A Journey Trailer That’s Very, Very Honda

We all know Honda makes a number of merchandise that aren’t automobiles, like lawnmowers, jet planes, and the Clarity Electric sedan. Now, although, the corporate has introduced what could be the final wheeled factor we anticipated from it: A tenting trailer. The manner Honda sees it, RVs are ripe for a Honda-style rethink.

Honda’s aim—as a result of what new product launch can be full and not using a advertising and marketing buzzword or phrase?—is to “disrupt the towable RV class.” RVs, Honda factors out, haven’t modified a lot up to now 50 years, however RVers are getting youthful; the corporate estimates 50 million individuals joined the “outdoor lifestyle” market in the course of the previous two years, and their common age is 30. The resolution right here is the Base Station, a completely customizable tenting trailer with interchangeable modules that’s gentle sufficient (lower than 1,400 kilos) to be towed behind a compact crossover and/or not sap an electrical automobile’s vary.

At first look, the Honda Base Station seems to be slightly like a field with a sofa in it, however there’s fairly a bit extra occurring right here. First, there’s the form of the field, which is designed to cut back crosswind sway. Rather than a traditional door, the Base Station contains a swing-up rear tailgate, which—amongst different issues—lets you sit on the sting and take away your boots with out monitoring mud into the camper. There’s additionally a small entry door rather than the right-front window, giving a second manner out in case, say, bears work out find out how to open the tailgate.

The Base Station’s low roofline reduces wind resistance and limits its dimensions to a garage-friendly spec. When it’s time to camp, a pop-top supplies as much as seven toes of stand-up headroom. The rear-facing sofa slides out to type a queen-size mattress, and elective bunk beds present room for a pair extra sleepers (4 complete).

Ah, you say, however the place’s all the opposite stuff you usually discover in an RV—plumbing, range, and the like? That’s the place the modular bit is available in. Each of the home windows—three on the left, two on the precise—might be eliminated and changed with a module. There’s a fold-out kitchen, an air con unit, an exterior bathe, and—properly, truly, that’s it for now, however one of many Base Station engineers informed us he’s received a stack of designs and concepts on his desk, and it’s seemingly there will likely be extra earlier than the Base Station goes into manufacturing. The thought is you can purchase as many or as few modules as your creativeness and funds will enable, or you should purchase all of them and configure the Base Station as wanted for no matter tenting journey is developing.

Even with out equipment, the Base Station isn’t merely a field with a futon inside. Standard gear contains an expandable lithium-ion battery, photo voltaic panels to cost it, an inverter, heater, cove lighting, and nifty LEDs ringing the outside home windows that may show all kinds of spiffy colours and patterns (as a result of heaven forbid we’ve got LEDs that simply, y’know, produce illumination). An awning and a spare tire are elective extras.

A few questions Honda wouldn’t reply: First, did it do something fancy with the suspension? After seeing the Fastport eQuad electrical supply bike, which makes use of a double A-arm suspension with remote-reservoir shocks from the Honda Powersports catalog, we had been extraordinarily curious. Honda would solely say all issues are into account. Most journey trailers use suspensions little modified from those developed for horse-drawn carriages within the early 1700s, so we are able to’t think about Honda being glad with leaf springs and a beam axle, even when that setup seems to be the only option.

The second and third unanswered questions: When will the Base Station go on sale and the way a lot will it price? Technically, we did get a solution to each: “We have no idea.” Honda is focusing on trailers within the $17,000–$50,000 value vary, and we think about the modular add-on thought will hold the bottom value near the underside of that vary. Regardless, the excellent news is we’ve got little doubt we are going to see the Base Station come to market, significantly because the demographic aligns completely with so lots of the firm’s SUVs. We by no means would have guessed Honda would get into the RV enterprise, however yep, it’s going to occur.