By Tony Barthel
There are a lot of RV manufacturers that bandy about the term “four seasons,” and any camper is four-season capable here where I sit in Northern California. But the Northwood Arctic Fox 25W travel trailer may well suit you if you truly like camping all year long and happen to live where real winter comes a-callin’.
Northwood is a name you might not already be aware of. It is one of the companies headquartered on the West Coast in La Grande, Oregon. Founded in 1993, the company builds all sorts of towable RVs, including the Arctic Fox line.
As some of the hallmarks of the brand, Arctic Fox trailers are built on a house-made steel chassis (most travel trailers source their frames from one of two companies). The company has had the chassis independently certified for off-road use and part of that certification must be the 15” off-road tires and shocks on all four wheels.
Of course, holding tanks are heated, but the dump valves are also within a heated space so they don’t freeze as well. The windows are frameless Thermopane design and the roof and sidewalls all feature block foam insulation, though that isn’t unique to this brand.
Even if you’re only going to camp where you can dress for a Jimmy Buffett concert, I still like this floor plan a lot. The rear kitchen with a single slide makes a really livable design, in my opinion, with the refrigerator just inside the door so you don’t have far to go if you’ve killed off yet another soldier in your personal war on sobriety for the day. Or you just want a snack. I guess there’s that.
Of course, if you do get into hot water with the over-consumption of barley pops, you’ll also appreciate the 10 gallons of hot water (most RVs have six) – and you can access that with an outdoor shower or the nicely sized indoor one, depending on whether your spouse allows you back in at the moment.
I am a big fan of the Fantastic vents – which move much more air than those cheap bathroom fans – and this trailer has two: one in the kitchen and one in the bathroom. Speaking of twins, there are also two entry doors so you can literally get directly into the bedroom or access the rear of the trailer into the kitchen.
Rear-kitchen travel trailers tend to have actually usable kitchens, so if cooking’s your thing, this type of floor plan is worth a look. The countertop, which is a one-piece man-made material, offers plenty of prep space. Not the “plenty” most RV companies brag about, but a legitimate usable amount of space.
Even the two-way refrigerator in this unit offers more space, at ten cubic feet.
Below that are eight drawers of various sizes plus space below the sink as well as cabinets above. Overhead is a skylight with a shade – a nice touch.
If you’ve somehow filled up those drawers and cabinets in the kitchen area, there are three tall cabinets in the slide as well as four additional drawers. More cabinets and drawers await you in the bedroom.
Outside in the slide is a cabinet that makes me think of a huge medicine cabinet – a somewhat narrow space but great for all sorts of knickknacks and not small in the least.
I’m wondering if there’s an avid fan base for Arctic Fox trailers as they come with logo-labeled camp chairs, a throw blanket, an entry mat and even a clock. That’s almost like the umbrella that comes with a Rolls Royce… well, not quite.
A number of manufacturers make a similar floor plan. I like that there is a door to the bedroom and one in the back, and the bathroom can be accessed from either door. Even with the slide in, this trailer is very usable – another plus.
There are a lot of trailers that are self-described ultra-light and this isn’t one of those, but the heavy-duty chassis and welded aluminum framing make for a solid trailer. But all that structure comes at a price, as this isn’t a particularly light trailer – but that’s the whole point. And, you get those snazzy chairs and blanket too.
These RV reviews are written based on information provided by the manufacturers along with my own research and represent the most accurate information and opinion at the time of writing. Your experience is always encouraged.
I have a 26Z Nash that I’ve had for 10 years. After much research I purchased this one. It has been an excellent unit for it’s overall use. Maintenance wise, very small needs, other than tires, and brakes on occasion. Build quality is good and no problems with dishes, etc.
Tows very well and very stable. I like the shocks that came with the unit, along with the “in-house” made frame along with the extra insulation. Living in the Pacific Northwest certainly qualifies this type of unit. I’ve been to LaGrange and viewed the construction of the units, impressed with the attitude of the employees and manufacturing processes. Great way to see the ‘bones’ of a unit.
