If you own a Ford Maverick Hybrid, a small crossover, or a wagon, you usually have a slim variety of campers you can tow thanks to a 2,000 pound towing capacity. Often, you’ll find tent trailers, motorcycle trailers, or teardrops light enough for your vehicle to tow. Thankfully, manufacturers haven’t forgotten about you and some brands are getting into smaller, lightweight hard-sided trailers. A new face in this arena is the Encore RV VENŪ, a baby trailer that seems pretty cozy and weighs just 1,500 pounds.
When I go to an RV show, so many of the trailers and coaches are colossal, with pricing rivaling that of actual homes. That’s before you pay extra money for a beefy tow rig just to haul the thing. Not everyone has the kind of dough or even the desire to tow a 40-footer with a big truck. What if you have something a lot smaller? For example, a 2024 Volvo V60 has a tow rating of just 2,000 pounds. Fear not, because as you’ve seen here, a number of manufacturers have been introducing lighter, cheaper trailers that less-capable vehicles can tow. Encore RV is one of the latest in this market of tiny campers. At the 2023 Indiana RV Open House, the manufacturer debuted the VENŪ, a little camper that weighs just 1,500 pounds.
Encore RV
Elkhart, Indiana-based Encore is a new face in the RV world. I found the brand nestled in the independent area outside of Thor Industries’ expansive display. Encore was founded right in the thick of the pandemic RV industry boom in 2020. As RV Business writes, Encore RV founder Rich Schnippel has been in the RV and motorsports trailer industry since 2000. His resume includes managerial and marketing roles at names like ATC Trailers, KZ Recreational Vehicles, and until 2019, inTech Trailers. RV Business also notes that Schnippel designed many models of lightweight adventure trailers. Think of off-road trailers somewhat similar to the Off-Grid Trailers Pando 2.0 I tested earlier this year.
Schnippel decided to create his own trailer manufacturer with a focus on building durable campers. Encore’s launch trailer, the RŌM, boasted a lightweight, fully welded, all-aluminum frame and chassis. Sitting on that chassis is a composite body featuring CNC laser-cut aluminum cabinetry inside. Since then, Encore RV has offered several flavors of its off-road trailer from the compact 1,414-pound RŎG 10MC to the 2,900-pound RŎG 16RB that you can stand up in. An example RŎG is above.
(Update: To add some additional context, when Encore RV launched, the trailer was supposed to be called RŌM, but then the name was changed to RŎG due to a trademark issue.)
The Encore VENŪ
This new trailer is a refinement of the Encore RV concept. The VENŪ is still supposed to be an adventure trailer, but Encore has decided to maximize the trailer’s space for the comfort of the people who will be sleeping in it. The first model of this new line of trailers is the VENŪ 10KB, and it’s a cute one.
To illustrate how small this trailer is, it’s 13 feet from tongue to rear and the box is just under 10 feet. For comparison, a 13-foot fiberglass camper will often have a box roughly the same general size. The floor inside is just 8 feet long and the ceiling gives 5 feet, 10 inches of headroom at its highest point.
Despite that, the interior looks and feels like a larger trailer just scaled down. Walk through the door and the kitchen is right there. You’re getting a sink there and a solid countertop. I did not find a stove, but there’s plenty of space to toss in your own propane stove or induction cooktop.
Behind me was an optional 3.5 cubic-foot 12V refrigerator. Encore RV brought another example VENŪ 10KB that didn’t have the refrigerator and in its place was a cassette toilet. The cassette toilet would be stored somewhere else in a trailer with the optional fridge. Other standard features include a MaxxAir fan and a 21-gallon freshwater tank.
Unfortunately, that cassette toilet is the only type of bathroom you’ll find inside of this trailer. Thankfully, there are water outputs outside of the trailer so you could have an outdoor shower. The vast majority of the interior space is a nice dinette that converts into a bed. This is good for two adults to sleep in. Encore’s options list includes an air-conditioner with a heat pump, a 32-inch television, and an off-roading package. This package consists of all-terrain tires, an optional roof rack, and an optional awning.
My favorite part about this interior is the lighting. Encore RV embeds lighting under the composite countertop, resulting in a cool glow, sort of like you’re in a nightclub. Look, I know I love silly things!
Like other Encore RV trailers, the VENŪ rides on an all-aluminum chassis and features composite walls and a one-piece fiberglass roof. Encore prides itself on the total lack of wood used in the construction of its campers, from Encore:
“We’ve found success by differentiating ourselves and building our products with materials that are engineered to last a lifetime,” Schnippel explained. “By eliminating the steel and wood from our construction, we not only take away the possibilities of rust, mold and rot, but we also are building an RV that can last for multiple generations.”
You get this with a base weight of just 1,500 pounds. Encore puts 3,500-pound axles under these trailers and says you can carry another 1,500 pounds of gear, cargo, and water. But if you leave it at its base weight, it could be towed by something like your Ford Maverick Hybrid!
