If you take a walk through an RV show today, you might be shocked at the mind-boggling prices some companies and dealers will ask for a camper. There are vans out there that cost more than a nice house. But it doesn’t have to be that way. While the expensive toys get all of the headlines, the industry still makes some rock-bottom, cheap units. This new 2026 Open Range Colt 13BH CTR is only $9,000. Yet, it has everything a couple or a very small family needs to have fun this summer.
If you’re shopping for a camper on a budget, I’d usually recommend finding a used unit from a brand that’s known for quality. Sure, a well-loved Airstream will be pre-farted in by at least one other family, but an old Airstream is likely to have many years of service left in it. Likewise, finding an old fiberglass pup like a Scamp can also result in more smiles than frowns down the road.
However, there are legitimate reasons to buy new. A new trailer will come with a warranty, should have plenty of parts still available, and won’t be deemed an eyesore by campgrounds that are afraid of RVs that are older than 10 years old. You also don’t have to learn about any nasty surprises hidden by previous owners. On the flipside, you should have no expectation that a brand-new $9,000 camper is built well, and, given the state of the RV industry right now, there’s a non-zero chance it breaks the first time you take it out. That’s from my own experience and years of reporting on the RV industry.
So, I always recommend taking the time and thinking about what you want out of an RV purchase. Do you want something that you can keep in the family for a while? Do you want something that you can use right this second and enjoy for a few years or so? If you come to the conclusion that new is right for you, let’s take a look at what spending only $9,000 get you in today’s market.
Keeping It Affordable
The RV industry has consistently sold small hard-sided travel trailers at around the $10,000 mark for years now. It’s weirdly refreshing. The prices of everything else seem to keep getting higher, but some of the RV companies from Indiana are still slinging rolling hotel rooms for the low price of $10,000 or so. It’s almost impressive that these $10,000 trailers remain fully-equipped, too. Even the car industry won’t sell you a vehicle for under $20,000 anymore unless there’s some cash on the hood.
Back when I went to the 2026 Florida RV SuperShow in January, I thought I found the new king of cheap. That camper was the Coachmen Clipper 12RD (above), which was $9,999 at the beginning of this year. Something I strongly dislike about the RV industry is the constantly fluctuating prices. Currently, the Clipper can be found for $10,000 to $13,000, with most units at $11,000 and up. Last year’s king, the Keystone Coleman 13B, was $10,399 in January. Now, you can find them for around $9,100 to $10,000.
Since RV prices are about as fluid as water, the new cheap champ on the market appears to be the 2026 Open Range Colt 13BH CTR at $8,999.
The Young Horse
Open Range is technically a younger face in the RV world. It was founded in 2007 by Randy Graber in Shipshewana, Indiana. At that time, Graber had a 25-year career in the RV industry. He cut his teeth selling Newmar coaches before landing management and development positions at KZ RV and Keystone RV. In 2014, Jayco purchased Open Range, renaming it to Highland Ridge RV. In 2016, Jayco, along with its brands, was purchased by Thor Industries. Weirdly, despite the rename, Open Range remains the brand name that’s printed on Highland Range’s trailers.
What made Open Range attractive in its early years was its emphasis on fifth wheel floorplans that offered more space and storage while keeping weight low. It was also championed as an Indiana brand that wasn’t owned by one of the mega RV conglomerates. Of course, that last one is no longer true.
Like most super cheap campers, the build isn’t much to write about. The Colt features wood framing, lauan plywood wall backing, and a PVC membrane roof. I do like the aluminum exterior siding, which looks classy and won’t suffer from delamination issues like fiberglass siding sometimes does.
The exterior alone illustrates the cost-cutting. You get only a basic steel frame, a single propane tank without a cover, an old-school crank tongue jack, and only two stabilizer jacks. It even has the old-school coach-mounted staircase. The only real modern touch to the exterior is the power awning.
Moving inside, the cost-cutting continues. There’s a bed immediately to your right, and it has a thin, strangely-shaped mattress. The bed frame also serves as the nightstand, and above that is a cabinet without doors or nets.
A common quirk with super cheap trailers is a kitchen that doesn’t have matching materials, and that’s the case here. The basic two-burner stove, microwave, outlets, and faucet are black, but the sink basin is white. The wall unit 8,000 BTU air-conditioner is also white.
