This New Car-Inspired Fiberglass Camper Can Be Had In Almost Any Color And Is So Light That It Can Be Towed By Your Ford Maverick

Campers built for off-road adventures are often burly beasts with a lot of metal, few windows, and more gimmicks than the average running of the Consumer Electronics Show. But one new startup wants to change that. The Motsmann Engineering Outranger wants to be a kinder face in the off-road camper space by building campers that fully embrace the use of fiberglass, equipping them with more windows, and finishing them in glossy colors. The best part? It weighs little enough that anything with a tow rating better than 1,500 pounds can haul it.

I’m generally a fan of the “squaredrop” – a teardrop-style camper that’s squared off – off-road camper. They’re smaller, more maneuverable, and weigh less than larger rigs, and I find them better to sleep in than any tent. Many of them weigh under 2,000 pounds, too, which means that you can even haul them with some lighter crossovers and compact trucks. But as time has gone on, it seems too many companies are just building the same thing.

So many of these campers have so few windows that sleeping in them feels like going to bed in a bunker, which is weird because these campers are supposed to get you closer to the wilderness, not take you out of it. Then there’s the whole “tactical” vibe with many of these trailers. So many of them are slathered in camo, matte black, or truck bedliner and look like some piece of military hardware that missed its turn in a convoy. If you want color, you’d have to go to your local wrap shop. Then there’s the pricing, with many of these campers costing absurd amounts of money for what you get.

Once I slept in an off-road camper with more than just two tiny windows, I began to greatly appreciate what natural light can do for a small space. So now I like to highlight campers that do things a little differently than the trend. The Motsmann Engineering Outranger definitely fits the bill. It doesn’t just let in some light, but it’s a sort of fresh-ish take on the off-road camper genre.

Inspired By European Cars

Tigard, Oregon-based Motsmann Engineering doesn’t say a whole lot about itself. I could not find who founded it or when the business launched. Instead, the company has this story to tell:

We are a team of engineers and manufacturing specialists with extensive experience in the development, production launch, and quality control of fiberglass vehicles and components for both road and rail applications. For many years, we have worked closely with trusted manufacturing partners that produce fiberglass and metal components for RVs, trams, trains, buses, ambulances, and other specialty vehicles.

Outranger began with a simple idea: to create a camper trailer for both paved roads and more demanding terrain—and engineer it with the same level of care expected from a modern vehicle.

That approach shaped every part of the design. Materials, components, and construction methods were selected to withstand vibration, moisture, temperature changes, and years of outdoor exposure. The result is a camper designed to maintain its structure, appearance, and functionality long after the first trip. Durability was only part of the goal. Every detail was also developed around practical use, thoughtful functionality, and a clean, distinctive design.

Motsmann Engineering further says that the Outranger was designed like European cars and campers. It takes inspiration from the more colorful and lighter designs from across the Atlantic, and the Euro influence shows in the engineering as well.

Built To Be Fixed By You

The Outranger is different right from the start.

Here in America, a lot of camper frames are welded structures. Motsmann is one of a growing number of brands assembling frames with bolts instead. The Outranger features a 3 mm galvanized steel modular frame that’s bolted together. This design was inspired by how European campers are often built, and as Motsmann sees it, a bolted design is great for the end-user. If you damage the frame, you can unbolt the section and bolt the new part in rather than having to deal with welding.

Further bolted to the chassis through reinforced subframes is a Timbren 2000 HD “axle-less” independent suspension. Rounding out the platform is a set of 15-inch wheels wrapped in 30-inch Falken Wildpeak all-terrain tires.

The next big change is what’s on top of the frame: a whole lot of plastic and fiberglass. The whole body of the Outranger is a single piece of fiberglass. But it’s not made the way you might think. Typically, an American molded fiberglass camper is built by joining either an upper and lower tub together, or by doing the same to a left and right tub. This is how it’s been done for decades.

