2025 Highland Ridge Open Range Conventional 26RLS Review

This lightweight travel trailer is a good way to embark upon RV life. (Especially if you’d like to do so without having to commit to an additional heavy-duty tow vehicle to pull it with.) The 2025 Highland Ridge Open Range Conventional 26RLS could be appropriate for full-time RVers with kids, so long as you don’t mind your kids not having their own designated room or bunkhouse. This model has spacious living quarters with a residential-style kitchen. Those things, combined with four-season capabilities, make this unit a nice fit for full-time life on the road. 

Equally amenable to part-time RVers or weekend warriors, the Open Range Conventional 26RLS offers functional living space with extra sleeping capacity for kids or visitors. The kitchen provides a beautiful and well-lit workspace for easy meal prep or extensive culinary endeavors. The bedroom and bathroom are spacious and tasteful, a refreshing interior living space through and through. 

 

At a Glance: Open Range Conventional 26RLS

I rate the Open Range Conventional 26RLS with a score of 70 out of 100. While it boasts a bright and sunny living interior, with a spacious bathroom and bedroom area, it also lacks storage capacity for the six it sleeps. Additionally, certain finishing touches felt incomplete and affected my impression of the overall build quality. I also found the lack of cabinet doors somewhat unrealistic.

[review_summary class=”custom-class” title=”2025 Highland Ridge Open Range Conventional 26RLS” description=”This score is awarded by an expert reviewer conducting an independent assessment of the RV.” overall_score=”7.0/10″]

Check the Specs

• Sleeping capacity: 6
• Hitch weight: 750 pounds
• UVW: 5,890 pounds
• CCC: 1,710 pounds
• Exterior length: 30 feet 1 inch
• Exterior Height: 10 feet 6 inches (without A/C); 11 feet 2 inches (with A/C)
• Exterior Width: 8 feet (11 feet with slide-outs)
• Fresh/Gray/Black: 42/39/39 gallons
• Propane: 2 x 30 pounds 
• Awning: 19 feet
• MSRP: $39,961

 

Features We Love

• Two-door entry
• Press membrane countertops in kitchen 
• Skylight in the bathroom 
• Butcher block solid top accent design 
• Spacious living quarters with plenty of seating   
• Easy-access storage underneath the master bed
• Passthrough storage access underneath the RV 
• Flush floor slide-outs
• PVC roofing membrane (walkable) that reflects sunlight keeping unit cooler 
• Flush mount range in the kitchen with a glass folding top  
• Bedroom is CPAP-ready
• Large, oversized window at the far end of the trailer
• Lippert power tongue jack
• Solid, swing-down steps 

 

 

Benefits

• Easy towing experience with this lightweight travel trailer
• Safe entry/exit with swing-down steps 
• Can accommodate additional guests with plenty of seating and a six-person sleeping capacity
• Can cook for additional friends and family with the three-burner stove
• Offers a bright and sunny living space with oversized picture windows flooding the space with vitamin D
• No need to purchase an additional heavy-duty tow vehicle; a half-ton truck can pull this

 

Challenges

• The conventional price of this travel trailer comes without cabinet doors on many storage areas of the unit.
• There are no reclining seats in the living space.
• Dinette couch cushion Velcro attachment does not appear that it will last long.
• Storage solutions are not adequate for six passengers.

 

Best For

• Weekend warriors with kids, grandkids, or friends that like to visit
• Full-time RV couples without kids — or with kids (if you don’t mind them sleeping on a convertible dinette or pull-out couch)
• Single full-time travelers that want to accommodate guests and family members

 

Key Areas We Evaluate for RV Buyers

Sleeping Space

The master bedroom in the Open Range Conventional 26RLS feels bright and spacious with plenty of space to walk around the bed. There are outlets on either side (CPAP-ready) and pop-up USB charging ports. The queen-size bed has two small wardrobe/closets on either side that feel too narrow to confidently hang anything inside. Each comes equipped with a dresser pole, nonetheless. There are two spacious end tables on either end of the bed, but no shelves or drawers beneath them. The master bed opens to reveal some storage space beneath with gas-strutted lift assist. 

The couch folds into a sleeper sofa — but keep your back straight during deployment. (Ouch!) The living area is spacious enough to feel roomy even after the couch has been deployed into a bed. (That’s not always the case in many RV floorplans.) The dinette also converts to a bed, but I found some of the finishing touches on it were hastily assembled. The Velcro strips that keep the dinette cushions attached to the wall are stapled into the wall. (I can tell you from experience that those will not last long.) Honestly, little details like this make me question the overall care that went into construction of the rest of the unit. Ultimately, even so, I was impressed at the space remaining in the living area after both the couch and dinette were converted to beds. 

