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inTech O-V-R Navigate - an truly exceptional

inTech O-V-R Navigate - an truly exceptional

Tony Barthel
RV Review, Travel Trailer Review

Is the inTech O-V-R Navigate the answer to a lot of people’s quests?

Today’s RV review is of the inTech RV O-V-R Navigate, a travel trailer we saw at Open House when we got to visit with inTech. Although you could classify this as a couples’ camper this is available with a swing-down upper bunk that, in tandem with the dinette, could mean you could sleep four people (in total) in here.

The appearance of this is rather aggressive and rugged and is part of inTech’s O-V-R series which are more designed to look like they fit in with the whole overlanding crowd, as opposed to the more genteel Aucta line (I reviewed an inTech Aucta Sycamore here).

But inTech also outfits these with things that back-up that overlanding nature including optional solar and generator systems.

This also will appeal to those who don’t like slides - none of the inTech products have slide rooms and slide skeptics can rejoice knowing that these are slide-free. So how spacious does it feel without a slide? Read on!

Start at the road with the inTech O-V-R Navigate

The whole trailer sits on a heavy-duty welded aluminum frame and then inTech welds a cage structure onto that that forms the building blocks for the side walls and roof.

Typically travel trailers are built with a steel frame and then whatever wall and ceiling materials are used are then built on top of that and bolted to the frame. Having the whole substructure be a single welded piece is impressively strong and less likely to fall apart.

In addition I like that inTech uses torsion axle suspensions in these - the more smoothly a trailer rides the less likely it will be that it gets damaged by road harshness.

There is a single sewer outlet here, nice, and there’s a plastic tube, much like a very large PVC pipe, to story your stinky slinky right adjacent to the sewer outlet.

Something interesting - inTech heats the holding tanks in an enclosed underbelly which isn’t terribly unusual and they also put 12 volt tank heating pads on the tanks, also not unusual, but they also heat the plumbing. That’s something special.

That alone could make this one of the better cold weather campers available.

The walls of these O-V-R trailers are also sheets of aluminum which are attached to that aluminum cage frame.

More outside items in the inTech O-V-R Navigate

There are a couple of interesting options to look at outside before we go inside. One of those is a pull-out outside kitchen that includes a 12 volt cooler and flat-top griddle. This takes some of the space in the camp side front storage compartment. It’s an option, so if you’d just rather have storage, the choice is yours.

A boondocker’s dream rig?

Another option is an Onan QG3600 generator which utilizes the two 20 pound propane tanks that reside under a cover at the tongue of the trailer. If you’re seriously into boondocking this might be a great choice but inTech also offers a solar package.

That solar package consists of 400 watts of solar on the roof with 200 amp hours of lithium batteries. While plenty of trailers look like they would do well off the grid, this one can be outfitted from the factory to truly be a boondocker’s dream.

Inside the inTech O-V-R Navigate

While these trailers don’t have slide rooms they don’t feel cramped to me. I thought the interior, which is outfitted with a lot of white surfaces, felt very spacious and open.

However those white shiny cabinet surfaces also give it a bit of an industrial feel. I thought Peggy might not be too keen on this interior but I was wrong. Must be that time of year where I’m wrong again.

The interior layout on this is very similar to the Lance 2075 which has been one of my favorite travel trailers partially because it doesn’t have a slide.

Like the Lance this has a dinette at the back and, in this case, it’s an L-shaped affair. Something I have seen in vintage trailers but not as many modern ones is the option of a drop-down overhead bunk over the dinette.

For those who travel with more people this might make a great choice to accommodate those individuals. It does eliminate some of the overhead cabinets but if you have folks who want to come along, this is where they can crash.

There’s a table on a knee knocker pole (boo). I think the first mod I’d make is to get rid of those table poles and put on legs. That way I could use the table with the dinette but also as prep space in the kitchen.

Kitchen in the inTech O-V-R Navigate

On the subject of the kitchen this one has a two-burner propane cook top along with a convection microwave. There’s also a decent-sized sink and a 12 volt refrigerator.

There is also a pantry and a good number of drawers on the road side of this camper. Additionally there are overhead cabinets so storage is really not an issue - there’s quite a bit here.

Bathroom in the inTech O-V-R Navigate

In the video here you’ll see that I displace a fair amount of water in the pool. But, even with that written, I found the bathroom in the Navigate to be spacious enough to do what you need to do.

The toilet and sink are on the road side of the trailer with the shower on the camp side. Each of those compartments is sort of like an airplane compartment in that the door is gasketed like an exterior door. So, I supposed, there is less transmission of sound and definitely no transmission of steam or odors.

The shower, too, had good space in it.

Bedroom in the inTech O-V-R Navigate

There are two choices in the bedroom of these trailers - a single queen-sized bed or two twins. The one I saw had the two twins a-la I Love Lucy, although this isn’t really a long, long trailer.

An optional bunk makes for more sleeping space in the inTech O-V-R Navigate

An optional bunk makes for more sleeping space in the inTech O-V-R Navigate

There’s decent storage in the bedroom too and I like the overhead windows above the bed, somewhat like an Ember but this one doesn’t open.

A sliding barn door separates the bedroom from the rest of the trailer and there’s a window in the door so the kids can see if mom and dad are awake and the parents can see what mischief the kids are up to. Though I did find the window a bit odd in the door.

My thoughts on the inTech O-V-R Navigate

Frankly, I think this trailer is great. The company’s build methodology is as good as it gets in this industry, period. Since they come from building commercial trailers these are built much like how those heavy-duty trailers are built.

I do think the interior feels a wee bit cold but there are all sorts of temporary wallpapers from companies like Spoonflower so you could cover the white cabinets with these if that suits you. The materials used in these cabinets is ideal for a moving vehicles and while natural wood is warmer, of course, I suspect this will last years longer.

So with all that aluminum, how does this stack-up against something like an Airstream? Frankly, I think it’s a better trailer. Now Airstream has a brand that is unmistakable and those aluminum shells have stood the test of time.

But an Airstream that’s comparable is going to cost you almost twice as much and I don’t really think it offers anything more, other than the cache of that big silver Twinkie in an RV park.

In fact the much more squared-off design of this trailer is more well suited to putting solar on the roof and also offers a more spacious feel. So, if it were me, I’d take this over an Airstream any day of the week.

Overall I really like this trailer quite a bit as our RV Report Card indicates. And, as always, I look forward to your input.

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