2024 Salem Hemisphere 310BHI: It’s big, but it makes sense

Today’s RV review is of the Salem Hemisphere 310BHI travel trailer. Make no mistake, this is a gigantic travel trailer at just under 39 feet in overall length and weighing in at over 9,000 pounds dry. In fact, you might wonder who in the Wide, Wide World of Sports might want something this gigantic. But several people have asked me specifically about something like this. 

What is the Salem Hemisphere 310BHI travel trailer?

What you have here is a very large travel trailer that features the opportunity to be a number of things. One of the key features of this thing is that there’s a big room at the back that can serve a variety of purposes.

Inside that large room is a wall cabinet with a bed on the top. There are various cubbies and spaces in that cabinet, including one to accommodate a TV or computer monitor. 

On the opposite wall there is a couch and a fold-down bunk atop that. 

The obvious thing with this space is that it’s a bunk room. But it’s very easily reconfigurable.

The couch that converts to a bed is actually just in the space by gravity and is essentially a big cushion. It folds in half to become a couch; it unfolds to become an RV queen-sized bed. 

You could very easily take the folding couch/bed out and use this space as an office. Or a hobby room. 

But if you travel with another couple, this could be a private bedroom for them. Or, if you have older children that you travel with. Again, a private space. 

The point is, it’s very easily transformable into whatever serves your purpose, even if that purpose changes now and then—or even frequently. 

Main living space

While many larger travel trailers are really flat fifth wheels, this is different than most fifth wheel floor plans. But it is very similar to the Keystone Outback 340BH, right down to the way a lot of this is built. In fact, when I was selling RVs I sold several of the Outback 340BH models to exactly the type of person who has reached out to me about these. 

I have often said that if you find a floor plan you like, you should look at others who make the same thing. This is a prime example of why I write that. 

This rig has a big 50” TV on an angle, essentially right at the door. Behind that is a very large pantry. 

I like that the theater seats and dinette are on the camp side of the trailer, which also means that they’re in one of the two large slide rooms. In this case, there’s an opposing slide on the other side with the kitchen in it. 

In the Outback, the TV is on the opposite slide room and there is no big pantry. That TV is also pretty far away from the theater seats. You have to determine what your priorities are, but the “same floor plan” is rarely the same floor plan. 

Salem Hemisphere 310BHI - 2024

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More to like in the Salem Hemisphere 310BHI

Something I really like in this trailer is the way they’ve configured the bedroom. This trailer sports the Versa-Tilt bed, which angles the head of the bed up so you can sit up at night. 

There are also totes under the bed for storage—nice touch. But when the bed is tilted upward, that also means the foot of the bed is moved such that there’s more walk-around space here. 

Salem has also provided a big closet in here. You could use it as such or utilize the hookups provided to put a washer and dryer in here. 

It’s also handy that there’s a laundry storage compartment on the camp side of the bed. Clearly a lot of thought has gone into this space. 

Outside kitchen

This thing has one of the largest outdoor kitchens I think I’ve seen in a travel trailer. There is a very large bar-sized fridge along with a proper plumbed sink and a flat-top griddle. Recently I learned that you can buy a “hat” for this griddle that will turn it into a pizza oven of sorts. 

Interestingly, this kitchen actually has its own gray tank. That tank has a separate sewer hookup. The rest of this trailer’s sewer connections are plumbed into a single connection point so, if you don’t use the outside kitchen or you just want to run a garden hose to a sewer dump, it’s conveniently set up for that. 

Who would buy this thing?

I had mentioned I know people who have asked about something like this. Two of those people are traveling medical professionals. They actually would want something this large because they’d live in it. That’s who I sold the Outback models to at the dealership. 

For them they’d hire a transport company if they wanted to actually move this so they could have whatever they define as a “normal” car. 

I could also see this being used as a seasonal camper where you plop it onto a site at the beginning of the camping season and just leave it there all season long. Again, that might mean a transport company gets involved. However, an RV park I just stayed at offers covered seasonal sites, so perhaps your RV dealership would just drop it off there and that’s where it lives. 

That covered site would protect the roof, but this model also has a fiberglass roof instead of the typical flexible roof build. This is more like a big motorhome rather than what you might typically find on a towable RV—it’s a nice touch. In theory, the fiberglass roof is going to last longer, although you do still have to maintain all the seals. 

What I would change

There are a few things I would change in this camper. 

Of course, with all the things this has going for it, they still use the stupid 17” oven. Come on, guys. Charge me $50 more and put in something that actually works, especially since many people can sleep in here. 

I like the bathroom in here—but the toilet paper holder is waaaaaaay over on the opposite side of the room where only someone like Shaquille O’Neal can reach it. 

And this is basically a no go on mid-adventure access to the back bedroom and the living room. If the slides are in, you’re not getting into there. But guess where the fuse box is? Yup. That’s just bad. At least it’s where you could get to it if you can open the camp-side slide room. 

RV branding once again

If you’re out shopping for RVs you might notice a lot of similarities between Wildwood and Salem. Or between Rockwood and Flagstaff. There are actually a lot of examples of this. What gives?

As I’ve mentioned before, RV brands allow their dealerships to have geographic territories. For example, when I was selling RVs we were about 90 miles from a Rockwood dealership who sold a lot of Rockwood trailers, including one to yours truly. There was enough demand for us to want to sell Rockwood trailers, but there was that sticky geographic territory thing.

But we could sell Flagstaff, which is the identical product except for the stickers with the name on them. So this dual branding of the same product allows RV manufacturers to get around these territorial agreements where it makes sense. It certainly made sense in our case—we sold a lot of Flagstaff trailers.

It’s worth knowing that if you like something like today’s Salem Hemisphere but you don’t like the dealership, look around. You might find the same thing with a different set of branding stickers at a small, locally-owned dealership that actually would treat you properly.

Conclusions

I know people who have trailers like this and I know people who want trailers like this. For some it makes sense. 

The payoff isn’t just the huge interior. In fact, this thing feels big inside thanks to the skylight in the kitchen and the higher ceilings. 

There are also those new squared-off windows with integrated shades. They’ve also changed the slide mechanism on the kitchen so there’s no longer something to stub your toes on and go seek help from the people you work with. Bleh. 

This is also one of a growing number of towable RVs I’ve seen that don’t even have a back bumper. It does have a plastic sewer caddy, plus there’s a provision for a telescoping ladder. But all those folks who tie things to the bumper or ladder—well, thanks for making it a good decision for RV companies to start eliminating those. 

My thanks to Josh Winters at Bish’s RV for use of the photos from his video in this article.

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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