The bathroom contains a shower and a toilet. The only weird thing here is that the toilet sits on a platform. Otherwise, it’s business as usual for a cheap camper. The shower’s walls are exposed to water from the shower, and there is no backsplash for the stove, either. The one splash of luxury comes from hardwood cabinet doors on the few cabinets that have doors.
Aside from the main bed, there is a pair of bunk beds with even thinner mattresses that hold 300 pounds, each. At the most, you’re getting four people in here, and I hope two of those people are kids. You’ll need to get creative if you cook when it’s raining outside, too, because there’s no dinette.
Again, none of this is outside of the norm for a $10,000 trailer. You get everything you need and nothing you don’t. The ceiling sits 6’6″ high inside, and the whole trailer is 16 feet long. Of that, 13 feet is the body. In terms of holding tanks, there’s a 30-gallon fresh tank, a 19.9-gallon gray tank, and a 39-gallon waste tank. The empty weight is 3,065 pounds, and the loaded weight is 3,700.
Technically, this trailer has an MSRP of $20,693. That includes the mandatory CTR Edition package for $4,875, which includes tinted windows, an air-conditioner, a power awning, a stove, a furnace, window shades, a tongue jack, and more.
What’s really stupid to me is that Highland Ridge advertises the base price of this trailer to be $15,818, but you literally cannot order a Colt for that price. What’s Highland Ridge going to do, sell you a trailer without a tongue? Again, I have to roll my eyes excessively hard at the opaque way that RVs are often priced.
The silly pricing is irrelevant, anyway, as I found more than two dozen of these trailers for sale, brand new, at General RV for $8,999. These trailers can be found at General RV locations as far west as Illinois, as far south as Florida, and at numerous dealers further east.
There is a small caveat that these trailers are not the absolute cheapest RVs I’ve found. I also found a single Coleman 13B at a Camping World for $8,400. However, I have been able to consistently find these Colts at different dealers for $8,999.
A Step Up From A Tent
Highland Ridge pitches the baby Colt as a direct step up from a tent or a tent trailer, and I can definitely see that. This trailer doesn’t have crazy LED lighting, slides, giant boomboxes, an outdoor entertainment area, a patio, or anything like that. It’s not even employing Azdel or any truly modern construction material. This is very much an old-school camper for the modern day.
If that’s something you’re looking for, it looks like you’ll have no problem finding one of these for dirt cheap. Again, I would not expect stellar longevity or quality. However, at the same time, there’s not a whole lot to break in this trailer, anyway. I have little doubt that you’ll be able to have some fun road trips in this tiny guy. I’d be delighted to take one of these to EAA AirVenture this year if I could.
For all of the dumb ways the RV industry can be aggravating, from the pricing to its continued use of tropical plywood, I’m at least happy that camper companies have not abandoned the lower end of the market. Recently, we wrote about how Honda wants to “democratize camping” with its white pod. Honestly, I think this trailer is closer to that goal than what Honda is working on. Just make sure you keep that roof maintained.
Can someone help me understand campers? It seems like an awkward middle ground that is more comfortable than tent camping or sleeping in your car but less comfortable than a hotel room, which are available basically everywhere. And somehow it is more expensive than both and requires you to store it somewhere 99% of the time. Who are they for?
Vanlords. I have seen one parked on the street in LA, my guess is the owner is renting it out.
While RV quality is pretty crap I’m amazed they have done so well keeping prices down. I look at the boat side and they have had a lot more problems with the starter boat thing. I used to work in both industries and while boats are starting to have some intro models with attractive prices again (thanks mostly to Bass Pro shops and a couple other builders in the south) for the last 15 years they have struggled to make something both affordable and attractive to buyers.
Obviously not the same experience but any time I think about how cool having a trailer would be, I think about how many nights in a nice hotel these would buy.
“pre-farted” … This is something that should be addressed more. IMO
I’m really curious about the economics here. Specifically, how is anyone making enough money for this to be worth it? Clearly it is, but it’s amazing to me you can build this thing, pay someone to haul it to the dealership and somehow everyone is making money.
I was thinking the same. This is some WILD out-of-my-backside guessing and rounding, but you have to have say 4k in materials and 2k in labor to assemble it, let’s say 6k cost to produce. Then say a grand to ship it to a dealer, and the dealer marks it up a grand to the 9k MSRP.
So a 2k profit per trailer, and then they have to worry about warranty claims and stuff.
Maybe my numbers are way off, but since I read that this little company was purchased by the big boys, I’m assuming this little thing is a loss leader of sorts?
