2016 268rks Vibe

[wz3mo]

Originally Posted by Cyndi

Wz3mo- one more question. Have you pulled your trailer through any mountains with your F150? If so, how did it do?

Yes, no problem at all! Love the Tow/Haul feature on the F150, great for when traveling down hill it works like a engine break. Uphill my little twin turbo punches past the V8 guys like they're standing still!

[wz3mo]

Originally Posted by wz3mo

Yes, no problem at all! Love the Tow/Haul feature on the F150, great for when traveling down hill it works like a engine break. Uphill my little twin turbo punches past the V8 guys like they're standing still!

Cyndi,
One thing I added to my truck that made a lot of difference: Timbren FR1504D Suspension Enhancement System. It stopped the rear sagging without having to get air bags and doesn't effect the ride when not loaded. Very happy with them.

Link: http://www.amazon.com/Timbren-FR1504...+for+ford+f150

[DiAngelod]

Cyndi,

My wife and I have had the 268RKS for about 16 months now and love it. It's our first, so we looked for a while before deciding on it. Like you said, it's unlike any other one out there that we could find. Love the big kitchen and living area. It's great with our 3yo when the weather isn't cooperating. We're pulling it with an F250, I didn't want to take the chance on something smaller, but there are several people that obviously do it with no issues, so that's good!

Definitely replace the mattress. It's not great, we went high end and got a brand new one instead of a topper and it's great. We aren't big fans of the headboard area being recessed, but we'd have to have a slide out for the bedroom and that's another camper for another day.

I have made a lot of improvements to the TT over the past couple months to really make it even better. I'll list a few to give you some ideas.

1. New batteries. The original was mediocre. I put in two 6v Golf Cart batteries and it's fantastic; power for days.
2. Ceiling fan in bedroom. The furnace or A/C don't blow very well to the bedroom and with a closed door the air sits pretty still, so a ceiling fan really helps things there.
3. Added a new light to the steps. The teeny tiny orange step light that illuminates the steps only works off the "lights" switch on the main panel which also turns on the LED strip light under the awning. BUT if you have the giant 20' LED strip on, you don't need the step light....makes zero sense that they're not switched separately, so I added my own on a photocell switch so the new step light comes on when it gets dark and goes off when it gets light. Love it.
4. Added a new drawer (probably not DIY, but I'm a cabinet maker so it was easy for me) under the range in the kitchen. While troubleshooting a furnace issue, I took off the cover under the range and found it to be a large empty space. So why not put a large drawer to hold stuff. Can never have too much storage. I posted a pic, haven't put the drawer face on yet, but that's coming. Also going to put some shelves into the cabinets to the right of the fridge. They're huge areas, just hard to organize without some smaller shelves in there.
5. Changed the faucets in the bathroom to single handle faucets. It's just easier to get the temp right when you don't have to mess with 2 handles. I could live without this one, but it's a nice upgrade.
6. Cup Holders....sounds simple right?! But other than the table and counter and a little spot under where the TV should go, there aren't any places to put a drink other than the ground. So found some folding cup holders to mount and put them everywhere, it's great. They blend in pretty nicely and work perfectly to secure drinks while sitting on the couch or the recliners.

That's about it....I think I've covered all the things we didn't like and our fixes for them. The hot water heater is pretty small and lasts about 8 minutes or so which is decent, don't get me wrong, but for a few hundred extra bucks they could put in a tankless water heater. Something we may do if we are definitely going to keep this one for a long while.


Almost forgot to mention, we are currently dealing with a Furnace issue. It stopped working over a cold weekend and we had to buy space heaters to keep warm. Took it to the shop and they said it was the factory regulator. I replaced that and it worked fine for 45 minutes and stopped again (it was short cycling). So didn't have time to take it back to shop before our last trip this past weekend, so used the space heaters again. Dropped it off at the shop again yesterday and waiting to hear what they find.

Hope this helps and good luck. Let me know if you have any other questions!
-Dave

[Cyndi]

DiAngelod and WZ3MO-

Thank you SO MUCH for the great info- all of this helps my husband and me tremendously! Will be buying our trailer soon- going Thursday to talk to a dealer- will post pics, and any upgrades or interesting things after we get it!

Happy, safe travels !!

Cyndi

[Wingdreamer]

Originally Posted by DiAngelod

Cyndi,

My wife and I have had the 268RKS for about 16 months now and love it. It's our first, so we looked for a while before deciding on it. Like you said, it's unlike any other one out there that we could find. Love the big kitchen and living area. It's great with our 3yo when the weather isn't cooperating. We're pulling it with an F250, I didn't want to take the chance on something smaller, but there are several people that obviously do it with no issues, so that's good!