The Outranger is one of the designs that takes a different path. Instead of molding tubs and then joining them together, the Outranger is made out of fiberglass panels slapped together. From Motsmann:

The Outranger body is assembled from six composite panels. Concealed interior partitions and structural surfaces are made from durable polymer materials. The rear galley is constructed entirely from fiberglass and finished with a protective polyurethane coating, while the countertop is made from HDPE. Inside the cabin, molded panels with a polyurethane finish are combined with soft upholstered panels made from polymer substrates wrapped in automotive-grade fabric.

All materials were selected to minimize wear, simplify cleaning, and maintain their appearance and functionality through long-term use. The cabin features entry doors on both sides of the trailer. A large front window can be opened for additional ventilation, while a roof-mounted ventilation fan provides continuous cabin airflow.

So Many Colors!

Something I really like about this body is that it’s covered in a glossy gelcoat. That alone makes it stand out in the crowd. Then there are the colors.

The standard colors aren’t that amazing. There’s a White, Gray, Military Green, and Sandstone (tan). However, if you want a bit more spice, you can order your Outranger with your choice of color, so long as it’s one of the 216 hues on the RAL Classic color wheel. Motsmann does warn that it cannot replicate all of the RAL colors into gelcoat, but it should be able to match the camper to your car or your personality. I simply adore that! Forget swoops, decals, wraps, and pictures of mountains; let me paint my trailer in hot pink!

The fiberglass body with a glossy finish is said to be inspired by how European cars are designed. The way Motsmann sees it, if you damage the fiberglass, you don’t have to worry about any structural wood or metal repairs. Instead, the company says, it can be repaired using standard composite and gelcoat repair methods. Further, since whatever color you choose will be codified into your trailer’s serial number, whoever is doing the repairs can just pull the paint code off the trailer to get matching gelcoat.

Motsmann also notes that, like other fiberglass trailers, gelcoat wear from long-term outdoor exposure, like scratches, scuffs, or oxidation, can be rectified with gelcoat polish.

The lower black portion of the body is Raptor polyurethane coating. This coating serves the same purpose that diamond plate often does on other trailers, and it’s supposed to shrug off road debris, rocks, and whatever else the road and trail throw at trailers. Like the fiberglass body, the folks of Motsmann see the trailer’s owner using Raptor repair kits to fix any damage to the material.

There’s more going on with the exterior, too. The camper’s main storage compartment is a nine-cubic-foot (calculated before the addition of any batteries) aluminum cargo box mounted on the camper’s tongue. The giant black expanse of plastic on the right side of the trailer is not storage. Instead, it’s a 48-by-21-inch counter that comes down and serves as a table or prep surface.

The only other potential covered storage spaces are the rear kitchen or inside of the trailer itself. You can order the Outranger with an optional roof rack that will support 550 pounds of static weight, but only 150 pounds of dynamic weight. There’s also an optional two-inch receiver for another storage box or perhaps bicycles. In other words, if you want to use this camper for longer than a weekend, you’ll probably have to get creative for storage. However, this is somewhat common to see on small squaredrop trailers.

As for that kitchen, the standard configuration is just the countertop and storage, nothing else. Should you want built-in water, optional is a 13-gallon roof-mounted tank that gravity feeds water to the sink. That sink then drains into a 7-gallon gray tank that uses a standard RV dump pipe. Also optional is a Dometic D20 cooktop that feeds from a 10-pound propane tank and a 20-liter Vitrifrigo drawer refrigerator.

It Has A Pretty Light Spec Sheet

Inside, the standard equipment is about as barren as the standard kitchen. Standard is a memory foam bed that measures 82 inches long, with patches as wide as 57 inches by the doors and as narrow as 50 inches by the wheel wells. A 50-inch headroom permits sitting.

Standard power comes from a 200-Ah Renogy 12-volt LFP battery, which juices up the lights and USB ports. Standard is a shore power connection. Optional parts include an upgrade to a 600-Ah system, 200 watts of solar, a 2,000-watt inverter with two 120-volt panels, and a Victron DC-DC charger to recharge the battery from the tow vehicle. Yes, you read that correctly.

