Camping, particularly any form of car camping, has exploded in popularity over the past couple of years. A certain development in 2020 certainly had a hand in this, but moreover, people are simply taking to the trails and savoring mother nature more than in previous decades. With this country’s massive selection of gorgeous national parks, who wouldn’t?
Automakers are responding, too, highlighting any model that’ll easily integrate into an overlanding rig or fulfill the dream of van life. As has the aftermarket: You can’t throw a rock in Southern California without hitting a Toyota Tacoma with a pop-up rooftop tent bolted up above its bed.
But you can also utilize just about any vehicle for your next camping trip. Check out our list of vehicles that either are specifically equipped to be good at camping, have a great aftermarket for it, or are simply quite spacious. You may not need accessories galore when you can simply load up a van and go tent camping. Give this list a browse, and then check out The Best Vans for Camper Conversions if your adventurous needs are more specific.
The Best Cars for Camping 2025
- Crossover SUV: Subaru Outback Wilderness
- Off-Road Pickup Truck: Jeep Gladiator
- Minivan: Kia Carnival
- Full-Size Van: Ford Transit
- Sport Compact Sedan: Subaru WRX
- Midsize Pickup: Hyundai Santa Cruz
- Full-Size Pickup: RAM 1500
- Truck-Based SUV: Toyota 4Runner
- Compact Crossover: Volvo XC40
- Midsize Crossover SUV: Dodge Durango GT
Crossover SUV: Subaru Outback Wilderness
If it feels like the Subaru Outback design and marketing team was scanning Instagram for the #outbackoverlanding hashtag, well, that’s because they were. Like the smaller Subaru Forester Wilderness, the Outback Wilderness is a vehicle that was constructed specifically for the needs of that audience, with more ground clearance, greater off-road capability, and the strength to support not just sleeping bags but a full tent and campers on the roof. It was also refreshed with a more aggressively styled front end and some minor alterations here and there for the 2024 model year.
The Outback Wilderness has 9.5 inches of ground clearance and better approach, departure, and breakover angles than any Outback before it. Sure, you can add a lift to your lesser Outback and achieve much the same goal, but you can’t re-gear it for better low-end performance, and you can’t recalibrate the advanced safety tech to work as well when the vehicle sits higher. Subaru could, and did.
Maximum cargo capacity comes in at 75.6 cubic feet, which is impressive for the Outback's size. The 2024 redesign also increased the capacity of the roof rails, allowing them to support up to 700 pounds. That's enough for a tent, a couple of occupants, and all the bear spray you need to get you through a weekend.
Off-Road Pickup Truck: Jeep Gladiator
Jeep went from selling zero pickup trucks in 2018 to many—as in tens of thousands—thanks to the Gladiator. This truck has a unique position in the marketplace, offering all the accessories of a true overlander, a pickup bed complete with tailgate, and of course the ability to take the roof and doors off, just like you can with the ever-popular Jeep Wrangler.
The best overlanding Gladiators we’ve seen have started out with the Thule TracRac, which is the base for all kinds of accessories like cargo boxes, rooftop tents, and kayak storage. With the Mopar tonneau cover, you can stow stuff you’d like to keep dry while you’re three levels up inside the tent. It’s a pretty wild setup that will get you just about anywhere you’d like to go on your outdoor adventures.
No matter which trim you choose, bed volume tops out at 35.5 cubic feet, which is decent, but necessitates aftermarket storage solutions for lengthier stints in the field. Which equipment level to get is a tossup. Of course the Rubicon has it all, but it’s pricey. For a little less money, the Willys offers a standard rear locking differential to put power to both rear wheels in slippery conditions, and it backs it up with 32-inch mud terrain tires and the same rock rails that are on the Rubicon.
Minivan: Kia Carnival
While SUVs with a third row are apparently widely accepted, the thought of a minivan generally seems to fill people with a sense of ennui. It’s seen as an admission that you’ve given up on having fun. The Kia Carnival really changes that. It is—and we say this unironically—a great-looking vehicle from every angle. The proportions are right, and there are design details that just haven’t made it to the minivan class before. It’s more of a massive five-door hatchback than a conventional van shape.
The interior is every bit as nice as the ultra-popular Kia Telluride, too, and with the Carnival, you won’t have to wait in line to get one. The 145.1 cubic feet of space means that if you limit your excursions to two rather than filling all three rows of seats, you can actually camp inside it when the weather is lousy. On the aftermarket, check out the nifty magnetic Skeeter Beater window screens that attach to either the front or middle windows (or both), allowing you to stay bug-free inside and still catch the breeze.
Kia has even added a Carnival Hybrid to the lineup for 2025, so now, the model's only real downside is that it doesn’t have an all-wheel-drive (AWD) system the way the Chrysler Pacifica and Toyota Sienna do. Depending on the terrain and weather you're planning to tackle, though, this very well may not matter.
Full-Size Van: Ford Transit
If you’re an Instagram fan, you’ve seen these bad boys converted into living spaces that rival a Manhattan studio apartment. Transits are great vans, and they come in all kinds of sizes, with weight capacities that will let you carry almost anything inside. We’ve even seen businesses use these for mobile tire services: They have enough room for a tire-mounting machine and a balancer inside, along with a full-size air compressor and the generator to run it. Trust us, you’ll be fine with your mini wood stove and chemical toilet, or stretching out on an air mattress.
