- Best Luxury Travel Trailer Brands: Which One is Right for You? - June 8, 2022
- Best Luxury RV Brands for Each RV Class - June 8, 2022
Sorting through the abundance of the best luxury travel trailer brands can be tricky with all of the information out there. I can even start feeling my head start spinning in circles while searching for the differences in each luxury travel trailer. The best way that I have found to organize my thoughts while shopping for a luxury travel trailer is to classify each brand for what I think they are best for.
Before jumping into the best luxury travel trailer brands and what they’re suitable for, let’s go over what a luxury travel trailer is. A travel trailer is a type of RV situated on top of a standard trailer chassis, and the closest thing they resemble is a modular home. What makes them luxurious are the unique features and amenities that take them over the top, like heated floors, electric fireplaces, automatic leveling systems, etc.
Bottom Line Up Front
I find that Bowlus travel trailers have everything that you could possibly need in a luxury travel trailer and more. From the durability to these RVs’ unique features and design, you can find a little bit of everything made for anyone.
Whether you are taking the family out for a road trip or wanting to spend some much-needed time in the wilderness, Bowlus has you covered without missing any of the comforts of home (and a few of the luxuries might not find at home).
A Bowlus luxury travel trailer embodies the ultimate in performance, technology, and luxury, making it the perfect adventure-ready RV. The original aluminum travel trailer, Bowlus has an iconic heritage of innovation and is the top choice for modern adventurers, land travelers, and camping enthusiasts.
My Top Picks at a Glance
- Bowlus: This RV brand was first introduced in 1934 by RV pioneer Hawley Bowlus. With a history stretching back nearly 100 years, these luxury travel trailers are incredibly durable, innovative, and elegantly designed, making them my favorite luxury travel trailer.
- Palomino Puma: Being one of the most spacious travel trailer brands on the market, these trailers can sleep up to ten people. They are also so spacious and full of residential features that they may confuse you for a small home.
- Black Series: This brand has you covered for all of you road trippers that like to take it way out in the wilderness. Their trailers are equipped with 600 watts of solar power, larger than average water tanks, and off-roading capabilities.
- Forest River R-Pod: If you don’t feel comfortable enough to pull a large trailer, Forest River makes small, lightweight luxury trailers that have all the amenities of home. Even though they are small, they are efficiently planned to make them seem bigger.
- Keystone: You can have exactly what you want to a T in the RV world with Keystone travel trailers. They have over 200 floorplans to choose from and many useful add-ons for each camper.
Things to Consider
Everyone has their personal preferences and things that are important for their lifestyle regarding RVs. Not every travel trailer can accommodate every preference out there, so it is crucial to figure out what is most important to you. Here are a few things that you should consider before even starting to shop for a luxury travel trailer.
Number of People Traveling
Whether you have a family, like to travel with friends, or want to travel solo, you need to consider how many people will be sleeping in your travel trailer before purchasing. There are travel trailers small enough that they only fit two people and travel trailers that can sleep up to ten people.
There will always be at least one bed in your trailer, but you can also add on options with a fold-out bed, a jackknife sofa, bunk beds, or a booth dinette that folds down into a bed.
What Vehicle You Have to Tow with
Travel trailers need a vehicle that can pull the weight that they put on your vehicle. Not all vehicles have the towing capacity to tow any travel trailer. There are larger travel trailers that need a larger truck to be able to tow them, especially if they are a fifth wheel or toy hauler. You can also get a smaller travel trailer that is light enough to be pulled behind a small crossover or even an electric vehicle.
Travel Trailer Length
The length of a travel trailer can significantly affect the ease of pulling it. A longer travel trailer will be more difficult to pull, whereas a smaller trailer will be easier to pull.
The longer the trailer is, the harder it is to maneuver it around turns, back it up, accelerate and stop, and it will sway in high ends pulling your vehicle around. If you aren’t very experienced with pulling trailers, I recommend starting with a smaller travel trailer.
Do You Want to Go Off-Grid
Off-grid camping is when you are camping without access to external electrical sources or freshwater. Certain travel trailers have features that store or make electricity and clean water.
These features include lithium batteries, solar panels, generators, and water filtration systems. You can also get travel trailers built to handle roads off the beaten path if you want to go way out into the wilderness.
