It’s no secret that America’s recreational vehicles can be a mixed bag. Almost every RV owner has a horror story about something breaking that had no business falling apart, and for decades, water damage has been treated as a practical inevitability. One company wants to help break that cycle. Pleasure-Way, a company that normally builds vans, is building its first camper trailer. The Everbound promises to be a cut above the rest by getting rid of the materials and the build quality that have failed so many other campers.
There is a common belief that all RVs are terrible, and that all of them will fall apart on you. This belief isn’t entirely unfounded. You do not have to look far to find complaints about RVs breaking before they even go on their first camping trip. If you’ve somehow made it this far in life without witnessing RV quality firsthand, just watch one video by Liz Amazing on YouTube. It’ll open your eyes. Imagine picking up a brand-new car that has zero miles, yet already has surface rust on its frame or unibody. You would think that’s insane. Yet, that’s something that does happen in the RV world.
However, poor quality is not the rule. Some brands, like Scamp, Oliver, Airstream, Casita, Bowlus, inTech, Lightweight Innovative Vehicle, and the many others I’ve covered, do go the extra mile to build something that isn’t going to split at the seams some ten years in. Even some of the big boys, like Forest River, Thor Industries, and Winnebago, are making notable improvements in build quality in some models. RVing is so fun when everything works as it should, so I like to highlight the units that should be able to stand the test of time while hopefully offering something interesting.
Of course, one way to avoid the common structural issues faced by travel trailer owners would be to buy a camper van, where you won’t usually find rubberized roofs or stick-and-tin builds. But what if you could buy something that’s built a bit like a camper van, but is actually a trailer? Debuting at the Hershey RV Show in Hershey, Pennsylvania, the Pleasure-Way Everbound is what happens when camper van designers tackle their company’s first travel trailer.
Camper Vans From Canada
This news was a bit of a surprise to me. I have long known about Pleasure-Way’s existence and have walked past the company’s vans at every RV show I’ve been to. I have never written about this company’s wares before because, admittedly, Pleasure-Way vans don’t stand out to me. They don’t really have the sort of pop, drama, quirkiness, or vividity that I normally look for in new camper vans. Their interiors are also about what I’d expect for camper vans that cost over a quarter million dollars. I can’t even comment on structure quality, either, as most of Pleasure-Way’s RVs are contained within the bodies of Ford, Mercedes-Benz, or Ram commercial vans.
In other words, I see Pleasure-Way like I see Infiniti, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing! I respect Infiniti, even if I never write about it. But Infiniti does sometimes surprise me, and Pleasure-Way is doing that right now. Here’s a bit about Pleasure-Way’s history, from Pleasure-Way:
Merv Rumpel started his RV dealership, Glenwood Trailer Sales, in 1968. After 18 years in the RV business, he found there was a lack of high-quality Class B motorhome in the market. In 1986, Merv and his team built the first 10 Pleasure-Ways out of the backshop of the dealership. Pleasure-Way’s dealership network started in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan and grew to include Alberta and Manitoba in 1987. In 1988, we began shipping all finished motorhomes via flatbed trucks. This is a practise we uphold today, as it ensures the new owner will be the one to break in their motorhome.
The first 10 employees hired to work at Pleasure-Way. Paul H. (top left), Dave F. (second from top left) and Phil N. (bottom right) are still with the company to this day. They perfectly represent the cornerstone to Pleasure-Way’s success, which is our dedicated and talented team. Pleasure-Way saw steady growth since building the first 10 motorhomes in 1986. In 1987, 77 units were built and a few years later in 1991, 120 were completed. Pleasure-Way #1,000 rolled off the production line later in 1994, seen here with Pleasure-Way President, Merv Rumpel.
The Pleasure-Way Travel Club was established in 1999, and to mark the occasion Pleasure-Way held its first ever rally. Over 80 Pleasure-Way owners made the trip to Saskatoon. This marked the beginning of our ever growing Owners’ Groups, which now hold rallies and events all over North America.
