Something is appealing about a that isn’t desperate to become your second home on wheels. Aliner seems to be leaning into that idea with the return of the Alite, a tiny A-frame trailer that disappeared from the company’s lineup nearly a decade ago. Now back for 2027, it weighs just 672 pounds dry and measures 11 feet long, making it the smallest and lightest hard-sided camper Aliner currently builds.
The Alite originally arrived in the late 1990s and stayed in production until 2017. Its return wasn’t prompted by a new camping trend or a redesign strategy. According to Aliner, customers and dealers kept asking for it after production ended, eventually giving the company enough reason to bring the little trailer back.
Designer:
The flat-pack towable camper proportions are what make the whole idea interesting. Folded down, the A-frame has a relatively easy-to-manage footprint for storage and towing. Once opened at a campsite, the roof rises into a full-height interior with an 80-inch peak, and Aliner claims the setup takes about 30 seconds. That is a useful distinction for a trailer intended for quick weekend trips. Inside, there isn’t much wasted space because there isn’t much available to waste. Two benches sit along the sides, with the 62-by-24-inch roadside bench and 41-by-14-inch curbside bench converting into a 58-by-76-inch bed. There is also 2.7 cubic feet of exterior storage at the front, plus another 24-by-15-inch storage compartment accessible through a baggage door.
That layout says quite a bit about who the Alite is for. There is no attempt to squeeze in a bathroom, full kitchen, or the increasingly elaborate collection of amenities found in larger travel trailers. It gives you somewhere to sleep, somewhere to sit, a solid roof, storage for the basics, and protection from the weather. The rest of the campsite remains outside. The low weight also changes the equation between the camper and the vehicle pulling it. The Alite has a 1,100-pound GVWR, and Aliner says it can be towed by essentially all vehicles. That doesn’t mean every car can safely tow a loaded trailer, of course; the vehicle’s rated towing capacity still matters, as does everything added to those 672 pounds once the camping gear goes in.
The trailer rides on 14-inch aluminum wheels and uses 30-amp electrical service, with a 25-foot power cord included. A lockable entry door adds a little security without complicating the basic setup. The 2027 Alite made its consumer debut at America’s Largest RV Show in Hershey, Pennsylvania, and is expected to reach Aliner’s nationwide dealer network this winter. The Alite Base has a price of $17,650. At a time when compact trailers increasingly resemble miniature apartments, the Alite goes in the other direction. It is a bed and shelter on wheels, designed to get you to the campsite without demanding a large vehicle, or a large storage space. For some campers, that may be exactly the point!
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