Sadly, these trailers are so new that Encore RV doesn’t have pricing on the units just yet. Heck, they aren’t even on Encore’s website yet. If these trailers come in with a rock-bottom price, like those earlier LIV plastic trailers, I think Encore could have a winner here. At the very least, I’m always happy to see more choices at the smaller end of the RV market!
(Images: Author, unless otherwise noted.)
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Mercedes you need to write about things that have a price.Otherwise it feels like you’re trying to sneak them past us.
The welds on that frame . Hoo boy , could you at least wipe down the tubing before you strike an arc ?
It seems a lot of these smaller trailers do not extend out to the full axle track width, I wonder why?
Yeah seems like a waste
Crap design. If you’re going to take up that much width on the road, that much width in the camping spot, extend the living space out to it. Might even reduce its drag on the tow vehicle by eliminating a terrible turbulence generator.
My Dear Dear Mercedes, have we harped on the insane prices of these mediocre Trailers that we no longer get them? I say DIY buy a pickup bed with frame and add a hitch and box it in.
Haha,i wondered the same. A desperate attempt to keep the articles flowing without so much sticker shock hate,lol?
This looks great for a weekend getaway rig for an empty nest couple. Easy to pack, easy to park and everything is right there. Most modern compact CUV’s could tow this without breaking a sweat.
Maybe add a small electric motor that charges as it is pulled, add an adapter to attach a steerable from wheel and use it as a golf cart when you arrive?
Mercedes,
Could you, or Huibert, or David, do a deep dive on how tow ratings are established? It seems like the tow ratings for US cars are a lot lower than in Europe. Over there, it seems like the most modest of family sedans/hatchbacks are pulling 2000-3000 lbs trailers along with all the family members. Accordingly, it does not seem like breaking (yes, as in damage) limits of the vehicle are the concern. Are NHTSA standards just that much higher than Europe?
That sounds like a collab waiting to happen! Off the top of my head, I know towing is different in Europe. Their trailers have less tongue weight on the hitch (we deal with about 10 to 15 percent, they haul at closer to 5 percent) and they travel at slower speeds. I’m sure there are actual engineering differences, too, which would be where David and Huibert come in!
Yes, try towing at 70 mph like most in the good ole USA feel they must with light tongue weight…..that would be a recipe for a swaying mess. This is partly why the 5th wheel and gooseneck trailers come in to play with the bigger/heavier RVs. They have 20-25%+ tongue weight and are inherently stable to tow. No sway control needed.
We personally had a travel trailer for 14 years. Went to a 5th wheel RV, and will never go back. The towing experience is that much better. Drive the travel trailer for a day…say 500 miles and your were worn out. Constant steering adjustment and such. And this was with one of the better hitch setups with good anti-sway.
With the 5th wheel, after a 500 mile day, I am ready to get out of the truck, but not exhausted, and ready to do something at the destination.
I believe Raphael Orlove had a great writeup about this years ago on one of the sites linked to ye olde lighting site.
And if you want to throw in some controversy, you could interview Andy Thomson from Can-Am RV Centre who set up his Tesla Model S to tow his 27′ Airstream and more recently has been towing it with a Model 3. He’s kind of considered by many as an expert in setting up unconventional vehicles to tow. I’m still not sold on it, but it’s interesting to see the things he does. https://www.canamrv.ca/blog/
Where the market demands inflated towing numbers (pickup trucks), manufacturers push the limit of tow ratings. Where buyers don’t care (smaller vehicles), there’s no need for manufacturers to push the limits and keep the ratings low to avoid problems (warranty, legal).
USA is also far more litigious than other countries. Compare USA tow ratings to Australia… they tow similar trailers with higher tongue weights at high speeds far distances. Main difference is the legal system. European tow ratings aren’t that great of a comparison due to the reasons already mentioned.
It’s mostly down to speeds and tongue weights, European trailers have low tongue weights, which means most of the trailer’s weight is self-supported on its own wheels, so the tow vehicle only has to move it, not support it, that allows smaller, lighter vehicles to pull comparatively large trailers. American trailers tend to have higher tongue weights, which requires a bigger, heavier tow vehicle. The reason is speed, a high tongue weight allows you to pull a big trailer at highway speeds without oscillation making the whole rig uncontrollable. In European countries, vehicles towing trailers are restricted to lower than the posted speed limit to prevent that problem, in the US, vehicles pulling trailers can (and are expected to) drive at the same speed as the rest of traffic. So, automakers set lower tow ratings here to avoid the problem of people pulling trailers with too high of a tongue weight at too high speeds and then losing control and crashing
It’s strange to hear this! I’m always shocked how much american vehicles are allowed to pull. Here is australia ,normal 4WDs/pickups are allowed no more than 3.5 metric tons
That is really limited to the full-size trucks. F-series/Silverados/RAMs are all in a pissing contest to post the highest tow ratings.