Definitely replace the mattress. It's not great, we went high end and got a brand new one instead of a topper and it's great. We aren't big fans of the headboard area being recessed, but we'd have to have a slide out for the bedroom and that's another camper for another day.

I have made a lot of improvements to the TT over the past couple months to really make it even better. I'll list a few to give you some ideas.

1. New batteries. The original was mediocre. I put in two 6v Golf Cart batteries and it's fantastic; power for days.
2. Ceiling fan in bedroom. The furnace or A/C don't blow very well to the bedroom and with a closed door the air sits pretty still, so a ceiling fan really helps things there.
3. Added a new light to the steps. The teeny tiny orange step light that illuminates the steps only works off the "lights" switch on the main panel which also turns on the LED strip light under the awning. BUT if you have the giant 20' LED strip on, you don't need the step light....makes zero sense that they're not switched separately, so I added my own on a photocell switch so the new step light comes on when it gets dark and goes off when it gets light. Love it.
4. Added a new drawer (probably not DIY, but I'm a cabinet maker so it was easy for me) under the range in the kitchen. While troubleshooting a furnace issue, I took off the cover under the range and found it to be a large empty space. So why not put a large drawer to hold stuff. Can never have too much storage. I posted a pic, haven't put the drawer face on yet, but that's coming. Also going to put some shelves into the cabinets to the right of the fridge. They're huge areas, just hard to organize without some smaller shelves in there.
5. Changed the faucets in the bathroom to single handle faucets. It's just easier to get the temp right when you don't have to mess with 2 handles. I could live without this one, but it's a nice upgrade.
6. Cup Holders....sounds simple right?! But other than the table and counter and a little spot under where the TV should go, there aren't any places to put a drink other than the ground. So found some folding cup holders to mount and put them everywhere, it's great. They blend in pretty nicely and work perfectly to secure drinks while sitting on the couch or the recliners.

That's about it....I think I've covered all the things we didn't like and our fixes for them. The hot water heater is pretty small and lasts about 8 minutes or so which is decent, don't get me wrong, but for a few hundred extra bucks they could put in a tankless water heater. Something we may do if we are definitely going to keep this one for a long while.


Almost forgot to mention, we are currently dealing with a Furnace issue. It stopped working over a cold weekend and we had to buy space heaters to keep warm. Took it to the shop and they said it was the factory regulator. I replaced that and it worked fine for 45 minutes and stopped again (it was short cycling). So didn't have time to take it back to shop before our last trip this past weekend, so used the space heaters again. Dropped it off at the shop again yesterday and waiting to hear what they find.

Hope this helps and good luck. Let me know if you have any other questions!
-Dave

Love the drawer under the stove!!! If you feel like making an extra one and shipping it my way, let me know! Nice work!

[DiAngelod]

Originally Posted by Wingdreamer

Love the drawer under the stove!!! If you feel like making an extra one and shipping it my way, let me know! Nice work!

Thanks Wingdreamer! I'm looking to do something with the small tip-out drawer next. The space behind that is empty and goes all the way back to the rear of the range, so lots of usable space. It's a tip out drawer apparently because the range sticks out too far so the drawer wouldn't open. Not quite sure yet, but it'll be fun to figure it out.

[southpaw821]

I have the 272, but always looking to upgrade a few things.. make it my own.. We just took delivery at the end of Sept. Got in 2 trips before hibernation.. So I have lots of simple mods to do in spring.
1) New shower head
2) Magnetic baggage door holders... So much nicer
3) Bluetooth connection to plug into the back of the radio. I don't want cords hanging off the front. This will be a much cleaner look and then I can stream music from my phone. Plus it should work when I am outside, so I don't have to go into the camper to change songs!
4) Install struts to the underside of my bed..
5) may install struts to the flip up cabinets over the sofa.
6) swap out the baggage locks to get rid of the CH751 key for better security
7) install battery disconnect switch

All simple minor upgrades, but will allow me to enjoy the whole experience much more.

[aceinspp]

Originally Posted by wz3mo

Cyndi,
One thing I added to my truck that made a lot of difference: Timbren FR1504D Suspension Enhancement System. It stopped the rear sagging without having to get air bags and doesn't effect the ride when not loaded. Very happy with them.

Link: Robot Check

This is one thing I did also to my Chevy truck. Sure help the sway and as mentioned did not effect ride when not towing. Later RJD

[wz3mo]

Another mod I did was cut out the front openings in the storage area under the foot of the bed. We use laundry baskets to keep coats, boots, etc. in there which I can now slide out and not have to fool around lifting the cumbersome bed! I lined the cut out with vinyl edging for a clean look. I left a lip of the paneling at the bottom to prevent them from sliding out during travel. Another quick mod I did was to the two panels (under the bathroom sink & hot water tank area) that need to be removed for winterizing. Instead of having to unscrew all the screws every time to access the valves, I installed cabinet magnets at two edges that hold the paneling in place. NO MORE unscrewing! Just lift out the panel and access the valves!
Just makes things more convenient.

