Hitch Hotel is a camper almost any car can tow

Hitch Hotel | $3,000+ | Kickstarter

Getting outdoors and closer to nature is one of the more common driving factors behind people and families who opt for the RV life or #vanlife. But as I've learned recently, it's not always easy and it's not always affordable. Even if you buy a more budget-friendly travel trailer, you might need to upgrade your vehicle. And that's just the beginning.

If you're looking for a life on the road or even just comfortable weekend trips into the woods, the Hitch Hotel might be the middle ground you've been waiting for.

The Hitch Hotel is a lightweight camper that mounts into your standard hitch receiver. It doesn't have any wheels and mounts more like hitch luggage carrier, except it's fully enclosed and telescopes out into a sleeping area that's larger than a queen bed that should sleep three people comfortably.

Best of all, most cars on the road can tow it. The dry weight of the Hitch Hotel is 240 pounds, meaning any Class 2-rated hitch should be able to handle it and about 100 pounds of gear stored inside it for the drive. For higher tow ratings, you can cram the 16 cubic feet to the top and lock it up.

Packed away, it only takes up 16 square feet, so it should fit in just about any garage or storage shed.

A Hitch Hotel will set you back $2,998 for the Early Bird pledge (there are 28 of 30 left at the time of this writing) and that price goes up to $3,499 after the Early Bird is gone. You can also have the Hitch Hotel custom painted to match the color of your car, but the custom color option doesn't come with an Early Bird price and costs $4,299. To get it shipped to you (US-only) will cost between $300 and $500, depending on where you live in the country. While it seems steep, it's not really a bad price for what you get, especially considering it doubles as locking, water-tight hitch storage and the upkeep for this camper is practically none.

The creators of the Hitch Hotel, Geoff Patterson and Gil Goren, are currently seeking funding on Kickstarter. With 26 days to go, they've received nearly 10% of the $100,000 goal. If backed, you can expect the first Hitch Hotels to ship in September of this year.