Lexington sits almost exactly in the middle of two very different versions of South Carolina camping. Drive southeast for two hours, and you’re at Hunting Island State Park, Edisto Beach, or somewhere in the ACE Basin.

And drive northwest for 90 minutes, and you’re in the Upstate, where Table Rock, Caesars Head, Jones Gap, and the Chattooga River corridor offer the kind of terrain that actually tests a trailer’s ground clearance. Congaree National Park is 20 minutes from our front door.

That geographic position is exactly why the Basecamp vs. Bambi decision is more genuinely split in South Carolina than it might appear at first glance.

The Lowcountry coast is predominantly Bambi territory: flat, well-maintained, and warm, with established campgrounds that reward the Bambi’s comfort and livability.

The Upstate is different: the Blue Ridge foothills, the forest roads in Sumter National Forest, and the rougher access points in the mountain zone are where the Basecamp earns its keep.

Knowing which version of South Carolina you camp in more often is the most important input to this decision.

Here’s an honest look at both trailers for solo travelers based in the Palmetto State.

The Lowcountry and the Upstate Tell Different Stories

For most coastal South Carolina camping, the Bambi is the stronger fit.

Hunting Island, Edisto Beach, Myrtle Beach State Park, Huntington Beach, the Hilton Head area, and the campgrounds along the Grand Strand are all accessed via paved or well-maintained roads.

The Bambi handles every one of them without any concern about ground clearance. After the drive from Lexington down to the coast in summer, when the humidity climbs and the campsite arrives at dusk becomes the moment you’ve been waiting for, the Bambi’s setup is the right answer.

The Upstate case for the Basecamp is genuine.

The forest service roads in Sumter National Forest off Highway 107 near Walhalla, the access tracks to dispersed camping in the Andrew Pickens Ranger District, and the rougher pull-ins near the Chattooga River require clearance that the Bambi wasn’t designed to provide.

Table Rock and Caesars Head are accessible in either trailer on their main campground roads, but the more interesting dispersed camping in the Upstate rewards the Basecamp’s 3-inch lift and all-terrain tires. Every 2026 Basecamp leaves our Lexington lot with those features already included at no extra charge.

Congaree National Park, which is practically a local camping destination from Lexington, sits in between. The campground at Longleaf, and the backcountry camping along the Bluff Trail, both involve some unpaved access.

Congaree’s low-lying terrain and occasional flooding make high clearance useful in ways that most South Carolina lowland campgrounds don’t. For a solo traveler who camps at Congaree regularly, the Basecamp has a case, even without factoring in the Upstate.

The honest summary: if most of your camping goes toward the coast and the Grand Strand, the Bambi wins. If you camp in the Upstate or Congaree backcountry more than a few times a year, the Basecamp earns its price.

A Model-by-Model Breakdown

The Bambi’s design promise is simple, and it delivers on it every time. Arrive at your campsite, open the door, and everything is ready.

The 48-inch dedicated rear bed doesn’t require any conversion. The two-burner stove, microwave, and 12V refrigerator are already set up. The 24-inch smart TV with JL Audio is there if you want it. The blackout shades block out the Lowcountry afternoon sun.

The panoramic front windows let in the morning ocean air without requiring you to leave the warmth of the bed first. For a solo traveler who camps primarily on the South Carolina coast, the Bambi’s comfort is a genuine competitive advantage that the Basecamp doesn’t offer at the same level.

The Basecamp is a tool first, a living space second.

The angular body, the rear cargo hatch, and the interior that reconfigures between sleeping, sitting, and gear storage are all built around the assumption that you spend the majority of your waking hours somewhere other than inside the trailer.

Load a kayak for a paddle along the ACE Basin waterways, a mountain bike for an Upstate trail system, hiking gear for a Jones Gap approach, or a loaded pack for a Chattooga River backcountry trip.

The rear hatch moves gear efficiently and keeps it dry. The Basecamp is at its best when it functions as a basecamp rather than a hotel room.

In 2026, the X-Package became standard on every Basecamp. A 3-inch lift, all-terrain tires, and stainless steel front stone guards now come included on every unit without an upcharge.

For South Carolina buyers, the change matters most for Upstate camping: the forest roads in the Andrew Pickens District and the rougher access points near the Chattooga River were exactly the terrain that separated a capable Basecamp from an underpowered one. That separation no longer exists.

The Basecamp 20Xe is its own category within the lineup.

