RV review: Romotow trailer is a unique New Zealand camper
Today’s RV review is of the Romotow, a very unique travel trailer from New Zealand. Knowing that I do these RV reviews, whenever something unusual shows-up or becomes popular on social media I get notified by friends and family.
Have you seen this? What do you think of this?
The Romotow was just that and now this concept is available for actual order. Sorta.
What is a Romotow?
So what is a Romotow? The Romotow is an unusual travel trailer that is shaped like two interlocking “U” shapes when closed. There is a power hydraulic mechanism that pivots the main cabin of the trailer open sort of like a pocket knife. This creates a closed and an open section of the trailer.
In the closed section is a u-shaped dinette at the front of the trailer along with a sink. There’s a bathroom in the middle and a bedroom at the rear.
Essentially this is the same floor plan as the Lance 2075 but that model doesn’t have the Romotow’s unusual swinging mechanism. In fact the Lance 2075 doesn’t have a slide room at all.
However the kitchen for the Romotow isn’t all enclosed within the cabin. There is a fold-down kitchen that includes a propane cook surface that is on what becomes the outside patio of the Romotow.
Outside patio
In addition to the interior of the Romotow there is also an outdoor patio that reveals itself when you swing the main body of the trailer open. This offers you a roof structure but that’s also where half the kitchen is on this thing.
Romotow spoke of there being a mesh sidewalls that you could get for the outside patio so you could keep insects at bay and there was also mention of canvas sidewalls as well.
Swinging party
The Romotow’s opening mechanism not only swings the main body of the trailer open along a hinge, but also moves it forward slightly.
In fact, it’s a relatively complicated movement (watch the video) and is the real reason this thing has become so popular on social media. There are no other RVs that pivot and swing open like this to my knowledge. And there’s a reason.
Rube Goldberg would be proud
First and foremost, you literally gain nothing by having this fancy swinging mechanism on the Romotow. Yes, it opens up a patio but you can do the same thing with an awning on a traditional travel trailer. Like the Lance.
You could have outdoor space by bringing along a SylvanSport GOZebo screen tent. Oh, and save about $100,000 dollars.
You are forced to be out on the patio if you want to cook anything so forget camping where there is even the slightest hint of bugs unless you spend the money on the screen function for this outdoor patio and then put in the time to put up the screens.
Oh, and you have to be dressed enough not to end up on Megan’s list if you want to make coffee in the morning. So instead of being able to stumble out of bed and make coffee and then resolve your nighttime clothing options, you’ve got to be cognizant of what you’re wearing before coffee.
I also can’t imagine what this feels like when your bed is swung way out beyond the stabilizers. Sure, this might be okay on a solid surface but if you’re camping where the ground is less than rock hard, I can imagine the bedroom on this getting quite wiggly.
I would imagine having a bedroom swung way out beyond the stabilizers such that its wiggly just crawling into bed would preclude any nocturnal amorous activities as well just for fear that you’d tip the thing over and then have to explain that to whoever is coming to your aid.
This was just a design exercise
The Romotow was really just a design exercise. Created by New Zealand architectural firm W2. In an article the company’s director, Stuart Winterbourn, stated that he has never found caravans, er, travel trailers all that interesting. So the company did a one-off idea.
“We thought why don't we come up with something that integrates a house and a deck. Generally you've got a good view when you're out in the wilderness, and you want to take advantage of it. That was the inspiration, just to create a connection with the outdoors.”
Not surprisingly the design team were playing with a folding knife when the concept was created.
Of course this went nuts on the Internet just because it was so unique. So a company called ACM Motorhomes decided to build this and held a premier of a real model earlier this year.
The Romotow is powered by a 200-Ah lithium battery charged by a roof-mounted 395 watt solar array. A C-Zone integrated control system with accompanying app offers monitoring and control of electrical components and other hardware.
Buyers can also add more battery capacity, additional solar panels and an inverter.
Entertainment options include pop-up or wall-mounted 32-in 4K smart TVs, an outdoor projector system with pull-down 82-in screen, and a multi-zone Fusion sound system.
Conclusions
I just can not see any reason for this trailer whatsoever. It’s literally a bad idea. In fact it’s not just a bad idea, it’s a terrible idea.
There is just no justification to overcomplicate an RV to no gain whatsoever. Further, you make the act of meal prep overly difficult by having the propane cook top outside while the sink and counter space are inside.
I’m sure there will be buyers for this who seek to have the fanciest thing at the camp site. There are some real pluses with huge holding tanks and a pretty advanced solar and battery system included. My understanding of camping in New Zealand is that much of it is done off the grid, so those kinds of capabilities make sense.
Heck, they make sense here in the US of A.
And really expensive things like a Rolex, a Rolls Royce and, yep, a Romotow often aren’t the most logical buys. Although they all do start with the letter “R”.
But “R” people going to step up? I’m sure a few will.
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