Renting a Teardrop Trailer Is Easier Than You Think. Here's How.
A teardrop trailer rental usually costs less per night than a mid-range hotel room, and most of them tow behind an ordinary crossover with a factory hitch. That combination is why teardrops have quietly become the easiest way to try towable camping without buying anything or learning to reverse a 30-foot rig into a campsite.
What a teardrop trailer actually is
A teardrop trailer is a compact towable camper, generally 10 to 16 feet long, built around an enclosed sleeping cabin up front and a rear hatch that lifts to reveal an outdoor galley kitchen. You sleep inside on a real mattress and cook outside under the raised hatch, where most models fit a countertop, a two-burner propane stove, a sink, and a cooler or 12-volt fridge. The honest tradeoffs: almost none have a bathroom, none have slide-outs, and very few give you standing headroom.
The shape is not just retro styling. That tapered rear end cuts aerodynamic drag, which is a real factor when you're pulling something behind a four-cylinder SUV. In rental listings you'll see a lot of trailers from nuCamp (the T@B and T@G lines) and Escapod, whose off-road models come out of Utah, alongside plenty of custom and owner-finished camp trailers with real character.
How much does it cost to rent a teardrop trailer?
Renting a teardrop trailer costs roughly $65 to $150 per night, with most listings landing between $75 and $120. That's about half what a comparable mid-size travel trailer rents for, which makes it the cheapest way into RV camping short of a tent.
What moves the number: model year and brand (a new off-road build with a rooftop tent commands more than a 2016 basic model), season, and how close you are to a popular trailhead or coastline. Beyond the nightly rate, budget for a refundable security deposit of $300 to $750, protection coverage that typically runs $20 to $60 per day depending on the level you pick, and mileage. Most listings include 100 to 150 free miles per day pooled across the whole trip, with overage billed at $0.25 to $0.75 per mile. Booking five nights or more often earns you a weekly discount, and if you're weighing options across trailer types, our guide on how to find the best RV rental for your trip walks through the comparison.
Can your car tow one?
Most compact SUVs and crossovers can tow a teardrop camper, which is not true of virtually any other RV category. Dry weights usually fall between 900 and 2,200 pounds, and even the heaviest off-road models rarely top 3,000 pounds loaded. A Subaru Outback is rated to 2,700 pounds, a RAV4 to between 1,750 and 3,500 depending on trim, and a Honda CR-V to 1,500. Anything in Tacoma or 4Runner territory has capacity to spare.
Three things matter more than the badge on your tailgate: a proper hitch receiver with a two-inch ball, a flat four-pin electrical connector for the lights, and tongue weight sitting around 10 to 15 percent of the loaded trailer weight so it tracks straight instead of swaying. Check your specific model year's tow rating in the owner's manual rather than trusting a forum post, and read through the trailer towing safety basics from NHTSA before your first tow. If your vehicle isn't rated to tow at all, you still have a path forward, which brings us to booking.
How to book a teardrop rental
On BookRVs, you filter by Location, Dates, and Trailer Type, then compare what's actually available near you. Because these are individual owners renting their own trailers, availability tends to be strongest around outdoor hub cities. Travel trailer rentals in Portland, OR and rentals in Salt Lake City, UT both consistently show small towables, and Colorado Springs, CO is a strong pickup point for the Front Range.
Two options are worth knowing about if towing gives you pause. Many hosts offer delivery, meaning they'll haul the trailer to your campsite, level it, and hook it up before you arrive, then collect it when you leave. Others list their trailers as stationary rentals only, parked at a site or on the host's property, which comes with its own insurance considerations and no towing on your part at all. Both show up plainly in the listing details.
What's actually included
Inclusions vary by host, so read the listing rather than assuming. Some owners hand over a fully stocked trailer with bedding, camp chairs, a full propane tank, cookware, and a folding table. Others provide the trailer and nothing else. Bedding and towels are the two things most commonly excluded, and cookware is a coin flip. Ask before you pack. Our RV camping essentials packing list for first-timers covers what to bring when the answer is "not much."
Where to take your first one
Teardrops shine on trips where the scenery is the point and the campsites are small. In Colorado, Ridgway State Park puts you at the base of the San Juans with electric sites that easily fit a short towable, and travel trailer rentals across Colorado give you a wide pickup radius. Southern Utah works beautifully for shoulder-season trips, with Snow Canyon State Park and Sand Hollow both an easy tow from St. George. On the coast, Oregon has Cape Lookout and Nehalem Bay State Parks, where compact trailers slot into sites that a 30-footer can't touch. KOA is a reliable backup when the state parks book out, and if you're still choosing a region, our roundup of the best RV road trip states is a good starting point.
The teardrop trailer rental route is the lowest-commitment way to find out whether towable camping suits you, and one weekend usually settles the question. Browse the listings on BookRVs.com to see what small towables are available near your dates, and take the first trip somewhere close to home.
