Best Travel Trailer Brands


Best Travel Trailer Brands

This is an updated list of the best travel trailer brands according to the survey made. Travel trailers are these are recreational vehicles that are pulled by a towing vehicle that will be a semi-truck, a truck, an SUV and in rare cases a simple car. They are towed through a trailer hitch and can be decoupled from the towing vehicle.

They are similar to fifth-wheels but according to the different RV manufacturers’ differences in sizes and hitching. We have a couple of dedicated articles about fifth-wheels and articles about travel trailers and small incredible travel trailers that we invite you to read.

This article is for the best travel trailer brands according to the survey made twice a year among our readers.

Airstream

Alphabetically first and also first in brand value. Airstream is the most famous of all the RV manufacturers.

Invited at a small dealer event, with other dealers and RV manufacturers, I had a sneak peek of a brand-new 33 foot Airstream Classic. In my opinion, it is a travel trailer for people who likes the iconic Airstream from the outside, but not from the inside. So they have different interiors to satisfy those prospective customers.  

The new 33-foot model is Airstreams largest Classic travel trailer yet designed to give you more room to stretch out and enjoy longer-term adventures in luxurious comfort. Stepping inside the Classic will make you feel right at home with all the same features as the smaller 30-foot Classic and more.

The entertainment center includes an integrated powered projection screen with a Bose surround sound and smart Blu-Ray player that I think has to be deprecated since 2020 anyway. The power shades allow for a OneTouch movie night.  

In the kitchen, residential grade wood cabinetry creates a warm familiar feeling paired with Corian countertops, a large sink and plenty of space to cook, dine and spend quality time.  

The rear bath truly feels like the restrooms of your own home with a large shower, with heated floors,  a hot water booster, plenty of storage space, a proper wardrobe closet, and heated towel bars. Finishing touches like a recessed vessel sink in Kohler faucet at a luxurious feel.  

As all the Airstreams it is easier to tow thanks to its lower profile, something that RV manufacturers should consider when they design travel trailers as well.  

Award Recreational Vehicles

We lost contact with this company in the update of early 2019 when we noticed there was no model line for that year. A couple of years later I asked some dealers if they have new RVs from Award. There are used models available but not new models. I hope that this is not one of the RV manufacturers closing its doors. One of the best travel trailer brands voted by our readers.

In the fall of 1983, the new Award Challenger was displayed at the national RV dealer show in Louisville, Kentucky. It was here that the family who owned Davies Trailer Centre in Ontario, Canada was attracted to the Award concept.

The same 23ft Award Challenger was displayed in February 0f 1984 by the Davies RV dealership at the Motor Home and Trailer Show, a retail show in Toronto, Canada. The consumer reaction was very positive. The product became the talk of the show. Dealers and manufacturers were enamored by the design with a multitude of standard features. The new concept offered a towable, aerodynamic light-weight, quality-built travel trailer.

The first 150 Award Challengers were imported from England at which time Award began acquiring dealers in both Canada and the USA.

A joint venture manufacturing company, named ABI Leisure Products was formed between RV manufacturers ABI Caravans and the Davies family. A plant was acquired in Grimsby, Ontario and the first Award 30ft Columbia travel trailer rolled off the assembly line in July of 1985.

Over the next few years, the Davies family acquired the entire company, introducing the Award Classic series in 1987 and the 700 series in 1988.

ABI Leisure Products continued to produce the Award product in Grimsby, Ontario, culminating with successfully rolling out its 1000th production unit. The company moved to a larger facility in Dunnville, Ontario, in 1990. The product enjoyed steady growth across North America. It became recognized in the marketplace as an upscale quality built unit with superior towability and design characteristics.

Around this time ABI Leisure Products sold its interest in the company to the Davies family. Product development was on-going, with the addition of a 27ft and 34ft travel trailer size and the Award fifth-wheel trailer in 1993. The 1995 model year brought with it a completely revamped interior with over 120 modifications, including ducted air conditioning, aluminum-framed sidewalls, additional interior headroom, and residential-style interior cabinetry.

When the 5,000th production unit came off the production line, the company employed 175 people, producing five units a day and boasting 100 RV dealerships in North America.

With the introduction of the 1996 models, the R & D department began developing a slide-out design for fifth-wheel trailers. When unforeseen circumstances combined with the economy, a decision was made to close ABI Leisure Products in the fall of 1995.

