The RV market has suffered from a battering in these times of high interest rates, high fuel prices, and economic uncertainty. Many of those who want to take RV trips are just staying home. But if you\u2019re willing to go down on size and materials, you can still get a new RV without imploding your bank account<\/a>. This is the Sunset Park Sun Lite LTD 13BD. It\u2019s not going to blow you away with its design or materials, but that\u2019s okay, because its whole mission is to get you RVing for cheap.<\/p>\n RVs are a fascinating market to watch. Most people buy campers purely as recreational items \u2013it\u2019s the R in RV, after all. Yes, there are many people who do live in motor coaches, fifth wheels, and truck campers, but so many RV buyers also use their rigs only on the weekends when the weather is nice. Most people don\u2019t really need an RV, and you can easily have a fun road trip without one. Thus, it\u2019s entirely unsurprising that when personal finances take a beating, RVs are among the first products to suffer from reduced sales.<\/p>\n If RV sales trends<\/a> play out as expected, 2026 may close out with worse shipments than 2013, which was back when the RV industry was still recovering from the Great Recession. There\u2019s even a possibility of RV sales being worse than 2023, when the floor fell out of the market in the post-COVID-19 pandemic world. Many RV manufacturers are responding with smaller trailers that are easier to tow and cheaper to buy. Companies that already had such products are putting them front and center.<\/p>\n One of those companies is Sunset Park RV Manufacturing,<\/a> an independent RV company that has, thus far, avoided being bought out by the likes of Forest River, Winnebago, or Thor Industries. Whenever I go to RV shows, Sunset Park\u2019s units tend to be some of the cheapest trailers, and the quality doesn\u2019t seem to be any worse than the more expensive stick-built campers by the big guys. The Sun Lite LTD 13BD (above) appears to be no exception.<\/p>\n Sunset Park, which has been around since 2007, prefers to hang around the cheaper end of the market. Merle Schmucker, the founder and current owner of the company, thinks that RV sales are often so bad because RV buyers can\u2019t afford how expensive today\u2019s units are. So Sunset Park RV caters to those looking to save some bucks.<\/p>\n The company isn\u2019t really moving the needle on build materials or construction methods. Most of Sunset Park\u2019s units are built using the traditional RV formula of a steel chassis, a wood body structure, wood roof decking, a rubberized outer roof material, and aluminum sidewalls. Sunset Park dealers have told me that<\/a> while Sunset Park\u2019s materials aren\u2019t impressive by any means, the company does try to put them together better than bigger brands. These dealers also allege that fewer Sunset Parks require structural defect repairs than the wood-framed competition. I can\u2019t confirm that, so my usual warnings about buying stick-built campers still apply.<\/p>\n The Sun Lite LTD 13BD<\/a> is one of those stick-built trailers. But what it lacks in material innovations, it tries to make up for by being a dirt-cheap way to get out there.<\/p>\n The exterior of the Sun Lite LTD 13BD is expectedly basic. As many stick-and-tin builds, it rocks corrugated aluminum siding over the wood sandwich underneath, and uses a simple steel chassis with a leaf-sprung axle to hold everything above the ground.<\/p>\n But basic doesn\u2019t mean Sunset Park skipped out on the features. The trailer has front and rear stabilizer jacks, propane, an awning, and even one of those really sturdy entry steps that flips out of the trailer and then sits on the ground. The entry door has a window, too, which you won\u2019t always find on a super cheap unit.<\/p>\n Some cost-cutting is evident, like the manual tongue jack crank, or the fact that the propane tank is uncovered. But this trailer is light enough that a power crank isn\u2019t a bad thing \u2013 and it\u2019s one less part to break \u2013 and you can always buy a cover for the propane tank if you want one. The trailer comes with a rock guard up front to try to protect the trailer from debris kicked up by the tow vehicle. It\u2019s small, but better than nothing.<\/p>\n More evidence of the trailer\u2019s low price can be found in the rear, where you\u2019ll find the wall air conditioner. While this does add a big hole in the side of the camper, I like wall air conditioners as they\u2019re often easily replaced by the trailer\u2019s owner. Sunset Park notes that this trailer comes with a one-piece PVC roof membrane.<\/p>\n There isn\u2019t much to write home about elsewhere outside of the trailer. Some of these units come with optional chunky off-road tires, but I\u2019m not sure I\u2019d be in a rush to take a cheap stick-built camper on any trails.<\/p>\n At the very minimum, those tires are going to be pelting your poor tank dump outlet with all sorts of rocks, mud, and other grime.