I’ve never been to an RV dealer, but I imagine it’s a hard upsell the moment you step in the door. The loans on the bigger units are pretty long, so they’ll tell you that you could get a much larger unit for the same monthly payment.
MSRP on this one is closer to 20k. But as previous part time class C transporter who always opened the manila envelope in the fridge if it wasn’t zip tied into a bag, the total invoice was always very close to 50% MSRP. And that was before dealer volume discounts assuming the manufacturers provide them.
I don’t know if the same holds true for trailers, but I wouldn’t be surprised if it does.
Not a terrible price for glorified shed on wheels.
Not bad but I think they could open up a lot more opportunities with additional layouts and/or selectable options.
If they had an option that ditched the bunks for a dinette it could better cater to couples who would be unlikely to need the extra beds (also, just like tents when they say “up to X people”, things get real tight real quick).
If they removed some items and made others optional/selectable then could be even better, allowing more to go to the base equipment. Items like the mattresses mentioned, they’re likely junk and would be replaced anyway so why waste on them in the first place (of course manufacture would have to use actual standard matress sizes). Or those stepping up from a tent or boondocking mostly, the AC or microwave might be another waste.
Overall great to get to this price point but I think dropping quality to hit a standard features list can hurt the value prospective.
I get the bunks to some degree, this a base camp for a small family. Cooking outside under a screenhouse with a picnic table or 2. Nightly campfires and roasted hot dogs and s’mores. No TV, just conversation. But not needing to run 100 yards (or a local tree) for a potty. Sleeping within 4 walls and some comfort. An ideal mix of the outdoors and modern convience.
I recall us renting absolutely bare bones cabins on vacations. Hauling a screen house, kitchen, bedding etc… all with us. Those were the vacations I still remember 40+ years on.
These were luxuries comparied to some Scout Camps.
My daughter was spoiled – but also maybe missed out. We could always afford nice hotels, condos, etc on vacations.
Pretty sure you could knock those bunks out in 20 minutes. Given the finishes, I don’t think bolting an ikea table into the floor is gonna ruin the “look.”
I’d love to see a Family or Couple option.
I wish more models ditched the dinette. We mostly eat outside when camping. The exception seems to be breakfast. Our pre-farted 2007 Airstream has a rare layout without a dinette. Instead we have a front couch with large table that folds out either 2.5′ or 5′ in front of the couch. Combined with some storage bins on the other side that double as seating, I can seat 5 comfortably at our table and then fold it away for a spacious seating area when not in use.
This is a decent value at $9000 if it doesn’t leak. If you are spending $35-45,000, a pre-farted, well maintained and inspected Airstream is a great way to go vs. a new camper around the same price. My credit union was even still willing to finance ours, but I didn’t end up taking advantage of that. Ours has probably had fewer problems over the past 5 years than any new camper would. They also don’t depreciate much once they get to 15-20 years old. The only failure I’ve had was the converter and the rearview camera. I’ve done a lot of upgrades, but those were my choice. Don’t get me wrong… a camper is still a horrible investment, but if you are going to do it, don’t waste more money than you need to.
You bring up a good point, would a couch that doubles as a bed (I think they call them gauchos) and maybe a couple of folding TV trays be better use of space than a dinette? For a lot of buyers, probably, just a place to eat in a pinch in the event of inclement weather, but a place to sit and relax all other times. Dinettes suck as sitting areas for anything other than eating
Yeah, our couch is a jackknife that converts to a double bed really easily.
Yep everyone has different preferences so it’s hard to make something that works for everyone. My family camps to get outdoors so we only hang out in the trailer while sleeping or if it’s raining. Some of my best camping memories are playing board games at the little dinette with the kids (or playing cards and polishing off a bottle of whiskey with my buddies) while waiting out a rainstorm. So the dinette is mandatory for me.
But I mainly cook outside and I like to leave my shit behind instead of carrying it with me to deal with later (who wants to stink up such a small shared space??). I’m also tall. So I would gladly trade unneeded cooktop space for storage, and trade the bathroom for an extra couple feet of length on the beds.
I don’t have a camper, but you bring up the exact reason I’d want one. It seems like EVERY time I go camping, it rains. I’m always miserable in the rain, I’d love to be able to hole up in an enclosed, waterproof area to wait it out. Bonus being climate control, as I hate the post rain dampness that seems to get into all my gear.
