One of Our Favorite Camping Trailer Brands Just Got Way More Affordable

Bowlus is one of our favorite camping trailer manufacturers, pairing classic aluminum-bodied style with serious luxury craftsmanship. We’ve loved the company’s previous trailers, like the Terra Firma and the all-electric Volterra.

Perhaps the lone downside to those trailers is that they are quite pricey. But Bowlus has a solution there; the brand has just rolled out a far more affordable camping trailer option, the Rivet.

Here’s what you need to know about the Bowlus Rivet.

The Bowlus Rivet sleeps up to four

The Rivet is a 25-foot-3-inch-long trailer. It features a separate bedroom with a king bed and a “luxury ensuite bathroom” in addition to the living area and kitchen. It can sleep up to four passengers.

The Bowlus Rivet is lightweight

Bowlus kept the GVWR for the Rivet down to just 3,500 pounds. That broadens the range of tow vehicles, opening it up to many crossover options — even some EV ones, like the Tesla Model Y.

The Bowlus Rivet can operate by remote control

Bowlus gave the Rivet a new “AeroMove” self-propulsion system. The trailer can propel itself by remote control in parking settings, allowing it to navigate into tight spaces, spin 360 degrees and parallel park. Bowlus believes that should dramatically alleviate the stress of maneuvering the vehicle at low speeds.

Bowlus

The Bowlus Rivet is also off-road and off-grid capable

The Rivet is not an off-road camping trailer per se, but buyers can add a three-inch lift kit and all-terrain tires for added capability and flexibility about choosing where to camp. The Rivet can also run all its appliances — including heating and air conditioning — off the grid, thanks to its 8.0-kWh battery pack and 660 watts of solar power.

How much does the Bowlus Rivet cost?

The Rivet brings “the essence of Bowlus” down to a lower part of the luxury camper segment. It starts at $165,000, which can be brought down to as little as $148,500 factoring in EV tax credits. The AeroMove self-propulsion system is an additional $10,000 option.

That’s dramatically less than Bowlus’s other trailers, the Volterra (which starts at $310,000) and Terra Firma (which starts at $285,000).