Pleasure-Way would go on to expand from there, building its first Ford-based camper van in 2002 and its first Mercedes-Benz-based van in 2004. By 2009, the company sold its 10,000th van. The company that Merv started when he was 54 had grown into a first name in Canadian camper vans. He also passed the torch to his son, Dean Rumpel, who continues to run the company today. In 2024, Pleasure-Way celebrated the production of its 20,000th van.
Pleasure-Way hasn’t ventured outside of camper vans throughout all this time. But this year, that’s changing, as Pleasure-Way is entering a new frontier for its business. It wants to bring its experience in building camper vans to the travel trailer market.
The Everbound
The result is the Everbound, which stands out in the crowd of boring boxes that travel trailers normally are.
The Everbound sounds great right from the start. The trailer starts with a BAL chassis. On top of it sits a riveted aluminum structure with bonded fiberglass panels on the outside and Azdel composite panels inside. More composites are found in the floor. The exterior build is finished off with fiberglass front and end caps, a single-piece fiberglass roof, and full automotive paint.
Yep, that means no lauan tropical plywood is found here, which is already getting a thumbs up from me. Car paint is also one of my favorite trends in the RV world right now. Fiberglass-sided RVs have been covered in matte colors and swoopy decals for decades. It’s surprising how much of a difference some glossy paint makes.
The exterior styling of the Everbound is a little weird. There’s a huge front window, and the cap it’s mounted to is canted forward a bit. It reminds me a bit of an inTech Sol or Jayco’s old Jay Feather Volare prototype. I’m not sure I’d call it pretty, but it’s definitely distinctive. Another highlight, to me, anyway, is the lack of a slide. That’s one less thing to break and one less giant hole to get water into.
If you want something other than white, Pleasure-Way can do that, sort of. The front cap and entry door can be had in white, silver, black, or a sort of candy red, while the rest of the body remains white. In a way, the Everbound is like a camper van without the van.
Moving inside, the camper van influence shows even more, as the trailer’s layout is basically the same as you’d find in a camper van, but without a cab to drive it.
Up front, buyers have a choice between the Entertainment Lounge, the Classic Dinette, and the U-Lounge. The latter two options are more typical dinettes, while the Entertainment Lounge, pictured here, is a small living room with an electric fireplace, a small portable table, a small chaise-lounge, an ottoman, and a television. The cushions are covered in faux leather, while the decorative wall panels throughout the trailer are made of woven material.
Behind this living area is the kitchen, which features Corian surfaces, a 5.5 cubic-foot refrigerator, a microwave, a Moen faucet, and a portable induction cooktop. Positive-locking latches are found throughout the trailer, preventing your dishes and pans from taking flight out of the cabinets on rough roads.
Across from the kitchen is a dry bathroom, featuring a 32-inch shower with Corian surfaces and a tall LED light. A sink, cabinetry, and a residential-style toilet round out the room.
Finally, we reach the rear of the trailer, which has the trailer’s primary bedroom. This room contains one of the trailer’s two control panel tablets, electrical outlets, the television, and a convertible bed. In the bed’s base form, it’s a pair of twins. But insert the middle, and it becomes a full king. Pleasure-Way says that the trailer, like a camper van, is intended for a couple. However, some configurations can sleep up to four.
In terms of hardware, the trailer comes with a Bose soundbar, a Xantrex Freedom XC Pro 3000-Watt True Sine Wave Inverter/Charger, a 460Ah Eco-Ion Earth Smart Lithium (LiFePO4) battery, 500-Watt Go Power! solar, a Truma VarioHeat 11,500 BTU furnace, and a Truma Aventa Eco 13,500 BTU air conditioner. For holding tanks, there’s a 25-gallon fresh water tank and a pair of 26-gallon tanks for gray water and waste. The tanks, as well as the battery, are heated for winter operations.
All of this comes together in a trailer that measures 21’5” long with 6’6″ of headroom, or about the size of a big camper van. The trailer weighs 5,800 pounds and has a 1,900-pound carrying capacity. Tongue weight is 800 pounds, or 13.8 percent of the trailer’s empty weight and close to the tongue weight limits of some smaller tow vehicles, so be careful with where you put weight into the trailer.
