If you have ever tried towing a standard travel trailer with an electric vehicle, you know the pain. You watch your range drop by half or more and find yourself stopping to charge way more often than you would with just the EV. Finding a camper that can actually handle off-grid adventures without destroying your efficiency is tough. But a recent video from the Playing with Sticks YouTube channel showcases some Encore RV trailers that look like a perfect solution for many EV drivers. Watch the full walkthrough right here: The video covers three different small campers that pack a surprising amount of utility into a tiny footprint. First up is the 12RKFB (don’t you just love RV model numbers?). The big selling point is that it fits completely under a standard 7-foot garage door and should therefore sit mostly behind an electric pickup truck. It features a clever instant-up outdoor wet bath on the tongue, 400 watts of slide-out solar, and a slide-out rear kitchen. They build these completely wood-free, using incredibly strong aluminum cabinets that can literally support the entire weight of the trailer (and the video proves as much). Next is the 14RKB. This one is six inches taller, meaning it loses the garageable aspect along with some of the aero advantage, but it trades that for a full indoor climate-controlled bathroom. It keeps the same rugged aluminum build and smart kitchen setup. Finally, they show off the 12BH bunkhouse model. This one goes back to the garage-friendly height but includes a smart bunk bed system inside to sleep a small family. That’s a pretty big ask for such a small, low-profile trailer, but they somehow managed to get it all in there. One major highlight for off-grid fans is the electrical setup. The host points out a DC-to-DC charging system that can pull up to 62 amps from your tow vehicle while you drive. Instead of just hoping your solar panels get enough sun on the road, you can leverage your EV’s massive battery to arrive at your campsite with the trailer’s battery bank completely topped off. But, obviously, you’ll want to consult with a reputable EV mechanic to make sure you don’t accidentally pull too much DC power and damage your tow vehicle! Why This Matters for EV Towing When people talk about towing with an EV, they usually focus on the weight of the trailer. But weight only really hurts you when accelerating or going up steep mountain grades. The true range killer on the highway is aerodynamic drag. Pulling a giant, flat-faced fiberglass box through the air takes a massive amount of energy. Testing has repeatedly shown that a light trailer with terrible aerodynamic efficiency does worse than a heavy trailer that sits well behind the truck or otherwise lets the air slip more gently by. This is why low-profile, garageable trailers like the 12RKFB and 12BH are so important. Because they sit low to the ground, they tuck neatly into the aerodynamic slipstream of your electric truck or SUV. You are no longer dragging a parachute down the interstate. By solving the aero problem, these smaller campers let you explore further out into the wild without constantly stressing over the distance to the next fast charger. Featured image: a screenshot from the embedded video (fair use). Interested in electric RVing and national parks? Be sure to follow my personal blog at Charge To The Parks or follow me on BlueSky.
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