[DiAngelod]

Originally Posted by southpaw821

I have the 272, but always looking to upgrade a few things.. make it my own.. We just took delivery at the end of Sept. Got in 2 trips before hibernation.. So I have lots of simple mods to do in spring.
1) New shower head
2) Magnetic baggage door holders... So much nicer
3) Bluetooth connection to plug into the back of the radio. I don't want cords hanging off the front. This will be a much cleaner look and then I can stream music from my phone. Plus it should work when I am outside, so I don't have to go into the camper to change songs!
4) Install struts to the underside of my bed..
5) may install struts to the flip up cabinets over the sofa.
6) swap out the baggage locks to get rid of the CH751 key for better security
7) install battery disconnect switch

All simple minor upgrades, but will allow me to enjoy the whole experience much more.

I did a few of the same things as well. Good idea on the struts for the cabinets over the sofa...may have to steal that one! I would have to say I'd prefer the slam latches over the Vibe style locks...but that'll have to wait. Changing out the locks themselves is a good idea for security.

[DiAngelod]

Originally Posted by wz3mo

Another mod I did was cut out the front openings in the storage area under the foot of the bed. We use laundry baskets to keep coats, boots, etc. in there which I can now slide out and not have to fool around lifting the cumbersome bed! I lined the cut out with vinyl edging for a clean look. I left a lip of the paneling at the bottom to prevent them from sliding out during travel. Another quick mod I did was to the two panels (under the bathroom sink & hot water tank area) that need to be removed for winterizing. Instead of having to unscrew all the screws every time to access the valves, I installed cabinet magnets at two edges that hold the paneling in place. NO MORE unscrewing! Just lift out the panel and access the valves!
Just makes things more convenient.

Was trying to come up with something for under the bed, like a slide out laundry drawer, but I like your idea better! Simpler and just as efficient.

[Dave53]

Where did you get the cabinet magnets? Could you post a picture?

[wz3mo]

Can't get a picture now, I've got the Vibe all covered up for winter! I got the magnets at Lowe's they are about $1.59 each. It's a magnet with a little steel plate for cabinets. I attached 2 steel plates to the back side of the removable panel piece at 2 edges. I used a small block of 1 X 2 and screwed them to the inside edges of the opening to support the magnet which I screwed into the blocks, line them up and your good to go. I put a low profile knob on the outside of the panel to grasp for pulling it off. Works great, simple fix.

[michparks]

Can you tell me where you installed the disconnect switch?

[DiAngelod]

Originally Posted by michparks

Can you tell me where you installed the disconnect switch?

I originally put mine on the front wall above the battery. That was before I switched to 2 6v batteries. See pic with black (factory) battery box; which by the way, was never able to be closed and sealed properly. A definite issue with a battery that requires ventilation because of the off-gassing it has. Tsk Tsk Forest River! The bottom and top are identical pieces and they just weren't big enough to contain the batter and wires.

I built a new box for the 6 volts and installed the disconnect switch on the front of the box so it's super easy to reach. Attached a picture to show you. The front piece of the battery box is screwed to the main box, but also is hinged to the right side. So I can removed the screws and then hinge the whole front panel out of the way without removing the switch to get the batteries out of the box if necessary. They are maintenance free batteries so hopefully that's not an issue.

Hope this helps.
Dave

[Dojo1228]

We looked at this trailer at the RVA RV show Saturday. It looks like a nice trailer for the money. Anyone have any manufacture/warranty issues? I love the window in the side and the light it lets in. I also love the fact that you can see your camp site from that big window. With all the slides in some campers it takes your view of the campsite away and this one does not.

[wz3mo]

Some warranty issues I had were quickly taken care of at my dealer ( stress crack at base of skylight above shower, torn rubber slideout seal). They had to send pictures of the problems to FR for an OK to proceed. All was taken care promptly. I wouldn't worry and get the 286RKS and you'll love it! Spring can't get here fast enough so we can take it out again.

[DiAngelod]

We enjoy ours. Had the heater fail during a thanksgiving trip and took it in. Turned out to be the regulator which technically wasn't covered under warranty any longer, so 45 bucks later it seems to be working ok. Other than that we've been pretty happy with it. Wish we waited a year and got the bigger fridge of feed now, but overall it's a good TT.