Another fiberglass “egg” camper badge hits the ground rolling into the thriving off-grid camping market. Following the first-ever off-road camper in Scamp’s 50-year history, fellow rounded, white composite trailer builder Oliver Travel Trailers is launching an off-grid-ready caravan of its own. Like Scamp, the company leverages its reputation for building rock-solid, long-lasting campers toward offering an even tougher breed of trailer, built for adventures that carry well beyond organized campgrounds.
Founded in 2008, Oliver Travel Trailers doesn’t have quite the same depth of history as the Scamps and Casitas of the world, but in its two decades on the market, it has cemented both a glowing reputation for building solid high-end trailers and a passionate and loyal following. Expensive but dependable.
Oliver currently has two trailer models in its lineup: the 18.5-foot (5.6-m) single-axle Legacy Elite and the 23-foot (7-m) dual-axle Legacy Elite II. Both are built with the same durable double-hull construction and specced for year-round use with everything needed to be comfortable in the wild, season after season, year after year.
With the all-new Apex 23X, Oliver veers off the highway to offer a more rugged, all terrain-ready alternative to the Legacy Elite series.
Oliver Travel Trailers
“Built for the roads that don’t have names, designed for the places that don’t have reservations. Oliver’s first off-grid-inspired travel trailer — built bolder, finished differently, capable of going further than anything we’ve ever built. This is not just a new model. This is a new direction,” Oliver says in teasing the new trailer.
The Tennessee company hasn’t yet released too much concrete information, holding back for a fuller world premiere. It does say that the 23X will come equipped with a 48-V electrical system that’s the most capable it’s ever offered. That sounds to us like a foundation of lithium batteries, an option Oliver already offers on its Legacy models, and likely a few solar panels slapped on the roof. In fact, we can see what appears to be a flat solar panel peeking out from the rooftop, mounted in front of the air conditioner.
As for the interior, Oliver says only that it’s reimagined the 23-footer’s space for the purpose of off-grid travel. The Legacy Elite II that measures the same 23 feet sleeps three people and seats up to seven via two convertible dining lounge areas. It comes in two separate floor plans, both of which include a wet bathroom.
Oliver Travel Trailers
We can’t imagine Oliver abandoning its signature double-hull construction for what needs to be its toughest trailer yet. That construction process involves sliding insulation between separate inner and outer fiberglass hulls for all/four-season comfort and journey-weathering toughness.
Oliver technically uses four molded shell pieces crafted from a combination of chopped and hand-laid fiberglass. The upper pair is set atop the lower pair and bonded together at the visible overlay around the waistline. It’s similar to the process that startup Awaken RV uses, albeit with a visible central seam. In place of wood framing, Oliver’s zero-wood construction relies on a lightweight carbon-core honeycomb composite to deliver strength and reinforcement in critical zones without worry of the mold or decay that can affect wood.
Here’s a good three-minute walkthrough of exactly how Oliver builds each trailer.
Why Oliver’s Double-Hulled Fiberglass Trailers Are a Game-Changer | Oliver Travel Trailers
Anything else we write about the Apex 23X at this moment will be hollow speculation, except for the quartet of knobby all-terrain tires that sits below 4×4-style contrast wheel arches. We can see those clearly in the initial video footage and images.
Of course, price is part of that big chunk of missing information for which we’ll have to wait, but we will point out that the Legacy Elite II 23-footer starts at US$85,000. We expect the Apex X23 to start somewhere north of there. How much north will depend on exactly how much extra off-grid power and equipment with which it rolls out of the factory.
The quick preview below shows the Apex X23 in action. It’s taking some heat from YouTube viewers for showing little more than the trailer towing over rather smooth dirt road and through a couple of inches of calm, flat-bottom water, but it’s all they’re putting out for now. More to come.
Introducing the Oliver Apex X23 | Built for the Road That Ends | Oliver Travel Trailers
Source: Oliver Travel Trailers