6 Best Portable Easels For RV Living That Enable Location Freedom
Paint the view from your RV with the right easel.
The view from your RV window changes from a desert sunrise to a mountain vista, and inspiration strikes. But capturing that moment requires more than just a passion for painting; it demands the right tools that fit a life on the move. For the artist living in a recreational vehicle, an easel isn’t just equipment—it’s the bridge between your compact home and the vast, ever-changing studio outside your door.
Choosing an easel for an RV is a unique challenge. It’s not about finding the best easel, but the best easel for you and your specific rig. The wrong choice becomes dead weight, a bulky object that lives permanently in a storage bay. The right choice, however, becomes a key, unlocking the freedom to create wherever you park.
This guide is about finding that key. We’ll look at the best portable options, not just for their features, but for how they integrate into the realities of small-space living. It’s about balancing stability, weight, and, most importantly, the precious commodity of space, so you can spend less time managing gear and more time making art.
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Choosing the Best Portable Easel for Your RV
The word "portable" means different things to different people. For an RVer, it must mean compact, relatively lightweight, and quick to set up and break down. Your primary constraints are the physical dimensions of your storage bays and interior closets, so start by measuring the space you actually have.
There are three main categories you’ll encounter. French easels are all-in-one studios with built-in storage, but they are the bulkiest. Pochade boxes are hyper-compact boxes that mount on a tripod, ideal for minimalist painters. Tripod or field easels are simple, lightweight canvas holders that require you to carry your supplies separately.
Ultimately, your choice must align with your artistic medium and process. An oil painter working on large canvases needs stability above all else, pushing them toward a sturdy field easel. A watercolorist who hikes to remote locations will prioritize an ultralight tripod and a small palette. There is no single best easel, only the one that removes the most friction between you and your creative work.
U.S. Art Supply Coronado: Your All-in-One Studio
This portable wooden sketchbox easel offers versatile studio and field use with adjustable angles and built-in storage. Its sturdy design and integrated palette make it ideal for artists of all levels.
The classic French easel design, like the Coronado, is essentially a fold-up art studio. It combines a tripod, an adjustable canvas holder, and a pull-out drawer for paints, brushes, and solvents into a single wooden box. This all-in-one approach is its greatest strength for life on the road.
Imagine pulling up to a scenic overlook and wanting to paint immediately. With a French easel, you grab one item from your pass-through storage and you have everything you need. There’s no fumbling for a separate bag of supplies; it’s all contained and organized, which is a huge advantage when your "studio" is a patch of dirt next to your rig.
The significant tradeoff, however, is size and weight. While it folds into a manageable box, it’s still a heavy, bulky item that demands a dedicated spot in a large storage bay. This is not an easel you’re going to carry on a three-mile hike. It’s the perfect solution for the RVer who primarily paints near their campsite and values the convenience of a complete, stable setup.
MEEDEN Pochade Box: Your Most Compact Choice
This portable aluminum alloy sketchbox easel transforms into a versatile plein air studio, featuring adjustable angles and convenient side trays for all your supplies. Its compact, book-sized design and photography-grade tripod make it ideal for artists on the go.
For the RVer who counts every square inch, the pochade box is the undisputed champion of compact design. It’s a small, hinged box that opens to reveal a palette and a lid that holds small painting panels. The entire unit is designed to be held in your lap or, more commonly, mounted on a standard camera tripod.
This modularity is a game-changer for small-space living. The pochade box itself can be tucked into a backpack or a small cabinet, while a lightweight camera tripod can be stored almost anywhere. This separation of components gives you incredible flexibility in how you pack, carry, and set up your gear.
Of course, this ultra-portability comes with limitations. You are restricted to smaller canvas or panel sizes, and there is minimal storage for supplies—just enough for a limited palette and a few brushes. The pochade box is the ultimate tool for quick plein air studies and for artists who prioritize getting out into the landscape over having a full range of materials at their fingertips.
T-Sign Aluminum Easel: Your Ultralight Option
This pack of two T-SIGN aluminum easels offers adjustable height from 22 to 72 inches, perfect for floor or tabletop displays. Featuring adjustable legs for uneven surfaces and a non-slip base, these easels securely hold canvases up to 37 inches tall and 25 lbs, folding compactly for easy transport.
When weight and packed size are your absolute top priorities, a simple aluminum tripod easel is the answer. These easels are astonishingly light and collapse down to a slender tube that can be stashed in the back of a closet, under a dinette bench, or alongside your camp chairs. They take up virtually no payload capacity or storage real estate.
This design is a pure canvas holder and nothing more. You get adjustable legs and a support for your painting surface, but no storage, no palette, and no extra features. You will need a separate tote or backpack for all your art supplies, which can be either a pro or a con depending on your workflow.
