Rove Lite 14bh Tour

Bree is helping her friend Michelle find a travel trailer for herself and her 2 young boys. You can read about the process they used to identify her key features here, or watch the video.

In case you need a re-cap, Michelle's key features are

• Bunk beds

• Less than 5000 lbs GVWR

• Bathroom with flush toilet

• Compact

• Ideally modern interiors

Now the exciting part, we are actually getting out to look at some trailers!

We have already looked at the Braxton Creek Freesolo FAM (also known as the Bushwacker Plus) and the Keystone Hideout.

Now we are looking at the Rove Lite by TLRV.

You can see a video walkthrough here:

Travel Lite started as a truck bed camper manufacturer and launched a travel trailer model in 2011. The Rove Lite is the only travel trailer they currently make. An insulated, non-wood construction these campers don't suffer from wood rot problems of other designs. There are 3 layouts for these trailers, of those, the 14bh seems the best suited for families with a convertible dinette (converts to a double bed 54"x74") and bunk beds (lower is 36"x74"). It has a lot of windows for a trailer in this price range and seems like a great option for family friendly travel trailers that sleep up to 4. This is the lightest trailer we looked at and was also on our family's list of possible trailers (see our top 7 here). You can find these at a dealership, see the link on their website to find one near you.

Some basic specifications of the Rove Lite

Interior	Exterior
Sleeps 4	Dry weight: 1850 lbs
Fold down bunk bed	GVWR (max weight): 2500 lbs
Wet bath (toilet/shower combo)	Starting Price: $24,000
Optional AC	Electric Awning
3.3 cu ft 2 way fridge	Outdoor shower
2 burner cook top

The layout for the bunk model

(they have 3 layouts if bunks are not on your required list)

This definitely checked all the boxes for Michelle's required list. It has bunk beds, is lightweight and compact, has a wet bath with grey, black, and fresh water tanks, and she even liked the interior styling!

If you've seen the video on our Alto, you know that windows were a high priority for us. This had a lot of interior windows which would be appealing if that is on your list. Michelle plans to stick to mostly summer camping so being inside during bad weather is not as big of a priority for her.

The few things she wasn't sure about

No step - There was no step to get into the trailer which was kind of a big step up. A portable step would solve this problem, especially for kiddos.

The interior storage was pretty good but the exterior access was tiny - There would not be much you could store underneath and get to from outside.

No weight distribution hitch - You can't use a weight distribution hitch on this camper. Weight distribution hitches distribute the tongue weight of the trailer across the tow vehicle. There is a fair amount of controversy on the use of these and a lot of misinformation out there. You have to do your own research on your particular tow vehicle and comfort. We tow our Alto with one and having towed with and without the weight distribution it absolutely is necessary for us to feel safe towing. We get a lot more sway and bouncing without it at speeds over 55mph. No weight distribution hitch would make this a no-go for our tow situation. Michelle is going to buy a new car to tow anything she purchases so this may be less of an issue for her.

Quality - Michelle was concerned about the quality of the interior materials. Everything we have looked at is in the same range of quality so this one isn't any lower quality than some of the others. It might actually be a bit higher quality in terms of the body build, certainly the exterior being built from fiberglass makes the body higher quality than the Keystone Hideout. However, all of the campers that she is interested will likely have some quality issues because they are in the lower price ranges and they have to sacrifice in some places.

Here are some resources about build quality that might help you decide what is right for you:

Consider purchasing the RV ratings guide from the RV consumer group. This is a non-profit group that rates RV's for quality and build. Unfortunately, they stopped producing an updated guide in 2022 but you can still get the guide that covers through 2021.

Caveat: The guide doesn't seem to cover a lot of small travel trailer bands. They probably consider those to be tear drops and don't include them. Travel Lite is not on the reviewed list.

Here is a post about what impacts build quality

Another blog post that covers quality and lists some manufacturers to consider

You can check RVinsider for reviews from owners though you will really only find the main brands reviewed here.

Overall, Michelle really liked this camper! We will be visiting more before she picks one so subscribe to the blog or our youtube channel to catch all our videos!