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RV review: 2023 Wildwood Heritage Glen Hyper Lite 22RKHL

Tony Barthel

Today’s RV review is of the 2023 Wildwood Heritage Glen Hyper Lite 22RKHL. Yesterday we looked at a very popular floor plan from Grand Design in the Imagine XLS 22MLE, a direct competitor to today’s trailer. 

In fact this is the point of running three of the same floor plans in a series - check back tomorrow for the third. While you could argue that RV companies use each other’s ideas for the basis of whatever they’re selling, each one also puts their own spin on it. 

While Grand Design has been building this floor plan for some time now this is a new one for Wildwood but it’s not always a bad thing to come late to the party. Sometimes you can see what others have done and step up the game. 

Suspension animation

One of the things I criticized in the Grand Design was the suspension, which is a simple leaf spring arrangement that doesn’t have a provision for lubrication. Let’s be honest, many many trailers never see much mileage over their lifetimes and, for a lot of people, a simple suspension is just fine. 

Though I know more than my share of Grand Design owners who, after using their trailers for a while, step up to a better system. 

The suspension in this trailer is effectively the same with one key difference. Wildwood has taken the axles and put them much further apart. While I haven’t towed a trailer with spread axles any appreciable distance, but the people who used to deliver trailers to our dealership from Indiana would rave about this type of arrangement. These are people who tow travel trailers for a living so I give that some credence. 

Wildwood has stepped up and now offers Goodyear Endurance radials as standard equipment which is a plus. 

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What’s hot

There are a few things Wildwood has really done well in this trailer. 

For example, behind the cabinets on either side of the bed is a cubby to store your noisy toys once you’re done looking at the for the day, even though you know you’re not supposed to. But you could also justify this space for things like a CPAP machine and there’s both a household and USB power outlet on either side of the bed here. 

Score. 

Storage is another thing that this model does well with the usual bed side and over-bed storage cabinets. But they’ve also put a strut in the over-bed cabinets so you’re not fighting them while trying to get whatever’s in there. 

This is also true of the cabinets over the dinette. There’s a nice pantry that could also be a closet in this rig and it’s surprisingly large considering the overall length of this trailer. The movable shelf inside is also removable if you think hanging clothes takes priority over a place to store a ton of extra food. I like when I am given the choice rather than having to use certain things for specific items. 

In the case of this model the stove and refrigerator are in the slide box and the example shown on the company’s website is promised to change. But what won’t change is the size of the stove which is a proper 22” oven instead of the lousy 17” model in yesterday’s example. 

You’re also given the choice of either a propane-electric RV fridge or a 12 volt model. Choice is good and I can make a case for either type. 

On the subject of keeping things cold there’s a relatively large bar-sized fridge on the outside of this rig in a cabinet. That and a Suburban flat-top griddle are what make up the outside kitchen. The bar-sized fridge is only household power, though, but at least there is one. 

What’s not

I had mentioned the oven being in the slide box and the way I saw this trailer that oven was pretty far back in a rather deep slide. Th company stated that they had planned to reconfigure the stove so it was effectively flush with the front of the slide. That’s a good thing because the way it had been configured, it was pretty bad as you had to step up into the slide and then be very careful to not knock your noggin on the header. 

See, RV companies, this is why you should always take your creations camping before we campers find such obvious goofs. 

On the subject of stepping up into the slide, it’s actually just a small step as the floor sits relatively flush with the main floor of this trailer. I like that Wildwood has gone to a woven marine flooring instead of carpeting. 

As is pretty typical in the RV space, this uses a simple four inch fart fan that mostly just makes noise. Function isn’t really a part of what these have and it’s another thing I just wish would go away. 

This also has a shortie queen bed and I should have started with that because many of you have written in and told me that that alone is a deal breaker. In some cases you could just put in a larger mattress since you’re going to be getting a new mattress anyhow but, in this case, the slide would prevent your doing that. 

Boondocking and travel access

Speaking of the slide room you actually can get to the whole trailer even with the slide in. Perhaps a portion of the kitchen might be a bit tougher to access, but otherwise you’re all good. 

New for 2023 is the option of a 200 watt solar panel along with a 30 amp charge controller. I like that this is an option because some dealers have told me that their customers want nothing to do with solar as they leave their RVs hooked up at a seasonal site. 

Funny thing, if you’re keeping the RV at a site with full hook-ups I would think the 12 volt fridge would be a good choice without the solar panels. If you’re planning on using it out in the wild, especially if boondocking is in the mix, I would likely consider the propane-electric fridge and also step up to the solar panel. 

Conclusions

So, which would I choose? Yesterday’s Grand Design or this Wildwood. Between the two I would want to really do some careful consideration. For example, if the rig were going into a seasonal site then the spread axles wouldn’t make any difference. You tow it there at the beginning of the season and then tow it to wherever it’s stored at the end. 

Without being able to see how Wildwood has changed the position of the stove, I don’t think I could make a final decision.

How each company interprets the various floor plans intrigues me. Rather than duplicating things exactly, there is enough difference from one idea to the next that it’s worth seeking out competitive models once you’ve found a basic floor plan that works for you. 

But, as always, I still recommend looking underneath at how a company builds things before even stepping inside to see if you like it better. 

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