The main drawback is stability. Because it’s so light, a strong gust of wind can be a serious threat to your work, especially with a large canvas acting as a sail. This makes it a better choice for smaller pieces, sheltered locations, or for artists using mediums like watercolor or sketching that don’t involve aggressive brushwork. It’s an excellent, space-saving choice if you understand its limitations.
SoHo Urban Artist Easel: For Your RV Tabletop
Transform any surface into a professional drafting table with this extra-large, portable drawing board. Featuring 5 adjustable angles and a sturdy ledge, it's ideal for artists on the go.
Not all painting happens with a grand view. Sometimes, creativity is best pursued at the dinette table on a rainy day or a quiet evening. A tabletop easel is a specialized tool designed specifically for these indoor sessions, providing a stable, angled work surface without requiring any floor space.
These easels, often in an H-frame or A-frame design, are small, foldable, and incredibly efficient. Many models include a small drawer at the base, perfect for holding the few tubes of paint and brushes you’re actively using. This helps keep your limited tabletop from becoming a chaotic mess of art supplies.
In an RV, every item should be scrutinized for its utility, and a good tabletop easel excels here. When you’re not painting, it can serve as a stand for a cookbook, a tablet, or even a framed photo. It’s a simple, effective tool that supports your art inside the rig while staying out of the way when not in use.
Sienna Pochade Box: Your Premium Plein Air Kit
This 6"x8" u.go Pochade Box offers a durable and lightweight painting solution for artists on the go. Crafted from Baltic Birch with non-corrosive hardware, it features rare earth magnets for secure closure and a versatile 180° hinge for adjustable positioning.
For the serious artist living the RV life, the Sienna Pochade Box represents a significant step up in design and functionality. This isn’t just a box; it’s a complete, integrated system designed for the dedicated plein air painter. It offers the compactness of a standard pochade box but with professional-grade features and build quality.
What sets a premium box like this apart are the thoughtful details. You’ll find features like a tempered glass palette, magnetic brush holders, and compatibility with a whole ecosystem of accessories like side tables and wet panel carriers. The construction is typically beautiful, sturdy wood, making it a tool that is a pleasure to use.
This is an investment for the RVer whose art is a central part of their travel experience. It strikes a fantastic balance, offering a highly organized and efficient workflow in a package that is still small enough to be easily stored and carried. If you paint frequently and value well-designed tools that reduce friction, a premium system like this is worth serious consideration.
Mabef M-29 Field Easel: A Sturdy, Classic Pick
This functional, economical tripod easel is crafted from oiled, sanded beech wood. It easily adjusts to accommodate canvases up to 46 inches and folds for convenient transport.
The Mabef M-29 is a classic for a reason. It represents the traditional field easel: a simple, three-legged design made from durable, oiled beechwood. It forgoes the built-in storage of a French easel to focus on one thing: providing a rock-solid foundation for your canvas in outdoor conditions.
Compared to an ultralight aluminum easel, the Mabef is in a different class of stability. The dense wood construction and robust hardware mean it can handle larger canvases and won’t tremble under vigorous brushstrokes. While it folds down into a surprisingly compact bundle of sticks, it is heavier and denser than its metal counterparts.
This is the easel for the RVer who needs uncompromising stability but doesn’t want the bulk of a full French easel. You will still need a separate bag for your paints and palette, but you gain the confidence to work on more ambitious pieces outdoors. It’s a durable, no-frills workhorse that will reliably serve you for decades of travel.
How to Pick the Right Easel for Your Travels
Your decision-making process should start with the most unforgiving constraint of RV life: space. Before you fall in love with any model, measure the storage bay, closet, or under-bed area where your easel will live. This single act will immediately disqualify options that are simply too large to fit, saving you a world of frustration.
Next, be honest about your artistic process. Do you hike deep into the backcountry, or do you prefer to paint within a few feet of your camper? Do you work on small 8×10 panels or large 24×36 canvases? A hiker needs an ultralight tripod or pochade box, while a large-format painter needs the stability of a French or heavy-duty field easel.
Finally, consider the reality of daily use. The best easel is the one you don’t hesitate to pull out. If setup is a 15-minute struggle with confusing knobs and legs, you’ll be less likely to use it for a spontaneous session. Balance the features you need with the simplicity you crave to find the tool that truly empowers your creativity on the road.
Living and creating in an RV is an exercise in intentionality. Every object you bring aboard must earn its place by serving a purpose without creating a burden. Your easel is no different. It’s not just a tripod with a canvas holder; it’s a vital piece of gear that enables your passion.
The goal is to find the perfect intersection of portability, stability, and function that matches your unique artistic journey. Whether it’s a compact pochade box for remote mountain landscapes or a sturdy French easel for leisurely afternoons at camp, the right choice will feel less like equipment and more like a natural extension of your creative process.
Ultimately, the best portable easel is the one that disappears, freeing you to focus on the view in front of you. It removes the logistical barriers between your inspiration and your canvas, empowering you to fully embrace the location freedom that drew you to this lifestyle in the first place.
