Two years ago, Winnebago elated aspiring camper van adventurers by sliding downmarket with the Solis Pocket, an 18-foot (5.5-m) camper van that ducked under the $100,000 rope to become the company's most affordable Class B offering. While it's since risen steadily in price, the Solis Pocket continues to be the simplest, most affordable camper van in the Winnebago lineup. Looking to reach new Solis Pocket buyers, Winnebago introduces the 36B floor plan, which brings to the family a versatile wet bathroom, an available EcoFlow off-grid lithium power system and an ultra-flexible 8-in-1 sofa-bed lounge.
The 36B floor plan eliminates some of the open, multifunctional space that has defined the original 36A layout, in favor of more creature comforts. It's still a versatile camping machine meant to adapt to the ebb and flow of life on the road, however.
The biggest of the new 36B changes comes at the rear of the van, where the 36A's multipurpose gear garage/bedroom is replaced by a wet bathroom located just inside the rear double doors. The wet bath has an indoor/outdoor shower hooked up to the hot water heater, a removable portable toilet and a sink. Campers can easily pull the toilet out off its mount for more room on the indoor shower floor or if they'll be camping where external bathroom facilities are available.
A sliding interior door and shower curtain provide bathroom privacy from within, and fold-down shower rods on each rear door connect together to hold an outdoor privacy curtain for outside showering or changing. The interior wet bath space is also designed to act as a mudroom for storing wet gear and clothing.
With no rear load space left for a proper bed, Winnebago pushes sleeping amenities to the center of the van. The multipurpose sofa lounge sets up in no less than eight different ways, serving as either a 30 x 75-in (76 x 191-cm) solo or 53 x 75-in (135 x 191-cm) double bed at night. It also sets up as both two- and four-seat dining areas, a side-facing sofa and an L-shaped sofa lounge with chaise lounge-style seat. The two forward-facing rear seats can double as the third and fourth van seats, complete with three-point seat belts.
The kitchen area across from the sofa-bed comes stocked with a dual-burner gas stove, stainless steel sink, long countertop and indoor/outdoor-access refrigerator at the front. A drop-down table on the back of the kitchen block folds out the open sliding door for outdoor use.
Another key feature of the Solis Pocket 36B is the available EcoFlow Power Kit Pro package. Based around a 5-kWh lithium leisure battery, the system offers an estimate three days' worth of off-grid electrical power when weather conditions are favorable to charging via the 190-W rooftop solar array. It includes a management touchscreen with remote app monitoring, along with an inverter and charging hardware. Buyers can even add one or two extra plug-and-play batteries for added capacity. Winnebago installs 110-V, 12-V and USB outlets all around the van in key places such as inside the sliding door over top the refrigerator, at the kitchen and around the rear bathroom sink.
Winnebago provided a first look at the Solis Pocket 36B this week. It did not release pricing information, but Winnebago dealer Lichtsinn RVs lists the MSRP at $149,005, which sounds about right since the original Solis Pocket 36A (no complete bathroom) now prices in at a Winnebago-listed MSRP of $140,375. Both prices are a sizable leap over the ~$96,000 base price at which the Solis Pocket launched in 2021.
Winnebago provides a full 10-minute walkthrough of the 36B in the video below.
Source: Winnebago
