2025 Highland Ridge Open Range Conventional 22MLS Review

According to several studies, many RVs only get out a few times a year. What’s more, many of those road trips don’t average over 75 miles from home. Needless to say, if you’re one of those typical RV campers, a high-end RV might not make sense. For those models, the price connects to the amount of time you plant to use it. But if you simply like the occasional RV trip, you need a different kind of RV model. And the 2025 Highland Ridge Open Range Conventional 22MLS just might be it.

Why exactly is that? Keep reading.

At a Glance: Open Range Conventional 22MLS

I rated the Open Range Conventional 22MLS as a three out of five. This is a popular floor plan for a reason. But while many details really were good, there were also a few things that I believe could have been done better — all without creating a much more expensive RV.

Check the Specs

Sleeping capacity: 4
Hitch weight: 500 pounds
UVW: 5,265 pounds
CCC: 1,435 pounds
Exterior length: 27 feet 5 inches
Exterior height 10 feet 7 inches
Exterior width: 8 feet
Fresh/Gray/Black: 42/40/40 gallons
Propane: 2 x 20 pounds
Awning: 18 feet

Features We Love

PVC roof membrane
3-year structural warranty
Kitchen storage
Furnace vents relocated to cabinets

Benefits

Many towable RVs use a membrane-style roof, but the PVC roof on this trailer has the advantage of carrying a lifetime warranty. Further, if you do happen to damage the membrane, you can repair it with things you can get at any local hardware store.
Despite being on the more affordable side, this trailer still carries a three-year structural warranty.
There’s a lot of storage in the kitchen on this for a smaller trailer, including drawers, cabinets, and even a pantry.
It’s a common practice in the RV industry to have furnace vents in the floor of the RV, but that means you’re kicking dust and pet dander into the space all year. (And then smelling them as they get heated as the weather gets colder.) Highland Ridge has moved the vents up into the cabinets instead, so this won’t be the case in the Open Range Conventional 22MLS. (This is a pretty significant change that’s much appreciated.)

Note the elevated furnace registers that keep you from kicking dirt and dander in there all year. Little touches like this go a long way in the RV life.

Challenges

This is a pretty simple entry-level trailer. And while it’s decently equipped, you should know that the basic leaf-spring suspension and budget-brand tires are something to keep an eye on. These less elaborate suspension systems tend to transmit more road irregularities to the trailer itself. That makes them less well suited for those who plan to do extensive towing.
Some of the details inside, including exposed fasteners on the dinette, really stated quite obviously that this trailer was built to a budget.
The low-grade vent fan in the bathroom isn’t going to do much to clear steam or odors. Which means it might be something to update early on. I wish the manufacturer would just put in a better fan from the factory.

Low-grade details can be found in the build. Mostly small stuff, like the mismatched screws shown here.

Best For

The Open Range Conventional 22MLS provides an affordable way to enjoy the RV lifestyle. With many RVers only traveling relatively short distances and not getting many uses in a year out of their RVs, this could be a great choice. It’s especially suited for the wide majority of couples who want to step into an RV to get away — without camping on the ground.
If you’re able to store this on your own property, this would be a great alternative to a guest room for visiting family and friends.

Key Areas of RV Trader Reviews

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 an honest and unbiased evaluations. And that’s where I come in. I’m Tony Barthel, RV expert and enthusiast. I provide an honest look at RVs from an RV industry insider perspective. That way, you can learn the good, the bad, and the intriguing about any RVs I review. I inspect each RV with the buyer’s perspective at the forefront. And I always evaluate those six key areas that buyers have told us that they have in mind.

So, that said, let’s take a closer look at the 2025 Highland Ridge Open Range Conventional 22MLS.

Sleeping Space

The Highland Ridge Open Range Conventional 22MLS is essentially a one-room RV. In short, the sleeping space is in the same area as the rest of the interior. This is fine if you and your travel companions are on a similar sleep schedule. There is also a booth dinette that might accommodate a guest for a night or two but, really, this is a couples’ camper at heart.

A simple walk-around bed in the Highland Ridge Open Range 22MLS. Here, you can also the space for hanging storage on each side of the bed. Open storage is also found above the bed.

A look at the under-bed storage with struts.

Bathroom

There is actually a relatively decent amount of counter space in this bathroom. (Which is not typical.) Additionally, there is a cabinet at the back as well as a cubby space plus a proper medicine cabinet.

As I’ve mentioned in a lot of other reviews, I’m not a fan of the low-performance vent fan in the bathroom. In my estimation, these do little more than make noise.

