You can't have it all in life, they say. But if there's one thing Maru wants to make sure you do have is a compact towable that offers the most space once you've reached camp, wherever it might be.
Maru is an Estonian company that offers a range of transport solutions, mostly for the heavy and military sectors. The underlying concept is the same for all these solutions and is called the Rolling Unit, an expandable module capable of tripling its size in camp mode. The applicability of these solutions is virtually limitless; as highlighted in the video tour below for the 2023 model, camping is one of them.
Rolling Unit is an expandable trailer that triples its size in camp mode, thus offering more space than a conventional trailer with slide-outs, but in a more compact package during transport. Think of it as the unicorn of towables: small on the road but spacious and durable at camp while also being easy to use and highly versatile.
The Rolling Unit is offered in several variants, from truck to fully custom. The one we're looking at today is the XL Trailer, which was initially introduced by Maru Defence, the company's branch that deals exclusively in military contracts. As of June 2023, it's available for the private sector as well.
Photo: Maru
The XL Trailer is the towable equivalent of "having it all" because it’s a towable that you can haul around with your daily driver (large SUV, van, or pickup truck) but which offers a considerable footprint at camp. Designed as a mobile platform for businesses, the XL Trailer can be anything from a mobile medical unit to a hairstylist's mobile office, but it can also double as basecamp as long as you're not particularly keen on fancy creature comforts.
We've seen trailers using a similar mechanism for expanding at camp as the Rolling Unit XL Trailer, but few can boast of the same quality. Maru has been in the business for over a decade, and contracts with anyone from Synlab to NATO speak for their commitment to delivering only the best product possible. Do keep this in mind before you write it off as yet another expandable trailer.
The XL Trailer sits on a galvanized double-axle chassis with drum brakes and Knott components. In transport mode, it offers an interior space of just 9 square meters (97 square feet), so it's compact enough to be towed on a BE driving license (for passenger cars and trucks up to 3.5 tons). At the same time, it's also spacious to hold all the equipment in place, anchored to the floor rails.
Photo: Maru
At camp, this trailer deploys like all the other Rolling Units, expanding laterally until it goes from 2.3 meters in width to 5.8 meters (7.5 feet to 19 feet) and a total footprint of 30 square meters (323 square feet).
There's thick, 20-to-80-mm insulation throughout, including in the floor, and a Mitsubishi mini-split that turns the trailer into a comfortable space whether you're using it in +50°C/122°F temperatures or -40°C/-40°F. Since this is meant as a space for pop-up venues, roadshows, and live marketing events, furniture is limited to just one plastic, high-gloss cabinet with an integrated Dometic drawer, but you could add more units if you wanted to use it for leisure.
Extra options include solar and battery array for full off-grid capabilities, or you can choose a walkable roof that expands the available space upwards. That said, the solar array option and Starlink connection would turn the trailer into the perfect remote office. Spacious, too!
The standard spec includes Starlink connection, exterior LED lighting with color-changing options, the storage shed at the front with the mini-split, battery, and hydraulics system, the double glass access door, and the staircase with the metal awning. Also as part of the standard package, you get several outlets, including hidden inside the floor.
Photo: Maru
Deployment of the trailer takes just 8 minutes and is done partially hands-free, though you still have to jump in to secure the walls to the roof or to bring the railings on the fold-down metal staircase into position. You'll also have to move stuff around and secure it on the rails by hand. But the mechanism has been improved and modernized since it was introduced, to the point where it can now be done on your phone – if pressing physical buttons is not your thing.
A standard 3-in-1 Rolling Unit starts at $69,000 but do take this figure as a rough estimate for what you might have to pay for the recently-introduced XL Trailer in basic spec. Since camping as a possible use is thrown in almost as an afterthought, so it's clearly not designed for everyday use by Average Joe, the price tag seems decent.
The rest of us can window shop and hope that one day, the expanding mechanism will arrive on everyday trailers with more affordable price tags.
Elena has been writing for a living since 2006 and, as a journalist, she has put her double major in English and Spanish to good use. She covers automotive and mobility topics like cars and bicycles, and she always knows the shows worth watching on Netflix and friends. Full profile
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