There are many different types and brands of camping trailers, but if there’s one name that stands above the rest of the pack in terms of visibility and influence, it’s Airstream. That said, even if you have your heart set on one of those iconic aluminum-bodied trailers, it can be tough to choose which one. Do you opt for the giant, home-like Classic? The compact but traditional Bambi? The atypical, innovative Nest? Or one of the many other models?
Well, Airstream just made your dilemma a little bit harder with the launch of the Basecamp 20 and 20X.
The 16-foot-long Basecamp happens to be Airstream’s best-selling trailer, according to the company, and it’s not hard to see why; the teeny towable weighs just 3,500 pounds, making it light enough for even a Subaru Outback to haul it around, let alone a crossover or midsize pickup truck, yet still packs all the features needed for one or two people to live their best life in the great outdoors: a kitchen, a shower, a toilet, and a living area that converts to a bed.
At 4,300 pounds, the 20-foot-long Basecamp 20 is a mite more weighty than its little sibling, but still very much within the towing capacity of many an SUV or pickup. Inside, the added floor space means the Basecamp 20 comes with a forward dinette that’s not to be found on the smaller model. Come bedtime, it converts to a small sleeping area suitable for one adult or two kids…or, we suppose, two smaller adults who don’t mind spooning.
The kitchen area has been relocated to the side of the trailer, across from the wet bath and next to the door; as a benefit of the move, the refrigerator is larger. In the back lies a new sleeping area with an appreciably larger bed; the 20’s sleeping area measures a better-than-king-size 82 inches by 78 inches, compared with the 16’s 76 inches-squared area. When you’re not sleeping, the bed can convert into a half bed, a pair of couches, or even a giant storage area for bikes and the like.
If your camping adventures tend to be a little more overlanding-esque, you’ll likely want to spring for the Basecamp 20X version. Like the 16X, this model comes with a few upgrades designed for soft-roading operation: off-road wheels and tires, a few extra inches of ground clearance and a steel stone guard up front, along with a couple other minor tweaks.