One of the smoothest, most curvaceous hunks of sleep-in fiberglass you'll see this year, the all-new Morningstar series from startup Awaken RV looks to "wake up" an age of higher quality American Midwest-built campers. The 23.9-foot (7.3-m) trailer leaves the notoriously shoddy stick-and-tin construction in the past in favor of a seamless double-hulled fiberglass build designed to make rot, corrosion, leaking and denting forgotten remnants of the past.
From the heartland of an American RV industry known best for huge, cheaply built cookie-cutter travel trailer designs, Awaken determines to offer a sleeker, tougher alternative. The upstart brand begins with it a rock-solid foundation, piecing together its camper body from molded fiberglass inner and outer shells designed to bolster ruggedness and boost insulation well into all-season territory. In addition to the air gap between the inner and outer 1/4-in shells, Awaken installs reflective bubble foil insulation to further isolate the interior from the weather outside.
Awaken has knocked the mold shape out of the park with a simple front curvature and smooth, thick, curvaceous edges that avoid the faintest hint of crisp lines. Couple those with windows embedded in a contrast central surround, and the design is immediately distinct and effortlessly timeless. Awaken's split-shell fiberglass construction methods also create seamless sidewalls without the bulging belt line or overlap you see on fiberglass campers like the new Scamp X and Escape E13.
The Morningstar has seven windows in total, including a closely placed combination of front window and skylight that floods the front cabin in natural light while clearing wide-open views of the sky and horizon. On the three other sides, the 270-degree contrast-black surround wraps clean around the rear-end to visually connect all windows, a defining part of the simple but pronounced design language.
The full-height entry door stands at the right-side rear of the Morningstar, inviting campers into a 6.8-foot-high (2-m) cabin where the toilet is immediately accessible to the left, a smart placement that prevents the need to tramp through half the trailer for a quick run to the bathroom. Occupying the full width of the trailer, the bathroom includes plenty of floor space to use the fixed porcelain toilet and the vessel sink. The separate shower compartment on the driver's side of the trailer even includes an in-molded seat.
The rear placement of the bathroom eliminates the central room split included in many other RV designs, leaving a more open living area focused around cooking, lounging and sleeping. The long kitchen is located centrally on the driver's side, packing an oversized rectangular sink, three-burner glass-top stove and convection microwave oven/air fryer.
The sink is a multifunctional design that includes removable colander and cutting board inserts, a cup washer, a tall pulldown faucet and an inbuilt soap dispenser. A step deeper into the trailer brings one to the fresh, caloric bounty contained within the 212-L dual-door compressor refrigerator.
The roomy wraparound sofa across the aisle faces sideways around a longitudinally set dining table. That table slides and swivels forward and backward, side to side, for plenty of flexibility during the day, then drops down to support the 74 x 39-in (188 x 99-cm) secondary double bed. Combine that snug but workable double with the dual 79 x 33-in (201 x 84-cm) singles or 60 x 80-in (152 x 203-cm) residential queen at the very front of the trailer and you have a four-berth layout ideal for a family.
Awaken makes sure to include a flexible modern entertainment suite. The 32-in smart TV with Bluetooth connectivity is mounted on a swivel between the dinette and front bedroom for easy viewing from either area. The pair of Klipsch Bluetooth speakers, meanwhile, is removable for use outdoors or in.
The trailer comes prepped for both cable and Starlink satellite internet and powered by a 250-Ah lithium battery charged via 500 watts of solar and hooked up to a 3,000-W inverter/charger. A complete ducted heating and A/C system keeps things comfortable through the full calendar year, and a Truma water heater warms the shower.
The Morningstar comes built aboard a heavy-duty aluminum chassis connected to the four aluminum wheels via Dexter torsion axles. The 205/75/15 low-rolling-resistance tires provide smooth towing. The trailer also comes with a power awning, rear hitch receiver, backup camera, outdoor shower, and full-size spare below a fiberglass cover.
The 24-foot Morningstar registers 5,320 lb (2,413 kg) on the scale when dry and 6,235 lb (2,828 kg) with the 147-L fresh water tank and other systems topped up. It debuted at this year's Florida RV SuperShow and will next appear at the Central Texas RV Super Sale later this month. It starts at US$88,900, and Awaken is also working on the more all-terrain-ready Morningstar-i model to start at $93,500.
If the Morningstar strikes your fancy, the detailed 7.5-min walkthrough below should prove of interest.
Source: Awaken RV
