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Old 06-25-2020, 10:43 AM   #1
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Join Date: Jun 2020
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General NoBo Questions

Hey guys. I'm looking at changing out our current Hideout 26B for something a bit more versatile and nimble. After doing a bunch of research, I've narrowed it down to a couple of models which each have their advantages and disadvantages. In the NoBo realm, I've narrowed it down to the 19.8. It hits all of my needs, and a lot of my wants. The Forest River website leaves me a little wanting in information especially in the optional equipment department, and I was hoping someone might be willing to give me some unbiased info.

The discoverer package talks about a USB charging station, does that have its own inverter an work off 12V, or only in you are plugged in, or have the solar package with inverter installed?

What exactly is the cold weather package? Is it just little 12V heaters in the water and holding tanks?

Does anyone have the central vac system, and how well does it work? My wife is very interested in this option.

I don't have solar on my current rig, so I'm not super up to speed on that. Is this Gopower system they provide a decent system, or just worth installing my own aftermarket system? I don't have any crazy power needs, and run two gel 110 AH batteries.

A lot of the complaints I've seen refer to the cabinetry coming loose or coming apart, sometimes initially right from the lot. Are the tires that come with this ever really balanced? Assuming I buy one of these, should I drive it from the lot to a tire dealer and get them rebalanced?

Has anyone seen any frame or axle issues with these trailers?

I appreciate any help anyone is willing to give me on this.
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Old 06-25-2020, 05:27 PM   #2
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Quote:
Originally Posted by lawless154 View Post
Hey guys. I'm looking at changing out our current Hideout 26B for something a bit more versatile and nimble. After doing a bunch of research, I've narrowed it down to a couple of models which each have their advantages and disadvantages. In the NoBo realm, I've narrowed it down to the 19.8. It hits all of my needs, and a lot of my wants. The Forest River website leaves me a little wanting in information especially in the optional equipment department, and I was hoping someone might be willing to give me some unbiased info.

The discoverer package talks about a USB charging station, does that have its own inverter an work off 12V, or only in you are plugged in, or have the solar package with inverter installed?

What exactly is the cold weather package? Is it just little 12V heaters in the water and holding tanks?

Does anyone have the central vac system, and how well does it work? My wife is very interested in this option.

I don't have solar on my current rig, so I'm not super up to speed on that. Is this Gopower system they provide a decent system, or just worth installing my own aftermarket system? I don't have any crazy power needs, and run two gel 110 AH batteries.

A lot of the complaints I've seen refer to the cabinetry coming loose or coming apart, sometimes initially right from the lot. Are the tires that come with this ever really balanced? Assuming I buy one of these, should I drive it from the lot to a tire dealer and get them rebalanced?

Has anyone seen any frame or axle issues with these trailers?

I appreciate any help anyone is willing to give me on this.
Not sure if the USB ports work on just 12v.

Yes, cold weather package are heaters on the tanks. Not sure if they all have the plastic underbelly or if that is part of the cold weather package.

I think you are better off going with your own aftermarket solar.

I don't have central vac in ours.

If it were me, I would drive to the tire shop and get 10 ply e-rated tires on it. I hate wimpy trailer tires.

The frame is built pretty light. I suspect they all pretty much are these days. I upgraded a few things on mine. Posted here https://www.forestriverforums.com/fo...de-208764.html
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Old 06-26-2020, 10:37 PM   #3
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We have a 2019 19.8.

The USB works on just the 12V. At least some of them do. I did not test them all though.

Don't know anything about the cold weather stuff.

We have central vac. It sucks. In that it doesn't. Going to bring it in to check and see if something is broken. Still under warranty.

We have the standard solar package. It's possible that the inverter is only available for those that come with solar. Not sure. The solar is ok. It allows us to not have to worry about the amount of life in the battery.

We haven't tweaked anything on ours, aside from cutting an access panel to the water heater. Honestly, I wouldn't know where to start with anything much more advanced than that.
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Old 06-29-2020, 02:12 PM   #4
2020 NoBo 16.8
 
Join Date: Oct 2018
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In my NoBo 16.8
-USB charging ports work off 12V.
-Cold Weather package has heaters on Fresh, Gray and Black tanks. Also have a thin plastic (cardboard sandwitch) cover over the entire bottom of the camper to protect wiring and insulate.
- Central VAC works reasonably well. Sweep your dust to the cover and lift it to start vacuum. It does not come with accessories (hose, brush or wand). Look up the manufacturer to buy these along with bags.
- I mounted my own solar package. 200W panel, GoPower PWM charge controller and GoPower 2000 Watt Inverter,Charger, Transfer switch. Removed dealer provided battery and replaced with two 100AH LifPO batteries mounted inside. I have used this boondocking and found it will recharge batteries by noonish on a sunny day.
- I also installed an air conditioner "softstart" kit so I could run AC off a single 2000 watt inverter generator (HF Predator).
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Old 07-11-2020, 11:17 AM   #5
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Quote:
Originally Posted by lawless154 View Post
Hey guys. I'm looking at changing out our current Hideout 26B for something a bit more versatile and nimble. After doing a bunch of research, I've narrowed it down to a couple of models which each have their advantages and disadvantages. In the NoBo realm, I've narrowed it down to the 19.8. It hits all of my needs, and a lot of my wants. The Forest River website leaves me a little wanting in information especially in the optional equipment department, and I was hoping someone might be willing to give me some unbiased info.