Sorry, but when I see what some of these tiny trailers cost……ugh.
For a bit more cash, I want something with a real bathroom. If you are upgrading from a tent or pop-up tent trailer, a real bathroom is just so nice. I understand weight and size constraints. There are always trade-offs in life.
Yeah, I really think that a tent trailer is gonna give the person buying this most of what they need (and probably be lighter), or they may as well figure out a way to tow something big enough for a bathroom.
But I’m sure there’s someone for whom this’ll be great. I just don’t know who wants to cook indoors but shower outdoors and deal with a cassette toilet.
It does look like it’s built nicely.
In bear country a hard sided trailer is a must. It’s deterrence for Yogi stealing food and turds.
I’m much more of a tent person. The food goes into the vehicle and the latrine is away from the tents. But I can see this as a form of security. I’d still be looking real hard at whether I could bump up to something with a wet bath, but it would certainly be convenient to be able to cook inside and not worry about food smells attracting anything or putting away the kitchen before bed.
Thanks for the response about the person who’d be looking at this. I definitely don’t know many people who camp in trailers and want a small, light one, so most of my camper knowledge comes from people in bigger campers.
I have an Aliner Ranger 12 that’s about this long. I got it to tow with a smaller tow vehicle and to be a “tent on wheels”. It’s good at doing that.
Yeah, I feel if a small, lightweight hardsided camper is the goal, the A-liner type campers are a better choice for a more aerodynamic towing experience. They are still light, and seem to have more room that this, at least in some models.
It’s a wide world with people of many stripes and flavors and I make an effort to accept them all without judgement, but those of you who poop in a cassette toilet and then sleep in the same room with it baffle me.
This seems a little too tiny although it would be a step up from a teardrop with actual standing headroom and someplace to sit. I fear the pricing and disdain the cutesy diacritical marked names. Money permitting I’d go with a fiberglass trailer since I currently have a truck so a 4000lb trailer is nothing
You’d be hard pressed not to overload your vehicle if this thing starts at 1500lbs and you had a 2000lb tow rating. Add in propane, a full cooler, and your other stuff and it’s super easy to be over 500lbs of cargo.
This. I generally take the dry weight and add 1000 lbs to get an idea of what the actual loaded weight will be (assuming it’s not a toyhauler). You also have to remember that tow ratings do not include basically anything in the vehicle itself, including any amount that the driver weighs over about 150 lbs and the full weight of passengers. Admittedly, you’re probably not taking a family of four camping in this, but you could very easily need to knock 200 lbs off the tow rating before you load any cargo.
Also, dry weights are notoriously dubious because they often omit “optional” features that really aren’t. By the time a trailer leaves the factory it weighs more than its dry weight.
This is America, who the hell looks at weights? /s
True, and someone’s got to keep transmission shops in business, right? 😉
I’ve started looking for options that are more or less in this class – basically, simple, lightweight, tent replacements. But typically it’s just hard to find the right mix of functionality and cost. This seems too small, and probably costs too much…
I’ll probably pull the trigger on a used aliner at some point, or just keep rocking the tent & dealing with occasional wet nights…
I gave up on tents a long time ago. Found out a full size air mattress fits in the back on a Jeep Grand perfectly. I am 6’2 and fit perfectly.
Get the Aliner. You won’t regret buying an insulated tent on wheels.
I love these small trailers. Be great for a single me.But I am sure the procing will be aorund 124,034$ without the fridge.
I would have put the awning on the side to cover the kitchen. Yes, it would stick out past the roofline towards the front, but it would work.
I love the idea behind these trailers, and the price is reasonable. I looked at the ROG 14TH2 (Not ROM btw, there is a typo up top) and its pretty amazing. Very nearly what I am looking for in a trailer. Not over the top build, but made to handle a little abuse and not get destroyed. Semi-affordable. Sleeps 4. The only problem is that its a toy hauler and I don’t need that. If they made one with the garage door sealed up with a big window in its place and a full interior it would be just about perfect. Ideally what I would want the kitchen moved out back or to the side in a slide out, but I can live with a small interior kitchen. I do most of my cooking away from the trailer anyway.
Weirdly, initial press and news releases did call Encore’s first trailers RŌM. So, I went with how they were originally reported. None of those sources explained what happened between then and production. Maybe the press release had a typo? Maybe a name change to RŌG?
My guess is that since RŌM was already a model name with ATC Trailers, maybe Encore did a last-minute name change?
Edit: Actually, turns out my guess was correct. According to RV Business, they were called RŌM, then Encore hit a trademark snag:
https://rvbusiness.com/startup-encore-rv-up-and-running-with-adventure-trailer/
Ah, makes sense.
I’m not generally into trailers but this thing is adorable. I dig the Impala tail lights.