Cargo room is rated at 148 cubic feet, which makes the Transit the most spacious enclosed vehicle on this list. The best advice we can offer is to buy one that’s taller than what you think you might need. The ability to stand up straight inside is key for enjoyment when you’re using something like this regularly. Price is a consideration, though: The base cargo van's increased by about six grand in the last couple of years and goes skyward from there.
Sport Compact Sedan: Subaru WRX
The Subaru WRX isn’t going to be great for stowing lots of gear in its trunk, but we’ve seen it put to excellent use with supplies stashed in the rear seats and campers ensconced in a rooftop tent.
The WRX was fully redesigned for the 2022 model year, and we've had opportunities to spend a week with it on two occasions in that first year. It’s a much more grown-up car than the one it replaces. It feels a lot more comfortable running around in regular traffic than it ever did before. And if you didn’t like the photos from when it launched, well, we didn’t either. Trust us when we say that it was a lot better-looking in the metal. We love the cladding, but we'll admit that that rear bumper... it’s hard to un-see.
This mighty AWD subcompact is best for drive-up camping, thanks to its 12 cubic feet of cargo room in the trunk—enough for some camping chairs, tent, and gear. Subaru’s standard Symmetrical AWD provides added peace of mind should you encounter some tricky dirt roads, and all WRX models now come standard with EyeSight driver-assistance technology for added safety. This adds to its appeal as a camping car.
Midsize Pickup: Hyundai Santa Cruz
The Hyundai Santa Cruz was a huge surprise. It’s a significantly more useful vehicle than we anticipated. With 27 cubic feet of cargo volume, it isn’t quite as big as the Honda Ridgeline (you lose about five cubic feet), but we crammed a thousand pounds worth of flooring under the tonneau cover during a basement remodel, and the Santa Cruz handled it like nothing was back there.
For campers, we’re starting to see more accessories from brands like Thule and Yakima that provide ladder racks you can mount all kinds of things to, including rooftop tents, bikes, and all your other camping accoutrements. The Santa Cruz isn't going to get the fuel economy of the hybrid-powered Ford Maverick, but it is readily available in inventory at most Hyundai retailers, which is a bonus these days.
Full-Size Pickup: RAM 1500
Yes, this article is about car camping, not truck camping, but Ram trucks have been known to make ideal overlanding vehicles for the right users. With a roof rack and a Tepui rooftop tent, plus an auxiliary sleeping area in the truck bed, a Ram 1500 easily has room for the whole family.
While we’re sure that most Ram prospects are going to opt for the high-trim variants, it’s worth checking out the Tradesman trim. With four-wheel drive (4WD), the V6, and a miserly view of the options list, you can buy a Ram 1500 for around $45,000. If you ditch the 4WD, that cuts a few grand out of the price. This isn’t “cheap” territory by any stretch, but it qualifies as such in today’s full-size pickup market.
If you’re in need of towing capacity, or powering into the backcountry, you’d have a hard time beating the base RAM 1500 with 6,490 pounds.
Truck-Based SUV: Toyota 4Runner
The Toyota Tacoma recently got a long-awaited facelift, and its SUV sibling, the 4Runner, has too for the 2025 model year. Fun fact: Toyota sold more 4Runners back in 2021 than it ever sold in its 38-model-year history. That’s a testament to getting it right.
The 4Runner is part of a dying breed of truck-based, body-on-frame SUVs that were built to take a ration of trail-rated abuse. It makes the 4Runner a fantastic camping vehicle, especially if your road trip has you headed to places that are barely on the map.
If that’s the kind of camping you’re into, the Trailhunter is your trim level. Equipped with a variety of off-road features, this beast sports a myriad of overlanding-ready equipment from popular aftermarket companies Old Man Emu, Rigid Industries, and ARB. It’s also equipped with a sturdy roof rack that’s sure to come in handy for extra camping gear, mounting an awning, and so on. Cargo volume hasn’t been announced yet, but it’s sure to be competitive and fit the lifestyle well.
Compact Crossover: Volvo XC40
The Volvo XC40 is a handsome little vehicle, and with up to 247 horsepower and AWD, it’ll get you anywhere you’d want to go, quickly.
But what we love about the XC40 is how much thought went into the interior space. There are all kinds of nifty little Easter eggs hidden in the crossover’s interior—all designed to help you make the most use out of the car. It's even got a waste bin in the center console and a retractable hook in the glovebox for hanging things like towels and bags of food you don’t want wildlife to get into.
Car campers will appreciate Volvo’s efficient use of space in the back. Designers moved the speakers out of the doors to free up clever interior space for things like flashlights and bug spray in the door pockets. In the cargo area, the floor is designed to fold up. It allows grocery bags to stand up without falling over, and then it provides a hidden storage space under the floor for your expensive belongings when you’re in the tent. Pretty intuitive, plus you get a generous 47.2 cubic feet of cargo volume to boot.
Midsize Crossover SUV: Dodge Durango GT
Slowly and quietly, Dodge has built a fan base for the stalwart Durango. While other manufacturers seem to be making their crossovers look like minivans, Dodge went in the other direction, offering a bit more brawn than the competition. The formula seems to work.
With pricing kicking off around $47,000, the Durango possesses up to 85.1 cubic feet of cargo space, which is plenty of room for stowing gear and being more prepared at the campsite. Yet, it’s also got back seats that aren't a total penalty box for human occupants. And while you can light your hair on fire with the SRT or SRT Hellcat trims, the humble GT with its 3.6-liter Pentastar V6 engine is surprisingly capable on back roads and the highway, thanks to that eight-speed automatic transmission.
