer while other chain dealers quoted him $17,000 for the exact same trailer.
Then he sold it 2 or 3 years later during the peak of the “were gonna buy a camper and live on the road!” craze (and related travel trailer shortage) for $18,500.
And now it is the same on Rice-a-roni and everything else.
$10K, no shitter, no shower…
If I don’t have either of those I don’t see the benefit over a tent.
It does have an outdoor shower, you aren’t getting an indoor one in something you can’t stand up in, no teardrops have indoor showers
I’ve always wondered why trailer makers don’t make pop top roofs for showers…
Some have, but like many of the better camper ideas, that was mostly done by companies that are long out of business or still around, but only overseas.
Is your tent air conditioned?
A quality portable battery powered AC with combo heatpump heating runs you $1K.
yes, I use a portable AC unit with ducted vent. It was about $300 (it’s a nicer one) and best thing is that I can use it in the garage or other areas of my home the other 390 days of the year.
Alot of people would like a more 4-season trailer than an insta-tent. As price-points for teardrops, a 6K will get you bare-bones so they have something going to make this thing competitive.
I would like a shower and toilet too, but that’ll be larger and heavier trailers.
This is actually a really nice tear-drop/rear galley style from the features I’ve seen.
4-season trailer till you have to shit…
counterpoint. I’ve been in RVs while someone took a shit. That’s not really a great option either. Paper thin walls and minimal ventilation and everyone is hiking to the outhouse anyway. Unless you’re in a six-figure class-A. That’s a different story.
Sleeping on the ground sucks.
Letting your winter coat grow in helps a little, but it’s still not something I’d recommend.
Ya, fur is itchy. Scales are better. Well. Until it’s time to shed skin. Totally sucks
Spend enough time in a tent and the hard walls and top are a big win when the weather gets bad overnight. That’s the benefit if you ask me. Maybe not worth 10k just for that, but actually, maybe it is.
I think this is the first travel-trailer I’ve seen on here where I think the price point is perfect.
That being said, anytime I see something like this I think about “if I could build this as a project, I could do it cheaper.”
And yes, maybe, but this one kind has the “the labor costs are in it”
Only concern I see are shocks on the suspension, IIRC lifted solid-axles have some stability issues without them.
If a company crumples under a Mercedes review, maybe they should fold. For all I’ve read here, “mean” is a serious stretch!
No kidding, my review of the garbage that Thor shits out would probably get me assassinated if I stepped foot in Indiana. Not to mention their treatment of workers.