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As I snaked 313 miles north from Los Angeles through the Sierra National Forest to the floor of Yosemite Valley with the Basecamp X hanging from the back of my test car, I had plenty of time to think about my ideal camping trailer. I passed 33-foot Jayco fifth-wheels with big-screen TVs, homey Winnebago Minnies with porcelain toilets, and 19-foot Lances with slide-out sides — and even all the ones I saw represent just a fraction of the options in the segment.
Yet after all that driving, my take is almost stupidly simple: I’d want the trailer that gets me off the highway and into the outdoors as efficiently as possible. Maybe it’s confirmation bias, but for a quick weekend dash to the wilderness, I’d want the Airstream Basecamp X.
Airstream, and especially the Basecamp X, represents outdoor product design at its smoothest. Like an Eames chair or a Neutra house, it’s welcoming to all — easy and approachable, but built with a level of intention that rewards even the most discerning user. The Basecamp is the smallest, lightest towable made by Airstream, but it still felt fully equipped for my 48 hours of off-grid camping in below-freezing temperatures in Yosemite. The 16-feet-3-inch trailer packs an astonishing amount into its riveted aluminum shell. There’s a convertible bench seating area that makes way for two twin beds, a telephone-booth sized bathroom/shower combo, a two-burner stove and sink (each with a tempered glass cover) and a bevy of other clever storage nooks both on the floor and overhead.
The downside of this, of course, means that it can feel tight inside. But, if you’re willing to put up with less elbow room and you prefer spending most of your camping experience outside, the benefits of the Basecamp X are plentiful.
