RV review: Brinkley Model Z 2900—mini and mighty

Today’s RV review is of the 2024 Brinkley Model Z 2900 fifth wheel. This is now the smallest offering in Brinkley’s Model Z line, which is a standard-width offering at 96 inches wide. Know that there are a lot of fifth wheels that are wide-body offerings with about five additional inches of width. 

I was speaking with a friend in the RV industry this morning and we were marveling at how much of an impact Brinkley has had on the industry as a whole. Since its inception just two years ago, this privately held company has taken the RV industry by storm. It’s pretty rare now that someone shopping for a fifth wheel isn’t curious about Brinkley. 

And well they should. The company was founded by five RV industry veterans who wanted to shake things up—and they have succeeded. 

Start at the road

Brinkley seems to have taken my “start at the road and work your way up” approach to building RVs. This smallest offering is still sporting Cooper brand 17 1/2” 16-ply trailer tires—of course, with tire pressure monitoring systems included. They’re attached to a MORryde suspension system. 

One of the failure points of many RVs with leaf spring suspensions is the axle hangers where the leaf springs are attached to the chassis—but here those are reinforced. 

Outside, the seams between the walls and ceiling are built with more durable materials. That means there is just a lower likelihood of failure over time. This is obvious when you look at how the wall and ceiling inside the RV don’t have any molding to cover gaps—just a bead of caulk. 

How they’re built

These units are also intentionally wired—meaning consistent wire colors from unit to unit. I found in my days handling warranties that the more consistent and intentional a company is about wiring, the fewer issues they seem to have. 

What really makes me happy is the plumbing on these. There are brass fittings all around, along with individual shut-off valves on every fixture in the trailer. The only exception is where there are flex lines, and those are screwed fittings. 

The gate valves for these models are fully enclosed and are power-operated with a manual override, of course. 

I would never suggest you open the black tank gate valve if someone’s tailgating you—but you have to make your own decisions in life. Yes, I do know someone who did this. 

With all the discussion about fifth wheel frame failures lately, this one shouldn’t be one of those with the “Rhino Box” frame on this.

Brinkley Model Z 2900 - 2024

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What’s inside the Brinkley Model Z 2900

This is the floor plan that every manufacturer who makes fifth wheels builds. It is the one I encourage you to start with in your search for your next RV only because you can use this to compare how differently each company does things. 

Right by the entrance is a sliding dining table which is like nothing I’ve seen before. This can be a desk, a table for four, a breakfast bar, or two individual desks. It’s literally the most flexible piece of furniture in or out of an RV that I’ve ever seen. 

That desk thingamajigger really speaks to the cabinet shop at Brinkley. It also creates a drawer where there’s a fitting for a paper towel holder, but you can take the towels out and stand them on the counter. There’s a fitting for two garbage cans in a drawer, as well. Oh, and right by the big stove and real, usable oven is a drawer with a removable spice insert. 

There’s even a pull-out pet bowl holder at the base of the island. 

The pantry, at the bulkhead of the interior space, features adjustable drawers plus a power outlet—so you can keep your coffee maker in there. 

There are more little details such as the flip-up power outlets on either side of the couch at the back of this trailer with both household and USB power outlets. The side tables of this couch also can open up for some hidden storage. 

Disappearing enormous TV

This RV also has a televator with an enormous TV on it. When the TV’s up, it’s all-encompassing. But, fortunately, it can also disappear and the counter is flat when it does. This is just a minor detail but one that points to the attention the company pays to even little things. 

Across from this monster TV are theater seats. The one glitch in this space that I could find was here, where there are USB outlets in the armrests. They are ones that some big dude like myself is going to just either block them or break them. But then there’s an induction charger between the two seats of the theater seats, so you may not even have to use those outlets. 

And, yes, I had to go looking for nits to pick with a magnifying glass. 

Upstairs details

The ceiling height in the upper deck is taller than some at 79 1/2”. This gives the bathroom and bedroom a more spacious feel. 

It also means more headroom in the shower. Here there’s a light in the shower—typically, there’s only a skylight. Of course, you get a super fancy shower head here. The bathroom, overall, is decently spacious. 

This is made more so by a road-side slide which also incorporates the bathroom sink as well as quite a few drawers and closets for your attire. 

The bed in the bedroom is a proper 60” X 80” queen-sized model and, shocker of all shockers, the mattress isn’t a torture device from medieval times. They actually put a decent mattress in here although, of course, everyone’s take on mattress comfort is different. 

My one complaint about the bathroom is that you only get a small vent fan here. However, there is a rain-sensing high-capacity vent fan in the main living space. 

Boondocking and travel access in the Brinkley Model Z 2900

Typically you’ll look at an RV with opposing slides on the main floor and know that this space is persona-non-goto when the slides are closed. True, you can’t occupy the space. But they designed the island in this rig such that you can fully access the larger 12-volt refrigerator.

Speaking of larger, there are 370 watts of solar on the roof. You can easily double this with the standard 50-amp charge controller handling the additional load.

The cargo space at the front of the trailer is designed to accommodate a generator, if that’s your route.

Oh, and speaking of cargo space. There’s also a compartment at the very back of this rig between the frame rails in a spot that I haven’t seen with any other RV company. You can never have too much storage.

Conclusions

There is just so much to like about this RV and how it’s built and designed. For example, many of my RVing friends have installed an RVLock keyless entry system, but there’s already a keyless entry lock installed here. And the MORryde Safe-T-Rail entry handle. 

There’s also a backup camera. Standard. 

One thing they did—there are LED light strips under the trailer. I just know there will be somebody camping in a dark sky campground who leaves these things on all night. 

As mentioned, if people mention looking for a fifth wheel online, Brinkley is a name that is almost universally brought into the conversation. It makes sense. This thing is very, very well thought-through, for the most part. 

Have you seen a Brinkley product? If so, what did you think about it? 

My thanks to Josh from Bish’s RV for the photos and video in this article.

MORE BRINKLEY REVIEWS:

• The Brinkley RV Model Z Air 285 is built right, including its top-notch plumbing
• Brinkley Model Z Air 295—a new travel trailer from Brinkley
• Get a first look at the IMPRESSIVE 2024 Brinkley Model G 4000

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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