Oregon startup Cube Series debuted a few years ago with a lifting hard-wall pickup camper unlike anything else on the market. At the time, it mentioned plans to bolt its lifting hard walls to a trailer, and it's now launched the trailer as a rugged all-weather shelter that tows low but lives tall. Inside those composite walls, the Cube trailer furnishes adventurers with a full four-sleeper floor plan complete with dining area, kitchen and available collapsible bathroom.
Old, grizzled campers could debate all night around the campfire whether a truck camper or camping trailer is the ultimate camping solution. You can quickly unhitch it to anchor your base camp while you drive off and explore the area from dawn 'til dusk. Advantage: trailer. Who wants to pull an extra 20 feet of vehicle length around the narrowing switchbacks of a great mountain campsite? Truck camper, ftw.
Why not both? That's definitely the call when you're on the selling side of the equation, so it's no surprise Cube Series is now reaching out to the trailer side of the market.
Since it stands on its own chassis and doesn't have to taper into a pickup box, the Cube trailer is far less conspicuous than its mushroom-shaped truck-back sibling. It tucks down as low as 6.3 feet (1.9 m) and looks much like any other pop-up trailer when towing down the road. At just over 17.5 feet (5.3 m) long, it isn't a tiny package but it's certainly more compact than many of the stretched boxes already out thre on US roads and RV pitches.
The Cube trailer transforms completely at camp, growing from a low-riding towable to a full-height backcountry hut. Its roof lifts via a set of 12V actuators, requiring little more physical labor than folding the side walls up into place.
Once expanded, the Cube welcomes the crew into a cozy, fully equipped space fit for two to four campers. Its open floor puts the main double bed against the rear wall, with a drawer-filled base that completes an L-shaped cabinetry configuration with the kitchen block. The kitchen houses a conventional layout of dual-burner stove/sink combo, under-counter 85-L fridge/freezer and microwave.
Breakfast, lunch and dinner make the short, seamless trip from the kitchen to a dual-bench dinette that stretches across the trailer's front wall. At night, the table drops down to create a bed accommodating two extra people, rounding out the four-sleeper configuration.
To create a standing-height shower in a trailer that drops down low, Cube Series relies on the style of half-bath design that's become popular across various types of RV. The optional bathroom's hard-sided shower basin is a little taller and wider than others, closing away into a standing-height work area or shelf when the bathroom is not in use. The counter then flips up for accessing the shower/privacy curtain that attaches to hooks on the ceiling.
The extra bathroom width creates a wet bath layout in which the toilet can remain in place while showering, a divergence from the type of part-time bathroom that essentially requires you to use the portable toilet on the shower floor and store it away when showering.
Since Cube Series has designed its trailer for four-season use, it loads it up with a 19,000-BTU forced air furnace, 12V water heater, enclosed heated compartment for holding tanks, and winterization system. It wires in an electrical system with AGM battery, DC-to-DC truck-to-battery charger and 30-A shore power hookup. Buyers can upgrade with off-grid electrical packages that boost performance via lithium batteries, a 2,000-W inverter and an 1,140-W solar panel array.
The Cube trailer has an vacuum-bonded fiberglass body atop aluminum underpinnings and weighs in at 2,730 lb (1,238 kg) to start. It carries 94.5 liters of fresh and gray water, respectively, and 53 liters of LPG.
When we spoke with Cube Series about the trailer, the company was eager to point out that it partnered with a new fiberglass supplier allowing for a significant drop in base price from $69,592 to $55,730. Options include an off-road upgrade package, air conditioning, various solar charging options, and the aforementioned wet bath and off-grid electrical packages. Cube Series also said it has a bunk bed option in the works to create a six-sleeper floor plan.
You can watch the trailer set up in the video below, which also gives a little more background info.
Source: Cube Series
