The Emerging Trend of Small Custom Camper Trailers

The spike in the RV market during this year's Covid-19pandemic has been well documented as consumers look for safe ways to get awayamid ever tightening restrictions. While we at Advantage Trailer are a trailercompany, rather than an RV dealer, we can still offer solutions for thoselooking to travel while keeping clear from large crowds.

According to CNET, RV rentals have increased 650 percentthis year, and the RVIndustry Association reports a 31.2 percent increase in RV shipments thisSeptember compared to last September.

“Thedemand for RVs continues to be strong heading into the fall and the industry ison track to surpass last year’s numbers, despite the six to eight week closuresearlier this spring,” said RV Industry Association President Craig Kirby.“Between the growing trend to work and learn from your RV and the incrediblefall and winter RV travel options, we do not see the demand for RVs going downanytime soon.”

Additionally, the International Air Transport Association expectsdemand for air travel to remain below pre-Covid levels until at least 2023, andan Ipsosstudy finds that 46 million Americans plan to take an RV trip in the next12 months.

Are you one of them?

If you’re looking for a fully furnished RV, you’ll have togo to an RV dealer, but if you want a toy hauler, or if you are willing to put some ofyour own elbow grease into it, we can help!

On the toy hauler side, we stock Stealth Nomads and havesold quite a few of them this year. We currently have a 24-foot Stealth Nomad in-stockwith two wall-mount sleeper sofas, a kitchenette, bathroom, heat and airconditioning, and more.

If that’s out of your price range, we have another option.

Customers have recently started purchasing smaller cargotrailers and converting them to small camper trailers, either themselves orthrough our fabrication team.

We can order basic cargo trailers from the manufacturerwith windows, which means all that has to be done is some minor fabrication to makethem livable.

This fall, a customer purchased a 5’x10’ Formula Conquest trailerwith 30”x15” horizontal slider windows on each side. Once he received it, he removedthe plywood walls, installed insulation and 110-volt power, and reinstalled thewalls. Next, he installed a ceiling and a cabinet in the nose area, which hefilled with a small fridge, microwave, two 12-volt batteries, a 12-volt batterycharger, and a DC/AC power converter. He painted the walls and installedcarpeting as well as a futon, curtains, and a shelf to hold his portablegenerator.

While he still has a few minor finishes to complete, he hassuccessfully converted a small cargo trailer into a small camper that isperfect for trips, at a fraction of the cost of purchasing an RV or toy hauler.

We have a couple more in the works as we speak, so it’sdefinitely a trend to hop on now if you’re looking to travel on a budget in the coming year. If you don’t have the time or capabilities to do the work yourself, our fabrication team can do it for you at our shop in Carol Stream (about 30 miles west of downtown Chicago).

Converting a cargo trailer into a small camper is especiallyuseful for hunting, fishing, or camping for the person who doesn’t need all theluxuries of a full RV. We have another customer who travels to flea markets and converted his cargo trailer to a small camper to both haul his gear and sleep in while on the road. 

If you are interested in either a toy hauler or converting a cargo trailer into a small camper trailer, please give us a call at 630-524-2029 or email marketing@advantagetrailer.comto get the conversation started.