Four-Season Campers and RVs

There's no such thing as a 4-season camper."

~Matt Leatherwood (and probably some other people)~

 

So, you and your partner (Or by yourself. No judgement) are heading out to the local RV dealership or maybe your friend, Bob's house, to pick out a snazzy new camper. You want to go where you want, when you want, so you're gonna pick up a fancy 4-season unit.

Well, before you get packed up to spend January in the Arctic or Canada, or hell, even Wisconsin, there's something you should know. There's no such thing as a 4-season RV. Let's talk about it.

Ok, so there is a label in RV land called Four-Season. Dealers love to use this term to describe campers (travel trailers, truck campers, fifth wheels, etc) that are "designed" to be used year-round - in hot summers and cold winters. "Oh, you betcha. This baby will keep you nice and cool in the desert and warm your toes during a snowstorm in Minnesota...eh."

But here's what you don't know and likely what they don't WANT you to know. There is no official industry standard defining what qualifies a rig as "four-season," meaning the truth behind that label varies greatly from manufacturer to manufacture, or from Bob to Hank. 

There is definitely a difference in campers when it comes to seasonal considerations. But regardless of make, model, and size, you simply MUST consider things like insulation levels, tank heating, heated underbelly, dual-pane windows, HVAC capacity, plumbing protection and more. These features do help prevent freezing pipes, etc. They help. They don't prevent. Don't confuse the two. A true four-season rig supports camping through extreme cold and heat without constant DIY attachments.

To be fair, there are some models that are considered by the industry to be pretty decent in the four-season department. In no particular order, (And I'm not promoting any of them one way or another and I'll tell you why in a minute):

Northwood Manufacturing who make Arctic Fox, Outdoors RV, and Nash; Northern Lite for truck campers; Oliver Travel Trailers are equipped with double-hull insulation, etc; Glacier Peak, and Bigfoot Trailers. All of these consider their rigs to be four-season and seemingly are better than many.

But here's the thing and why I don't support the label. None of these; not one single one of these is built like your house. They aren't built the same, insulated the same, heated the same, cooled, the same, sealed the same...and on and on. They aren't. Remember, you're staying in a tin can with paper for insulation. It may have two layers of insulation and some crap they call a heated underbelly, but it's still paper and crap. 

Now, if you'd like to consider a four-season camper as something you'd be comfortable taking between, say 25F and 90F, I could get behind that. But you won't catch me in anything, regardless of their claims, in any extremes. And I recommend you don't either. And we haven't even talked about cost yet!!

You'll be miserable trying to keep up with the temps, and no matter who makes it, you'll be adding features to keep it warm or cold. Extreme temps are no place for RVs of any kind, and that's another hill I'll die on. 

If you like this content, please comment below and let me know you've been here. And be sure to follow along at RVing with Matt and Gina on TikTok.

In the meantime,

Stay safe. Be smart. See ya on the road.