New to Forest River

tonkabeast · 10-01-2012, 12:14 PM

Greetings,
New to the forum and new to the Forest River brand. We had an Arctic Fox TT for years and just traded it in for a 2013 Cruise Lite 281QBXL. Our family is growing and so must the trailer.
We just took it out this last weekend on its maiden voyage and we had a blast! found SOOOOO many things we need to tweak but that is totally normal.
Any one else out their pulling a 281QBXL with a 2004 F-150?

TURBS · 10-01-2012, 12:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tonkabeast

Greetings,
New to the forum and new to the Forest River brand. We had an Arctic Fox TT for years and just traded it in for a 2013 Cruise Lite 281QBXL. Our family is growing and so must the trailer.
We just took it out this last weekend on its maiden voyage and we had a blast! found SOOOOO many things we need to tweak but that is totally normal.
Any one else out their pulling a 281QBXL with a 2004 F-150?

Hello and welcome to the forum !
Congrats on the new unit !

Turbs

tonkabeast · 10-01-2012, 12:50 PM

Thank you! It's been fun adjusting to an additional 10ft!

TeresaInCAL · 10-01-2012, 02:08 PM

Welcome!! Got a pic of your rig? We have similar trucks, but mine isn't 4x4.

tonkabeast · 10-01-2012, 08:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TeresaInCAL

Welcome!! Got a pic of your rig? We have similar trucks, but mine isn't 4x4.

Yup, posted some older pictures (I have since changed tires) but here is Tonka.

**Terier** · 10-01-2012, 09:10 PM

to the Forest River Family! And congrats on your new Cruise Lite trailer too. There are other new owners of a Cruise Lite trailer here on the forum too.

So when is the next trip? Pictures are always welcome.

tonkabeast · 10-02-2012, 11:32 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Terier

to the Forest River Family! And congrats on your new Cruise Lite trailer too. There are other new owners of a Cruise Lite trailer here on the forum too.

So when is the next trip? Pictures are always welcome.

We are going out again in two weeks! Going to try and upgrade all my lights to LED's and insulate the back bunk with some light weight insulating foam and seal up the power with a sealed power inlet.

TeresaInCAL · 10-02-2012, 11:48 AM

Insulate the back bunk with some light weight insulating foam

I take it you have a hybrid? Is the bed cold?

and seal up the power with a sealed power inlet.

What's the purpose?

tonkabeast · 10-02-2012, 12:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TeresaInCAL

Insulate the back bunk with some light weight insulating foam

I take it you have a hybrid? Is the bed cold?

and seal up the power with a sealed power inlet.

What's the purpose?

Sorry...didn't give alot of detail did I?
The back bunk rests on a single sheet of plywood. Under this piece of plywood is the water heater, inverter, outdoor shower, and the box where the power cord lives.
To answer your question yes the back bunk gets cold because the bottom is open to the outside world through the power cord hole and outdoor shower. I am going to cut out a piece of insulating foam to fit underneath the plywood board to add a layer of insulation to the bottom bunk. Also I am going to seal up the power cord hole with a sealed power intake so that all I have to do is plug a cord into the power plug instead of pulling out the cable from the hole. (hope that makes more sense)
I am not sure what you mean by hybrid...but the 281QBXL has three bunks in the back if you have the outdoor kitchen (Four bunks if you do not have the outdoor kitchen)

TeresaInCAL · 10-02-2012, 02:19 PM

Ok, that makes more sence.
Hybrid= not a pop-up, not a reg. TT. They have the fold out beds. Typically, have the plywood bottom. I couldn't tell from the pic.
I have a reg. TT. We had to put a the egg-foam piece, then a very thick pad/cover over the plywood master bed. SO much more comfy.

tonkabeast · 10-02-2012, 04:34 PM

Now I get it...No mine is not a hybrid. I have a single pop out on the TT but that is the kitchen and couch. The bunks are all in the back of the trailer.

TeresaInCAL · 10-03-2012, 11:08 AM

In the back of our TT, it's just open storage, FULL of necessary "crap". The boys have never complained about being cold.
Of course we don't usually camp when it's cold out, but the few times it has been cold, the heater has kicked on. Heats up very quickly.

speddy069 · 10-03-2012, 11:37 AM

Hi

I also purchased the 2013 281QBXL with the outdoor kitchen in August. Since then we have used it twice for a week each time and it was great. A few minor glitches but the dealer is great and took care of everything.. We are going out again on Oct 26 for a Halloween thing for 3 days and then its time to wrap it up till next April. I have 08 Nissan Titan that tows it with no problems. Next year it will be a busy one for us camping as we have 4 extended trips planned and a bunch of local ones here on Long Island.. I agree with you about insulating that bunk and also going to replace the boards on the bench seats in the kitchen. the kids already cracked them as they are extremely thin boards.. Sorry for the long post but am new here and glad to find that many people enjoy their campers from Forest River..

Pat

tonkabeast · 10-03-2012, 11:53 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by speddy069

Hi

I also purchased the 2013 281QBXL with the outdoor kitchen in August. Since then we have used it twice for a week each time and it was great. A few minor glitches but the dealer is great and took care of everything.. We are going out again on Oct 26 for a Halloween thing for 3 days and then its time to wrap it up till next April. I have 08 Nissan Titan that tows it with no problems. Next year it will be a busy one for us camping as we have 4 extended trips planned and a bunch of local ones here on Long Island.. I agree with you about insulating that bunk and also going to replace the boards on the bench seats in the kitchen. the kids already cracked them as they are extremely thin boards.. Sorry for the long post but am new here and glad to find that many people enjoy their campers from Forest River..

Pat

No apologize necessary! It is GREAT to talk to someone else who has a 2013 281QBXL with a kitchen! We bought ours in September and have taken it out only once to date. We are taking it out one last time in two weeks then packing it up for the winter.

Since you have owned yours a month longer and have taken it out a few more times any nuggets of knowledge you have would be greatly appreciated!

speddy069 · 10-03-2012, 08:23 PM

Thanks for the welcome.. The only problem that I had so far is when the slide out opens it pinches the gas line to the stove against the stop under the slide. So far no remedy except to pull the line by hand before its completely out. My dealer is working with Forest River on a fix for it.. Also did you get the black trim or the white. Wish I waited for the black as it looks really good compared to the white. All else works great. The outdoor kitchen is super great but I might put a bigger grill on it as we always seem to have friends and family stopping over for the night when we camp locally.. Got one more trip and then its covered for the winter till March. Looking to use it a lot next year including going down to Fort Wilderness for 10 days in Nov of next year..

tonkabeast · 10-04-2012, 10:17 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by speddy069

Thanks for the welcome.. The only problem that I had so far is when the slide out opens it pinches the gas line to the stove against the stop under the slide. So far no remedy except to pull the line by hand before its completely out. My dealer is working with Forest River on a fix for it.. Also did you get the black trim or the white. Wish I waited for the black as it looks really good compared to the white. All else works great. The outdoor kitchen is super great but I might put a bigger grill on it as we always seem to have friends and family stopping over for the night when we camp locally.. Got one more trip and then its covered for the winter till March. Looking to use it a lot next year including going down to Fort Wilderness for 10 days in Nov of next year..

We did get the black trim and black diamond plating. I will have to take a look at the gas line in the slide out. Thank you for the heads up!

I don't know if you are looking or have replaced lights with LED's but I have some ordered and am going to try a couple out to see which ones I want to use. I will post my findings when they come in and I test them out.

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