Selection Criteria
A few key differences make a travel trailer luxurious vs. a regular travel trailer. Regular travel trailers will be more basic, without some standard amenities and features that you would typically have in a home, whereas luxury travel trailers have these things. Below are a few things that I made sure that each of these trailers had to be added to this list.
Ease of Towing
There are certain features that a travel trailer can have that make it easier to tow than your standard trailers, such as electric breaks, aerodynamics, and center of gravity.
This will keep wind pull, wear and tear on your vehicle, and deceleration much easier for you in the long run. Standard trailers don’t take any of this into consideration when manufacturing them.
Top of the Line Features
Some of the features and amenities you can find in these luxury travel trailers are nicer than those in a home, such as heated floors, electric fireplaces, and outdoor entertainment centers.
Everything else should be things you find in a home, like residential appliances, a dry bath, and hardwood cabinetry. You will also see some pretty impressively designed finishes and floorplans in these RVs.
Technologically Advanced
Technology has made our lives so much more convenient throughout the years, and there should be no exception when it comes to luxury travel trailers.
A central control panel for the entire RV, UVC air filters, GPS trackers, and electric auto-leveling systems are all things that you can find in your travel trailer to make your adventure a little easier.
You will also find items in your luxury RV that you can find in your home, such as smart TVs and dimming LED lights.
Best Luxury Travel Trailer Brands
Best Overall: Bowlus
This brand could easily be confused with an Airstream, but it is not and is, in my opinion, better than Airstream trailers. You get the same vintage design inside and out with an aluminum shell and wooden paneling covering the interior. They are also built to last with some Bowlus travel trailers over fifty years old and still in mint condition.
You’ll find many unique features inside the Bowlus such as heated floors (great when you’re winter camping) and HEPA air filtration with UVC. Bowlus even offers luxury amenities like a pet station and a custom bed that will keep your dog or cat comfy while you camp.
Safety features in the Bowlus include Bluetooth electric brakes. The Terra Firma even has a smart brake controller that can be programmed to work with multiple tow vehicles, giving you the ultimate flexibility when you travel.
Bowlus trailers can be off-grid in the wilderness for weeks thanks to the most powerful lithium iron batteries on the market and optional solar panels. The company has designed its electrical systems to be as energy efficient as possible – you can even run the air conditioner for up to two nights.
Even though Bowlus trailers are relatively long, with the smallest model being 27 feet long, they are pretty easy to drive due to the electric breaks, their low center of gravity, and they are built to be highly aerodynamic.
They are also very sustainable in that they are lightweight enough to be pulled by an electric vehicle, which is remarkable for this big of a trailer. Some other ways that Bowlus is sustainable are through its material sourcing, energy efficiency, and water efficiency.
A Bowlus luxury travel trailer embodies the ultimate in performance, technology, and luxury, making it the perfect adventure-ready RV. The original aluminum travel trailer, Bowlus has an iconic heritage of innovation and is the top choice for modern adventurers, land travelers, and camping enthusiasts.
Pros
- Sustainable practices
- Lightweight and easy to tow
- Unique features
- Off-grid capabilities
- Elegant, vintage design
- Extremely durable
Cons
- On the pricier end
Best for Space: Palomino Puma
If you want a travel trailer that you could live in full time, Palomino Puma has a trailer for you. Once you step inside one of these, it feels like you are in a small house rather than an RV with all residential kitchen appliances, an entertainment center with an electric fireplace, and tons of room to get around comfortably.
The design of these travel trailers is also very modern, with shiplap style walls, hardwood cabinetry, and elegant finishes. Palomino Puma also has excellent travel trailers for those that have large families or like to travel with lots of friends because they can sleep up to ten people.
They even have a floor plan with a second bedroom, so your guests or family can have their own room. They create this much sleeping space with a queen-size bed, a double bunk, a jackknife sofa, and a fold-down dinette.
Pros
- Sleeps up to 10 people
- Very spacious
- Homey interior design
- Convenient electrical features
- Residential appliances
Cons
- Not great customer service
Best for Off-Grid: Black Series
Sometimes, we all need a little escape from civilization, and these travel trailers have you covered for when you want to be way out in the wilderness.
Each of Black Series’ trailers is equipped with a large fresh water tank, 600 watts of solar power, and 200 amp hours of battery so you can live off-grid for weeks, if not months.
