Bowlus Just Launched a Lighter, Less-Expensive Travel Trailer for $159K

Bowlus just debuted a new aluminum-clad camper that touts many of the amenities of its luxury travel trailers with a lighter wight of 3,500 pounds, and a lower starting price of $159,000. The brand says it also packs a battery system with enough capacity to venture off-grid for up to a week and a half at a time. "You can be spontaneous and choose your own adventure," says Bowlus CEO Geneva Long. "You can stay at a hip camp one night, near a winery another night, and with friends on their property the next."

Clad in satin-silver aluminum, the Heritage edition pays tribute to the company’s original 1934 trailer designed by company founder Hawley Bowlus, who also helped build the Spirit of St. Louis aircraft that Charles Lindbergh piloted on the first solo nonstop transatlantic flight. That design lineage shows in the trailer’s riveted exterior and monocoque construction, which echoes the form of vintage planes and race cars.

Inside, aluminum walls wrap a living/dining area with a sofa that converts to twin beds and a bedroom with a king-size bed and an en suite bathroom. Custom options for the Heritage edition include bedding, awnings, extra battery power, and a technology package with a cell booster, 5G router, and Starlink-ready internet—ideal and now standard fare in the increasingly crowded market of trailers oriented towards those who plan to use them to work on the go.

"Customization and option packages allow the customer to select their price point," Long says. "They can decide what’s most important for them, whether it be longer off-grid time, technology packages, solar panels, brake controllers, or packages on the finish." 

When fully loaded, the Heritage edition weighs in at 3,500 pounds—significantly lighter than the 4,000-pound weight of Bowlus’s other offerings. Accordingly, it can be legally towed by a wider variety of vehicles, including SUVs, crossovers, and electric cars. "Jeeps can tow it, Tesla Model Ys can tow it, and different minivans can tow it," Long says. "By lowering the weight by 500 pounds, we enter a new towable bracket that’s much more flexible and convenient."

"Everyone has that feeling of wanting to be out in the middle of nowhere sometimes," Long says. "Heritage provides that opportunity."

More from Bowlus:

Bowlus’s New Off-Grid Travel Trailer Is a Throwback From the Future

This Yacht-Inspired Trailer Puts a New Spin on the Highway Cruiser for $225K

Go Off-Grid Indefinitely in Bowlus’s New All-Electric Trailer for $310K