The discoverer package talks about a USB charging station, does that have its own inverter an work off 12V, or only in you are plugged in, or have the solar package with inverter installed?

What exactly is the cold weather package? Is it just little 12V heaters in the water and holding tanks?

Does anyone have the central vac system, and how well does it work? My wife is very interested in this option.

I don't have solar on my current rig, so I'm not super up to speed on that. Is this Gopower system they provide a decent system, or just worth installing my own aftermarket system? I don't have any crazy power needs, and run two gel 110 AH batteries.

A lot of the complaints I've seen refer to the cabinetry coming loose or coming apart, sometimes initially right from the lot. Are the tires that come with this ever really balanced? Assuming I buy one of these, should I drive it from the lot to a tire dealer and get them rebalanced?

Has anyone seen any frame or axle issues with these trailers?

I appreciate any help anyone is willing to give me on this.

I picked up the 2021 19.6 (Rogue River) two weeks ago and drove immediately from southern Utah to NW Washington. Had big winds from the front and side for large portions of the drive and everything was fine. I pull with an 08 half ton Silverado so its not a massive truck. Suspension and tracking on the trailer seemed perfectly fine to me. Tire pressure was set 5psi below max since we were going up in elevation. I don't use a WD hitch or sway control. IMO its not needed with a twin torsion axle under 5000 lbs.

Truck sat perfectly level even with 2/3 full fresh water tank.

Ours came with the GoPower charge controller, WECO 1000W inverter and 100W solar panel. Honestly havent used the inverter yet since we've been plugged in but on the way over the USB plugs all worked on 12V. The Weco 1000W inverter manual says it will power household appliances. It has a 2000W surge and says it can handle motor and compressor in-rush current so I am curious if it will handle the start up current the AC (haven't tried this yet).

Cabinetry so far has been just fine, if anything the hinges are a bit too springy especially in the bathroom. They could have used different handles so it wouldnt so easily slam against the bathroom wall if your not careful. We ended up putting rubber bumpers behind all the cabinet doors and bathroom wall to stop the handle hardware from damaging the wood and wall.

Central vac works but no hose is included. I asked about this and was told they only include the hose on larger 5th wheels since they usually have carpet and this doesnt. We use rugs a lot for the dog so that the hose would have been nice. Still thinking of adding it but its not that cheap.

Cold weather package is heated fresh water, gray and black tanks. That means your waste wont freeze so you can dump properly and the fresh wont freeze. There are still limits to this though. Its the reason they call it a cold weather package and not a true 4 season trailer.

We've had two issues so far. The upgraded door is not worth it in my opinion. Sure its nice to look at but the hinges are stiff and will need some working in.
My wife complains every time she has to close and lock the door. I don't think its as bad as she makes it out to be but it could be easier.

The kitchen faucet has a very small leak coming from the handle portion. I've already contacted Forest River and they are sending me a new faucet.
Everything else works well. We are still getting used to it and the size and layout work well for us. I was really surprised how well it towed. I was used to my 3000' palomino and was expecting this to be much harder but it really wasnt. Good luck!
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Old 07-12-2020, 08:47 AM   #6
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Originally Posted by dhickey View Post
I picked up the 2021 19.6 (Rogue River) two weeks ago and drove immediately from southern Utah to NW Washington.
Thank you for the info. Maybe a stupid question, but what does the rogue river edition mean? Is that just from a different factory? No surprise the FR site has no information on it.
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Old 07-12-2020, 10:38 AM   #7
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Best I can tell its when the Overlander package, back country package and solar package are installed. Ours also came with all the 19 series options except the bike and snowboard carriers.

Its strange how the FR doesn't even mention it.
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Old 07-13-2020, 09:43 AM   #8
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Quote:
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Best I can tell its when the Overlander package, back country package and solar package are installed. Ours also came with all the 19 series options except the bike and snowboard carriers.

Its strange how the FR doesn't even mention it.
I found a video on youtube that explains the rogue river. Basically it's built in a factory in Oregon instead of the midwest(maybe Indiana?). As far as I can tell, the differences are the entrance door is different, wall boards are a different material, and the graphics are a bit different as well. It's at about 1:30 on this video.
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Old 07-13-2020, 01:59 PM   #9
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Quote:
Originally Posted by lawless154 View Post
I found a video on youtube that explains the rogue river. Basically it's built in a factory in Oregon instead of the midwest(maybe Indiana?). As far as I can tell, the differences are the entrance door is different, wall boards are a different material, and the graphics are a bit different as well. It's at about 1:30 on this video.
This tells me that the NoBo's are being built in Rpod factories. FR has been building Rpods in Oregon for some time now.
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