<\/p>\n The interior is exactly as rudimentary as you\u2019d expect. There\u2019s a bed of unspecified size up at the front, and an open shelf above it.<\/p>\n Directly behind it is a small kitchen with color-matched appliances. Some manufacturers of cheap campers just throw the cheapest-possible everything in the kitchen, so you\u2019ll end up with a white sink, a silver stove, and a black microwave. It\u2019s a small thing, but I like when a company goes just one extra step to make everything match.<\/p>\n Don\u2019t expect a lot here. The trailer has a single-basin sink, a two-burner stove, and a microwave. The kitchen is so small that the refrigerator and freezer are at the back of the trailer, under the air conditioner. The stove doesn\u2019t have a backsplash, so be careful when cooking.<\/p>\n On the other side of the trailer is a dinette with a deployable table. This will probably be your best surface to prep food on. At night, the dinette turns into an additional bed.<\/p>\n At the trailer\u2019s rear is the aforementioned air conditioner and refrigerator, plus the full bathroom. You do get a dry bath with a shower and a toilet that aren\u2019t married together. However, the shower stall makes only a minimal effort to keep water from getting into places it shouldn\u2019t go. The trailer doesn\u2019t have a bathroom sink, so you\u2019ll need to wash your hands in the kitchen sink.<\/p>\n None of this is surprising, given how little you\u2019re paying for this thing. But you\u2019ll definitely want to consider how you\u2019ll improve waterproofing.<\/p>\n Capacities are fairly healthy for a trailer of this size and price. The shower, sink, and toilet feed from a 26-gallon tank, and drop into a pair of 30-gallon gray and waste tanks. The Sun Lite comes in at 16\u20192\u2033 in length, 9\u20199\u2033 tall with a roof rack, and has 6\u20196\u2033 of standing room. Dry weight is 2,370 pounds with a tongue weight of 250 pounds. All fairly standard numbers for a trailer of this price and class.<\/p>\n Additional features that are standard and neat to have include a Bluetooth speaker, a furnace, USB ports, an outside shower, and a walkable roof deck. Sunset Park says you can also order this trailer with a door to load toys like bicycles or kayaks, and there\u2019s another version that puts a bunk bed above the main bed.<\/p>\n The options list is short, but has neat bits. You can get the trailer with a six-inch lift kit, an oven, a tent room to increase space, a power jack, a Murphy bed, and more. The tiny toy hauler version (Sun Lite 14TH) even has an option to turn the loading door into a covered patio. Here\u2019s what that one looks like:<\/p>\n All of this can be had for pretty cheap. If you buy one of the many unsold 2026 models, you can get the Sunset Park Sun Lite LTD 13BD for around $13,000<\/a>. If you must get a 2027, the cheapest I\u2019ve found was $14,000<\/a>. While this isn\u2019t the cheapest new hard-wall travel trailer I\u2019ve written about this year, that\u2019s still a pretty low price!<\/p>\n As for who would be the ideal buyer of a Sun Lite LTD 13D, Sunset Park says that the trailer would work best for a couple with a pet, or maybe a couple with a single child. Get the bunk version, and you can squeeze a second child in. But be warned that you\u2019ll be shoving four people into a box only 13 feet long.<\/p>\n Of course, a wood build means that this trailer needs to be protected from water intrusion at all costs. So, expect to maintain seals and that roof regularly. It\u2019s a battle that you will likely lose at some point, but that\u2019s okay. You\u2019re not paying a whole lot for it, so it\u2019ll hurt less when the floor starts getting soft, or you see a water stain in the ceiling. But even stick builds usually have years of fun in them before you get to that point. If it were my money, I\u2019d skip the lift kit. Keep it closer to the ground and less of a brick in the wind.<\/p>\n Sunset Park is refreshingly honest in the marketing. You aren\u2019t supposed to be holed up in this trailer. Instead, you\u2019re supposed to park it, go have fun outside, and then come back to the trailer for a meal, a hot shower, and a toilet. In a world where RV companies seemingly promise the world with units that can\u2019t cash such huge checks, I respect marketing like this. You don\u2019t even get a television to look at!<\/p>\n All things considered, I think if you\u2019re shopping for a brand-new trailer and you don\u2019t want to spend a bunch of money, this seems to be a decent option. Sure, you might want to do some small things to help the trailer last longer, but aside from that, you can just hitch it up to your Volkswagen Atlas or whatever and just hit the road. I hope this trend of cheaper, smaller trailers sticks around for a while.<\/p>\n![\"Vidframe](\"https:\/\/images-stag.jazelc.com\/uploads\/theautopian-m2en\/vidframe_min_top-1024x33.png\")
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Affordable By Design<\/h2>\n
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As Cheap As It Sounds<\/h2>\n
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