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RV review: 2023 Ember 190MSL overlanding trailer - what you asked for

Tony Barthel

Today’s RV review is of the new Ember 190MSL travel trailer. This new model in the Ember line is a member of the company’s Overland series and features a single axle. It also is one of the several new trailers I’m seeing that has no slide room and this is very specifically following a lot of requests Ember received for just such a configuration. 

Slide? What slide? 

In fact I’m seeing a number of RV companies start to offer models that don’t have a slide room and I, for one, and cheering. While I recognize that slide rooms offer additional interior space they also add a lot of complexity and potential for leaking. Further, the structure to support and move a slide room plus the slide room itself adds weight. 

For example, the Ember 191MSL is a very similar floor plan to this one but has a slide room and weighs 220 pounds more. 

If you look at vintage trailers none of them have slide rooms so the designers were more creative with the space and I also believe that that’s true here. 

Gathering space

Ember has been very creative about the space in here in so many ways. First of all there are two couches in here at right angles to each other. While lots of small trailers have little space to sit inside, this one has these two couches. 

Further, each couch has a table that slots into a spot on the front so you also have a place for four people to sit at a table. Ember has moved where they place their TV and put it on a swivel stand so it really makes sense, being viewable from both couches (albeit at somewhat of an angle if everybody’s watching something). Further, this is a 12 volt TV so no need to operate an inverter. 

Flexible use

The couches are just the start of what makes this trailer unique. Like the 191MSL that we’ve looked at before, this has a very flexible space at the back that, I believe, makes a bunk model trailer one of the smartest things you can buy. 

While most bunk model trailers offer the obvious bunks, and this one does as well, those bunks are generally fixed. What Ember has done is place the bunks on a railing system such that they can be moved up and down or removed altogether. 

Even better, the new design Ember has put into place has a main platform and a platform extension for each of the two bunks. The structure on this is so good each bunk is rated for 600 pounds!

Further, you could move the bunks such that this space can be an office with one of the bunks becoming a desk. I’ve seen where both bunk platforms were taken out and the structure is so strong that an Ember team member used it to hang a hammock back here. 

There’s a huge door at the side of this trailer so you can access the space from the side. With the bunk platforms temporarily placed at the top of the railing now you have a huge space enough that you could easily load two bicycles in here, or even our two Lectric eBikes. 

That huge side door also has a screen that comes down so you could leave it open at night if the situation is right. 

Further, there’s also a door at the rear of this trailer to access that same space. 

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What you may not like

Based on your feedback I know there are some of you who will not like the Murphy bed, particularly since this is one that has to bend to fold up. 

But, this is an actual true queen-sized bed if that makes a difference. However it is in a corner. 

There is also no oven included nor even offered. This features a two-burner cook top and a microwave, but not a convection microwave. I think a convection microwave would assuage the concerns about a lack of oven. 

It doesn’t bother me that this is a single-axle trailer but I know some of you have concerns over this type of rig. You shouldn’t, really, plus this is shod with Goodyear Wrangler tires and features a built-in tire pressure monitor system. Even the spare is the same Goodyear tire. 

Boondocking and travel access

One of the big benefits of no slide is that this trailer is fully accessible all the time. The Murphy bed could also be left down permanently if that’s your preference. In fact, you could do this and replace the standard mattress as well. Obviously you’d lose the functionality of the front couch, though. 

There is a “Max Solar” package available (although now I’m starting to really like the CarGenerator as an alternative). The Max Solar package includes 600 watts of solar, a 270 amp-hour battery with a built-in heater and a Bluetooth MPPT charge controller. You could also opt-in a second 270 amp-hour battery if you choose. 

This trailer also incorporates the Shower Miser which recirculates the water to the shower while you wait for it to get hot thereby saving you water - I have this feature in my own trailer and really, really like it. 

The air conditioner in this unit is a Truma Aventa which is, without a doubt, the best AC system available for RVs simply because it’s so much more efficient and uses so much less energy than the rattle trap stuff most of us have. It’s also quieter and, yes, you could run it from the battery if you got the Max Solar package. 

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Here’s a scenario

With a space this flexible, there are so many possibilities. But here’s something you could do. 

You pack your eBikes, a 12 volt cooler like the Dometic CFX3 75DZ that we have. You also bring your Duxtop portable induction cook top and Dometic GO Hydration water jug. 

Once you’ve offloaded the bikes at camp now you use all those other goodies to make a kitchen you can access from the side door here. Voila, outdoor kitchen. This doesn’t preclude your using the bunks here either so you’ve got sleeping for up to six people plus the outdoor kitchen plus you also have your bikes with you. 

Who is Ember RV?

If you’re new to these reviews then let’s introduce you to Ember RV, a company started by a RV industry veterans including Ashley Bontrager whose grandparents founded Jayco. Bontrager partnered with a few others to found the company and create something different and they certainly have. 

Ember’s product line has two directions; the Overland and the Touring Edition. The Overland models cater to the adventurous who might take their RVs far off the beaten path. The Overland units feature a really advanced Curt independent coil spring suspension with dual shock absorbers. Wheels are Goodyear truck tires on 16” rims. 

There’s also an innovative wheel chock built right into the system that can be locked making it more difficult to steal these trailers. 

Further, all the trailers include a Stargazer window above the bed. This is so, so much better than a windshield because it’s above the bed with a built-in shade but also a screen as you can open the window for air flow. I really like this. And it’s a double-glazed polycarbonate window so less likely to shatter than glass. 

That window is mounted to a roof that’s made of the same laminated panels as are used in the walls, although twice as thick. They feature Azdel substrates on the inside and out and a fiberglass outer layer so that means no rubber on the roof. 

All the joints between wall seams on the outside are covered in an Eternabond tape which is the stickiest permanent thing I’ve ever messed with (I’ve rebuilt a vintage trailer and used this stuff) and then a section of the powder coated aluminum exoskeleton is placed on top of that. 

Recently the company used Truma’s climate chamber to certify that Ember RVs are able to withstand use between 0°-100°F. So they’re ready to camp in the cold, ready to camp in the heat. While some RVs claim to be capable of this, Ember has certified that theirs can through actual testing. 

The company says these are “generational” trailers meaning they’re meant to last for a very long time and, seeing how they’re made, I don’t doubt that at all. 

Another keynote build feature is the flooring, which is the same Transcore structural composite flooring as used in an Airstream but with a key difference - it’s twice as thick on an Ember.

Conclusions

Choice is always a good thing and for those who prefer this floor plan with a slide room Ember has that available. The company also makes longer two-axle variants of this floor plan in their 221MSL which also has a slide room. 

I like that Ember has incorporated a system that flashes the upper marker lights and side marker lights with the turn signal which I think is a real safety advantage. 

Overall this is one of my favorite small trailers now and one I would seriously consider if I were in the market for something today. For my own camping situation, the flexibility of this design really does make this a trailer I think I would like. 

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