Travel Lite’s 2020 Evoke Model C travel trailer has a spacious rear bathroom, a king-size bed, dual entry doors, and a light and bright interior inspired by private-jet decor
Stretched out on zero-gravity camp chairs under the 20-foot awning of a Travel Lite Evoke Model C trailer, we watched the calm and chaos of the campground unfold. It was Easter weekend and it seemed that everyone who owned an RV or tent in Southern California was in that campground. We were squeezed in on a grass-covered site with neighbors so close you could hold hands with them while reclining in bed.
Enthusiasm and laughter reigned. Kids dyed Easter eggs on a picnic table next to us, while others rode their bicycles through our site, dogs with wagging tails ran around, and the smell of campfires and dinners cooking permeated the air. A guy stood on the rooftop of a toy hauler, pulling a rope to raise and lower a piñata for blindfolded kids joyfully swinging away.
After watching a neighbor direct his buddy, who was driving a Mustang, into a tight campsite and, subsequently, a firepit, I decided it was time to go in and make our own dinner. Extracting myself from the chair, I headed inside the Evoke’s tempered-glass, European-style back door via fold-out steps. Yes, a glass door. The 33-foot, 9-inch Model C has a separate glass entry door into the front bedroom, in addition to the main door — kind of like a duplex. Inside, the space is sectioned off from the living area by a wooden sliding door.
Lounging and Living
What We Liked
Light and bright living area, large windows, huge bathroom, lavender-hued LED mood lights, outdoor kitchen.
What We’d Like to See
A ladder, more exterior storage, footrests on sofa, day/night roller shades on windows, softer lighting over the bed.
Stepping inside the living area, with the large bathroom at the left and the bedroom out of view at the right, the light-colored contemporary design, accentuated by an off-white Infinity Luxury Woven Vinyl floor, pops with brightness. A two-seater jackknife sofa and booth-style dinette reside in the single slideout. The vinyl cushions are outfitted in a cream color with white stitching (Drummond Stone). Windows claim almost the entire side walls over the furniture to let in lots of natural light. Curved European-style cabinets, finished in Oak Whitewash sans outer hardware, merge with the white Granicoat solid-surface counter and stainless-steel appliances. A Furrion 1,500-watt built-in electric fireplace with remote, high/low heat settings and timer are opposite the seating area. All of this gives the Evoke a sleek look, which the company says is jet inspired.
In keeping with the Evoke’s Furrion-brand theme, the L-shaped kitchen is outfitted with the company’s 2-in-1 Range Oven with three burners and a flush-mounted safety-glass top, an oven with a sturdy handle on the door and an overhead microwave perpendicular to a large stainless-steel farmhouse-style sink. The sink features a pull-down sprayer faucet with spring-coil spout. We noted that, with the slideout’s window curtains open during daylight hours, sunshine reflected off the microwave’s controls that are placed about 6 feet high, making them hard to read. Looking out of those 5-foot-long, side-by-side windows with bottom-portion slide-open panes provided hours of entertainment and relaxation while in our campsite. All windows in the Evoke have fabric curtains, which darken the place, but if you like it pitch black when sleeping in,aftermarket day/night roller shades may be in your future.
Adding even more light is a large skylight placed over the middle of the kitchen. A gray-and-white faux-marble backsplash covers the walls between the seamless counter and overhead cabinets and is clear of 120-volt AC outlets and light switches, which are parked out of sight underneath the plentiful cabinets, along with lavender-hued LED light strips. The cabinets open upward on gas struts, and drawers have soft-close hardware.
The cabinet underneath the 23-by-13-inch sink was especially useful since the spacious bottom shelf is free of plumbing and pipes, so large items could be stored here. A kitchen window set back below the overhead cabinetry brings in more natural light. Standing at the kitchen counter, shorter RVers will have a more sweeping outside view, while I, at 5 feet, 9 inches, found myself crouching down to see more than the ground immediately in front of our campsite.
