Today’s RV review is of the 2027 Outdoors RV Backcountry Series MTN TRX 20MKS travel trailer. Outdoors RV is unusual in that it is located in La Grande, Oregon, and specializes in travel trailers and fifth wheels that are truly ready for more extreme climate conditions. The company also builds its own chassis and states that they are off-road ready.
The company has created a very loyal following and has quite the reputation for building a very high-quality and substantial product. These are not inexpensive, nor are they light, but many RV owners are looking for just this type of build quality.
Some other unusual things about these trailers include the fact that there is a built-in safe by the bed that the company describes as a “quick-access home defense bed safe.” There are wild things near where the company builds these.
There are also provisions for an axe and a shovel in the front pass-through compartment, which also features a nice metal sliding tray. You know you always want whatever’s the least convenient to reach in any storage situation, and this drawer helps to alleviate that.
The company really focuses on off-grid camping with their insulation and build practices.
How the Outdoors RV Backcountry Series MTN TRX 20MKS is built
At the base of it all is a chassis built by Outdoors RV that the company states is off-road certified. That includes 5,200-pound axles with KYB shock absorbers and eight-lug wheels shod with 16” Goodyear Endurance 235 E-range ten-ply tires. I couldn’t find a reference to a tire pressure monitoring system, which is unfortunate. But that is something you could add after the fact. And should with any trailer.
Something that Outdoors RV does that’s different than almost any other RV company that I am aware of is the thickness of the compartment doors on things like showers and such. I always scratch my head (maybe that’s where the hair went) seeing RVs that make the claim that they’re winter-ready, but then have a thin plastic door on the outdoor shower compartment. These are very different, with a 1”-thick and gasketed compartment door for the outdoor shower.
While much of this RV is really well made, a couple of things made me say, “Hmm.” One of those was the use of a Schwintek slide. Those are fine if you maintain them properly and don’t ask people on social media how to maintain them. As always, Lippert has a great video about maintaining your Schwintek slide. That’s where I’d get my answers.
Countertop in the bathroom
One thing that I saw that was a super-bummer is the countertop in the bathroom. It is a laminated T-mold-type countertop. It is truly unfortunate to use this in a bathroom where water can get between the plastic edge and the particleboard underneath and destroy the counter. This is counter to so many other things in this RV that point to a better quality of construction.
One thing I noticed was that there were furnace vents in the floor of this rig. What I don’t like about these is that things can fall into the vents throughout the year (like pet hair if you have pets). Those things then get heated up for the special smell when you first kick on the furnace as the weather gets colder. I believe there are magnetic sheets you can put over these vents, though.
Inside the Outdoors RV Backcountry Series MTN TRX 20MKS
This is the first time I have seen an Outdoors RV with a Murphy bed, and it’s done differently than some. The bed platform itself is hinged and utilizes a mattress that is forced to bend in the middle, though that mattress seemed to be pretty comfortable.
In front of the bed platform is a dinette. The dinette table also swings down from the pretty clever bed platform. This gives you a dinette, but there were also theater seats in the slide of this RV, so you have decent options here.
Something you’ll notice in the video is that we thought the latches that hold the mattress up sat on the dinette cushions. However, we didn’t see little “wings” that swing up from under the dinette cushions that are intended to hold the bed platform in place. It’s one of those things where if you know, you know—and we didn’t know. I learned this in a video from Thompson RV, which is a big seller of these units and the closest dealer to the factory.
Kitchen in the Outdoors RV Backcountry Series MTN TRX 20MKS
In addition to good seating and decent space, this has a really top-notch kitchen where there are solid surface countertops and plenty of them. There’s also a three-burner propane stove with a 21” oven (you know I loved seeing this!) along with a typical RV microwave and decently sized sink. There’s also a nice backsplash behind the stove with a mountain scene on it.
Since there’s a plentiful amount of counter space, there are also good drawers and overhead cabinets.
This also uses the dual-swing 12-volt fridge where you can access it from either side. I have this same fridge and wrote an article about how efficiently it operates. I like this fridge.
Bathroom in the Outdoors RV Backcountry Series MTN TRX 20MKS
The bathroom in here is pretty spacious for being a corner bathroom. It has a porcelain foot-flush toilet and an oval stainless steel sink. The countertop material is truly a disappointment, as I wrote before, considering how nice the rest of the camper is.
The shower is quite decent and has plenty of headroom. I like the Nautilus-style retracting shower door/curtain thingamabobber.
While I see that this is an option, there was a Maxxair high-performance vent fan both in the bathroom and main living space of this RV. That’s how I would equip this RV if it were mine.
Boondocking and off-grid camping with the Outdoors RV Backcountry Series MTN TRX 20MKS
Outdoors RV has a lot of focus on off-grid and backcountry camping in their messaging. Fortunately, their RVs are an integral part of that story.
An example of this is the 3,600-watt propane-fueled generator that is standard on this trailer. Well, except in California. No generators there any longer.
There are 400 watts of solar standard, as well, with the option to bump that up to 600 watts or even 1,000 watts.
A while back I shared an article about why I’m not a big fan of tankless water heaters. Apparently, neither is Outdoors RV, with this model featuring a 10-gallon gas-electric traditional water heater. This is four gallons larger than is customary in RVs with tank-style water heaters.
This trailer also has really large holding tanks. They are supported so that you can travel with water in them.
As for travel access, the model I saw didn’t have much battery to it so I couldn’t bring in the slide. But I would guess that you might be able to squeeze by it to get to the kitchen and bathroom when it’s closed.
Final thoughts on the Outdoors RV Backcountry Series MTN TRX 20MKS
I am a big, big fan of this company’s products for the build quality and ability to withstand temperature extremes. Most of this RV also shows an attention to detail and quality build.
I had mentioned the handy drawer slide in the front pass-through compartment. Another piece of detail is that the controls for the optional power stabilizer jacks and the battery disconnect, along with several USB power outlets, are here in the pass-through. They are protected by a sliding door—a nice touch. I could imagine using these 12-volt power outlets to power a small cooler, for example, or an air compressor.
Another thing that attracts people to these RVs is a higher-than-average interior ceiling height at 6’11”.
I know I keep harping on that countertop in the bathroom but, again, it’s like smashing your thumb with a hammer. The rest of you feels fine, but you can’t stop thinking about your dad-blamed-thumb.
I think this could serve couples really well with both theater seating and a dinette along with a true queen-sized bed, on-board generator plus solar, and huge holding tanks.
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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. 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 lifelong RV enthusiast. He also has written the syndicated Curbside column about cars.
You can also check out Tony and Peggy’s RV podcast.
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