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RV review: 2023 Alliance RV Delta 262RB travel trailer

Tony Barthel

Today’s RV review is of the 2023 Alliance RV Delta 262RB travel trailer prototype. Wait, a travel trailer from Alliance? Yes.

Alliance RV is expanding into the travel trailer market and hopes to offer ground breaking features in this space as well. How did they do?

Before we move on when an individual or company claims that they’re shaking up an industry or doing something revolutionary or changing the game my bologna filter automatically goes into high gear.

One of the things that some people were surprised about is that this isn’t a new or revolutionary floor plan. Nor does it need to be - if something works it just works. There are lots of cases where simply polishing the diamond that others have unearthed is plenty.

What’s hot

There are absolutely some unique features in this travel trailer. One of those is that these trailers are wired for 50 amp service and include two air conditioners. Alliance has figured out a system whereby you can actually run both of these on a single 30 amp service by balancing the load.

The main air conditioner in the living space of this trailer is a ducted model whereas the bedroom unit is not. This means you could cool the whole trailer through the ducted unit or just the bedroom at night. Neat.

Bedroom community

On the subject of the bedroom you do get a proper queen-sized bed in here. On both sides of the bed are drawers but also hidden compartments under the table top which is a really good use of space.

The nose cap of this trailer does not have a windshield thankfully and the nose is not angled sharply so overhead cabinets also have a decent amount of space. There’s also a USB outlet on either side of the bed as well as reading lights.

Those closets on either side of the bed also hold a shelf in them which is removable, so those who wish to hang clothes can and those who wish to have a shelf have one. Options are good.

Living spaces

In the main living space of this trailer Alliance has done some things that make me happy including a backsplash behind most of the kitchen. There is none beside the stove, though, but at least it’s that laminate wall stuff that’s relatively easy to clean.

Alliance has done some nifty things with the cabinets in their fifth wheel offerings and some of those have shown-up here too. Among those pluses are a silverware drawer insert but the best one is the drawer under the sink for trash cans.

Funny how so many travel trailer builders don’t provide for a trash can. Or shoes, for that matter. Yet we all have shoes and we all have trash. And, yes, there’s a shoe garage.

The ceiling in this trailer is higher than most at 6’ 9” and the roof and ceiling are flat so the space is the same at the edges as it is in the middle.

Alliance has taken advantage of the larger ceiling height to put some cabinets higher up that you might not normally find, including over the refrigerator. The bummer about this, though, is that they don’t put a prop function so you need one hand to hold the cabinet and the other to get whatever’s going to drop on your head out of them.

Another positive is that there are no furnace ducts in the floor of this trailer so that you don’t collect dust and debris all summer for that very special smell when you kick it on in fall.

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On the subject of the cabinets all the drawers and doors are soft close. There are also flat drawers under the TV. This is normally where you’d find an electric fireplace in other rigs with this floor plan and I think this is a better use of the space. They’ve also put a household outlet inside this cabinet so you could put things like air fryers or crock pots in here, but you’d want to be sure you provide venting for them.

There are some things I don’t like about this space overall, the first of which is the use of the worthless 16” RV oven. These create hot spots and don’t have much space for whatever you’re cooking and, as regular readers know, I dislike them. I’m surprised Alliance went this way because it is not a premium feature, but rather a lousy one.

Speaking of lousy, there are also only the four inch vent fans for the ceiling. I know Alliance puts the high-performance fans in their fifth wheels as well as larger ovens so whoever made these decisions needs to go sit in the corner with the pointy hat and think about why they did this. Maybe write “what was I thinking” 500 times on a chalk board.

While they’re thinking about that I’m also not such a big fan of the u-shaped dinette in here which has two knee-knocker poles. This could have been a free-standing table and been more useful.

Flushed with space

On a big positive note the entire rear of this trailer has the bathroom which means you have a large space here. I had recommended a trailer with this floor plan to a customer who had some mobility challenges when I was selling RVs and the large bathroom was really helpful to them.

What Alliance has done with it is make a huge medicine cabinet that could also serve as a linen cabinet. There are also open-faced cabinets by the shower which could be used for linens and such.

Outside upsides

A few things on the exterior of this RV really caught my eye, starting with the fact that the corner stabilizer jacks sit at an angle to the frame. I’ve been told that this provides more steady support.

There are multiple exterior spray ports on these which isn’t unusual, but what is is the fact that they all are controlled by a valve that can incorporate both hot and cold water. Usually the spray ports are only cold. One valve controls all the spray ports but it’s definitely different. In a good way.

I also like that the charge controller for the included 200 watt solar panel is located in the pass-through behind a panel that protects it but is also easily removed for service. Also behind that panel is the water pump for the same reason.

While we’re in the front pass-through notice, too, that Alliance has included a large folding plastic table that is stored in a set of rails above the storage compartment.

Lastly, the ladder on the back of this trailer is wider than most and also is built to support up to 300 pounds of static weight. Typically RV ladders are rated for 250 pounds.

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Alliance RV

Alliance RV’s claim to fame is that they surveyed some 3,000 RV owners to see how they wanted things done and then simply did that. But then they also used a lot of experience to then take that data and turn it into RVs. Up to this point they’ve built high-end fifth wheels including toy haulers.

One of the things the company does that is absolutely unique is that every trailer they build has the holding tanks filled and then gets taken on a test loop. To me this is a big deal, especially since there are RV manufacturers who tell us not to drive with anything in the holding tanks.

I realize that that’s ridiculous but there it is.

Conclusions

As mentioned I am always wary when someone claims to do something game changing or revolutionary. This trailer is not any of those things but is a solid offering just the same.

One of the things they’ve been sharing is that there is no structural wood in the build of these trailers. That means the floor is a laminate featuring Azdel with aluminum as are the walls.

If I were on the design team I think I might have made the oven just an option altogether and absolutely used the better fans. However, this is a prototype and Alliance is carefully listening to your input.

There is a lot right with this trailer and Alliance have proven to be good at listening and building products people are pleased with. If this matters to you, Alliance is also an independent company (as opposed to being part of Thor, Forest River or Winnebago as many RV brands are).

By the time they officially go into production some of the things I’ve mentioned may even change and I will be watching to see how they progress.

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