Your comment about climate control underscores my point about everyone’s needs being different: I live and camp in a super dry climate where it’s almost always cool at night and things dry out quick after the rain. So no A/C needed in my cheap little camper, even tho i understand why it’s important to a lot of people.
The other benefits over a tent are standing up and walking around to get dressed, and having a flat, cushy bed up off the ground and hooks and shelves for your clothes. You can get those things if you have a big enough tent with cots and mattresses but at some point that all just takes away the benefits of tent camping, which is to be fast and flexible and cheap and be able to hike out and sleep further from the car. If you’re camping by your car anyway you might as well just tow all that stuff in one pre-setup package.
Another thing I don’t take for granted that may sound silly is just the simple act of walking in and out of the camper and letting the screen door swing shut behind me. No more bending over to unzip and zip every time I go in to grab a sweater or headlamp or switch shoes or whatever. Ahh the little things.
(P.S. I love to tent camp too and will be doing it next weekend. But the camper is pretty great when I’m somewhere I can use it.)
I love a dry climate out west. I’m in New England, its often both hot AND damp during the camping season. Sometimes it’s so humid that everything feels wet even without rain. Such a miserable experience, I try to avoid camping in the summer. April – May and Sept- Nov is the best time.
We really get like 4 months of good weather out this way, I don’t know why I still live here.
I heard a say once “I’m a New Englandah, I hate it here and I’ll never leave”, and that sounded about right.
I like the little, cheap trailers. We had two antique Airstreams and one vintage Winnebago before buying a 14’ KZ Sportsmen new in 2012. The older trailers were charming but always needed some tinkering. The KZ was perfect during an era of life when I had little time for fixing stuff. It had all the features we wanted and none that we didn’t. Simple = reliable.
We camped with the family as our kids grew up, and a bit of empty nesting later. During COVID it was our quarantine facility in the yard. During a job transition in 2022 we were between houses, so my wife and I lived in it for two months on an island in the Mississippi river.
With maintenance the KZ held up well for a decade. We benefited from the inflation in RV prices. We bought it as a floor display from a dealer for $4500 in 2012, and in 2022 we sold it for $4500!
It was roughly the equivalent of this unit. Ours had nicer interior finishes, but only a dinky 6 gallon fresh water tank.
https://itisgood.org/auto-biography/#11KZ
Honesty not bad, even if it breaks a little after 3 years you wouldn’t be scared to do a Lil DIY repair on a 9k camper. Plus it’s easier to store and maneuver.
Honestly great price.
I’d expect it to break season 1, this is built with all the classic problems of RV’s.
Consider that a 5×12 enclosed cargo trailer (that’s not even tall enough to stand up in) sells for around $3500+, this seems like a heckuva bargain.
I do wish the RV industry would get its act together on the ridiculous MSRP vs. selling price issue, though. They’re already short on credibility, and the pricing issues don’t help.
P.S. Yay I’m a member now!
Someone looking to camp on the cheap would be far better off to buy a 6×12 V nose cargo trailer and build it out themselves. To start the basic box is better with an aluminum roof, better corners, and actual plywood walls.
A kitchenette and bed are not hard to do in plywood and 2 x 4’s and almost any components or fixtures you can buy are going to be better than the factory ones in a $10,000 RV.
Assuming that person has tools and skills, yes.
If you don’t have them, and buy this RV, you better have a big wallet to pay the service guy where it will live.
Nobody without tools or skills should own an commercially built RV.
You need to be a carpenter, mechanic, electrician, and plumber to own one without paying the purchase price again in repair bills.
Better to learn skills upfront in the build stage and also know how your rig works. You can also pay a little bit more upfront for quality components instead of replacing everything in a commercial RV a little at a time when the OEM parts fail.
Just cut the top off a porta potty and throw in a half dozen bean bag chairs for sitting and sleeping
Or just use the little enclosed trailer to carry your portable camp kitchen, porta-potty, open air shower, folding cots, folding outdoor chairs and table, Yeti Coolers, and all the other stuff you need to go camping.
This, A good Gazelle T4 tent, cots, cot pads, chairs, camp kitchen and stove, 12V fridge/freezer, etc. is a fraction of the cost of an RV without repair and storage issues.
Ok – That’s a brilliant tent:
https://gazelletents.com/products/t4-tandem-1?srsltid=AfmBOopITOFEBcqH3AO2vVJwmJLn8f34U-5ewhCYagR40DDRizH0oqDt
I have had one for 6ish years and it is fantastic. If I would buy one now I would do the T3X as it is smaller but still tall enough to stand up in (almost) and long enough for a cot.