No HVAC system is provided, either. For ventilation, the standard Outranger features a front window that opens and a roof fan. If you want cooling, an option is a Zero Breeze Mark 3 portable air conditioner. Heating can be achieved through an optional Propex HS2000 propane heater. Other options include a spare tire, a seven-foot awning, mounting brackets for a shower tent, stabilizer jacks, an articulating hitch, electric brakes, and other odds and ends.

Basically, the Outranger, like some other new squaredrop campers, is designed to ship totally empty with the expectation that you’re going to bring over your own gear from another trailer. This is great if you already have a portable air conditioner, water tanks, kitchen equipment, solar, heater, and so on from an existing trailer build.

By leaving the camper completely barren, Motsmann can advertise the low dry weight of only 1,450 pounds. That’s so light that even a crossover with a tow rating below 2,000 pounds could technically haul this thing. It also measures only 13.5 feet long, 6.48 feet tall (including roof rack and optional roof equipment), and 6.0 feet wide. That means it can fit into a standard garage or, if it needs to be stored outside, well within a standard parking space. All of this is fantastic. If you own one of the handful of sedans and wagons out there that have tow ratings, there’s a chance you could tow this, too!

It Isn’t Really Cheap

The catch, and you know there has to be a catch, is the price. When Outranger pre-orders launch on September 1, the base price will be $25,950. Remember, that gets you the trailer, the 200-Ah battery, the bed, and that’s pretty much it.

Adding the water tank, sink, stove, and one refrigerator would cost $2,446. The 200-watt solar is $498, while the air conditioner is $1,490 and the propane heater is $1,390. The 600 Ah batteries are another $2,385 charge. Add $938 for 120-volt power and another $474 to charge from your tow vehicle. In other words, you could get this trailer to be $33,000 before you even touch the batteries, add a shower, add a spare tire, or strap on the roof rack.

That price puts the Outranger in a weird place. If you just want a blank slate of a fiberglass teardrop, a Bean Trailer Bean Stock 2.0 looks nicer inside, weighs only 1,175 pounds, has more windows, and costs $19,999. If you don’t really care about the cute fiberglass, a 5-foot by 10-foot Hiker Trailer Extreme Off-Road can be had fully built out for around $25,245. If you really want to save dough and build out your own camper, a Runaway Adventurist starts at $13,480. A Scamp 13 is also roughly the same price and weight as an Outranger, but with more features and room you can actually stand in.

So, that makes the Motsmann Engineering Outranger a mid-priced bare-bones camper. Basically, you’ll have to pay more to get the custom colors, shiny gelcoat, and the cute looks. But even then, the design has some quirks. Motsmann went with a gravity water system, so you’ll never have to worry about a 12-volt pump burning out or ever having to winterize the tank. But to get rid of the pump, now you have to deal with 13 gallons of water sloshing around high above and behind the axle.

Then there’s the interior. Motsmann went through so much work giving this camper a friendly exterior, just to give it the same depressing all-white interior as pretty much every other camper in this genre. A splash of wood (even fake wood), a decal, or something could really help make it pop. Also, this is being marketed as an off-road trailer, but there’s no protection for the front window. Likewise, as I said earlier, the batteries live in the one compartment meant for storage. If you buy the optional battery bank, you lose even more storage.

So, I absolutely love this concept. I adore that you can get this camper in basically any color you want. I am practically cheering from the rooftops that this thing isn’t trying to be some mil-spec toy. It’s cute, it’s a little round, and it’s friendly. The trailer also seems to be great for repairability.

But this is also quite a bit of change to pay to get a box with nothing in it. I’ve written about campers that give you more for much less. The design seems like it could also use a few improvements here and there. That’s a shame, because this camper has great potential. A lightweight, durable, colorful, and end-user-repairable camper is something that could get more people into RVing. Either way, I hope to see more ideas like this in the future.

Top graphic image: Motsmann Engineering