Buying My First (tiny) Camper

I’ve posted about what drove to me to buy my first camper before, but I wanted to add more in depth information about purchasing my first tiny camper. Prior to purchasing a camper I collected requirements for what I was looking for. Due to my towing vehicle’s limitations, I was looking for something small and lightweight as this would be my first time regularly towing something behind my car. In addition to that, I had come up with a list of ‘must-have’ requirements that included the amenities that I deemed essential when camping. My full must-have requirements were as follows:

• Under $3500
• Under 2,000 lbs dry weight
• Small form factor
• Air conditioning
• A bed that sleeps two comfortably
• A fridge

Based on my requirements, I found two possible options; pop-up campers or teardrop campers. I quickly decided against canvas based pop-up campers after reading about the maintenance requirements of the canvas and difficulty in set up. Having previously rented a hard-sided A-frame pop-up called an Aliner, I was very interested in purchasing one, but I was having trouble finding one in my budget.

Teardrop campers were appealing to me because they just seemed so easy being as they are pretty much a hard sided tent on wheels. As I researched teardrops I found three primary disadvantages. First, most teardrop campers really weren’t designed to do anything but sleep in. I wasn’t thrilled by the idea that if I wanted to be inside of the camper I would need to be laying down. What if I just wanted to get out of the heat for a minute? What if it started raining and I needed somewhere to ride out a storm? The second major disadvantage I found was most teardrop campers did not have air conditioners, one of my must-haves, as they were typically too small to accommodate one. Lastly, tear drop campers are very expensive for what they are, and finding one for sale in my price range seemed like a long shot.

In December 2018 I was casually looking for campers figuring the dead of winter may be a good time to score a deal. After checking the usual places for used RVs and coming up short, I checked our neighborhood social media platform’s for sale section to see if anyone local was selling campers.That’s where I found what would eventually become my first camper.

The post I found was for a 4ft x 8ft custom fabricated tiny camper. It was kind of a teardrop, but with a square back and rear entry, something you just don’t see too often. The story I was told was the camper was originally built by an aluminum fabricator and he towed it behind his three-wheel motorcycle to Sturgis each year. The guy must have been good at what he does because for being homemade, it was a professional grade build.

I had reservations about the size, but the unique shape did provide it with more head room than most other teardrops so you could sit up in it. It also met most of my requirements. It was small and lightweight at an estimated 750 lbs dry. It had a cutout on the side to accommodate a standard window AC unit. It did not have a bed or a fridge, but I figured I could get at least a 3/4 mattress in it to sleep on and it did have a standard 120v outlet already wired inside that I could plug a fridge into. The entrance to the camper was in the back which made it easy to climb in and out of, but this design meant it was lacking an outdoor galley that is typically found on most teardrops. I fell in love with it right away, and was able to purchase it significantly under my budget. I knew of course I would need to put some of that savings back into it to make some upgrades and add some missing amenities.

So here is what it looked like the day I purchased it. Of course, it looks a little different now.