Today we’re reviewing the 2022 Wildwood X-Lite 28VBXL, which is a sister to the Salem Cruise Lite 28VBXL. While we’re all tired of hearing about pandemic this and that, one of the good things that has come out of it is that many businesses have seen the value of having their employees work in places other than stuffy office buildings. Heck, my wife used to work for the local county and even that bastion of yesterday is better by allowing their employees to take their laptops and work in other than the fluorescent-lit, soul-killing space.
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Versa-Bunks in the Wildwood X-Lite 28VBXL
One of the ways to my heart as someone who sees a lot of RVs all the time is to make spaces that do more than one thing. Not like a dinette where the table folds down and becomes a bed. We all know what that is.
But if you can make a space that can be used in more than one way, you’ve earned my interest. And this trailer is really, really good at both space utilization and also taking spaces and making them multipurpose.
Maybe I was influenced by the multipurpose room at school or something. Who knows.
But to the point of working from home, this trailer has a separate room at the back that is called the Versa-Bunk. In that space there’s a tri-fold cushion that can be folded up to be a couch or can be folded out to be an RV queen-sized bed.
Turn the space into an office or craft room
But it’s essentially nothing more than a big folding cushion, so it isn’t attached at all. It can easily be removed from this back area—and now you have a big open room. Go to Ikea and get one of those sit/stand desks and a chair and now you have an office.
Or build yourself a crafting table and you can do mad scientist stuff back here. Whatever defines your needs.
There are two bunks, one on either side of this room. They are on hinged and strutted mounts so you can flip them up against the ceiling. Or, should you need a couple of spots for wee ones to sleep, flip ‘em down and now you have bunks.
Wildwood has covered the bottom of the bunks in a material that works like a chalk board. So if you have that brilliant idea or need to work out the formula for some great experiment or just want to play hangman, there’s a space below each flip-up bunk. Neat!
But there’s no law that says that these can’t also be part of your office space. It’s a breeze to take these Teddy Bear mattresses and donate ‘em, and now you have flip-down shelves. Large ones.
Versa-Lounge
But wait. There’s another Versa. And that Versa is the Versa-Lounge. This nifty thing is out in the main living area and is a day bed of sorts. There’s a back rest that can be moved so that the Versa-Lounge transforms from an “L”-shaped couch to a regular couch. The backrest then enlarges the dining space to a “U”-shaped dinette.
Under the Versa-Lounge is an open space. Wildwood includes a number of plastic totes that fit perfectly under the lounge. There are more totes included that fit under the dinette. So you have a tremendous amount of space here that’s well organized and easy to load in and load out of the trailer.
Slide side
Further, there are some pretty large windows in the large slide room that is home to this Versa-Lounge. But Wildwood includes high-quality shades to block the light. These windows are not tinted—which some like, some don’t.
However, I was surprised to see a slide room this large with a Schwintek slide mechanism. That is typically reserved for smaller slides. Because it’s a Schwintek mechanism, the floor is raised in the slide, too. Might be worth a second thought if this is the rig for you. It’s not really a bad thing. But you will want to make sure you extend or retract that slide all the way every time, period. This is a big slide to have to realign if it gets out of whack.
More flexibility in the Wildwood X-Lite
The bedroom is the next area where Wildwood has really done a good job. There are cloth totes beneath the bed which you can access by lifting the 60 X 74 RV queen mattress, which is also on struts.
You’ll also find that, by doing so, you can access the contents of the front pass-through storage compartment.
Oh, can you imagine if one of your kids or your spouse snuck into the pass-through storage compartment in a clown outfit and knocked on the bottom of the bed. You lift the bed and suddenly the world is your black tank.
OK. So, under those three cloth totes under the bed is a shoe garage that spans the full width of the bed. Nice. There’s also a new laundry chute that goes into the pass-through compartment, which is also a nice touch.
Strong arm tactics
As much as the interior of this trailer has some really nifty features, something that I really liked were the JT’s Strong Arm™ Jack Stabilizer arms for each of the four corner stabilizer jacks. These really do help stabilize the trailer and it’s a good thing to have them.
Another Wildwood feature that makes a lot of sense is what they call the Accessibelly. These are panels that enclose the underbelly of the trailer that enable you to remove them one at a time if you need to repair something. Typically you’re folding back the entire layer of plastic, which is not a fun task, and then having to reinstall that, a less fun task.
Boondocking and Travel Access in the Wildwood X-Lite
As good as this trailer would be as an office or bunk model, it is not such a great design if you’re a boondock-a-holic. That’s me. There are only 40 gallons of fresh water and capacities of 28 gallons each on the black and gray tanks. Bummer.
Also, getting into the trailer in road mode means that the smaller folks might be able to inch between the kitchen counter extension and the slide. But they would win the keep-away game with me because there’s no getting past there when you’ve got the Tony-roundness physique.
Further, there is absolutely no getting into the back room or the bathroom with the slide in. That’s unless you’ve thought to leave the bathroom door open before closing the slide, and then you’ll be using the bathroom with the door open.
Remember those big, big windows aren’t tinted. Hello, neighbor.
In summary
There are some more things I really like about this trailer, including the fact that the furnace ducts are in the cabinets rather than on the floor. Another nifty thing Wildwood has done is make the inside of the exterior baggage compartment doors into a dry erase board surface. Very clever.
As usual, a cheap bathroom fan and small oven are just what you’d expect to be disappointed by. Also, Wildwood put the converter box in the back bunk room. This may just be a huge temptation to prying hands of youngsters if they’re back there.
Unique and flexible interior in the Wildwood X-Lite 28VBXL
Overall, I really like this trailer quite a bit primarily due to the unique and flexible interior features. This is a traditional stick-and-tin design. But I like that Wildwood is using a single sheet of aluminum for the nose, which is a thicker material, and also a PVC roof material.
I can see this trailer making a lot of sense to the right buyer who may really get a lot out of the flexible design and unique features.
I would love to read your comments and suggestions over on our new forums, where you can weigh in and start or join a discussion about all things RV. Here’s a link to my RV Reviews Forum.
Tony comes to RVtravel.com having worked at an RV dealership and been a lifelong RV enthusiast. He also has written the syndicated Curbside column about cars. You can find his writing here and at StressLessCamping where he also has a podcast about the RV life with his wife.
These RV reviews are written based on information provided by the manufacturers along with our writer’s own research. 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.
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##RVDT1806
I saw this unit at the RV show, nice layout. I admit, I do not like the oval windows, on anything. Salespeople do not like to advertise weights and measurements.