Taxa Outdoors Cricket ($33,317)

The name Cricket evokes something springy, ready for action at a moment鈥檚 notice. And at a mere 1,500 pounds, that鈥檚 precisely the Cricket鈥檚 forte. You don鈥檛 need a job-site pickup to tow it; four cylinders will do. The construction鈥攁luminum panels on a galvanized-steel frame鈥攚as dreamed up by Taxa CEO Garrett Finney, a former NASA architect. Perhaps not coincidentally, the look is a little lunar-rover-esque; it鈥檇 appear just as much at home rolling across the Sea of Tranquility as it does tethered to the hookups at an RV campsite.
While its light weight might make the Cricket seem minimalist, it鈥檚 decidedly not. The suite of features is impressive. (That鈥檚 one of the reasons we gave it a Gear of the Show award at RV Experience in March.) There鈥檚 a queen-size bed for adults and bunks for two kids, an exterior hot-water shower, interior lighting and USB outlets that run off an external hookup or optional rooftop solar panels, ample kitchen space, and a pop-up roof that boosts standing height and airflow. Want to get after it? A foot of ground clearance and 15-inch wheels with burly tires are happy to oblige.
Once you return, the Cricket鈥檚 15-foot length fits inside a standard garage, so your neighbors don鈥檛 have to see it parked on the street. Although, with looks like these, they might not mind.
SylvanSport Vast ($49,995)

Best of the Rest
The Vast is about maximizing time outside even when you鈥檙e dragging what鈥檚 essentially a tiny house to the campsite. A kitchen slides out the side of the trailer, revealing a shower. The large picture window hinges at the top, and a dining table slides out to form an outdoor bar space. Inside the back hatch, the couch flips forward鈥攑roviding room for bigger gear鈥攁nd stows flat. And a queen bed descends from the ceiling when it鈥檚 time to call it a day.
Airstream Basecamp ($37,400)

If you鈥檙e in the market for a trailer but don鈥檛 need as much room as the Cricket affords, look to the Basecamp. Sporting an even sleeker look than Airstream鈥檚 full-size trailers, its aerodynamic aluminum body won鈥檛 hamstring your fuel economy. Room for two people, a sizable rear hatch for loading up bikes and kayaks, a sink and two-burner gas stove, and a built-in toilet and shower round out the Basecamp. Once you get to your destination, the view from the wraparound window can鈥檛 be beat.
Lance 850 ($41,774)

Lance鈥檚 smallest truck-bed camper is still pretty big, given that it鈥檚 equipped with a queen-size mattress and a mounted TV, a bathroom with a toilet, and a dinette with a stove, a sink, a microwave, and ample cabinets. If you don鈥檛 want the hassle of a tow-behind trailer, and you鈥檝e got a large pickup (an app on Lance鈥檚 website tells you which ones are compatible), opt for the 850.