A Pricey Piece Of Kit
The Pleasure-Way Everbound lands at a price of $90,870. For that money, you do get a fully-loaded rig, so that’s good. It’s much cheaper than an Airstream of comparable size. But at the same time, this trailer has neither Airstream’s iconic looks nor its fabled brand image. The price does look better if you think of it as being a camper van without the van. Pleasure-Way’s cheapest van is $168,995.
Personally, I do think that a trailer that knocks on the door of six figures should have a little zest more than the exterior design offers here. It would have been neat to see full-body colors, for example. But that’s just my preference.
Pricing aside, I still like the concept of this trailer. I always welcome more quality-focused designs hitting the market, and this hits many good notes. It doesn’t have wooden walls to rot, no rubberized roofs to fail, and no wooden floors to get soft. I like all of that. I also find the trailer’s camper van-style layout to be pretty cute. I could see myself laying back in front of that fireplace on a frosty night.
Honestly, I think a list of materials like this should be the standard. I’d love to live in a time when I don’t have to praise a camper for having decent materials. Until then, I’ll continue to do just that. Hopefully, the Pleasure-Way Everbound is actually as good as it sounds. If I don’t end up seeing one anytime soon, I’ll let you know in January at the next Florida RV SuperShow.
All photos by Pleasure-Way, unless otherwise noted.
I dig it. I’m not sure I $90k dig it, but I suspect they’ll sell plenty to people with more disposable income (or more willing to take on debt) than me.
And no weird stripes! That puts it up on my list just for that….
Information please: BAL chassis. Is it a brand or an acronym I don’t know yet?
You mean you don’t have elite BAL knowledge?
Rust isn’t a “BAL-er”.
It’s a known RV frame manufacturer – lots of the Indiana-based manufacturers use them too
Got it. Thanks.
I spent enough time in the military industrial complex to not even try to sus out a strange acronym.
I’m no BAL-er, sure, but I get to make up my own meaning of BAL.
A brand new scamp 19′ is about half the price of this. While this is a little bigger and a little nicer, it’s not $45,000 nicer.
“Everything made today is JUNK!” – People
“That is too expensive!” – Also People
I’m with you there! But this is targeting the kind of person shopping for something like a Brinkley or an Airstream, not a humble Scamp.
This seems nice materials-wise, but if I’m paying almost six figures for a camper this size I’d want it to not look vaguely like a converted horse trailer, which is how this looks to me in profile.
I agree with you on the looks. But I’ve seen too many trailer tire explosions rip the sidewalls and interior cabinetry apart to not appreciate having the wheels outboard in fully enclosed fenders.
It looks pretty solid and I really like the look of the interior. The exterior looks pretty good but it doesn’t really stand out in any way. The build quality improvements over ‘standard’ trailer construction should make for a solid product with years of life but for that price I’d be hard pressed to chose it over something like an Escape 24 which full fiberglass construction and is known to be a solid product. This does seem to have more/larger windows than the Escape and consequently feels a bit more airy which is nice and seem to have a bit more ‘tech’ (Bose Soundbar, etc) which is a plus and a minus I suppose. I’d have to see both I think if I was buying in this class.
Another consideration is the 8000lbs (loaded) for a 21′ trailer? Yikes. That seems a bit much? The Escape 24 is a bit bigger and only hits 6000lb loaded (4500 dry). At 8k w/ 800lb tongue, you’re getting close to the top of 1/2 ton towable (comfortably, in my opinion, yes, I know they can technically do it with Max Tow packages and such) and moving up into 3/4 ton range. Not a dealbreaker but a consideration.
That’s a solid build list. $90k seems steep for all that. But, if it’s assembled well then the quality is there to help justify the price tag. My Aliner is made of Azdel. Wonderful stuff! Even if there is a leak, it’s not affected. Seal the leak and keep on camping.
Pleasure Way does make a quality B van. We see a lot of them on the road both newer and older. It would be interesting to see this trailer in person.
