I have written about how the RV dealership I worked for was in a place where there was a severe shortage of affordable housing. Our community would work hard to find new people to serve the public in positions like teacher, peace officer and firefighter. It wouldn’t take long before these new hires would become frustrated with the lack of available housing in their price range and leave again.
I became acutely aware of the issue because I would sell a lot of travel trailers to people who did like the area and found that that was the only affordable way to live there.
The thing is, travel trailers aren’t really designed to be lived in. And a lot of communities flat out prohibit people from living in RVs in general simply because of the blight caused by homeless encampments. And the city I worked in had quite the issue with homeless encampments of blighted RVs.
All that to say, something like today’s review of the Forest River Wildwood Lodge 44VIEW might be a good option.
Forest River Wildwood Lodge 44VIEW
What we have here is an enormous destination trailer, meaning it was designed from the ground up to go somewhere and stay there rather than travel around seeing the sights. So it’s sort of not a recreational vehicle and sort of is a modular home. And, in some communities, those are regulated very differently than RVs.
Forest River’s Wildwood and Salem divisions actually make and sell a respectable number of these destination trailers. In fact, it’s one of the few companies that has a line just to build these, and that’s what they do on this line. Others tend to adapt a fifth wheel line to build destinations trailers.
But, unlike a true modular house, these have some features of RV design. For example, there are holding tanks and dump valves rather than just straight plumbing with the assumption that you’ll hard plumb this into the planet.
That makes sense in that you could put this on a property where there actually is limited ability to dump waste and use the holding tanks until such time that you can dump them. I’ve seen this done with septic services or even things like this RV holding tank tote. So the options are there.
Something to know about how these are built is that, while the exterior is a smooth fiberglass finish, these are not laminated trailers the way some are built. These are more traditionally-built models with wood framing and then a fiberglass finish with a wood laminate substrate.
One of the other things that’s unique in the field that is a feature of this trailer is the double drop frame construction. Both the front and back of this trailer feature drop frame sections. Up front, that makes for more space in the bedroom. Out back that results in a real bathroom that you can use while still having a loft above it.
Yep, even taller people can appreciate the bathroom in the back of this trailer with plenty of head room.
Towable thinking
Another thing I like that Wildwood and Salem do is provide portable totes for storage. There are totes upstairs in the bedroom, below the main bed and in a hallway closet. I like these quite a bit, and the ones in the hallway closet are particularly nice. They have a wicker appearance, which gives some warmth to the interior.
Recently we looked at the Salem/Wildwood FSX275VC trailer, which also had these storage totes as part of the picture.
But something else you’ll find familiar is the Versa-Tilt bed system from that trailer. However, in that trailer this was a queen-sized bed. It was a shortie queen and would always be a shortie queen. Here we have a king-sized bed instead.
The Versa-Tilt bed system is a way to raise the head of the bed such that you can use it as a lounge/seat. This trailer sleeps up to eight people and, having just begun the recovery from a family Thanksgiving gathering, I bet there are a few folks who might like the solitude of a place to go when the sound of a lot of people in one space becomes overwhelming.
While downstairs in that bedroom, whoever is there might also really like the fireplace. The fireplace is on one side of the bed, and I could see this really working out well for married couples. You know there’s always one who wants to sleep in an ice box with a fan going and another who wants to dance in the flames of hell because they’re always cold.
Nice view
Wildwood and Salem have a series of campers that fall under the “View” designation, including this model. The idea here is that they have more windows. More specifically, they have windows on the camp side, and this trailer is an example of just that. Tremendous camp-side windows.
Something they’ve done in this model is put roller shades on all these camp-side windows in the main living space. With the touch of a single button you can close the blackout shades and also raise a televator. That’s a pretty convenient feature.
Know, too, that all the lighting in here can be dimmed. So this might be a great place to enjoy movie night.
I also like that there are traditional hanging curtains in here, as well. To me, this lets you change the decor very easily, particularly if you’re able to command the potential of a sewing machine. Heck, you could do seasonal curtains. Thanksgiving curtains. Halloween curtains.
I like the functionality of roller shades and think they work well. But it’s also nice to be able to easily change the feel of the interior of an RV with simple curtains.
Living spaces
With all those windows in place, the living space of this RV is a pleasant place to be.
There’s one big “L”-shaped couch here with an ottoman. This can become a sleeping space, or remain just a couch. The couch itself plus the ottoman that it comes with also have provision for storage.
I had mentioned the televator already, but this also has a fireplace in the main living area.
Meal time will be interesting as there’s a large island in the middle that extends on to house the sink. Five bar stools encircle the island at the back as the only seated area. But this would work out fine for most of the gatherings I’ve been to.
In fact, with the couch and the bar stools, you could create a nice conversation area or just have enough seats for all the hind ends that could sleep in this trailer.
Meal prep
One of the things that is really impressive is a pull-out pantry in this rig. Honestly, I could see it being used for food, but I would also imagine games, movies or other things could occupy this space. In fact, it’s large enough that you could put things like a coffee maker or toaster in here if you’d like.