In the spring of 1996 a new company was formed, Diels Distribution, assisting Award owners and dealerships with parts procurement, service and technical support. This company was supported by the Davies family investment to help guarantee the continued success of the Award name and the products it represented.

Later that same year a second company, Award Recreational Vehicles, was formed by the same group that went on to purchase a large percentage of the assets of the company closed in late 1995.

As the company regrouped there was no 1997 production, but the new company commenced production of Award travel trailers for the 1998 model year and has continued to 2017. Since 2018, we could not trace anymore the company.

It was at this time that there was a significant shift in marketing policy. The company chose to sell directly to the public rather than through a dealer network, offering a unique, direct company-customer relationship.

The company’s focus on working directly with the customer creates a reputation for being a “unique product, offering towing excellence and aerodynamic efficiencies, reliability, technical superiority and of quality design, fit and finish“. This positioned them as one of the best travel trailer brands for many years.

Award Recreational Vehicles has seen steady growth since 1997 and operated out of a 50,000 square foot facility. In 2002 slide-out models became available, along with two new lengths of travel trailers, including a 31ft triple slide-out, and company-customer-designed floor plans. Finally, we lost trace of the company in our update of early 2019 as we explained above. No trace of the company in our 2020 update either.

Casita Travel Trailers

Casita has a name as one of the best travel trailer brands for small RV.s They have fiberglass travel trailers that are quite small. We feature them in our articles about small campers and another one about very tiny RVs.   Customers call as they are interested in buying and they pick the layout. On the 17-foot there are four different layouts. There are three different layouts on the 16-foot model.  

There is no “base model”. All are priced the same. All of those seventeen feet models are the same price and only the different interior layout is different: otherwise, the same quality, same size air conditioners, same bathrooms, a different arrangement of beds and different layout is the only difference between these models.  

Once the customer picked his favorite layout and some selections in the colors and the amenities, the next step is to create the purchase order and the Casita team puts you in the order lineup.  

At this moment, Casita takes a deposit, that when we asked information is of two thousand dollars. This deposit is partially refundable if you change your mind afterward. When we asked for information, they told me that they had a lead time of six months to a maximum of one year. Normal is to wait about seven months. Finally, the price of these units is of twenty thousand dollars for the seventeen-foot model.  

Coachmen

This is the only one of our RV manufacturers, as far as I know, that is using a crucial composite material in the RVs called Azdel. What is it for?   It is made right here in the US and that is a good start. Azdel is a compound for your RV that protects all of the raw materials of the travel trailer from weathering to bring the user the best protection. 

Mold and water ultimately can cause wall failure or delamination. Azdel is impervious to water so no need to fear the chance of rain or humidity on your next camping adventure.

With Azdel, they claim that there is less than a 1% chance of the exterior walls ever delaminating.   So, how many RV manufacturers utilize this product? Only Coachmen, they said. Azdel has this specific product designed exclusively for Coachmen RV.

Each batch of this composite is monitored and calculated daily to ensure the total thickness is accurate and uniform. In this way, it can be applied effectively across your Coachmen sidewall to maintain a smooth surface.   Apart from the protection, what is already a pretty obvious advantage, it ensures greater fuel efficiency, they claim. However this last feature, it is not clear for me how is obtained with Azdel.

Likewise, along with protection from mold, it certainly provides much more insulation, helping with dealing with extreme temperatures in winter and summer.   In the update of 2020, there would be other RV manufacturers that will incorporate Azdel to their RVs.  The specific care they put in the selection of materials is what positions them as one of the best travel trailer brands.

Coleman

Coleman has a lot of presence online. When you visit Camping World, you see Coleman travel trailers for sale everywhere.   One of the most notable features in a Coleman is a full dashboard that acts as a monitoring panel right at the front door of any of their travel trailers.

The indicator for the battery that tells you if you have a full charge and indicates the status, there is another button. It is what they call the fresh tank, which is a freshwater tank, you have an indicator for the level of the black water tank.

Crossroads

For Crossroads RV, I cannot tell you well which would be their flagship model. Probably the Volante is a good candidate, but that is a fifth wheel.

So I contacted a dealer as I normally do, to know more about the features of these travel trailers, so we went through the Sunset Trail model.  

It comes in many different floor plans with different interior and exterior color choices. You have a gel coated fiberglass exterior with a fiberglass front cap and blue LED front cap lights, power tongue jack front, rear power stabilizers and a large lighted front pass-through storage compartment.  