The 16X and 20X are practical and capable off-grid trailers. The 20Xe is designed around eliminating power management as a camping consideration entirely. Six hundred watts of rooftop solar, a 10.3kWh Battle Born lithium battery, and a 3,000W inverter come standard.

Every appliance runs on electricity, including the furnace, water heater, and induction cooktop, with an air conditioner and microwave as available options. A 20-lb propane tank provides backup for cloudy stretches.

South Carolina’s long camping season and reasonable solar exposure make the 20Xe a practical tool for solo travelers who want to camp in the Sumter National Forest backcountry for extended stretches without hookups.

Floor Plans for Solo Travelers

Both trailers are available in 16- and 20-foot versions.

For solo travel in South Carolina, the 16-foot models are the better starting point in most cases. The tighter campground loops at Hunting Island, the narrow access tracks in the Upstate forest, and the campsite pull-ins at Congaree’s Longleaf Campground are all more manageable with a 16-foot trailer.

The 16-foot options also tow more easily on the humidity-heavy summer hauls down to the coast, where thermal load on the tow vehicle matters.

The Basecamp 16X converts its rear bench into a 76-inch-wide by 76-inch-long bed. You can split the configuration, sleeping on one side and using the other for gear, which is useful when you’re carrying kayak rigging, mountain bike equipment, or a loaded backcountry pack for a Chattooga trip. The rear cargo door makes trailhead loading fast.

The Bambi 16RB has a 48-inch dedicated rear bed that’s always ready. After the drive from Lexington down to Hunting Island in July, when the heat and humidity have been building all day and the campsite arrival feels like the finish line, not having to convert a bench before you can lie down is a more meaningful advantage than it sounds in the abstract.

Where Each Trailer Makes Sense in South Carolina

The Bambi’s strongest case in South Carolina is the Lowcountry and the Grand Strand.

Hunting Island, Edisto Beach, Myrtle Beach State Park, Huntington Beach State Park, Hilton Head area campgrounds, and the ACE Basin’s more developed sites are all on paved or well-maintained gravel.

The Bambi handles all of them and delivers a superior end-of-day experience on every one. Heat and humidity are the defining variables on summer coastal trips, and the Bambi’s immediately usable interior is a real advantage when you want to be horizontal within two minutes of shutting off the truck.

The Basecamp’s strongest case is the Upstate.

Sumter National Forest’s Andrew Pickens Ranger District, the dispersed camping near the Chattooga River, the forest roads off Highway 107, and the access tracks to some of the more remote Jones Gap and Caesars Head camping areas all reward clearance and rugged tires.

For a solo traveler who camps in those areas more than a few times per season, the Basecamp’s standard 3-inch lift does work that the Bambi can’t replicate.

Congaree is worth naming specifically because it’s unique to this market. The national park’s backcountry camping involves unpaved access and occasional soft-ground conditions from flooding.

The Basecamp handles those conditions better than the Bambi. For Lexington-based solo travelers who camp at Congaree regularly, the Basecamp has a case, even if the rest of their trips stay in the Lowcountry.

The coastal heat variable applies to the Basecamp too. Towing across I-26 to the coast in August puts real thermal stress on a tow vehicle.

The 80% towing rule matters here for heat reasons as much as for grade reasons on the Upstate drives.

Which Trailer Feels Better at the End of a South Carolina Drive?

South Carolina’s camping season runs almost year-round, with summer being the most demanding.

A drive from Lexington down to Edisto Beach on a Saturday in July, arriving at a coastal campsite in the late afternoon when the temperature is still in the low 90s and the humidity is at its peak: the trailer you open matters.

In the Bambi, the interior is organized for immediate use. The 12V refrigerator has kept your food and drinks cold since Lexington. The blackout shades pull down against the afternoon sun.

The panoramic windows open to catch whatever coastal breeze is available. The 24-inch smart TV is there for a quiet evening inside when the heat hasn’t broken and the mosquitoes have come out. Nothing needs to be assembled or converted before you can use any of it.

In the Basecamp, the bench-to-bed conversion is the first task after every arrival.

On a mild Upstate evening in October, that takes two minutes and barely registers. But on a coastal Saturday in July after a two-hour drive in 90-degree heat, those two minutes feel like more work than they are.

For a short weekend trip, it doesn’t matter. For a week-long solo coastal run, it compounds into something you notice.

The Basecamp galley is built for function over comfort: a two-burner LP stove and a stainless steel sink, no microwave, no TV. It works well for someone who eats fast and spends evenings outside.

The Bambi’s kitchen, with the two-burner stove, microwave, and 12V refrigerator, works better for someone who wants to actually cook dinner after a long day and eat it at a reasonable pace.

