Camping trailers are a great way to camp. They are a little harder to maneuver and manage than an RV, sure — but they give you the freedom to detach your personal vehicle and run out to buy that milk you forgot without packing up your entire campsite.
The trouble with camping trailers is, however, that they can be heavy and brick-like. Towing them makes gas-swilling trucks even less efficient — and demolishes the already precious range of electric vehicles.
At least, that's been the experience in the past, but times are changing. Dutch company Smitveld has a cure for the common trailer with its new AeroCabin. Here’s what you need to know about it.
The AeroCabin is compact and lightweight
As you’d expect with a name like “AeroCabin,” the trailer aims to be more aerodynamic than the average one of its kind. It lowers its roofline by having a pop-top, and it also makes itself more compact by having a slide-out sleeper compartment. Both deploy in seconds.
The trailer is also super lightweight, at just 1,984 pounds. Even with your added gear, that should be towable by a crossover, an EV ... or pretty much any vehicle you would fit a tow bar to.
The AeroCabin has a simple, effective layout
The AeroCabin sleeps two. The slide-out compartment permits a standalone, nearly king-sized bed rather than a convertible dinette. Sleepers can access it by rotating the dining table out of the way. An L-shaped kitchen occupies the opposite side of the trailer. Occupants have easy access through a wide and low doorway that allows entry without extending a step. You can also reach into the refrigerator while standing outside.
One particularly cool feature is the outdoor cooktop. The frame mounts to the exterior of the vehicle and you can slide the cooktop (and the attached cutlery drawer) out from the cabin and into the outdoor frame. The sink remains inside.
But there is one pretty big catch with the AeroCabin
The AeroCabin achieves that functional layout by, well, not having a bathroom. Neither a dry or a wet bath is accounted for inside, and there’s no mention of a portable shower or cassette toilet in the available features. So you’re either pooping in the woods or going to be limited to full-service campsites that offer facilities.
Though the AeroCabin is super cheap … for Europeans
Smitveld offers the AeroCabin pretty much fully equipped — there are a few extras like a screen door and an awning — for €39,000. At the current exchange rate, that works out to a little less than $42,000. That's only about one-third the price of an Airstream Trade Wind. Sadly, it doesn't seem like the company has plans to bring it Stateside in the immediate future, but at least that means you won't have to make any hard decisions about how much you value a bathroom.