Another drawer under the oven, which we mistook at first for a warming drawer, is deep enough to hold a collection of pots and pans. The kitchen layout is well thought out with large appliances placed intuitively and plenty of countertop space next to the range. From slicing and dicing on the 40-inch-long, 22-inch-deep counter, to reaching into the fridge and then wandering over to the sink, occupants are free to roam about and not feel space-restricted. There’s more than 5 feet of floor space between the kitchen and dinette, and the length of the galley is 12½ feet. Heat registers are kept off the floor for a clean look.
The Evoke’s 10-cubic-foot 12-volt DC compressor-model EverChill refrigerator requires a good-size battery bank and recharging system (think solar) for staying put off the grid.
A 40-inch HDTV and DV3100 Furrion entertainment system are placed above the fireplace. The DV3100 has two-zone audiovisual technology with Bluetooth connectivity and can be paired with a smartphone to stream music wirelessly or via DVDs.
Hardwired LED light strips with a lavender hue are located throughout the Evoke and housed under cabinets, around the entertainment center and fireplace, in the dinette, around the slideout’s perimeter and in various places in the bedroom. We loved this touch! Not only did it look good but the various mood-setting lights came in handy when trying to find our way around during the night.
The Evoke is not short on interior storage. A large closet by the back entry can serve as a wardrobe, pantry or both. The 37-inch-deep cabinet is sectioned off with the upper half sporting a clothing rod, while the lower portion has two shelves. Under the jackknife sofa is a foot-deep storage area, and there’s storage underneath the dinette’s bench seats, accessed by removing the cushions and plywood bases. Portable armrests with cupholders are tucked into each end of the sofa. Without attachment points, these armrests can be tippy, so if kids are jumping up onto the sofa, for instance, you’ll want to remove drinks because they could get knocked over. And without the 6-inch-wide armrests in place, you can make room for another person on the made-for-two sofa, which is more like a loveseat.
Since the sofa has no footrests, I preferred sitting lengthwise with my back propped against the wall, providing a view to the outside. The sofa and dinette transform into beds, though both are more appropriate for small people. Lift up the base of the sofa, pull forward and — voilà! — the 42-by-57-inch bed is set up. The back cushions are puffier than the seats, so the “mattress” is a little uneven. The dinette turns into a 40-by-62-inch bed with 4½-inch-thick cushions and takes a little more effort to set up when removing the two-post table. The double-post situation steadies the table for dining or a rambunctious board game, though, and legroom between the bench seating and base of the table is a good 10 inches. In the sleeping position, the sofa does not infringe on walk space or entry into the bathroom.
Powder Room
Ahh, the bathroom — or walk-in closet, as we referred to it. Those who like a grand bathroom to keep clothes at the ready after a shower, lots of storage and abundant elbow and countertop room will be truly happy. The bathroom spans the entire width at the back of the trailer. And since the door slides open parallel to the side wall, there’s no door intruding into the space.
The bathroom counter is rather large, but the sink could be bigger; it’s almost dwarfed by the spacious counter. The deep-bowl sink is about a foot wide and topped off with a chrome-plated two-handle faucet. There’s a mirrored medicine cabinet featuring a cool push-button LED, an overhead cabinet, an under-counter double-door cabinet and four self-closing drawers.
A plastic Dometic toilet is planted below the 27-by-33-inch rear window and next to the spacious shower, which features an 18-inch-high molded seat and tri-slide glass doors. Adjusted at the highest setting, the handheld showerhead with shutoff valve is at the 5-foot, 9-inch mark, and with the skylight figured in, total headroom is 6½ feet. When stepping out of the shower with wet feet, the stain-resistant Infinity woven floor offers good grip.
Just remember that when you’ve finished up in the bathroom and slide open the door, you’re stepping out into the heart of the living area with an entry door to the right, so don’t parade out of the bathroom without clothing if you don’t want to be on full display. With the Evoke set for travel and the slide retracted, the bathroom is accessible, provided you enter through the rear door. However, access between the living area and bedroom is blocked, unless you want to climb over the kitchen counter and step into the sink while squeezed between the kitchen wall and slideout.
King-Size Sleeping
Having the loo and bedroom at opposite ends of the RV is a plus for those on different bathroom schedules. For convenience, there is a vanity with storage and a sink in the bedroom, which worked great for when we didn’t want to travel to the other end to brush our teeth. Here, again, counter space is impressive, and there’s a big mirror over the small sink. There’s 2 feet of walk space between the end of the bed and the vanity.
