diff --git a/.travis.yml b/.travis.yml
index 77dc8fc4b192..60f1b6961c73 100644
--- a/.travis.yml
+++ b/.travis.yml
@@ -31,6 +31,7 @@ install:
 
 matrix:
   include:
+    - env: BASE_TESTS=true # runs the base tests
     - env: INTEGRATION=rust-lang/cargo
     - env: INTEGRATION=rust-lang-nursery/rand
   allow_failures: