2015 Vibe 268RKS – one year report.

[BigHomey]

I’ve been registered on this forum for a while now, so I guess it’s time to make my first post. It will be a long one and I will probably post again in another year or so. We bought our Vibe 268RKS a year ago at an RV show. We had a 26’ cabin cruiser in the late 80s and 90s that we “camped” on lakes and rivers almost every weekend in the summer and took it to the Gulf a few times. We wanted to get back into some sort of camping and the DW wasn’t too keen on spending lots of time on the water. After we brought the Vibe home, we (mostly my grandson and me) camped out in the driveway about three times in the spring to try to figure everything out and in June we took it to a local county park for a week to test it out prior to a planned July trip.

In the middle of July we caravanned with my daughter, SIL and 3 grandkids – them in a class A towing a Jeep and DW, son, grandson and me towing the trailer – for 15 days. Had to get the kids back in time to start school. (N. Alabama to KC; KC to Mt. Rushmore; Mt. Rushmore to Livingston, MT; Livingston to Yellowstone; Yellowstone to Provo; Provo to Durango; Durango to Santa Fe; and then Santa Fe home. From the time we pulled out of the driveway to leave until we got home we registered 5,038 miles on the truck. Over 4,500 of that was towing. It was one heck of a shakedown cruise but if we ever do it again, we’ll take about 3 months to do it. Some real exciting roads towing through Yellowstone, Durango to Silverton, CO, and into the Arches National Monument in MOAB, UT.

We found a lot of things to like about the Vibe and had our share of little things go wrong. Luckily, nothing major. I had been a little worried about the Chinese tires that came on the trailer, but they performed well. Any tires that can survive I-40 in Arkansas going into Memphis are OK by me. I was using a Fastway e2 WD hitch (came with the trailer) which performed well but was entirely too noisy. It has since been changed to an Andersen, but that is another post.

We thought we had tested all of the systems out before leaving, but the first morning in Yellowstone we woke up to 51 degrees inside the trailer – IN JULY. I set the thermostat and hoped for the best. Luckily it is fully automatic and we had a warm trailer in no time.

After that trip we did an 700 mile round trip to S. AL in the middle of August for a week and camped again in the fall at our local county park.

I am working on a write-up for the things we have found wrong/fixed and the enhancements we have made, hopefully with some pictures, that I will try to get posted in the next few days. We could have had some things fixed under warranty, but with the dealer 40 miles away, it's easier to fix the little stuff than haul it to them and wait to go back and get it. Overall we are pleased with the Vibe and happy we bought it. AL

[Cyndi]

Thanks for the post, Al! Good to know! My husband and I are waiting on delivery of our Vibe 268rks- very excited to get it and start enjoying! Looking forward to your future posts.
Cyndi

[Cyndi]

What kind of tools did you find handy to have with you?

[aceinspp]

Welcome to the forum and your interesting post. Later RJD

[BigHomey]

Cyndi - I have a pretty extensive tool box that I carry in my truck, but the only tools a little out of the ordinary (screwdrivers, pliers, wrenches, etc.) you might want to take are a square drive for those type screws. I don't remember the exact size but they are the most prevalent type of screws used. Also, a pair of channellock pliers for opening that stuck or cross threaded cap on the campground sewer hookup. AL

[BigHomey]

Here are some of the enhancements we have made to our Vibe so far.

Changed out all of the incandescent light bulbs inside, in the outside cooking area and in the pass through storage to LED. Was told by a FR rep at an RV show a couple weeks ago that the 2016s are coming with LEDs but the one there did not have them. We used these LEDs, 20 for < $12 :

Robot Check

Had the dealer add a topper for the slide and bathroom vent cover.

Got the Andersen 3600 - Ultimate Trailer Gear leveling kit. Got it as part of the trailer purchase for 50% off. Put bubble levels on the trailer road side rear so when backing into a spot I put the wedges behind the appropriate tires and DW lets me know when the bubble is level, then she sets the chocks - very easy.

https://www.andersenhitches.com/Prod...uffel-bag.aspx

Built a slide drawer for the pass through storage to hold plastic bins. Used old garage door rails and rollers. Still have lots of room in front and back of the drawer to store ladder, chairs, outdoor carpets, etc. No more taking stuff out to access what I need that is in the middle.

