This Compact, Garage-Ready Camper Trailer Has Some Tricks Up Its Sleeve

There’s more than meets the eye when it comes to this transforming trailer.

hardkore campers trailer being towed through the woods

Published July 31, 2024

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There are many things to consider when buying a camper, but one of the most important is figuring out where you’re going to store your fancy new toy.

Australia’s Hardkore Campers has taken this into consideration with its latest model, the Xplorer 2.0 “Shorty”, which essentially shrinks down the brand’s existing Xplorer camper trailer so it will fit in even a small city garage.

But here’s the thing: Hardkore managed to shrink down the Xplorer while still including all of the original’s major features and then some.

Hardkore Campers Xplorer 2.0 “Shorty”

$23,500 at Hardkore Campers

Expand to Overland

The beauty of the Xplorer 2.0 lies in its expandability. When all buttoned up, the trailer sits just 198cm tall — about 6′ 6″. As an Australian company, this height was chosen to fit into most garages Down Under. In the U.S., owners will have even more space, as American garage openings typically start around 7 feet tall.

But once you reach the campsite, the “Shorty” expands considerably, to the point where it might want to consider changing its name to “Tally” (sorry).

On one side of the camper, you have a full slide-out kitchen featuring a removable sink (the removability being a new feature) and a dual-burner stove. Next to it is a built-in pantry with plenty of storage and your control box for lights, water and such.

hardkore campers trailer next to a truck inside a garage — The compact “Shorty” is made to fit inside even the most snug garages.

Flanking this on the other side is a slide-out horizontal refrigerator. Another new feature is an additional prep table that slides out from underneath the fridge, giving you an even more complete kitchen despite being in a more compact trailer.

On the opposite side of the trailer, there’s a shower tent that expands to give you an exterior hot shower. In the front, next to the draw bar, you still get Hardkore’s patent-pending integrated stair system. The stairs make it easy to climb onto the top of the trailer to your living quarters, where you’ll find a massive pop-up hard-shell tent fitted with a queen-sized bed.

a man and a dog next to a hardkore campers trailer in the wilderness — Hardkore’s patent-pending integrated staircase makes getting into your tent far easier than a ladder. Your dog will appreciate it, too.

Sitting above the camper is an expansive, 270-degree free-standing awning that provides a ton of shelter and takes just seconds to expand and set up. Seeing the entire camper expanded to its fullest potential, it seems impossible to think that all of this can fit next to your car in your garage.

The only catch I can see in the new Xplorer vs the old one is the Shorty contains 450L less storage space. That’s not nothing, but with 3,450L of storage still on board, I think most campers will be hard-pressed to reach the limit of what the Xplorer 2.0 offers in terms of storage.

two campers hang out in front of a hardkore campers trailer — The rumors are true: All this fits in your garage.

Lightweight, Go-Anywhere

All of the Xplorer 2.0’s storability and expandability won’t matter much if it isn’t capable of leaving your neighborhood, but thankfully, that’s not something you’ll need to worry about.

Thanks to a lightweight aluminum body (the camper boasts a dry weight of 2,867 lbs.), Hardkore says it can be towed by most off-road vehicles. And keep in mind, Australia’s idea of an off-road vehicle tends to be a lot smaller than the massive trucks we drive stateside.

Having an off-road vehicle for towing the Shorty is a good idea because the camper was designed specifically for rough terrain. It has a galvanized chassis, 265/75 R16 mud-terrain tires on 16-inch alloy wheels, big-bore gas shocks, a 360-degree rotating ball hitch and close to 20 inches of ground clearance.

hardkore campers trailer towed behind a jeep truck — The Xplorer 2.0 is more than capable of going off the beaten path.

Pricing and Availability

The Hardkore Campers Xplorer 2.0 “Shorty” starts at just $35,990 AUD, which converts to around $23,500 USD. That’s quite the bargain, but unfortunately, you can’t actually purchase Hardkore Campers in the U.S. right now.

That will soon change, however, as the brand has already announced it’s building a network of American dealers amid plans to begin hawking its wares on this side of the pond in the near future. When that happens, I imagine the price will rise a bit given the costs associated with importing inventory to the U.S., but I’m willing to bet the Xplorer 2.0 remains a solid deal once it becomes available to American buyers.