Hybrid Campers with Bunks
Everything you need to know about hybrid campers with bunks, along with different model options, to help you decide if it is the right style of travel trailer for you.
We purchased a used hybrid camper with bunks a couple of years ago and have found it’s the perfect travel trailer for our family of six.
What is a HybriD travel Trailer?
A hybrid camper is a hard-sided travel trailer that has at least one canvas pop out canvas bed. Simply put, if a pop-up camper and a fully enclosed travel trailer had a baby, it would be a hybrid camper! Hybrid travel trailers have one, two, or three fold out beds covered with canvas (also called bunk ends).
Inside, most hybrid campers will have a kitchen with a sink, microwave, refrigerator/freezer and often a stove, a bathroom with a toilet, sink, and small shower, a table with seating, and sometimes a set of bunk beds. In some cases, they may also have a slide out that expands the living space.
Pros to Hybrid Campers
- Easy to pack before a trip (unlike a pop up camper when you need to pop it up slightly to put anything in it)
- Easy to set up at a campsite (you only need to pop down the beds)
- Can be “turtled” in bad weather (keep the bunk ends closed and just sleep on the couches/beds inside)
- Lets you sleep a little “closer” to nature – it feels a bit more like camping in a tent
- Full luxuries of a traditional travel trailer (kitchen, bathroom, dining area)
- Usually more lightweight than a fully enclosed camper
Cons to Hybrid Campers
- Not as easy to regulate temperature as in a fully enclosed RV (although our heat and AC work well to heat/cool everything inside the camper well)
- Canvas needs to be dried off before closing up to avoid discoloration or mold
- Heavier than a pop-up camper (most hybrids require a SUV or truck to haul it safely)
Tour our 2006 trailcruiser Hybrid Camper
Of course, these are “before” photos of our camper. It looks nothing like this now! I’ll have a full reveal soon and all the projects I completed to update this entire camper, which I’ll link here. For now, you can watch the video below for a full tour and some of the ideas I have for the renovation.
Video Tour of Hybrid Camper with Bunks
Hybrid Travel Trailers with Bunks
Campers with bunk beds are great if you are camping with kids. Kids are small, short, and easily maneuverable in tight spaces, which works perfectly for small, stacked beds.
Although sleeping in camper bunks might not be ideal for adults, I will say that the bunks in our camper are long enough for my height (I’m 5’8″) and actually pretty comfortable! Because camper bunk mattresses are narrower than a regular twin mattress, there’s not a ton of room to roll all over the place, but still enough room to sleep comfortably.
What manufactures make hybrid campers with bunk beds?
If you’re looking for a hybrid travel trailer with bunk beds, you’ll have to search for used campers. Currently, in 2023, I am unable to find any manufacturers that make hybrid campers with bunks. However, if you are looking to purchase a hybrid camper with bunk beds, I’ve rounded up a list of models and years that will steer you in the right direction when searching for used trailers.
Hybrid Camper with Quad Bunks
This is our model of hybrid camper made by Trailcruiser. From the information I can find, they manufactured this layout from 2003-2006 (or 2007). Forest River (Rockwood Roo) and Jayco (Jayfeather) made similar models with a tent end in the front and quad bunks in the back during these same years. All of these campers are about 26′ feet in length with the bunk end closed.
Hybrid Camper with Two Tents and Bunks
Personally, I wish we could have found this layout of hybrid camper made by Starcraft because it’s much shorter (measuring 21′ with the front bunk closed). It has two tent bunk ends and two RV twins in the back of the trailer. This camper would be perfect for our family of 6! However, it’s much harder to find this layout, as I believe Starcraft was the only company to make it during a short time span of a couple of years.
Hybrid Camper with Two Bunks
Similar to the model described above, this hybrid camper is also shorter, measuring 21′ in length with the bunk closed. It has bunk beds in the back with a full and twin bed. This floorplan was made in the early 2010s by Forest River.
Expandable Camper with Bunks
Although I wouldn’t classify this as a “hybrid camper”, it’s similar in that the length is smaller when driving and can be opened up at your campsite. These are called expandable trailers because the queen (or king) bed slides out the back of the camper. I’ve seen more of these manufactured after 2005 and they seem to have replaced hybrid tent campers with bunks.
Hybrid Camper with Three Tent Bunks
If you’re looking for a newer model of a hybrid camper that easily sleeps 6-8 people in beds, a hybrid camper with three tent ends might be your best bet. This was one of the options I searched for when looking for a hybrid camper for our family. You’ll find models of three tent hybrid campers from Starcraft, Forest River (Rockwood Roo and Shamrock), Jayco, Keystone, and Escape). They are currently made in 2023 and you can find used campers from the last 20 years with this layout as well.
We found our hybrid camper to be the perfect match for our family. It allows us to haul a lighter and shorter rig, but still expands to give us enough sleeping space for our family of six.
I’ll be sure to share our remodeled hybrid camper as soon as it’s done. I have a few more projects to wrap up! For now, you can see all my budget-friendly camper renovation ideas in my 1994 pop-up camper remodel. I’m using a few of the tricks I used in that camper on our hybrid, but also trying out new RV renovation ideas as well.