Both wet baths are compact and fully functional. For a solo traveler, both do the job.

Off-Grid in the Palmetto State

South Carolina’s established campgrounds, especially along the coast, are well-supplied with hookups.

The more interesting backcountry camping, dispersed sites in Sumter National Forest, the Chattooga River corridor, and some of the more remote Congaree options, often means going without.

Both trailers handle off-grid camping, but the difference between them is real.

The Bambi 16RB comes with solar pre-wiring standard and an optional 200W solar and 200Ah lithium upgrade. With that package, most solo travelers manage two to four days of comfortable off-grid use before needing power.

That covers a long weekend in the Andrew Pickens district or a few nights at a remote Congaree backcountry site before you drive back to a hookup.

The Basecamp 20Xe handles off-grid at a different level. Six hundred watts of rooftop solar, a 10.3kWh Battle Born lithium battery, and a 3,000W inverter run every appliance on electricity.

Air conditioning and a microwave are available as options. The 20-lb propane tank is backup for cloudy weather.

South Carolina gets solid solar production through most of the year, and the 20Xe’s system provides enough power for a solo traveler to camp in the Sumter National Forest backcountry for a week without managing power as a variable.

Towing Solo from Lexington

Both the Basecamp 16X and the Bambi 16RB have a GVWR of 3,500 lbs. Most mid-size SUVs in South Carolina driveways can tow either trailer without upgrading.

Lexington’s central position means towing conditions vary significantly depending on direction. The coast is flat and the thermal load is the main variable in summer; the Upstate involves real grades on the climbs into the Blue Ridge foothills.

The drives toward Table Rock, Caesars Head, and the Chattooga River put more demand on a tow vehicle than the flat runs to Myrtle Beach or Hilton Head. Size your setup for the Upstate routes if those are regular destinations, not just for the coastal hauls.

The 80% towing rule applies for both thermal and grade reasons depending on direction.

For a full look at which SUVs handle either trailer on South Carolina roads, see our SUV towing guide.

The Basecamp rides higher and handles slightly differently because of the lift and all-terrain tires. Both trailers are manageable for solo drivers. The powered hitch jack on both makes unhitching without a second person straightforward.

A backup camera is worth having for the tighter Hunting Island campground sites and the narrow Upstate forest pull-ins where maneuvering space is limited.

What You’re Actually Paying For

The Basecamp 16X starts at around $56,000. The Basecamp 20X runs $50,000 to $74,000 depending on configuration, and the Basecamp 20Xe starts at $85,000.

The Bambi 16RB runs $67,500 to $74,400 depending on options. The Bambi costs more than the base Basecamp at entry level. You’re paying for the dedicated bed, the more fully equipped kitchen, and the classic Airstream design that holds resale value consistently across markets.

First-time Airstream buyers in South Carolina who haven’t fully settled on their camping style tend to do better starting with the Bambi. It performs well across both the coastal and Upstate trip types on improved roads, and it holds its value on the used market if you decide to trade up to a longer model after a season or two.

The Bottom Line for South Carolina Solo Travelers

South Carolina is a split market, and the split follows the geography pretty cleanly. The coast and the Lowcountry favor the Bambi. The Upstate and Congaree backcountry favor the Basecamp.

Most South Carolina buyers camp in both directions at some point, which means the right question isn’t which trailer is better in the abstract.

It’s which one fits the trips that actually dominate your calendar.

• 🏕️
  You camp primarily at Hunting Island, Edisto Beach, Myrtle Beach, Hilton Head area sites, or anywhere along the Lowcountry coast with good roads Bambi 16RB.
• 🚵
  You regularly camp in the Upstate, Sumter National Forest, near the Chattooga River, or in the Congaree backcountry, and you’re hauling a kayak, bike, or loaded pack Basecamp 16X or 20X.
• ☀️
  You want to camp off-grid for a week at a time in the Upstate or Congaree without managing power Basecamp 20Xe.
• 🔑
  You’re buying your first Airstream and your South Carolina camping mix isn’t fully settled yet Bambi 16RB. It covers the widest range of SC trip types well and holds its value if you upgrade later.

The opinions and recommendations expressed in this article represent those of the author and not Airstream of South Carolina or Blue Compass RV. All information was believed to be accurate at the time of writing. Airstream of South Carolina is not responsible for any misprints, typographical errors, or erroneous information contained within this content. Always verify current pricing, availability, and specifications with your Airstream of South Carolina dealer.