30-sec camping trailer is the lightest and tiniest of towable A-frames

Just a few weeks ago, we checked out a compact A-frame that looked like it might be about the simplest on wheels. The trailerable tiny home was little more than peak-to-ground roofing, a single rustic room, a door and a big triangular picture window. But now, we have a newly debuted towable A-frame that's even smaller, lighter and simpler. The all-new 2027 Alite brings back a renowned nameplate in the lineup of American tiny trailer builder Aliner. It weighs less than 700 lb (318 kg), sets up in 30 seconds and offers a hard-walled micro-hut in which two campers can escape it all.

A year after introducing the unmistakable Switchback folding A-frame truck camper, the lightest full-floored pickup camper we expect to see anytime soon, Aliner is introducing its lightest trailer. Actually, it's reintroducing the Alite, a trailer it produced for roughly two decades before discontinuing it in the 2010s. Despite having several similar tiny caravans and folding A-frames in its lineup, the Pennsylvania manufacturer says it continued fielding ardent requests for the Alite's return long after its cancellation. Now, it answers.

During its original heyday, the Alite series dipped to weights below 400 lb (181 kg) and was even popular for motorcycle camping. The 2027 revival isn't quite as lightweight as that version, but it does match some other original Alites in hitting a sub-700-lb weight. More specifically, the 11-foot-long (3.4-m) 2027 Alite lists in at 672 lb (305 kg).

So if Aliner's Scout camper is "your upgrade from tent camping," as we've seen it advertised, we suppose the new Alite is a half step up from tent camping? Or maybe we'll call it a full upgrade from ultralight bivy camping.

Truth be told, though, the Alite looks to offer a pretty cozy little space for a trailer that tiny and lightweight. Most trailers in this weight class include a topper tent for accommodations or a fixed bed inside a teardrop shell. But the Alite actually offers a hard-wall interior with standing room. The trailer leverages Aliner's 30-second setup to quickly emerge from a towable box to a steep-roofed A-frame measuring a total of 8.2 feet (2.5 m) tall when pitched for an interior standing height of 6.7 feet (2 m) to the peak.

The Alite also includes more than a full-time double bed inside, its cushions repositioning to create a sofa lounge with one L-shaped sofa and a small solo bench seat separated by an L-shaped aisle. At night, the bed measures in a few square inches shy of a queen at 58 x 76-in (147 x 193-cm), comfortably sleeping two people or a solo adventurer hellbent on escaping everything and everyone.

Beyond that, the new Alite includes little more than under-bed storage cabinetry, a 76-L nose box, a lockable split door and a spare tire. It doesn't have its own battery but does come with a shore power hookup and interior 12- and 110-V power outlets.

So the Alite is essentially a rolling aluminum wilderness hut, perfect for getting a peaceful night of sleep inside four walls. It's not a complete camper with kitchen, water, toilet, etc., but it does offer over 400 lb (181 kg) of payload that can be used to carry camping equipment, water canisters and other critical provisions.

Aliner introduced the all-aluminum, zero-wood Alite at the Hershey RV Show earlier this month and plans to roll it out to its nationwide dealership network in the coming months. The company tells us it will wear a US$14,500 MSRP. So far, it doesn't look like there will be too many add-on options, making it a very simplistic, entry level camper aimed at first-time RVers, weekend warriors, solo road-trippers, and couples looking to keep travel light, affordable and simple.

Source: Aliner