Tents have their place but all suffer from the same problem – setting up and tearing down every day. Additional misery points are added if it is raining and you get to carry around a wet tent all day and then that wet tent up again the next night.
If you are setting up once and staying in the same place it isn’t bad but my wife and I like to stay on the move. On our last campervan trip last fall we spent a bit more than 2 weeks on the road and only camped in the same spot once at that was 2 nights in Yellowstone.
You also can’t “stealth’ camp in a tent. Quite often we will just pull off in a trailhead parking lot and crawl in the back to sleep.
all good points but I would take a $250 tent that is up or down in one minute than an expensive camper and all the repairs/mantaince/towing cost and hassle. To each their own.
What complete camp is up and down in 1 minute? Takes more than that just to clear the tent spot of sticks and leaf litter. Then there is the tent, rain fly, all the guy lines, sleeping pads to inflate, sleeping bags to unroll, chairs, cook stove, cooler, etc.
I’ve found 20 minutes is more like it to actually get camp set up and about 30 minutes to get it all pack up again in the tiny bags so it fits back in the car.
Yes, commercial RVs are expensive. DIY solutions don’t have to be. Our Chevy camper van was $9,000: Van, lift, conversion, DC fridge, batteries, and 300 watts of solar. Used it for 10 years and just sold it for $6,000.
That is some pretty cheap camping and worth it to me vs sleeping on the ground.
tent one minute. cot chairs and table a few more. I have set up faster than roof top tents. the gazelle tents go up fast and do not need guy lines and cots are not sleeping on the ground. I have set up and torn down so much that it even if 10 minutes when camping is not that bad. I am more worried about the $5000-$10000 dollars than a few minutes to set up and tear down. I do not rush camping.
If Gazelle tents don’t require guy lines why do the pictures on their website show the tents guyed out?
Great that tent camping works for you – I don’t see going back personally unless I’m backpacking. For that I prefer a hammock tent.
they are not required but in windy conditions they prevent the walls from popping in.
This also solves the worst part of tent camping, which is loading all the stuff into the car before you go then unloading it all when you get back. Setting up a tent is pretty easy and it’s not like there’s no setup for a camper when you get to the site that makes campers better than tents.
I have one of these I got for less than $3k used:
https://spacetrailers.com/?srsltid=AfmBOooDV1s7idRUz7Pi-3sm7pSpFEaT4dIoAVucoAdFZ4sNweDKYSl4
All my camping gear lives in it year-round, and when we want to camp we throw food, clothes, and whatever toys we want to bring in/on it and we’re out the door in an hour.
Those are cool – and you don’t need an F150 or even a big SUV to tow it. Just put a hitch and a 4 prong harness on the back of your GTI!
I tow mine with a Mazda5 and have pulled it with my Mazda3 in a pinch. And it’s easy to maneuver around by hand to get it in and out of the garage or tricky campsite parking.
100% this.
Good point as always doing your own work reduces the profit margin from a finished project
Welcome!
Considering something like a Kompact Kamp Mini-Mate can get close to $6k with a couple of popular accessories, $9k for this does seem like a hell of a deal. Put a secured tarp over it when not in use, caulk the seams every year, and give the chassis a good undercoating, and there’s no reason you couldn’t get many years of use out of it. I feel like this probably isn’t built all that much worse than most more expensive RVs, it might even have some advantages for longevity, if cared for, less features = less to fail.
16 feet long is a blessing in disguise. That length means it’s easy to maneuver into tight spots and easy to store in a 40 foot long two car wide driveway while having space for two cars. There are a lot of state parks and campgrounds in New York with some sites that are marked as for under 20 foot long campers. Sometimes those have been the only spots available. When that’s the difference between getting away for the weekend or staying home, it’s great to get away.
For someone who wants something new and wants the dealer to work the bugs out after the summer, this is fine. It has a useful lifespan of about 10 years. So $1000 a year. At 10 nights a year that’s $100 a night. Which isn’t bad considering a $100 hotel these days isn’t great and anywhere worth going during the summer is going to be more like $200 a night minimum. If it’s even available anywhere nearby on the dates wanted!
Agree with Mercedes. There’s absolutely a spot for these bargain basement campers. Sometimes all that’s wanted is a hard roof overhead and air conditioning.
But anyplace worth going doesn’t have a campground. Plus in your math you didn’t include the rental cost or usage costs