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One of the more interesting motor-homes we saw at the Pomona show recently was the new Winnebago Trend. This is a new model built on the Dodge Ram Promaster chassis. (Which is basically a Fiat Ducato.) Fittingly enough, I thought the RV had a distinctly European feel inside. There are curved cabinet doors, nicer hardware, and an interesting upholstery scheme that make it feel more upscale than the typical RV.
The one that was on display in Pomona was the 23L, which actually has 3 beds built into just 24 feet of space. Wow. One of the beds is what they call a “StudioLoft Bed”. It drops down out of the ceiling! This is a lot of sleeping space for just the two of us. But if I were 10 years old again, man would I be excited to get to sleep in the loft. (Oh, who am I kidding, I think it’s kind of cool now!)
With a height of just over 10 feet, and length of just 24, the marketers would call this a B+, but it’s technically a smaller class C.
I didn’t get to drive it, so I don’t have a feel for how it would handle – but it looked like it had quite a bit of overhang behind the rear wheels, so I might have to make some suspension enhancements to it. But admittedly, that’s all just speculation.
I couldn’t do a detailed review on this one because it was way too popular, but I may be headed to a local Winnebago dealer in the near future to get more in depth with it. Let me know if you want to see more of this one!
James:
I bought the 2015 23B Trend and the specs talk about having privacy panels for the front cab, but I see none and the dealer had no clue as well. Did your Trovato come with privacy curtains for the front windshield and side windows or did you have to improvise?
Thanks,
Pete
Our Travato came with fold-able sun shades for the windshield and front cab windows. The same ones should fit your Trend. They started doing that with the 2016 Travato. I don’t know the history of how that went on the Trend. You could probably call Customer Service and order yourself a set if you really wanted them.
The Trend has a similar corner bed layout to the Dynamax 24CB. From your review along with this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UtcpbRgwPcc. The bed does raise for access to storage, but there’s a partition down the middle cutting the space in half. It wasn’t clear if you could fit your bikes through the exterior door and fit them in that space.
I did notice they have an option to heat the waste lines, so the Trend could meet your 4-season requirement.
One possibility would be to raise the level of the bed in either the Trend or Dynamax models to increase the storage enough to fit your needs.
Raising the bed on my own is something I’ve thought about. But usually there is some problem with that: like the door is too small, or there’s a window that I’d cover up and not be able to open/close/shade, or the storage compartment is molded plastic… The list goes on. Ideally, some manufacturer will take note and solve these issues for me! But I’ll take a closer look at the Trend next time I see one. Thanks!
Just watched this video on Winnebago’s site. Kind of makes you wince.
http://winnebagolife.com/2015/03/boom-watch-a-winnebago-drop-test
I know! Funny, I was just watching that one yesterday and telling Stef about it. Thanks for posting it.
Adding to the tub comments, personally as a kiteboarder who uses class B to hit beach and kiteboard destinations Im stoked to see the tubs. Picture wet gear, life jackets, wetsuits, ect. Gives them a place to dry and rinse off.
Other than that really like your reviews, my search continues with the Trend a contender with the price point. Leisure van would be first pick if money wasn’t a issue.
Thanks again for the reviews
That tub would make a great place to let wet gear (or snowy gear) dry out. Hadn’t thought of that. Thanks for checking us out!
Hi James,
I looked at the trend in Pomona as well. I agree it has a VERY European feel to it and if it’s any indication of more things to come from the Winnebago folks, I can’t wait to see what they come up with next.
The tub thing in the back may be an ice chesty thing for tailgating. I have seen similar things on other B+ Winnebago models before. That, or a place to wash your dog…
Did you guys stand in the shower? I can’t remember if I did or not…
Anyway, thanks for posting the clip!
Hey Tom – If you like the look and feel of the European RVs, you’ll really like what we’ve got coming up in a few weeks. I won’t say any more than that for now. The tailgating ice chest was eventually our best guess at what the tub was. I suppose you could wash a small breed dog in it, but the ceiling was very low.
I did stand in the shower, and it didn’t make much of an impression either way. So it’s not terribly small, but not remarkably large. I’m 5’10” and it would have been more than adequate for me.