7 Best 4 Season Travel Trailers for Staying Cozy When It’s Cold

Staying cozy while RVing when the temperatures drop is crucial for enjoying cold weather camping. A four-season travel trailer is a great option, whether you want to live in an RV full time or for a weekend to start the camping season early. Today we will look at seven of the best four-season travel trailers to ensure you stay cozy when it gets cold. Let’s get started!

What Is a 4 Season Travel Trailer? 

You may see the “4-Season” sticker on the outside of your travel trailer, but what does it mean? Unfortunately, the 4-season camper designation is not standardized across the RV industry, so that badge means different things on different RVs.

Generally speaking, these campers are better equipped to handle the cooler temperatures of spring and fall and the hot temperatures of summer. Many could do winter, but winter RVing requires a bit more knowledge than the sticker will give you. You will need to do research on the camper itself to find out just how prepared it is to handle the elements.

➡ Learn more about What is a 4-Season Camper?

Key Features to Look For in a 4 Season Travel Trailer

While each 4 season travel trailer is different, there are some common things to look for to gauge its fitness. Here are a few of the things manufacturers might add to keep you warm during those cold months. 

Insulation

Travel trailers usually don’t have the best RV insulation. If you turn the air conditioning off, even for a short period, you’ll find the temperature rising quickly. The same goes for the winter; the cold air finds its way in fast without a constant heat source. 

Four-season travel trailers may have better insulation to help reduce heat loss. This means you could maintain your ideal interior temperature even in extreme conditions a little easier. 

Double Pane Windows

Windows are great in RVs until it comes time for extreme temperatures. Those beautiful picture windows do little to help you maintain the temperature in your trailer. Choosing a travel trailer with double pane windows reduces heat loss in the winter and helps keep out the searing heat in the summer. In our opinion, this is the single biggest factor in determining a true 4-season travel trailer from one that is just okay in cooler weather. 

Extra or More Efficient Heat Source

Great insulation and dual pane windows won’t do very much for you if you fail to have a heat source. In the most extreme temperatures, you might opt to use both your propane furnace and a space heater. 

Many trailers these days come with a built-in fireplace that serves as a space heater. Be extra careful with stand-alone heaters. Take great care that they are not too close to other items as they could start a fire. 

Most RVs are heated by a propane RV furnace. The furnace should be sized appropriately to fit the space and the climate you’re heading to. While you can run your furnace all the time to keep the interior warm, they tend to go through propane quickly. The best 4-season travel trailers will have adequate insulation and construction to save on propane and maximize efficiency.

Some RVs have RV heat pumps are great because they operate on electricity. If you’re plugged in at a park, you don’t have to worry about running out of propane. However, they typically only work down to around 45 degrees F. This is great for shoulder season weather, but will not help too much when you get the really cold temperatures.

Heated and Enclosed Underbelly

The best four-season travel trailers come equipped with a heated and/or enclosed basement RV underbelly. Since your camper doesn’t sit on the ground, air moving underneath your rig can quickly remove any heat on the underside. This serves as an added layer of protection against the elements.

Your basement has many essential components, such as your freshwater tank, waste tanks, and plumbing. Additionally, a four-season travel trailer should also have ducts directing heat into the enclosed basement area. 

Ducting

Four-season travel trailers often have reinforced ducting coming from the furnace and air conditioning. This helps guarantee that both hot and cold air reach your vents without much loss in temperature. This reinforcement can often keep you cozy in your RV all year.

You may even find that your tanks and pipes have special ducts from the furnace running to them as well. This helps prevent lines and tanks from freezing during colder temperatures.

Pro Tip: Enjoy cold weather camping? Here’s How to RV in Winter.

7 Best 4 Season Travel Trailers for Staying Cozy When It’s Cold

Four-season travel trailers have many features to keep you warm and cool no matter the season. Now that you know how these features can make a big difference in your experience, let’s look at a few great options. 

1. Outdoors RV Mountain Series

The Outdoors RV Mountain Series has three classes of travel trailers available and a fifth wheel one coming soon. Each class, separated by weight and length, has many floor plans. This is a newer brand on the market that has been doing quite well in the four-season market.

As for the 4-season features, these travel trailers offer thermal pane windows, cold weather kits to 0 degrees F, triple layered roof insulation, thicker doors, and insulated skylights and bedroom vent. The come with an “XL Furnace” for more extreme camping, as well as heated and insulated holding tanks.

2. Northern-Lite Boreal

The Northern-Lite Boreal, a fiberglass four season travel trailer, sleeps four and measures 23 ft long. It comes with two 100 watt solar panels. Northern-Lite claims the Boreal is the “industry’s first 1-Piece ‘No Seams’ Leakproof Fiberglass unit with 4-Season Construction.” Built in Canada, Northern Lite prides itself in building its campers to withstand cold climates. They have an excellent reputation with their very popular truck campers, and the Boreal is their foray into trailers.