Added a vinyl fence post cover with caps under the rear bumper to hold the sewer hoses. Used a piece of vinyl gutter to make a tray that slides into it.

Added a sound bar with built-in subs above the TV. The brochure and sales people say that the stereo is MP3/DVD/CD/FM w/Surround Sound. I don’t know how they can classify it as surround sound since it has nothing but stereo. Dual stereo to the ceiling speakers on the A channel and another to the outside speakers on the B channel. When the air conditioner was running, you could barely hear the sound from a DVD playing. It sounds OK on the radio but it does not have Blu-ray capability. So, I added a Blu-ray player and a Dish Network receiver on the shelf below the TV, ran the HDMI outputs to the TV and audio out from the TV to the sound bar. Now we just use the built-in for music.
Found a Yamaha ATS-1030 at Costco and the length fit perfectly above the TV.

Added a TV mount to the bedroom wall and to the outside above the 110 outlet. The bedroom has a backer board for installing a mount. I used a piece of plywood for a backer on the outside wall and installed the bracket with SS hardware. Have a 19” TV that can be used to move between both spots. Used this adapter kit:

Polymer TV Brackets for Campers and RV&apos;s 3 Piece Set 2 White Wall 1 Black TV | eBay

To help with the summer heat, I installed heat control window film on all of the windows and bathroom skylight. Couldn’t use it on the door window. One roll and a little I had left over from some windows I had done in my house was enough to do the entire trailer.

Robot Check

DW complained that she could feel the trailer shaking when she was in bed and I would walk in the living/kitchen area. Two sets of telescopic jacks solved that problem.

Robot Check

That’s about it for now. Now I’m working on a post for the stuff that broke, came loose, etc. But I will need to wait until it quits raining so I can crawl under the trailer to get some pictures. AL

[Bowhnter]

Nice job on the mods. We had a Vibe for almost a year and liked it as well.
Definitely needed the x-chocks for stability.

[pelican]

We just got a 2016 Vibe 268rks 10 days ago and are fulltiming now. So far so good.Love the mods you have made. Want to most of those. So far we have had only small issues that we could fix easily.
Please give us all you can as you are 355days ahead of us!
Thanks, Robert & Ann.

[timothy clancy]

Hay big homey glad to hear your vibe was performing well we have had our 272 bhs for a year as well (bought in February ) like you .we love ours made several trips ,furthest to Myrtle beach with no problems. My mods have been small but useful I bought the Anderson leveling blocks (love them no more stacking blocks just drive on ) installed a batt cut off switch and installed a steady fast system ( no more trailer rocking ) as well as a Atwood winterization kit. Issues we have hade are minor ( cushion backed keep ripping where Velcro is , when we put the dinette table into a bed the one rail wasn't screwed to anything solid so it collapsed easy fix ,) I do want to add a topper for the slide like you did as well as tint the Windows . We are heading to st Augustine fla in March and yes the China bombs are always on my mind but with every fill up I check the air and give the tires a through look over. Happy camping and safe travels .


Clancy vibe272bhs

[Mewcasa]

My 268rks did not come with handle for manually extending stab jacks. Bought one and the access holes for the jacks were not even close! Had my dealer relocate those and plug the old holes (they screwed that up too!). My advice is manually try EVERYTHING! The manual handle that comes with the trailer is only for the front jack...TEST IT! Also make sure you have a socket & ratchet for the awning... TEST IT! My slide manual access hole was a mile off too! TEST IT! If your out in the sticks and you have ANY electrical issues with ANY components (knock on wood) you will be glad you were prepared for it. This kind if stuff can ruin your day and leave your DW with an awful taste in her mouth for camping!
You are correct about the CRAP entertainment system and your upgrades look great, but those are luxury items and take second place to the primary TT operation!
The next step on mine is to make the water system operate with less than 7 gallons! That doesn't leave much useable water for the TT (unless you hook up to city H2O) and you end up hauling around unusable weight!
Glad to hear about your tires. We did 4K this summer and didn't have any issues either. The TPMS I purchased is a different song though not related to FR!
Please don't get the wrong message in this post... We love our Vibe! It just comes with some baggage issues that need addressed.
Thanks for your post AND pictures. It gives me (and others) ideas for upgrades I/we still need to do!

[BigHomey]

I think the first three of these are WHEN, not IF they are going to happen.

1. Under the 268RKS slide there is a cable that brings power out from under the belly of the trailer and routes it to the front corner of the slide. As far as I can tell, it is the power for the lights over the sofa and dinette. The cable is inside a split plastic cable protector and routed on a flat plastic strap. A spring is connected to the middle of the strap and to the frame further back. This allows the cable to “expand” when the slide moves out and “contract” when the slide is back in. We noticed ours was broken when we were pulling up stakes from Yellowstone. Luckily my son saw the cable hanging down by the tires. I used some plastic cable ties to hold it up until the next stop. The plastic strap had broken where it connects to the slide. I took the self-tapping screws out and put them back in past the break. This held until we got home. But when I inspected it, the strap was already cracked again by the screws and almost broken through where the spring connects. To fix it, I cut the strap off near the swivel post. (At this point you should disconnect shore power and battery.) I cut the cable at the outside of the slide (leave enough to splice), used a piece of flexible conduit (Shop CARLON Ent 10-ft Conduit (Common: 3/4-in; Actual: .75-in) at Lowes.com) and some conduit straps (Shop Gampak 4-Pack 3/4-in EMT Strap at Lowes.com) to run the wire through and mount it back in place. I used plastic cable ties to attach the spring to the conduit. I filled the ends of the conduit with silicone sealant. Works fine, should last a long time. I’ll never figure out why FR used this setup when it can be done correctly for less than $5.00. I did not take it in for a warranty fix because the only thing my dealer could do is order the same parts from FR and I know a new strap would break again.

2. When towing, I could see the section of aluminum between the tires on the roadside flapping in the breeze. There were two causes for this. One is the brace for that section had broken and the second is screws backing out. I fixed the brace with a piece of 1” aluminum stock that I had and for the screws I started installing U-clips on the back of all screws. They are what I had, but I have since ordered some flat speed nuts to put on all of those screws ( Robot Check). The screws are going through two thin pieces of sheet metal and after time the work themselves loose. I found a few places where they were gone. When talking to the FR Rep at an RV show a couple weeks ago, I told him about this and wouldn’t you know, the 2016 268RKS there had a couple screws backing out.

3. Maybe it just the Alabama heat, but the molding around the wheel wells would not stay in place. I used some self-tapping screws to secure them. Couldn’t find black screws, so a bit of Rustoleum and a small paint brush took care of that.

4. I got a tool provided with the trailer to manually extend/retract the slide and the stabilizers. It is not the correct tool, so I made my own. I used an old 3/8” drive, ½” deep well socket and cut slits in the sides to allow it to go over the post with the pin staying in the slit. I had an extra-long extension to use on the slide. There is not room to use the extension on the stabilizers. I can use an electric drill or a ratchet for either.

5. I don’t know if this was a manufacturing defect of if it happened through use, but the top edges of the roof on my slide had small nicks in the rubber. I used Gorilla glue to attach some clear vinyl sheet rock corner guards along the entire edge (Shop Miller LLC 48-in Toeless Vinyl Corner Guards at Lowes.com).

6. The first time we tried to use the dinette as a bed, the table was too small and fell to the floor. I checked with my dealer and they had not heard of it, but we looked at a newer RKS on the lot and instead of one strip of particle board on each bench the new one had two. They would have ordered the parts for me, but it would be the same particle board strips – no thanks. I had some exterior door molding that is about 2” wide on top and tapers, removed the particle board and installed it on both sides.

7. Just in case it happens to you, find out now where the fuse is for the power tongue jack. Mine has blown twice. It is an in-line 30 amp blade fuse. It is on the inside of the roadside frame on the red wire, about 3 feet back from the tongue.

8. For those that like sewing, you can take 2 standard 27” x 52” towels (Walmart Specials), sew them together on 3 sides like a pillow case and they fit perfectly over the bottom dinette cushions. Don't stick to you and easy to take off and wash. The same size towels folded in about 11” on each side and sewn along one edge make good back covers for the recliners. (This is DWs tip.)

That’s enough posting for me. I will go back into lurk mode now.

AL

[Cyndi]

BigHomey-
Thank you for all the great info- gives my husband and I lots to watch out for when we take delivery of our 268rks in about a month!

Take care,
Cyndi

[wz3mo]

I've gone through 2 of the plastic cable supports, they seem to have a life span of about 8 open / closings before the cheap plastic breaks at the anchor point. My fix for that was I attached a 3" gate hinge on the end of the plastic support then attach the hinge to the original anchor point on the slide. Now when opening /closing the hinge just folds taking the stress off the plastic support and no more breaking! Really a poor design by FR. You just can't keep flexing plastic back and forth without it eventually cracking.

[wz3mo]

." The first time we tried to use the dinette as a bed, the table was too small and fell to the floor. I checked with my dealer and they had not heard of it, but we looked at a newer RKS on the lot and instead of one strip of particle board on each bench the new one had two. They would have ordered the parts for me, but it would be the same particle board strips – no thanks. I had some exterior door molding that is about 2” wide on top and tapers, removed the particle board and installed it on both sides "

I didn't know the dinette was supposed to be used as a bed!?

[Mewcasa]

Originally Posted by BigHomey

I think the first three of these are WHEN, not IF they are going to happen.

1. Under the 268RKS slide there is a cable that brings power out from under the belly of the trailer and routes it to the front corner of the slide. As far as I can tell, it is the power for the lights over the sofa and dinette. The cable is inside a split plastic cable protector and routed on a flat plastic strap. A spring is connected to the middle of the strap and to the frame further back. This allows the cable to “expand” when the slide moves out and “contract” when the slide is back in. We noticed ours was broken when we were pulling up stakes from Yellowstone. Luckily my son saw the cable hanging down by the tires. I used some plastic cable ties to hold it up until the next stop. The plastic strap had broken where it connects to the slide. I took the self-tapping screws out and put them back in past the break. This held until we got home. But when I inspected it, the strap was already cracked again by the screws and almost broken through where the spring connects. To fix it, I cut the strap off near the swivel post. (At this point you should disconnect shore power and battery.) I cut the cable at the outside of the slide (leave enough to splice), used a piece of flexible conduit (Shop CARLON Ent 10-ft Conduit (Common: 3/4-in; Actual: .75-in) at Lowes.com) and some conduit straps (Shop Gampak 4-Pack 3/4-in EMT Strap at Lowes.com) to run the wire through and mount it back in place. I used plastic cable ties to attach the spring to the conduit. I filled the ends of the conduit with silicone sealant. Works fine, should last a long time. I’ll never figure out why FR used this setup when it can be done correctly for less than $5.00. I did not take it in for a warranty fix because the only thing my dealer could do is order the same parts from FR and I know a new strap would break again.

2. When towing, I could see the section of aluminum between the tires on the roadside flapping in the breeze. There were two causes for this. One is the brace for that section had broken and the second is screws backing out. I fixed the brace with a piece of 1” aluminum stock that I had and for the screws I started installing U-clips on the back of all screws. They are what I had, but I have since ordered some flat speed nuts to put on all of those screws ( Robot Check). The screws are going through two thin pieces of sheet metal and after time the work themselves loose. I found a few places where they were gone. When talking to the FR Rep at an RV show a couple weeks ago, I told him about this and wouldn’t you know, the 2016 268RKS there had a couple screws backing out.

3. Maybe it just the Alabama heat, but the molding around the wheel wells would not stay in place. I used some self-tapping screws to secure them. Couldn’t find black screws, so a bit of Rustoleum and a small paint brush took care of that.

4. I got a tool provided with the trailer to manually extend/retract the slide and the stabilizers. It is not the correct tool, so I made my own. I used an old 3/8” drive, ½” deep well socket and cut slits in the sides to allow it to go over the post with the pin staying in the slit. I had an extra-long extension to use on the slide. There is not room to use the extension on the stabilizers. I can use an electric drill or a ratchet for either.

5. I don’t know if this was a manufacturing defect of if it happened through use, but the top edges of the roof on my slide had small nicks in the rubber. I used Gorilla glue to attach some clear vinyl sheet rock corner guards along the entire edge (Shop Miller LLC 48-in Toeless Vinyl Corner Guards at Lowes.com).

6. The first time we tried to use the dinette as a bed, the table was too small and fell to the floor. I checked with my dealer and they had not heard of it, but we looked at a newer RKS on the lot and instead of one strip of particle board on each bench the new one had two. They would have ordered the parts for me, but it would be the same particle board strips – no thanks. I had some exterior door molding that is about 2” wide on top and tapers, removed the particle board and installed it on both sides.

7. Just in case it happens to you, find out now where the fuse is for the power tongue jack. Mine has blown twice. It is an in-line 30 amp blade fuse. It is on the inside of the roadside frame on the red wire, about 3 feet back from the tongue.

8. For those that like sewing, you can take 2 standard 27” x 52” towels (Walmart Specials), sew them together on 3 sides like a pillow case and they fit perfectly over the bottom dinette cushions. Don't stick to you and easy to take off and wash. The same size towels folded in about 11” on each side and sewn along one edge make good back covers for the recliners. (This is DWs tip.)

That’s enough posting for me. I will go back into lurk mode now.

AL

Yep... I've had most of these issues also... I'll check the roof and look at the dining table too! As far as the tongue jack goes, my dealer has slightly bent the pole (can't prove it) with his forklift and puts a bind the electric motor. I can see the metal to metal rub. It's not too bad, but glad to learn about the fuse.
Question... How much water do you have to put in your fresh water tank before the pump will pick any up? With my trailer level, it's aprox 7.5 gallons on my 268RKS!

[BigHomey]

Originally Posted by wz3mo

.

I didn't know the dinette was supposed to be used as a bed!?

I think most if not all RV dinettes are designed to be used as extra sleeping areas. Probably not for adults, but it works good for kids. The 268RKS brochure says it sleeps 5. I don't know what the configuration would be.

[BigHomey]

Originally Posted by Mewcasa

Yep... I've had most of these issues also... I'll check the roof and look at the dining table too! As far as the tongue jack goes, my dealer has slightly bent the pole (can't prove it) with his forklift and puts a bind the electric motor. I can see the metal to metal rub. It's not too bad, but glad to learn about the fuse.
Question... How much water do you have to put in your fresh water tank before the pump will pick any up? With my trailer level, it's aprox 7.5 gallons on my 268RKS!

I haven't done any tests on the fresh water tank. If we are going a long distance, I will fill it up. If it is a short trip I don't fill it at all. We have not yet done any boon-docking, but I will probably need to find out before we do.

[Wingdreamer]

If your power awning ever quits, look behind the black plastic strip that the awning folds into on the outside wall of the trailer. Mine quit the weekend that we picked the trailer up from the selling dealer... They had no idea what was wrong. I manually folded it up (there is a rubber plug on the end motor cap of the awing that you can access with a cordless drill and a socket). You will need either a ladder, or I backed up my pickup truck and stood in the box.
What I found is that the crimp plastic connectors behind the plastic cover had come loose, thus no 12 v power to the awning motor. Repaired now, and rerouted/cleaned up ALL of the wiring behind that cover. I used red sheathing tape to secure the wiring neatly behind the panel before putting it back together.

[L J]

So to any of you 2015 Vibe 268RKS owners, maybe others to, I have been having trouble with the Electric Stabilizing Jack switches? LCI made mine and both have been replaced in less
than a year. Now the forward one needs replacing again. It is the rocker part and not the power to it. I always have the remote to use but really the switches should function longer then they have. Just went out of warranty 02-17. E-mailed LCI about and they got back to me, wanted more info & pics (a good thing I hope). Just sad you pay that much money and you get plenty to fix on your own.

[BigHomey]

LJ - I have not had any problems with my stabilizer switches and I have used them quite a lot. But I have had my power tongue jack fuse blow a few times for no apparent reason, so I keep a few spare 30 amp fuses. - AL