On the door side, you have a 6 gallon DSi gas and electric quick recovery water heater, outside shower in black and gray water dump valves and a black water tank flush. You have a rear bumper mount gas grill and spare tire.

The Sunset Trail Reserve gives you tinted windows, outside speakers and a power awning with LED lights. Some models give you a double awning that runs the length of the coach and an outside cooktop area.

 Your fresh black and grey holding tanks are also enclosed and heated. The secured stance and easy lube axles and nitrogen-filled tires that run coolers traveling down the road.  

That was for the exterior of the Sunset Trail. Now, going inside the Sunset Trail, you have 3 steps, a large 26-inch radius door and a large grab handle inside the coach. You will notice a curved radius ceiling.

There is in some of these models the possibility to upgrade to a 15,000 BTU ducted RV air conditioner with an optional 13,500 BTU AC for the bedroom.

You have fiberglass floor insulation and 5/8 inch tongue and groove plywood floor decking with 16 inches on center 2 by 3 4 joints and a non-cracking, stain-resistant vinyl floor backed by a three-year warranty against cold cracking.  

In the galley, you have solid surface countertops stainless, steel sinks, an 8 cubic foot refrigerator and a freezer. Also a 3 burner range-top oven and microwave with exhaust fan and lights.

You also have plenty of cabinets and drawers for storage. Sunset Trail Reserve, the model I visited,  gives you a comfortable wall away theater seating a nice four-person couch that pulls out into a large comfortable tri-folding day.

It also has a four-person dinette with pull-out storage trays for easy access it comes with a 32 inch HD LCD TV with Bluetooth CD DVD player stereo, included even for 2020 models.  

In the bathroom, you have a large corner shower with skylight foot flush porcelain toilet and power roof vent fan. The bedroom comes with 60 by 80 queen bed with large under bed storage. You get nightstands on both sides of the bed and overhead storage and hanging closets. The model I visited is the Sunset Trail Reserve. In general, this is one of the best travel trailer brands and included in this list.

Cruiser RV

CruiserRV is a company, like many other RV manufacturers, that belongs to the RV group Thor (like Airstream too). One of the most important models they have is the Radiance.

I accessed the Radiance 22 to describe some of the most notable features. It is a 24-foot coach, lots of storage space that I can see already when I analyze the exterior.

There is a big storage bay, electric jacks, power tongue jack, you have an electric awning that covers almost the whole span of the RV: There are many LED lights inside this storage space, and outside you have the LED light strip on your awning.  

There is a cabinet in the exterior area with a small RV fridge and then you actually have the trash there in that cabinet. The trash dumps from inside on the counter so you never have to bring it back to the camper when it is full.  

Looking at the inside, it has a very very spacious floorplan. we have one slide out on the side of the dinette. The dinette is a u-shaped dinette which has storage underneath all the seating.

You can reach the storage from either the outside of the dinette or you can lift one of the cushions of the dinette and reach plenty of extra storage availability.  

There is a big u-shaped kitchen area without any island. The oven is recessed to give you more counter space when you are not cooking. There is also some nice glass backsplash easy to clean, as it is all made of glass. I see that this is a little larger oven than what you’re used to in some of the older RVs. Microwave and stainless appliances are fine in the model I saw in this RV event.  

I know that many people want to know about the bathroom. In the bathroom we have a sliding door here so it does not take up room when it is opened, so you just slide it to open it. Inside the bathroom, there is plenty of legroom and a shelf and a large medicine cabinet, at least in the unit I visited.

In this bathroom, there is also a full-sized shower here along with the skylight above it: For tall people, it is also suitable, and you will feel comfortable as this is a taller ceiling.   This ceiling has a barrel shape. It is going to be 6 foot 11 to the top so this gives you an idea of how tall it is.

Still, in this model, there is an entertainment center with CD DVD that I feel is not needed anymore since about 2019. With the coronavirus outbreak in 2020, everyone got used to these streaming websites instead of having an entertainment center.

Dutchmen RV

Dutchmen, one of the best travel trailer brands, states that their goal is to help families explore, travel, connect and experience the freedom of the open road. They say that value is more than just a dollar sign. It is about craftsmanship quality and peace of mind.  

Dutchmen backs their travel trailers with an unprecedented three-year structural warranty. Such a long structural warranty is uncommon.