This unit has no slides, which helps control the temperature. The Boreal has a 13,500 BTU A/C with Heat Pump, as well as a 35,000 BTU ducted furnace. The basement includes heat enclosed tanks. Insulation for this rig is rated at R5, but the no-seams fiberglass ensures that warm air loss is not happening.

3. Oliver Travel Trailers

Oliver travel trailers have two four season trailers in their lineup. The Legacy Elite and Legacy Elite II are both made in Tennessee. These fiberglass trailers have a sleek design with a double-hulled fiberglass shell. These double-hull shells have an air gap and insulation in between for increased efficiency. The water tanks lie in the space between the shells, which protects them from harsh weather and temperatures.

The Legacy Elite is a compact 18.5 ft single-axle travel trailer. This standard package includes a 11,000 BTU ducted furnace to distribute the heat evenly. Oliver offers double-pane windows, too. All Oliver travel trailers come built to order. 

Pro Tip: Want a rig that will stand the test of time? We took a closer look to uncover Do Oliver Travel Trailers Really Last a Lifetime?

4. Arctic Fox North Fork

The Arctic Fox North Fork has seven layouts in its travel trailer lineup. All their trailer are four-season ready. The smallest of the floor plans is the Arctic Fox 22G at only 23 ft 10 inches. The largest of the group is the Arctic Fox 32A touting 34 ft 4 inches. Each layout has a front bedroom, and most have a rear living space. Some options feature a rear bathroom. 

Each floor plan comes insulated with R-18 in the ceiling and has R-15 reflective foil insulation in the roof and slides. Additionally, each unit has heated tanks in the underbelly. Arctic Fox has a good reputation as a quality RV builder and for meeting expectations in four-season capabilities.

5. Northwood Nash

The Northwood Nash lineup features nine floorplans. The most compact is the Nash 17K which totals 22 ft 4 inches. The largest is the Nash 29S which measures 32 ft 4 inches long. 

All models are four season travel trailers. They feature R-14 insulation in the ceiling and R-15 reflective foil insulation in the roof and slides. Each unit also comes equipped with heated tanks and enclosed underbellies. They have residential-style ducted heating and 25,000 BTU furnaces.

6. Lance Travel Trailers

Lance Campers, a well-known name in the travel trailer world, are known for their quality. They have 11 4-season travel trailer models. The 1475 trailer is the smallest, measuring 19 ft 8 inches in overall length. For those looking for a longer trailer, the 2445 and 2465 models come in at 29 ft 5 inches. 

These four-season travel trailers feature enclosed and well-insulated heated tanks. They come equipped with aluminum-framed sidewalls, floors, and ceilings. The walls have block foam insulation throughout, helping you keep a consistent temperature. 

Pro Tip: If you know a thing or two about RVs, you’ve probably heard of Lance Campers, but do you know how it was purchased by one of the largest RV companies in the industry today? Read more to find out about Who Owns Lance Campers?

7. Bigfoot Travel Trailers

When it comes to four-season, we also have to call out the Bigfoot fiberglass travel trailers. Bigfoot RV is a well-known company that has been around for a while with a niche in all-season campers. In their 2500 series of travel trailers, they have three models, the B17FB, the B21, and the B25. All of these models come standard with a 2-piece fiberglass exterior with high-density foam insulation and thermal paned windows. The foam is 1 1/2″ high-density EPS insulation of R8.

Heated & enclosed water tanks are standard in all of their trailer models. They are warmed by a 30,000 BTU ducted furnace. These are fed by dual, auto-chang over 30-lb propane tanks that come with a molded fiberglass cover to keep them protected. This propane tank size is quite large for standard travel trailers, and will help reduce the number of refill visits.

What Brand of Travel Trailer is Best for Cold Weather?

As we mentioned earlier, all “4-season certified” trailers mean different things. If you’re truly looking for four-season capabilities, we recommend digging into the actual construction of the RV, not just the “cold weather package.” While cold weather packages help in cooler temperatures and can work for most camping trips, construction features like dual pane thermal windows and better insulation aren’t usually included. These make the most difference in performance and comfort.

All of the brands listed above are well-known manufacturers of four-season travel trailers that we would recommend. Bigfoot, Lance, Northwood Manufacturing, Arctic Fox, Oliver, Northern Lite, and Outdoors RV pride themselves in this four-season category, and we believe they are the best brands for cold weather camping. Other manufacturers may just offer a cold weather package to be able to say they have it without actually intending their customers to camp in below-freezing or scorching temperatures.

Enjoy Longer Camping Seasons

No one likes having to cut their camping season short because of an early cold snap. Autumn and spring are beautiful times to go camping, even if 70-degree weather is rare. Thankfully, four-season trailers can help extend your camping even when the cold comes early.

Do you consider a four seasons travel trailer a must-have? Drop a comment below!

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