Ours was Outdoors RV. Not a single piece of particle board anywhere. Very well built. Heavy? Yes. We spent four years in it full time. One winter we couldn’t go south (because of work) and stayed in Canada. It was a particularly cold winter. In the park we were in, we were the only one with running water and the only one with no ice on the inside of the walls. Every other rig in the park froze. Our coldest night was minus 22 C but we had six weeks continuously below freezing. I was burning thirty pounds of propane every four days with three tanks on rotation. (I think a 30-pounder is about 7 US gallons).
One more thing: I have never seen a factory recall for any of the Northwood Industries products. That’s Arctic Fox, Outdoors RV, and Nash.
We have an Outdoors RV trailer, which is also made in La Grande (by, I understand, folks who are related to the Arctic Fox people.) We upgraded the suspension to the Mor-Ryde and have been very happy with how it rides. We also appreciate the very usable design and high quality of this unit.
We owned an Arctic Fox truck camper and were very impressed with the build quality. However, it was too small for the extended trips we take, so we decided to stay in the Northwood family and changed to a Fox Mountain 5th wheel unit. Big mistake, too much bling, poor quality, fell apart after a couple of years. We went looking for an Arctic Fox travel trailer to replace it and that’s when we discovered the Outdoors RV line. The floor plan of the specific ORV unit we bought fit our needs better than did the Arctic Fox, otherwise the Arctic Fox and the Outdoors RV are very comparable. I would not hesitate to recommend either one.
Maybe it’s the shocks in the suspension, we had a 27’ 5th wheel with a rear kitchen and DW had to use sofa type pillows stuffed into the cabinets to keep the dishes and pans from doing the bossa nova, of course the fact that we were on I-40 across AR, may have had an influence.
I’d buy one if it could have a factory installed lp generator to power the AC and Microwave.
Add solar and lithium with Briter products in southbend IN
There is the provision of a generator in an exterior cabinet and I’m sure it’s easy enough to plumb in a propane line to this cabinet. You might be better off with something like a Honda.
Our son has an Arctic Fox. He has used it for hunting with full water and no hookups at -26°C. That’s 15 below F for my American friends. Had no problems at all. Very well built units.
Looks to be well thought out for cold camping and boondocking. Nice review. Thanks
Nice camper. Really cheesy photoshopped photo (supplied by AF, I assume).
Wait, you’re assuming that they didn’t tow it over big boulders to get it to that location? Perhaps it was flown in.
Seriously, though, I’ve seen some companies do a less obvious job with Photoshop and, yeah, it came to us from Arctic Fox.
Well, I’m impressed with how flat the shadow is as it goes over the rocks and right into the creek. 😆 —Diane at RVtravel.com
The one thing you fail to mention about a rear kitchen is it tends to move the dishes around a lot more than a midship kitchen
We have the sister to this camper made by Outdoor RV, and have not found that to be true. The suspension on these, complete with greasable wear points and factory shock absorbers, smoothe the ride substantially.
We had a Jayco with almost this exact floorplan, some years ago. Never really had any issue with anything moving around in the kitchen.
What is m.s.r.p. ?
Manufacturers suggested retail price
Thanks, Ed. I was going to say that also, but I think Doug might be looking for the actual dollar amount of the RV(?). Have a great day. 🙂 –Diane at RVtravel.com
As was written, it’s the Manufacturer’s Suggested Retail Price.
But know that RV pricing fluctuates quite a bit due to shipping charges which can be thousands of dollars depending on how far you are from the factory. For example, an RV in California that was towed in from Indiana carries shipping charges over $3,000.
Also consider that RVs are typically sold for 20-35% below retail so the prices are added to these reviews so you can get some idea.
Unfortunately there’s no real-world way to calculate what you’re going to pay and there are a number of options on any of these RVs that will also affect the price. This is basically the base price without those options.
We have the Arctic Fox 29-5K rear kitchen (5th wheel) and love it. No problem with dishes, fridge, etc., great counter space.