Today’s RV review is of the forthcoming Bean Squared (Bean2) trailer. If there is one hot spot in the RV industry, it’s in what are called overlanding trailers. These are trailers that are well-suited to being self-contained travel allies—even if where you travel to aren’t established RV parks. Or even over proper roads.
While you could point to a number of reasons why this is, I believe that the interest in this type of trailer by the mainstream came about because of the Black Series trailers, which we’ve looked at in the past. These Chinese-built, Australian-inspired models promised extreme off-road functionality.
There are also events, like Overland Expo, where people interested in the extreme off-road and back-country adventure (it’s more than that, but stick with me here) can gather and compare notes and buy cool stuff to support this type of enjoyment.
Plus, let’s be honest, the price of developed campgrounds is ever-increasing and listening to someone play their music and fly their political flags just makes it not so much fun. If you’re able, it’s pretty cool to go camping where you don’t have neighbors or you go in a group and bring your own.
From the road up with the Bean Squared trailer
Looking at this trailer, it just screams off-road—and it has the credentials to back that up. This rides on 33” tires and uses a proprietary air suspension designed and built by Bean.
This is an independent suspension that uses air bags for height adjustment along with Fox 2.0 air adjustable shock absorbers.
Combine that with the really beefy front wheel and you could push the trailer around on harder surfaces. But, there are also two rear stabilizer jacks to prevent that from happening. The company says they are strong enough that you can lift or adjust the trailer with them. Also included is a Viair air pump for use in lifting/lowering the trailer. But you can also tap into this for inflating tires or even things like stand-up paddle boards.
Or, heck, if you also have a Flated Air Topper, you could inflate that with this. I don’t judge.
Of course, the underside of this is designed to be forgiving of the kinds of stuff you’ll find on trailers, including skid plates for the 25-gallon water tank.
There are also two types of hitches available. There’s one that’s an articulated hitch for extreme mobility between tow vehicle and trailer. And, of course, there’s the standard ball hitch.
There is hot water aboard this craft in the form of a Truma on-demand water heater. There’s also a Truma VarioHeat furnace.
Exterior of the Bean Squared
The corners on this are aluminum with Armadillo coating—which is sort of like that stuff they spray in pickup beds that seems to be almost completely impervious to damage. The walls are a honeycomb composite structure, with that same coating. Interestingly, there is a whole rainbow of colors you can get this in. So, if you’re towing with a fancy Jeep, for example, you could get this trailer in a color that would closely match that.
There is a storage compartment at the front on the camp side and another on the road side. An additional storage compartment is at the back that essentially resides under the bed (inside) and spans the width of the trailer.
Bean says that a fully plumbed kitchen will be available in this back storage compartment in time.
There are also several MOLLE (Modular Lightweight Load-carrying Equipment) racks on the outside of the trailer to attach your whatevers and whatnots to.
Over on the road side, you’ll find an outdoor shower. But you can get a tent that hangs on the outside of the trailer that acts as a fully enclosed shower. So you could take a shower outside with hot and cold water without scaring the bear.
Back on the camp side is a longer table with several cut outs in it that slides out and mounts on the side of the trailer over the wheel. This can be your outdoor kitchen. While they show people bringing one of those portable propane cooktops, I would much rather have something like this Duxtop portable induction cooktop.
In fact, I was tent camping this past weekend with this and my Jackery and 12-volt cooler and it all worked pretty darned well.
What’s inside the Bean Squared
There is a pop-top on this camper much like your parents’ vintage VW bus camper. But this one covers pretty much the entire space in here. Even taller people can stand inside this trailer comfortably.
The first thing you might notice is the lighting in this trailer. It has an interesting geometric pattern in sort of a halo around the interior. This lighting can change color so you could go red if you’re in dark sky country, or choose a color that doesn’t invite the flying annoyances to come into the trailer. Or just go nuts and choose your favorite color—you do you.
There are also more traditional LED lights on the ceiling which are dimmable.
Over on the camp side is a larger cabinet with two big drawers. One of those drawers holds a 12-volt cooler. You could slide this open and access the cooler from the entry door pretty easily. Above that is a deep drawer that was deep enough that I saw they had one of those Dometic GO Hydration Water Jugs standing up in it. Hey, I brought mine with me camping this past weekend, as well.
The top of this cabinet has a proper plumbed sink with hot and cold water. There’s also a cut out with a cutting board.
More attention to detail in the Bean Squared
On the side of the cabinet is a flip-up table. You can use this at the couch that’s over on the road side of this trailer so you have a place to eat or get some RV reviews done.
That couch is one of two beds in here. The company claims it can accommodate two adults when folded down for sleeping.
The other sleeping is at the back of the interior, which is a bed that’s wider than a queen. There is storage at the back of this and two very large drawers underneath. You can also have them fit this with a portable toilet on a drawer slide under the bed.
Showing that Bean’s decision-makers actually use their products, they’ve put the controls for the heating system within reach of the bed. This is pretty close attention to detail.
Boondocking and travel access
Of course, a trailer like this is all about boondocking—and this one is very good at it. Something to note: Even if you don’t pop the pop-top, you can still fully use the trailer—the ceiling height is just lower.
As for off-grid camping, this is powered by an EcoFlow 2kWh Power Kit system. That is a packaged system that comes with a smart control panel. You can use this panel to monitor the system and perform a number of functions in the trailer.
Conclusions about the Bean Squared
Bean’s teardrops have been among my favorites for some time. But not everybody wants a teardrop trailer, even those who want to adventure into places barely known.
This comes much closer to a travel trailer format without sacrificing a lot of the off-road functionality that many Overlanders seek. This thing is built like a tank, and there are a lot of examples of really good attention to detail.
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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Thank you, Tony! 🙂 Seems a great RV for its intended purpose. I understand that smaller negotiates overlander targeted areas, but it is nice to engage in cooking and bathing indoors, especially in bad weather. Downside is it requires greater size/length to incorporate all that, or at least a canopy/awning to shield from rain. Very interesting RV that certainly has a market, maybe even a growing market. Thanks again, have a great day, safe travels, and safe stays! 🙂
Wouldn’t work too well in Colorado, since dumping gray water on the ground is illegal. And, for that money, a nice truck camper with a cassette toilet, gray tank, indoor shower, indoor kitchen, and queen bed would be my preference. A pop-up truck camper with all those amenities would actually be cheaper than this Bean Squared. When you reach your boondocking spot, you drop the camper and explore the backcountry in your 4wd truck. Perhaps not quite as remote areas as a Jeep Wrangler and this Bean could go, but anywhere I would want to go!