The bedroom’s 80-by-76-inch king-size bed with 7-inch-thick mattress was pretty darn comfy, and there’s storage underneath the platform, supported by gas struts. Nightstands, 120-volt AC outlets, USB ports and windows are on each side of the mattress, and the curved ceiling over the head of the bed is designed so that most people will have plenty of noggin clearance when sitting up to read or watch TV (a 19-inch HDTV is optional). At the foot of the bed, lavender LED strips softly light up the floor.
Two foot-long LED channel lights are located over the head of the bed, presumably for reading — and good golly, are they bright. Or at least they seemed that way as we settled into bed, expecting less illumination. There’s also just one switch to operate them and no dimmer, so they’re either both on or both off, which means if one person wants the light on and the other wants to sleep, a battle of wills may ensue. A floor-to-ceiling wardrobe is stationed immediately inside the entry door.
Take It Outside
Outside the bedroom’s entry door is the exterior kitchen with a slide-out, two-burner Flame King range, small shelves and an EverChill mini fridge. The storage door is held up by magnetic latches, and when up, it partially blocks the kitchen window. This trailer is set up for outdoor entertainment with Furrion exterior speakers and a bracket so a TV can be mounted outside, plus there’s the electric awning with integrated LED lights that runs almost the length of the trailer and shades both entry doors. An outside sprayer is at the back.
The dual-axle, 8-foot-wide Model C body rolls along on Michelin Defender LTX tires on black powder-coated 18-inch wheels, and the tires have a lifetime warranty through Travel Lite. Evoke models have an 8-foot, 6-inch-wide track, placing the wheels slightly outside the body of the trailer. The aerodynamic molded front cap is covered at its base with a painted-aluminum diamond plate, and three LED light strips on the front cap are operated by a switch in the 31-inch-wide, 18-inch-tall pass-through storage compartment, the trailer’s only exterior storage option. The test Model C had easy-to-operate crank-down stabilizing jacks, but power stabilizing jacks are an option. The trailer operates on 50-amp power, is prewired for solar and has a Magnadyne Mobilevision RVTV-B2 Omni-Directional antenna. In keeping with the sleek gel- coat exterior profile, there’s no ladder.
Heading home, we realized how soothing the Evoke had been in the chaotic campground. Watching all the energy unfold in the RV-and-tent city was fun, but when we wanted peace in the evening, we stepped inside the roomy Model C, leaving only the calming LED lights and relaxing fireplace on. And we felt quite at home with the generously sized bedroom, kitchen and bathroom.
www.travelliterv.com
Manufacturer’s Specifications
2020 TRAVEL LITE EVOKE MODEL C
Exterior Length 33′ 9″
Exterior Width 8′ 6″ including tires
Exterior Height 11′ 6″ (with A/C)
Interior Width 7′ 9″
Interior Height 6′ 9″
Construction Wood framing, hung gel-coat fiberglass side walls, fiberglass insulation, tongue-and-groove plywood floor decking, TPO Superflex walkable roof
Freshwater Cap. 54 gal.
Gray-Water Cap. 40 gal.
Black-Water Cap. 40 gal.
LP-Gas Cap 14 gal.
Water-Heater Cap. 6 gal.
Refrigerator 10 cu. ft.
Furnace 25,000 Btu
Air Conditioner 15,000 Btu
Converter 55 amp
Battery Dealer supplied
Tires M/S 255/55R18
Suspension Double-eye Lippert Equa-Flex
Dry Weight 7,115 lbs.
Hitch Weight 715 lbs.
Axle Weight (2) 6,400 lbs.
GVWR 8,715 lbs.
GAWR 8,000 lbs.
Cargo Carrying Cap. 1,600 lbs.
MSRP, Base $40,299
MSRP, As Tested $40,299
Basic Warranty One year
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Managing Editor Donya Carlson grew up camping with her family in Southern California and loves spending time hiking, mountain biking, motorcycling, snowboarding and just about anything else outdoors. Before joining the Trailer Life and MotorHome team, she served as managing editor of Rider, a magazine for motorcycle enthusiasts.