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The Airstream Trade Wind is designed with more rough-road capability, more power storage, and better power management. It's all to let you spend more time off-grid and spend your vacation unplugged.
Written by Evan Williams
(Photo/Airstream)
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Airstream’s latest trailer is aimed at campers who are staying away from traditional campgrounds. The Trade Wind prioritizes power management to give you more time off grid. It also adds new capability that helps you bring it to places no traditional Airstream has gone before.
If you’ve noticed that campgrounds have gotten busier in the last few years, you’re not alone. Airstream says that the number of new campers is up 266% over the last four years and that there are 50% more households camping than there were in 2019.
More Campers Avoiding Conventional Sites
All of those extra people getting out has led to campgrounds getting more crowded. Both private and public campsites have struggled to keep up with unprecedented demand, and that has meant more families are learning to camp in new places. Off the grid, boondocking on Forest Service and BLM-managed land, or even, Airstream told us, new off-grid sites set up in someone’s backyard and advertised for rent online.
Airstream VP of Sales Justin Humphreys said that power management is the key to developing an off-grid camper. The crucial part of that power management is the air conditioning unit because, while plenty of campers are willing to head off the beaten path, fewer are willing to do it in the heat.
The source of Airstream’s inspiration for the Trade Wind was the eStream concept trailer. That trailer was a concept designed to be towed by electric vehicles. It came with big batteries and its own electric drive motor.
3 Big Lithium Batteries
The Airstream Trade Wind doesn’t have an electric motor, but it does have plenty of power storage. The chassis has three Battle Born lithium batteries that give it a massive 810 Ah of storage. That’s four times the capacity of a standard Airstream and the equivalent of more than 20 lead acid batteries. The battery bank is heated, too, to help preserve capacity and performance in cold temperatures.
A 3,000W pure sine wave inverter and charger deliver 1,000 W more than other Airstream models. Airstream said it can deliver enough power to run the microwave and the unit’s 15,000BTU air conditioner at the same time.
To give you even more time off of the grid, the Trade Wind has 600 W of solar panels on the roof. That’s more than any other Airstream and should be enough to add days to your off-grid trip.
Airstream Tade Wind Saves Power and Water
Airstream did more than just give the Trade Wind more power — it also worked on how to use fewer resources when you’re camping. To achieve this, the brand added features like a soft-start A/C to reduce peak power demand as well as one larger system instead of two smaller units to save power.
The tankless on-demand propane hot water heater system uses less propane to warm your water. It also recirculates that water at startup so you don’t waste water while you wait for it to warm up. Both let you stay out there for more days without needing a fill-up.
A composting toilet is available instead of a traditional one, which also helps reduce water demand (and the need for blackwater storage).
2024 Trade Wind 25FB: Extra Height, Stronger Hardware
But getting there is half the battle, so Airstream has raised the ride height of the Trade Wind by 3 inches. This extra height gives you more clearance to get down rutted gravel roads and other rough surfaces to find the perfect site.
Off-road-capable Goodyear Wrangler Workhorse tires help too. They’re more durable than standard trailer tires when it comes to dealing with gravel and trail debris. Plus, they offer better traction in rough and slippery conditions.
To help deal with the extra abuse of rough roads and tracks, Airstream has beefed up the trailer. It has upgraded kitchen amenities, the company said. It also has stronger latches for the exterior and interior doors, extra cabinet latches, and other similar changes.
2024 Airstream Trade Wind 25FB
The Airstream Trade Wind will be offered in one floorplan. The 25-foot 25FB is the company’s most popular size, and it will be offered with Terracotta or Fieldstone decor packages.
A queen bed is standard, with optional twins coming in 2024, and the Trade Wind can sleep up to five. A rear hatch will be optional, along with awnings for the roadside and hatch. Pricing starts at $129,400, and it goes on sale today.
Evan Williams
299 articles
Evan Williams has been drooling over cars since the time he learned to walk. He went to school for engineering, but transitioned into a more satisfying career in automotive and outdoor media, and has been at it for nearly a decade now. Evan is based in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, and is the Motors News Lead at GearJunkie. Hespends his non-automotive time walking his dog, hiking, cycling, jogging, and trying not to be too much of a hack mechanic.
