Today’s RV review is of the Coachmen Cross Trail EV 20XG Class B+ motorhome. You may have seen this motorhome in the past but, like many RVs, Coachmen has upgraded this model with some features that might actually make it worth reconsidering.
But I will also be very clear—this little RV is going to be very, very polarizing. Why? Well, that’s what all these words are for ‘splaining!
Start at the road with the Coachmen Cross Trail EV 20XG
These small Class B and Class C motorhomes are all based on what is called a cutaway chassis. Essentially the RV manufacturer buys the front half of a van and builds a camper on the back half and chassis. I’m sure most of you know that already.
There are a number of brands of chassis available to RV builders including Ford, Ram, and Mercedes-Benz, each with their own features and benefits. In addition, Ford still offers both the vintage E-Series chassis, for now, and the much, much more modern Transit chassis.
This one is based on the Transit all-wheel-drive chassis, but there are two variants if this is the RV for you—the standard and the Extreme.
The Extreme adds two inches of lift, Falcon racing shock absorbers, a front brush guard, and some other stuff to make it seem more rugged. Well, actually, this RV is small enough that you might take it to places where the road is a distant memory. But I could also see this being a great vehicle to have if you enjoy winter sports.
One of the challenges of these smaller RVs is cargo carrying capacity. I’m not blathering on about how much room there is for your stuff, although that can be a challenge as well, but rather how much weight they can carry. Oftentimes the weight of the motorhome body itself consumes the vast majority of the capability of the chassis.
In this case, though, the fact that this doesn’t have a slide and isn’t a huge box translates into almost a ton of cargo-carrying capacity. Not bad at all.
So this is an EV? What?
No, this is not an “electric vehicle” at all. The model we’re looking at is a standard gasoline V6 routing power through a ten-speed automatic transmission through a driveshaft that sends power to the rear wheels. Nothing revolutionary about that at all.
I think the reason Coachmen is using the term EV is that this comes with 416 amp hour of lithium battery capacity and a 3,600-watt inverter aboard. Further, there is a second 250-amp alternator, so you could realistically charge those batteries with the engine.
This is prepped for a generator, as well which is an option. But that second alternator would do a fine job of charging the batteries while you’re shuttling down the road.
So this isn’t an EV at all in the traditional sense. I wonder if the name will confuse a lot of buyers who think it is. It’s not.
What’s inside the Coachmen Cross Trail EV 20XG
This RV has no slides and it’s a relatively compact rig. There’s a four-person dinette on the road side with provisions to accommodate a child safety seat. Kudos to Coachmen for doing this because it opens up the number of ways you can use this.
On the camp side is a smaller counter with a very small sink and a two-burner induction cooktop. I like how Coachmen fitted the flip-up counter extension here so that it is flush with the rest of the counter—this is a trick not all RV companies have mastered.
Below that are cabinets with a sliding drawer in one of those. There’s a pantry on the opposite side of the interior. There’s additional storage above the dinette with a three-section overhead cabinet. Then there are two bays over the cab of this rig that have netted storage.
That’s also where you’ll find the TV.
The fridge in this RV is very narrow, but compromises have to be made for the size of this camper.
Bathroom in the Coachmen Cross Trail EV 20XG
You could call the bathroom in this a compromise, but it’s not a bad one. There is a shower on the camp side of this rig with a sliding Nautilus shower door. Nice. However, there is a big step up into the shower, so this isn’t the place to ask your basketball-playing friends to clean up.
Further, the moment you step out of the shower you’re in the main living space, so all that arguing with your mom that you didn’t get a tattoo on your backside is going to now be disproven.
On the opposite side of the rig is the space with a toilet and sink. This is also where you’ll find hanging storage, and it’s not a bad place for that. There’s also more overhead storage here.
Surprisingly, the bathroom in here is very spacious and this might be where you win over some people who might otherwise consider a Class B RV. You can actually do what you need to do here. Unfortunately, you’re doing that on a plastic toilet. Bummer.
Big storage and unique sleeping
I think one of the highlights of this rig is the very back of it, but it won’t work for all campers.
What you have back here is a very large storage compartment with doors to the outside on either side of the rig. There are cargo tie-downs and you can legitimately put a couple of ebikes in here or larger items. It’s pretty impressive.
The way they’ve made this work is with a power-operated drop-down bed overhead, sort of like in a toy hauler. You can move this just about all the way up to the ceiling or lower it to optimize headroom. Or just drop it down enough to use if you still have stuff in the storage compartment below.
You can also get to the compartment from inside the RV, which can be a plus.
I can also see this being a place where traveling pooches sleep.
Interesting use cases
So I can see this motorhome serving several use cases.
Since it’s all-wheel-drive and you have all this storage, you could use it for going to enjoy winter sports. You could even use it when winterized—with the exception of the water system, naturally.
This might also be great if you travel with pets.
Another use case is that this is your daily driver if you have children who are involved with sports. All that space in the back plus you’re bringing along their gear as well as a toilet and kitchen.
Lastly, this could be a great rig for a solo traveler. Honestly, the bed, measuring 51” X 80”, might be a bit much for two people unless they really, really like crawling over each other and then navigating a ladder to the bathroom in the middle of the night.
Conclusions about the Coachmen Cross Trail EV 20XG
As I started with, this could actually be a daily driver for a lot of people. I think solo travelers would find that this is a terrific choice. Overall this is a unique rig that could serve some people really 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 Peggy.
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No clue why anyone would buy this vs a true 4-season rig such as Ekko or Granite Ridge II. Only difference/possible advantage is massive potential storage for a big item. Bed in this is tiny for 2 adults. It’s really a mini toy hauler.
Funny thing – when I saw this I thought it would be closer to the EKKO floor plan. I like the idea of the flexible cargo area though and can see that working for some buyers as compared to the Winnebago.
With most of today’s RV’ers demanding Kingsized beds, this bed is a non-starter. For a single traveler, this might be a great choice though, as Tony mentioned.
Whoa, whoa, whoa there my friend. Where did you get the idea that most RVers want a king-sized bed? I only come across that request occasionally and that’s usually with larger rigs.
I’m not so sure it’s that big of a request only because king-sized beds consume so much space. Of course some owners want them, but I’m not sure about the “most” or even “many.”
Always appreciate your comments and readership.
Well, it seems like many trailers come equipped with King Size beds and offer almost no bedside “counter space”. Maybe my short term memory is worse than I think . . .
The 4wd & turbo would help get to Colorado Rockies free boondocking sites that are on old narrow-gauge railroad grades and in state wildlife areas. Those places can have dirt roads, wet spots, and sand, so 4wd gives an RVer a little more confidence in getting in and out. And the turbo means a power loss of <1% of its power at 11,000', good when you have to cross the Continental Divide every time you go camping! The dinette ruins it for me. If it had theater seats, lagun tables, and a swiveling, reclining driver's seat, at least you could seat 4 people comfortably. And that <"double" size bed is a real deal killer! Yep, it's just for solo mountain bikers.
Yep…I thought it was an electric camper! I might even consider getting an electric camper if it had a range of around 300 miles which is what I drive a day anyway. Interesting bed set up…but would you have to empty the cargo hold to get the bed to a usable level?
Thank you, Tony! Interesting offering. Good to know it is “out there.” Seems really a good choice for solitary travelers, or a young, madly-in-love couple. DW and I prefer a bit more spaciousness in our RVs. Have a great week and safe travels!