They also mention that they have taken an initiative to make sure that they are training their employees from the top down and making sure that all of those employees including the employees on the shop floor, know what the overall mission of Dutchmen is.

Their goal is to be number one, they mention in their website, not just in sheer volume but also to be the number one provider to their dealer partners through the best parts and service support in the industry, most innovative products in the industry, cutting-edge design and leading features throughout the industry, no matter which floor plan you choose.  

A feature I have noticed already in the construction is the unified wiring system that simplifies the entire power grid. they have a different pattern in the deployment of the ductwork that makes air conditioning flow better, and state-of-the-art slide rooms that prevent carpet drag.  

They have engineered the living space with the thoughtful design of a cell phone app that puts convenience at your touch outside and a master control panel inside.

Also, an automated leveling that keeps your setup on even ground and weightless ramp doors that can be moved with just one finger by sliding them.  

In Dutchmen they also state that they take apart, inspect, and then reinspect more than 400 parts per RV. I have not seen many RV manufacturers describing with so much level of detail their quality inspection process.  

Eggcamper

For several years, Eggcamper, a competitor of Casita in the group of RV manufacturers of small campers has a sign of temporarily closed. In RV forums and in our comments, readers indicated that they tried to contact Jim, the owner, as prospective customers, without luck. I hope to see Eggcamper again in business.

In 2020 they announced that they are returning to business with their typical small fiberglass travel trailers. These were excellent news as our readers consider Eggcamper to be one of the best travel trailer brands in the RV market.

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EGGCAMPER, VOTED AS ONE OF THE BEST TRAVEL TRAILER BRANDS, RETURNED IN 2020 TO THE RV MARKET

Escape Trailer

This is one of the few foreign RV manufacturers on this list of best travel trailer brands. We include it due to its presence in the United States market. The company is from British Columbia, in Canada.

They start production of the travel trailer in a make to order basis, about three weeks prior to delivery. Once they started production of the trailer, they only take about one week to complete as they work on an assembly.   During that time they send the customer photographic updates daily of the travel trailer under construction.  

Customers travel to British Columbia to pick their trailers and return south to the United States afterward.  

Do not expect luxury in one of these trailers. We have other RV manufacturers in the luxury area in this directory. Entering the trailer, a queen-size bed. Around the bed are some oak overhead cupboards which store the clothing.

At the entrance, there are some hooks for cell phones, hats, and coats, that are extra useful amenities.  

Entering the trailer you look left. A medium-sized kitchen and dinette. The dinette table goes up and down for a second bed and there is a home entertainment system that in the past included a CD player. Now there is no more CD player and the model I visited for demonstration included an Apple TV device but it is not included in the original.  

We have a regular kitchen with a sink, stove, but no oven. There are an embedded microwave oven and a refrigerator. Available is an optional marine type pedestal for the dinette table.

EverGreen

As we indicated above when we described the RV manufacturers dedicated to fifth-wheels. Evergreen RV is out of business since the second half of 2016. There is a dealer called EverGreen RV in Texas, dealing with retro campers, but is unrelated.

Scamp Trailers

Very small and beautiful travel trailers. Which model to take as the company reference? Difficult to say, but in a dealer, I went inside a 16-foot travel trailer standard edition.  

We have a standard two to four-person dinette with a full-size bed conversion board. On the right-hand side, there is a two-burner propane stove and on the left-hand side, an RV fridge,  storage cabinets also included.  

So in general, I would say ample for weekend camping but not for long trips RVing, and of course not for RV full-timers.  

The bathroom is not tall, so actually, this is a sit-down bathroom. There are the shower and toilet in a disposition we call wet bath. In the model I visited and in the floorplans, we have a setup for bunk beds, that look very convenient if you are traveling with children.

So the Scamp models are suitable for families with little children and not actually recommended for full-time RVers, in my opinion.  

Anthony Foxx

I am Tony, an RV designer and RV developer. I create bill of materials for RV manufacturers for travel trailers and fifth wheels. I worked as a freelance transportation consultant for Lyft. As an RV development consultant, I create customization trees for RV manufacturers who want to offer a solution to prospective customers to design their custom RV with variant configuration. Apart from this, I sell in Indiana trailer hitches, hitch balls, goosenecks and weight distribution systems where I provide advice to customers who want to know which is their towing capacity, which hitch ball should they utilize and how to deploy a weight distribution system. I do my best to explain all these processes and their installation, here in RV Favorites.

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