Every fall, the same thing happens in campgrounds and hunting leases across the country: a guy who just took delivery of a brand-new trailer walks around the current-year Airstream Basecamp, kicks the Goodyear Wranglers, peeks inside, and mutters the same four words under his breath: “Should’ve waited a year.”
Image credit: Airstream
That’s because the 2026 Basecamp he’s looking at is already yesterday’s news. Starting early next year, Airstream ships the 2026 Basecamp X – same bullet-shaped aluminum icon, but now built like it actually wants to leave the pavement.
Airstream didn’t just slap a lift kit on the old one and call it a day. They went after the three things that always frustrated guys who take their trailers down forest-service roads: ground clearance, underbody protection, and tires that don’t fold the first time they meet a sharp rock.
Image credit: Airstream
The new version sits three inches higher than before. A beefier suspension with higher-travel shocks keeps the wheels planted when the road turns into a washboard. Fifteen-inch black wheels wrapped in honest-to-goodness all-terrain Goodyear Wrangler Territory tires replace the old street-oriented rubber. And for the first time on a stock Basecamp, there’s a full set of skid plates guarding the water tanks, propane lines, and everything else that hangs underneath.
The famous riveted aluminum body hasn’t changed – it still shrugs off pine branches and looks brand-new after a decade – but everything that touches dirt got serious attention.
Image credit: Airstream
Step inside and nothing feels like a compromise, even though the trailer is only 16 feet long. The rear hatch still lifts up like a pickup tailgate, turning the back into an open-air kitchen when the weather’s good. There’s a two-burner stove, a sink, a fridge that actually keeps beer cold off-grid, and a wet bath so you’re not tracking mud through the whole place after a day on the trail.
Up front, the dinette turns into a bed that’ll sleep two six-footers without anybody’s feet hanging off the edge. There’s a second sleeping area across the top if the kids or grandkids come along. Heat and air conditioning are standard, and the new model adds better insulation packages, so it stays comfortable when you’re camped at 9,000 feet in October or parked on the Gulf Coast in July.
Image credit: Airstream
Solar pre-wiring is still there, and Airstream finally bumped the roof port to 200 watts standard with the option to go all the way to 400 if you want to run the air conditioner without firing up the generator.
The part that surprises most guys the first time they see it is how much storage Airstream crammed in. There are lockers everywhere – under the benches, over the bed, even a big compartment out back that’ll swallow chairs, a grill, recovery boards, and a couple of totes of firewood without blinking.
Image credit: Airstream
Towing it is still easy. Dry weight comes in around 3,500 pounds, so a V6 Tacoma, a Jeep Gladiator, or even a new Ford Maverick can pull it without breathing hard. Tongue weight stays low, which means you’re not fighting sway on windy two-lanes.
Dealers are already telling customers who have deposits on 2025 models that they can roll the money over to the X version when it lands. Most are doing exactly that.
Image credit: Airstream
For years the Basecamp was the cool little Airstream that could kinda-sorta go off-road. The 2026 model drops the “kinda-sorta.” It’s still small enough to park in a regular driveway and maneuver down narrow forest roads, but now it’s built to keep up when the Jeep guys decide to get frisky.
If you’ve been on the fence about pulling the trigger on a trailer, or if you already own an older Basecamp and find yourself babying it on anything rougher than gravel, the smart move is simple: wait a few months.
Because once these start showing up at trailheads next spring, the only thing worse than buyer’s remorse is knowing the better one was only one model year away.
