From fifth wheels to pop-up campers to toy haulers, there’s a towable travel trailer for every flavor of road tripper. However, their evolution slowed to a crawl around the turn of the century, and there’s been little real innovation since. Recently, a new breed of trailers is targeting hardcore explorers. These adventure trailers forego frilly luxuries like faux granite countertops, big-screen HDTVs, and smartphone-controllable mood lighting. Instead, they’re all about function, versatility, and gear hauling.
The SylvanSport Vast is a travel trailer designed for active adventure seekers who love the outdoors and all the gear that goes with exploring it. In the same vein as Airstream’s Basecamp, VAST cleverly maximizes gear storage while providing essentials like a bathroom, kitchen, and sleeping quarters. The photos seem to hint at several available models. In fact, it’s a single model with a three-in-one configurable floor plan that changes based on your needs.
In its simplest configuration, Vast offers an L-shaped couch and table at the rear, a kitchen and bathroom at the front, and an open lounge space in-between. The rear seating section transforms into sleeping quarters by converting the lounge into a bed. A second queen-sized mattress can then be lowered from the ceiling via a motorized lift to create a bi-level bunk space. The couch and table can also slide forward on rails to reveal a sizable storage space at the rear for stowing bikes, climbing gear, kegs — whatever you need.
The real thing of engineering beauty is Vast’s combined kitchen and bath space. The toilet remains fixed in place, while the entire kitchen unit slides from the interior to the exterior. On the inside, this creates a void which now becomes a full-sized, residential shower stall with a fold-away sink. On the outside, the kitchen lowers to ground-level providing a natural cook space that makes it easy to prepare a legit meal while enjoying the great outdoors. The full-featured setup includes a two-burner, gas-powered cooktop, a refrigerator/freezer combo, a functional sink, and even a decent amount of storage space.
In every configuration, fixed rails are available to stow kayaks, canoes, or SUPs on the exterior at an easily accessible height. A lockable, 18-cubic-foot storage trunk near the tongue also holds two propane bottles plus a bit more.
SylvanSport is keeping a tight lid on the Vast travel trailer with no official word yet on pricing or availability. However, interested customers can register to pre-order now.