 

 

Bathroom

The passthrough bathroom is surprisingly roomy in the Open Range Conventional 26RLS. The sink sits on a long and lovely solid butcher block counter, with three large cabinets beneath for storage. A large, double-mirrored vanity is installed above the sink with storage available behind the doors. The shower has a standard no-frills insert, with a curtain instead of a door separating the space. There are some vertical shelves next to the shower for storage, but they lack any doors or barriers.  

 

 

Living Area

The space here in the Open Range Conventional 26RLS feels bright, sunny and expansive. A large, oversized window sits behind the couch, with another large window behind the dinette. Natural light floods the room with a bright and vibrant energy. The light is delightful and vibes well with the textured shades of gray, light-colored countertops and black window trim arranged throughout the space. 

The couch is a tasteful light gray and feels contemporary yet cozy. (It is probably the nicest couch I have seen in an RV yet!) Being one of the more affordable units, the TV is not included in the living space. But it appears as though the placement of the install is a bit high for the intended viewing area. You may be craning your neck a little bit. The television area offers a sizable amount of shelving storage beneath it. The storage compartments above the couch offer a little extra storage, but overall, more is needed in this space. There are two small end tables on either side of the couch, but they lack doors. The dinette, however, does offer storage underneath each cushion.  

 

 

Kitchen

The kitchen in the Open Range Conventional 26RLS offers an integrated farmhouse-style sink with spacious counter tops spanning the width to the stove. A folding glass top over the burners allows you to extend your countertops when you aren’t using the stove. The large sink comes with a sleek faucet and pull-down sprayer. The kitchen also comes equipped with an InVision microwave and oven with overhead storage above and below the sink. There is a large cabinet below the stove that would be handy for pots and pans. The 120-volt outlets and USB-charging ports are conveniently available behind the stove. (Just make sure your wires don’t end up crossing over the range.)

A 10-cubic-foot, 12-volt InVision refrigerator with a sleek black exterior is installed near the dinette table. However, it does feel somewhat separated from the kitchen space and cramped up against the walls. Thanks to spacious windows throughout the living area, the kitchen feels welcoming and bright.  

 

 

Four-Season Capabilities

The Xtend solar package with a 200-watt Solar panel and 30-amp charge controller in the Open Range Conventional 26RLS will ensure your fridge and lights running while you are dry camping. Having the option to go off-grid widens your camping agenda and sightseeing capabilities. (You never know when you may have to scrap your preplanned schedule for logistical reasons.) Being able to find the nearest spot available to kick it for the night is a golden opportunity in RV life. 

The Magnum roof system with PVC roofing membrane offers safe, walkable access for roof maintenance. The PVC material reflects sunlight helping keep the unit temperature controlled in the summer months. The roof, floor, and sidewalls are insulated, as well as the underbelly of the unit. You can extend your camping season well into the colder months in the Open Range Conventional 26RLS. 

 

Storage Space 

For a passenger capacity of six, I do feel that the Open Range Conventional 26RLS lacks storage. And considering that this conventional model lacks many cabinet doors, even the storage compartments that it has may be met with challenges. The nightstands next to the bed seem a bit pointless without any shelves or drawers inside them. Likewise, the large overhead storage compartment lacks any sort of door or barrier. The bed, however, does offer storage beneath with gas-strutted hinges for easy access. Outside, there are two storage units, with one offering convenient passthrough access. 

 

 

Closing Notes on the Open Range Conventional 26RLS 

The Open Range Conventional 26RLS certainly speaks to me with the spacious and well-lit interior. Anyone can look at a floorplan while shopping online, but it’s hard to get a real sense of natural lighting.

Another great new feature is the app-controlled function of the A/C unit. Being able to turn the A/C on before you get back from your long sultry hike in the desert will be a game changer in your level of comfort.  

 

A Note on the RV Trader Review Process

RV Trader asked RV shoppers what was most important to them in their RV buying process. Potential buyers — like you — helped us to identify a list of six key areas that camping and travel enthusiasts always look at when they’re searching for the perfect RV: sleeping space, bathroom, living area, four-season capabilities, and storage space.

The RV Trader team then got to work providing you with honest and unbiased evaluations. If you’re wondering, that’s where I came in. As an RV expert and enthusiast, I provide an honest look at RVs from an RV industry insider perspective.