Otherwise, the kitchen has a large double-door refrigerator as well as a three-burner propane stove. In addition, there is a respectable oven along with a large microwave overhead. Unfortunately, the example I saw used an LG fridge and I am no fan of Korean appliances, just based on my experience. But, if this is like every other LG appliance I’ve been around, it’ll fail soon enough and you can buy something better. At least you couldn’t buy something worse.
Since the ends of this trailer have to accommodate lofts, the center section has the benefit of a very high ceiling—which adds to the spacious feel in here.
Easy go
Since we’ve made a great place for meals, it’s also good to know that there are two places to go when it’s time to go.
The bathroom on the tongue end of the trailer is just a toilet and sink and, quite honestly, it’s rather tight. In fact, this could be a challenging spot if you’re the one changing into your Santa outfit. I don’t know if you can do it in here. And the space around you when you’re sitting on the decision-making seat is, well, compromised.
If you’re built like me, perhaps the main bathroom is the place to go. This one occupies the entire lower deck of the back of the trailer and has surprising headroom and space. This is also where the shower is, and they’ve put quite the fancy shower head in here.
I also like that both bathrooms have a really good ventilation fan to the outside—which you’ll want if you’re among friends and want to remain that way.
The closet back here will accommodate a stacked washer and dryer as well. But this will completely eliminate any hopes of hanging storage, if that’s something you care about.
A nice touch in both bathrooms as well as in the bedroom are motion-activated lights that you can disable with a switch.
Conclusions
These destination units are interesting to me. I also didn’t mention the lofts at either end. They’re large enough to accommodate adults but would have been a lot of fun when I was a kid.
Of course, give me a Nerf gun or a water pistol and they’d still be a fun place to be even as I qualify as an adult according to the laws of this land. My wife, though, is not convinced.
I talk a lot about the housing shortage in the city where I sold RVs, and there are so many things that affect this. Of course, almost no new housing stock is a part of that. But city and county governments are never known as real innovators, so I suspect the problem persists to this day.
One of the ways this could have been helped in the area is to allow wineries and farms the ability to have several RV pads on their property. This would give these properties security at night as the RV residents would stay there. In addition, that would offer an affordable housing solution.
Perhaps it could have also been a place for itinerant workers—which were very, very common in the wine industry.
Heck, the county was all hot to develop the marijuana industry, which also had itinerant workers. (We called them trimmigrants—people who would descend on the area during the harvest to trim the marijuana plants.) But the people who came in to work, often in RVs from other parts of this country, had no place to park those RVs.
Use the Wildwood Lodge for vacation property
Another nifty use of a trailer like this would be for a vacation property. But, again, local ordinances might prohibit you having one on your property for more than a short period of time.
None of that affects this trailer—which is nicer than some homes I’ve seen and much less expensive, as well. This would absolutely serve a family well who either owned some property or was able to find a place to put the trailer on a semi-permanent basis.
I’m sure a lot of the sales of these go to people who put them in RV parks as seasonal campers and, that, too would be a good use for this.
One thing that is an option which seems odd to me is the ability to add radiant foil barrier in the roof and underbelly. I can’t see not getting this option. You’ll want the additional insulation almost throughout the entire year. You can also get dual-pane windows. But thick curtains would provide more benefit with less weight.
While closet space is a bit limited in here, and outside storage is almost completely nonexistent, there is a lot of living and food prep and potty space. I could see this rig serving intended customers quite well.
More about these RV reviews
These RV reviews are written based on information provided by the manufacturers along with our writer’s own research. They are based on information from a single unit and may not reflect your actual experience. Shop your RV and dealership carefully before making a buying decision. We receive no money or other financial benefits from these reviews. They are intended only as a brief overview of the vehicle, not a comprehensive critique, which would require a thorough inspection and/or test drive.
Tony comes to RVtravel.com having worked at an RV dealership and been a life long RV enthusiast. He also has written the syndicated Curbside column about cars. He also works closely with a number of RV manufacturers to get an inside look at how things are done and is a brand ambassador for Rockwood Mini Lite with his wife, Peggy.
You can also check out his RV podcast with his wife, Peggy.
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Yep, I could see this being hauled to a BLM LTVA in AZ or CA in November, then to the Rockies in April. Of course, you would need frequent tank emptying using a mobile sewer service because those tanks wouldn’t last long with 8 people sleeping and eating in there! And less-frequent water runs with the 300-gallon water tank in the bed of the F-350 tow vehicle. But covering the entire 45′-long, 8.5′-wide roof with stick-on solar panels just might provide sufficient power to operate the entire trailer, even, for a few midday hours, an AC unit or two. But not if that LG fridge is 120vac! In that case, a12v fridge would be an immediate need, not an “after-it-breaks-down” need.
I like the way you think.
For those who don’t have a larger truck most RV dealerships have a line on at least one transporter who can move something like this for you. If the moves are infrequent that might be the way to go.