These trailers are also built to withstand some of the most challenging roads with independent suspension, a steel armored chassis, and off-road tires.
The interior of these travel trailers could fool anyone into thinking they are in a luxury hotel with elegant designs, all the appliances you could need, and a dry bath in some models.
I honestly am blown away by how good they made the interior of these trailers look. If you decide to spend more time outdoors, they have an entire outdoor kitchen set up with an electric awning and an outdoor sound system.
Pros
- Off-grid capabilities
- Off-road capabilities
- Aerodynamic body
- Outdoor leisure space
- Elegant interior design
Cons
- Heavy GVWR weight
Best Small Trailer: Forest River R-Pod
The most excellent thing about having a smaller trailer over a larger trailer is they are effortless to tow. Forest River’s R-pods are some of the most lightweight small trailers on the market with some of the lightest weighings under 3,000 lbs, which can be pulled by most small crossover vehicles and even some electric vehicles.
They also feature electric breaks and have an aerodynamic exterior to make stopping and minimizing wind resistance easier.
Even though R-pods are small, they have built the floor plans to utilize all the space given with storage options and all of the necessary amenities and to make it feel open.
They have also included many unique features, such as a vacuum port that you can sweep dirt into, a pet-friendly utility hook, n tinted windows. You can also add a screened-in awning system, an outdoor kitchen, and a solar system.
Pros
- Extremely lightweight
- Modern, homey design
- Efficient floor plans
- Unique features
- Easy to tow
Cons
- Not very spacious
Most Customizable: Keystone
Keystone has anything and everything you could possibly want in your RV, from a small two-person trailer with the bare minimum to a sizeable luxurious trailer that fits the whole family and makes you feel at home.
You can choose between over 200 different floor plans, so there is likely a trailer that fits your specific wants because they’ve thought of nearly everything.
There are also a lot of handy add-ons that can further customize your trailer to your needs, such as large solar packages, a cold-weather package, and a central monitor system.
Nearly every trailer is a build-it-yourself model, with the ability to add on whatever appliances or luxuries you want, including a larger refrigerator, an electric fireplace, an entertainment center, and customizable furniture to accommodate more sleepers.
Almost all of these trailers also have slide-outs adding a ton of space to your trailer. You will also find modern finishes, such as tile backsplashes, iron light fixtures, and rustic wood-looking floors.
Pros
- Over 200 floorplans
- Lots of useful add-ons
- Modern finishes
- Luxury appliances
- Spacious
Cons
- Not super durable
FAQs
Answer: Luxury travel trailers are high-end travel trailers that include all of the standard amenities that your house would typically have. In a luxury travel trailer, you can find residential appliances, modern finishes, convenient technology, and features that make it easier to tow. Most luxury travel trailers also have options for off-grid camping and outdoor entertainment spaces.
Answer: A luxury travel trailer can cost anywhere from $50,000 to $285,000+. It all depends on what brand, what size of a trailer, and the amenities and features you decide to go with. The pricier the travel trailer is, the more durable it will be, it will include more unique features, and the easier it will be to tow.
Answer: Bowlus offers the most durable travel trailers I’ve seen on the market. This brand specializes in travel trailers alone and is known for the high-quality hand-crafted RV they deliver. Nearly 100 years ago, Hawley Bowlus put his aircraft engineering skills to work and designed the ultimate lightweight travel trailer. Today, every Bowlus has the same distinctive look as the original, but they’re packed with modern technology and the amenities discerning RVers are looking for.
Final Thoughts
These travel trailer brands have their own unique benefits, but I can’t get over how well Bowlus trailers fit into nearly every box. I find it especially remarkable that they can make a large trailer so light and durable at the same time. I’m also a sucker for any company that puts sustainability at the top of its priorities, and Bowlus does just that.
They may be a bit more expensive than some other trailer brands, but I think these trailers are totally worth it, especially since they will most likely outlast any other trailer brand on this page.
A Bowlus luxury travel trailer embodies the ultimate in performance, technology, and luxury, making it the perfect adventure-ready RV. The original aluminum travel trailer, Bowlus has an iconic heritage of innovation and is the top choice for modern adventurers, land travelers, and camping enthusiasts.