What kind of truck or SUV would you need to be able to tow it? For its size, it seems sturdy as opposed to light. I also am glad it doesn’t have slide outs.
it would be interesting if you could two one with your B class van, but that would defeat the purpose of having a van. I write this as we’re in our B van where we just spent the night sleeping in a 24 hour lot in Boston. We’re halfway through a cross country trip from Los Angeles, up to Quebec, and now we’re starting to work down and around to home. Being able to park anywhere makes trips much more flexible.
I think you’d want to tow this with a full-size. If the weight is 5,800lbs, with 1900lb carrying capacity, this is going to be more than what a 4Runner sized vehicle is going to be rated for. Even empty it’s just about maxxing out a 4R, the new ones are rated to tow 6K lbs. Load it up with gear and it’s easily going to be over that.
This may be a lot even for midsize pickups, most of those are in the 6-7K tow rating range, IIRC.
I’d think you’d need a properly equipped half ton (fully loaded this would even max out my Ram 1500’s tow rating) or full-size SUV, like a Tahoe, Expedition, etc.
A full-sized van would likely do it, though you’d have to check the rating on your particular van.
The RV reviews would be made better by including quality measures. Weigh the wheels and the tongue with liquids in and empty. Drive it down the road and measure the drag. Measure the noise levels and vibration inside the trailer…many trailers would scare you to death how they rattle. Go to a dealer lot and count the things wrong with the units on the lot. Find out how long the wait time is for authorized warranty repairs in several cities, if you didn’t buy the trailer from that dealer. This would be a great service to the community and people would read it….Liz Amazing gets a lot of views, but her videos are not that enthralling, in my opinion.
That’s something I’ve been wanting to do for a while now! I’ve been finding it rather difficult to find an RV company that wants to work with someone like me and not just some influencer who will say only positive things.
It looks nice and well enough built. If you are in that deep you probably start thinking about something really out there like a lightship. Even when the dealers sell it for half it’s still a little too much for its size. Layed fiberglass is probably too expensive to do in the US for travel trailers. Chopped fiberglass is probably a good option. Maybe some other composites like the some of fiber reinforced plastics. Still good to see something that isn’t built with match sticks.
that’s like twice the price of a similar size escape fiberglass trailer which is lighter. We had one for a few year but sold it when we moved and did not have a place to park it. Not sure that price difference is worth it.
I gotta admit, I associate the word “pleasure” with sex. Remember the word “gay” used to mean “happy”? There was a hotel on the Virginia Beach resort strip called The Gay Vacationer back in the 50s and 60s, and it was for families. The definition of a word can change over time, and its has for me with “pleasure”.
Pleasure Way sounds like a means to a specific end.
This is the way… to the orgy.
Well, aren’t you supposed to add the word “anal” to the name of any rig you see?
After all, it is being towed behind…
Might not be a bad idea if you plan on camping for the next 20 years. Your other choice would be to buy a $40,000 camper that will fall apart in 10 years and replace it with the same camper that will cost $50,000 10 years from now.
With all the problems highlighted about RVs and trailers, I’d really love to see someone used to those types of vehicles take a look at the off road trailer/camper market. Whether that’s slide-ins, truck-toppers, off road squaredrop/teardrop, or something like Conqueror out of Australia.
There are a lot of boutique small-volume camper makers in the overland market, many of whom are not using any wood and have to build campers that not only handle the occasional rub on a rock, but days and days of corrugated road that would shake a traditional RV into sawdust.
Campers like Bean and Mission Overland, toppers like Harker or Alu-cab, and slide ins like Scout and RoverKing are all contenders. It’s a very different kind of camping than a full stand-up RV or trailer, but I’m genuinely curious what the reaction would be to that kind of camping and to the build quality of that market segment from someone coming from a highway focused RV world.
There is an organization training and licensing RV inspectors.
Seems useful.
It’s unusual for such as short trailer to have a dual-axle – I suspect this is good.
And I like the red exterior accents…
…tho I’d expect a Pleasure-Way to have more shag carpet and faux fur on the floors and walls, more heart pillows and pink upholstery, and more bedside racks with USB ports for your bedroom pleasure-liquids and pleasure-appliances.
Or a mirrored ceiling over the rotating bed, but that can all be added.
Actually, now that you mention it, all those features would seem in line for a company that started off with vans