The shower is a rectangular unit with a shower curtain, which I prefer over a glass shower enclosure — especially because it provides a little privacy in this one-room floorplan. Lastly, the toilet has enough room to even be friendly toward bigger campers who might be described by comedian Gabriel Iglesias as … fluffy.

Living Area

I can see that Open Range Conventional 22MLS owners would likely appreciate the reclining theater seats on the road side of this RV. Those seats feature a power reclining function. They also have USB power outlets in them to keep your devices in top form.

Across from the recliners is a TV flanked by storage and below that, a four-place dinette that makes into a bed. This floorplan offers decent camp-side window coverage so you can watch the goings on at camp from the dinette.

Nice view of the cabin inside the Open Range Conventional 22MLS as you enter.

As you can see, the dinette enjoys good camp-side window coverage.

Theater seats have a good view of the TV. To the right, you can also see the entry way into the bathroom.

Power reclining theater seats with USB ports are easy to appreciate.

Kitchen

The kitchen in the Open Range Conventional 22MLS is an L-shaped unit with a larger 12-volt refrigerator, three-burner propane stove, oven, and microwave. There are enough cabinets and drawers in this along with a pantry that even cooks who like cooking gadgets might be happy that they can find a place for their stuff. Much of the back wall of this model has counter space for the camp chef to utilize. And there’s also a larger sink.

However, one big challenge in this kitchen is the 17-inch (vertical) oven. I talk about this in almost every RV where I find it. But this kind of oven really doesn’t have much room for anything more than pizza or cookies. And even these tend to have significant hot spots. So, with this oven, frequent rotation is the word of the day.

This full, L-shaped kitchen in the Open Range Conventional 22MLS has a surprising amount of storage and counter space.

Another angle of the galley. More storage above and below counter. Take a look also at that elegant back wall.

A glance inside the standard 12-volt fridge.

Four-Season Capabilities

While the underbelly of this is enclosed and heated, four-season campers should note that the gate valve for the sewer is exposed. That could limit how low the temps could go to retain full usability of this RV. However, the Open Range Conventional 22MLS might be well-suited for three of four seasons. (Depending on where you live in the country, course.)

Concerning off-grid capability, many buyers simply camp in RV parks or places with full hook-ups. So, the fact that this RV has no solar may not be a big deal. There are decently large holding tanks at 40 gallons for fresh, gray, and black, but the 12-volt fridge will easily consume the equivalent of one 100 amp-hour battery over a 24-hour period. You could certainly install solar charging or use a generator, but that’s not installed from the factory. (Which is still fairly common.)

A look at the gas-electric tank water heater.

Here you can see the single sewer dump point.

Storage Space

Storage on the Open Range Conventional 22MLS is not bad at all. There is a good passthrough storage compartment in the front. There’s also pretty good storage inside this rig. As mentioned, the kitchen surprises and surpasses expectations with plenty of overhead cabinets, drawers, and even decent counter space. There’s also a pantry closet — and even a cabinet and a cubby in the bathroom.

Beside the bed is hanging storage on either side, but there are no drawers specifically for the bedroom. There is open storage above the bed. Plus, the bed lifts up to reveal a storage compartment, but drawers aren’t here specifically for the bedroom.

Passthrough storage on the Open Range Conventional 22MLS.

Closing Notes on the Open Range Conventional 22MLS

These stick-and-tin campers use traditional building materials, which are easy to deal with from a manufacturing standpoint. The big advantage here for buyers is that it makes models like the Open Range Conventional 22MLS more affordable. Overall, this model’s build quality was good, but some buyers are wary of the Schwintek slide mechanism. There were a few minor details, like mismatched screws on the dinette, but nothing extraordinarily bad. This is pretty common for an affordable camper.

Suspension and Tires

This features a simple leaf spring suspension and import-brand tires. This is very much a cost-focused system and could be just fine if you do shorter trips closer to home a few times a year. But if you travel more, these simple suspensions transfer more vibration and road surface issues into the trailer, which doesn’t help with longevity. There are also no maintenance points on these suspensions, so it is smart to inspect them regularly.

The Open Range Conventional 22MLS has basic leaf-spring suspension and entry-level tires.

An Affordable, Entry-Level Trailer

I get to see a lot of RVs. These range from simple, basic models to elaborate units that might be something a celebrity would own. The Open Range Conventional 22MLS is more on the affordable end of that equation, but the layout is effective. There’s good storage inside. And the interior is pretty pleasant with those power recliners. For a vast majority of RV buyers hoping to get into a travel trailer, this is likely going to make their shopping list with its combination of affordability and functionality.

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