War of the Woods: The Battle of the Eco-Campers Continues

August 19th, 2009 by Jeff Kart

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Labor Day will soon be upon us, and with it, the unofficial end of summer. Back to school time. Summer is the season for camping, getting out of the city and getting a little dirty in the woods. Some folks like to tent it. Some folks like a travel trailer, with their own bathroom (my wife included).

But one problem with campers is how much they weigh, the large vehicles needed to tow them and frequent trips to the gas station. Travel trailers are getting lighter and lighter, however, and easier and more affordable to pull. Take a look at the latest entry, from EverGreen (like the tree) in Middlebury, Indiana.

The company has introduced the first-ever, eco-friendly, all-composite Ever-Lite travel trailer. What a mouthful. The trailers are virtually wood-free, making them lighter, longer-lasting and more fuel-efficient, the company says. And immune to moisture and water damage, which usually kills old RVs.

The Ever-Lites are made using a proprietary construction process called ComposiTek, which makes them completely recyclable, too, officials say. The trailers also are billed as hypoallergenic and low VOC, with fewer of those volatile organic compounds that can give you a bad kind of head rush.

They weigh up to 1,200 pounds less than comparable campers, EverGreen says. They cost around $24,000 for a 27-footer, meaning you pay a few thousand more for less pounds.

The Ever-Lite joins other eco-campers like Quicksilver and Airstream, the latter of which argues that silver (the color of its aluminum trailers) is the new green.

(Image Credit: Evergreen RV).

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Tags: camper, fuel efficient, outdoors, trailer

About the Author

Jeff Kart is typing about issues in the Great Lakes, from advanced biofuels to zero-emission vehicles. Jeff is an environmental journalist and social media evangelist based in Michigan, where the summers are short, the winters are cold, and the stories are plentiful.

cmyk

chrisp, another hippy unclear on the concept.

If some of these green freaks had their way, we’d live in mud huts in the woods. It is completely unrealistic to think that society as a whole can change so quickly to the point where people are giving up things they’ve been enjoying their whole life (in this case, RVing/trailer camping). Driving to work is not green, neither is living in a house full of plastics and disposable this-or-that.

Getting greener is a process and we’re in the infant stages. What if a trailer was being towed with an electric truck? What if 100% of the trailer from frame to fixtures was recyclable? You aren’t going to stop people from engaging in these hobbies. ZERO impact on the world is not possible right now, but LESS is certainly better, and a step in the right direction.

I am a big fan of a more sustainable world, but you have to take a more pragmatic view of things instead of dismissing efforts outright since the subject as a whole is “wasteful.” The all-or-nothing green crowd does a disservice to the movement and turns off those that would otherwise consider some of these improved products.
cmyk

chrisp, another hippy unclear on the concept.

If some of these green freaks had their way, we’d live in mud huts in the woods. It is completely unrealistic to think that society as a whole can change so quickly to the point where people are giving up things they’ve been enjoying their whole life (in this case, RVing/trailer camping). Driving to work is not green, neither is living in a house full of plastics and disposable this-or-that.

Getting greener is a process and we’re in the infant stages. What if a trailer was being towed with an electric truck? What if 100% of the trailer from frame to fixtures was recyclable? You aren’t going to stop people from engaging in these hobbies. ZERO impact on the world is not possible right now, but LESS is certainly better, and a step in the right direction.

I am a big fan of a more sustainable world, but you have to take a more pragmatic view of things instead of dismissing efforts outright since the subject as a whole is “wasteful.” The all-or-nothing green crowd does a disservice to the movement and turns off those that would otherwise consider some of these improved products.
cp

Agreed, this is definitely not the place to publish about this epitome of over-consumption.

No matter what you use to build those, there is no way to make them green ; aluminum is one of the most energy-intensive metal around, only extracted through electrolysis at high temperature.

Please stop green washing!!!
cp

Agreed, this is definitely not the place to publish about this epitome of over-consumption.

No matter what you use to build those, there is no way to make them green ; aluminum is one of the most energy-intensive metal around, only extracted through electrolysis at high temperature.

Please stop green washing!!!
chrisp

Use whatever material you want… it is still a McMansion on wheels. Nothing about this is “green” except for the trim paint. Bringing you entire house with you is not camping. You will need a V8 truck just to get this to you campsite. At 15mph you waste a tremendous amount of energy just to setup camp.

These are silly articles… we can’t buy our way out of being lazy and destroying the earth.

Please stop green washing!!!
chrisp

Use whatever material you want… it is still a McMansion on wheels. Nothing about this is “green” except for the trim paint. Bringing you entire house with you is not camping. You will need a V8 truck just to get this to you campsite. At 15mph you waste a tremendous amount of energy just to setup camp.

These are silly articles… we can’t buy our way out of being lazy and destroying the earth.

Please stop green washing!!!
- Yasei
  
  And if it is your primary residence?