#Vanlife: The Overland Access EDC might be the ultimate adventure camping trailer

At this point, for us anyways, Vanlife is just a tongue in cheek hashtag. While it may best apply to the finer points of living out of a cargo van to chase your singletrack dreams, for those of us who already have a vehicle that’s not a van, it could just as easily apply to something like the Overland Access EDC trailer. You could even just call it camping, but your average camper won’t make it anywhere near where you can go with the EDC. And once you get there, it just might be the most well equipped trailer we’ve seen so far.

Designed, engineered, manufactured, assembled, and tested in the U.S., Overland Access is based out of Central Oregon. Just three years old as a company, Overland Access’ founder Terry Manier has a background in industrial design and commercial design and it shows. The EDC is a veritable puzzle with every nook and cranny optimized for storage with a super smart overall design.

Starting with a tube steel chassis that is welded and hot-dipped galvanized as one piece, the body is constructed from aluminum using aviation quality riveting. To create a rugged trailer that can go anywhere your truck can, the EDC uses a trailing arm suspension which means there’s no axle to hang up on trail obstacles with 1’7″ of ground clearance and 33″ tires. Terry mentioned it’s the exact same width and tracking as his Toyota Tacoma, so any where it can go, the EDC can go too.

The full length from the spare tire to the hitch is just over 13′, it measures 6’3″ wide, and has a dry weight of 2100lbs. Fully loaded you’re looking at around 2500lbs. To help slow things down, it’s equipped with RedArc trailer brakes.

Of course we’re all wondering about the bike carrying capabilities, and it’s got that fully covered with three separate hitch receivers to mount just about anything including a raised bike rack to provide plenty of ground clearance. It’s hard to explain but the receivers can also be used as a jack to lift the trailer when needed by moving the leveling device from the front to the back. There are a ton of possibilities with this thing.

Terry is working on a hitch adapter that will be included and will allow the bike rack to flip down so you can get into the rear storage as well. The racks are also positioned to clear the included full size spare.

This wouldn’t be a camping trailer without a place to sleep, so the EDC includes a tent rack to mount your favorite roof top tent (RTT). Between the tent, and the actual bike rack, these are about the only things that aren’t included in the package. The rack will accommodate just about any RTT, and it will include an Alu-Cab Shadow 270° awning which is different than the one shown above.

Using the space next to the tent, or the sub rack underneath, you can add mounts for SUPs, kayaks, gear or fire wood baskets, and more – plus there are four side plates for carrying shovels, Maxtrax, extra water, fuel, and more.

Flip down the bike rack, and open the back panel, and you’re greated with the first massive storage bay. Two sliding racks can hold up to 200lbs each, and built in LED lighting makes it easy to find what you need. There’s also an AC outlet, DC outlet, and two fast charge USB ports which can be used when towing. On the back panel, storage is provided for tools like the Stihl splitting axe and there’s also an EGO battery powered chain saw that are included with the trailer!

Slide out the massive galley, and you’re treated to as close as you’ll get to a professional kitchen that you can tow behind your truck (over extremely rugged terrain). All of the food prep surfaces are clad in food-grade stainless steel with stainless fasteners and food-safe adhesives and sealants. We’re getting to the point where there are just too many details to list, but the short list includes an 11,000 BTU stove, a refrigerator/freezer, and even a stainless steel Sea B-Que grill that mounts to the front of the trailer, or can be placed on a stand, or the ground. Heat is provided via an included 20lb propane tank up front so you can easily swap it out on the road.

Seriously, there’s storage everywhere. Pull out the tray above the fridge and you have a massive food storage spot that like the rear storage, can support up to 200 lbs.

Of course, no kitchen would be complete without a sink, so the EDC includes a faucet with hot and cold water provided through the impressive water system. Basically, you can filter your own water with the included filtration system, or attach to street water though the connector on the side, and hot water is offered through the LPG water heater. This also allows you to have hot showers with the removeable faucet.

All of the water supply is plumbed with PEX tubing with brass and stainless connectors, and there is a heat trace plus insulation and a heating pad under the water tank to ensure that the lines or water tank never freeze. Apparently, this is the only adventure trailer that includes all these heating elements and offers insulated door panels to keep your water and gear from freezing no matter what the weather.

Galley Features

If you haven’t figured it out by now, there is an incredible amount of detail that has gone into the design and construction of the EDC. Terry has been putting this prototype through rigorous real world testing for the past year, and because of that has preemptively countered just about any issue you could have on the open road.

What makes the EDC even more impressive is that it is currently selling for $34,500 and includes a 10 year warranty on the chassis and 5 year warranty on the body. Obviously, that’s a lot of money, but for what you’re getting it’s a steal. Production trailers will be available in five different colors of powder coated aluminum with black rock deflectors, rack risers, and wheel wells, or you can opt for the polished aluminum shown above. Currently, there is about a month and a half lead time for pre-orders. Check out the site below for more info.

overlandaccess.com