RV review: 2023 Coachmen Apex Nano 213RDS travel trailer
Today’s RV review is of the 2023 Coachmen Apex Nano 213RDS. The 213RD may be the largest in the Apex Nano line, but it’s actually a relatively small trailer that offers good interior design and features and makes for a really good couples’ camper. It’s even better when you look at how relatively light this trailer is given the mostly full feature set.
Coachmen Apex Nano
As part of Coachmen’s Apex Nano line, the Apex Nano 213RDs incorporates some new features for 2023 that I will count as improvements. For example, the line features Azdel substrates in both the interior and exterior walls. This man-made material promises better sound insulation and less resistance to moisture damage.
Here’s an explanation of RV construction types and Azdel
This trailer is also 7’ 6” wide so the narrower configuration offers less wind resistance meaning it’s easier to tow. Further, at 3,826 pounds dry weight, it is well within the capability of many larger SUVs and even a few mid-size pickups towing capability. This opens the door to a lot more people being able to enjoy StressLess Camping.
Check our RV towing guide before matching a truck and trailer.
Lastly, Coachmen announced that they were going to standardize on 12 volt fridges. Josh’s video, included at the bottom of this article, shows the model with a propane-electric fridge. Gone.
There will be some RVers who welcome this change with open arms, others who don’t. I like the 12 volt refrigerators a lot but they consume more energy than I had original suspected so I’m not sure the single 200 watt solar panel will completely zero-out the demand of this fridge if you’re boondocking.
Our podcast with Josh the RV Nerd about RV refrigerator trends.
Nice floor plan
I like the layout of this trailer with the dinette at the back. Over in the road-side slide room there’s a couch which features flip-up foot rests. Nice. This means decent seating for the couple that would usually own this rig and a couple of friends you meet in the campground as well.
Coachmen does not include a TV with this although there’s a provision for one opposite that nifty couch. I like this as it gives you the choice of what TV you want. I know a lot of people immediately replace the TVs in their RV with something that better suits their needs - here you just get what you want.
There’s a decent amount of cabinet and drawer storage in this unit including a really nifty drawer that’s just two larger segmented sections. You can put what you want here and, yes, that can include silverware but doesn’t have to.
The kitchen in here consists only of a simple two-burner propane stove top and a microwave. It’s not a convection microwave and there’s no stove - I would like to see a convection unit as an option, though.
There’s additional storage in a nifty little cabinet right by the door and then under the camp side of the dinette.
This does have a walk-around queen, but that’s an RV (short) queen.
I would classify this as primarily a couples’ camper. There is a dinette which can fold down to make a bed and the couch, too, folds down to make a bed. But both of these are pretty short so you’ll really only want to have younger travelers occupying these, if at all.
Speaking of the dinette, this uses those knee knocking poles. I’m hoping someone in the RV space will listen to my suggestion to make these tables free-standing with height-adjustable legs so you can also use them for additional kitchen prep space. But, get this, you can do this yourself with this set of table legs I found on Amazon.
Having the table free-standing would also enable you to use it in the theater seats as well as at the dinette so you get a super deluxe bonus by modifying the table legs.
On the subject of this being a couples’ camper, though, know that neither the air conditioner nor the heater are ducted. In other words, they just blow from their locations in the middle of the camper. That means that if you draw the privacy curtain across the bedroom doorway, you’re also blocking either heat or air conditioning. Not good.
You could also relocate that curtain if you do have guests once in a while or just skip it altogether and tell your guests to bring a tent.
What’s not to like
I’ll start with the fact that I’m not the biggest fan of simple dry bolted leaf spring suspensions, although these are generally found on lots of towable RVs. They’re just suboptimal, but they certainly get the job done and they’re the least expensive configuration available.
Interestingly, this version of the suspension offers the ability to use mounting points to lower the trailer by about an inch. I don’t see many trailers that have an ability to adjust the suspension height, so that’s kind of cool.
Also, the steps accommodate the height you choose but, should that be the taller of the two choices, that first step is a doozie.
This also uses a Schwintek slide mechanism. Honestly, I’m not opposed to these at all and this is simply a lightweight slide for the couch so it should be fine. But lots of folks don’t understand them and so they run into issues. Used properly with this little weight, it should be just fine. But something to know.
While Coachmen puts a high-performance vent fan in the main body of the trailer, a good thing, they only put a small fart fan in the bathroom. Trust me, this won’t overcome taco Tuesday and that larger fan out in the main body may share the experience with the rest of the trailer’s occupants. These little fans are just worthless.
On the subject of fans, there isn’t a vent fan over the stove which I think is not a good thing at all. Yes, there’s the high-performance fan but I just prefer a specific vent hood. Essentially you’ve got an open flame below wooden cabinets. What could go wrong?
Lastly, the bathroom in this trailer is pretty tight. This makes sense, it’s a narrow-body trailer and the bathroom is certainly functional. But this is something to know. I do like that the corner shower uses a shower curtain instead of that glass shower door. Large vertical sheets of glass in a moving vehicle give me the heebie jeebies.
Boondocking and travel access
I was surprised to see that this model features 50 gallons of fresh water storage. That’s pretty sizable for a smaller trailer and, with over 2,000 pounds of cargo carrying capacity you’ll have no issues with this much weight aboard.
Another thing I like is that there’s just one sewer outlet. I’ve seen more than my share of RVs with multiple dump points, which just seems lazy. Not here. One. As it should be.
As for travel access, count this one as totally travel accessible. Even with the slide room in you can still access everything on the trailer. The only thing the slide room accomplishes, when extended, is opening up the floor space.
My thoughts
For a relatively lightweight trailer this has a lot of interior functionality and space. I actually really like this floor plan and how Coachmen implemented it.
Something they did in the design of this was mount the stabilizer jacks at 45° angle to the frame. I’ve been told this results in a more stable camping experience.
Despite how relatively light this trailer is, it certainly has a good amount of cargo carrying capacity and that’s not a bad thing either. I betcha that most travel trailers are overloaded so having a ton of cargo carrying capacity, literally, will mean you’re far more likely to be within spec on this.
Since this is a more affordable trailer you can see the price focus in some features like those blackout blinds throughout the model, but they’re not really bad. I would rather they just take out the windshield in here and give me better blinds instead, but I’m not a fan of unprotected travel trailer windshields in any form.
Overall, though, this is definitely a model worth considering as a couples camper. The fact that it is a bit narrower and lighter is a bonus, opening up the door to more types of vehicles that can tow it. I like it.
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