Checked out a Vibe 26RK, Mallard M25,Grand Design Imagine

[Stclairm]

I must say, I don't get the hype about the Imagines. After walking through the Vibe and opening and closing cabinets, etc, the Grand Design felt flimsy to me. I opened one cabinet door and it wouldn't shut afterwards. It also had a very odd odor in it for being new. Little things go a long way on a first impression. The Mallard M25 was pretty nice, just not the right floor plan for us. I really liked the very curved roof.
A lot of positives on the Vibe. We liked the small dorm style frig and slide out convection cook top outside. The cabinets were real wood and the drawers themselves were all a type of plywood on metal roller sliders. The oversized 12V frig is awesome. Unless those are absolutely junk for some reason, I think that's the only kind I will buy in our next trailer, which will probably be in the next few months. Tons of storage, huge tv that you can watch unobstructed from the recliners. Decent bath, great bedroom with a closet. It just felt really good inside, one of those things you don't know until you're in them.
Negatives for me, roof was only slightly curved/arched. Big windows behind the dinette and couch don't open. Piece of **** mattress, which is odd considering all the videos showed a Denver Mattress or Evergreen Mattress. The salesman said it had to do with Covid supply and demand. This one weighs 6348 unloaded, a tad on the heavy side for my taste. We were at the Camping World in Hope Mills (Fayetteville) NC.
Any other ideas for similar trailers we should check out? I also really like the Vibe 24RL, but it's nowhere near North Carolina.

[GDS-3950BH]

Stclairm wrote:
3.21 gears. I wouldn't tow much more than 6500 even if it had the 3.92's just due to suspension on 1500's. I looked at the Grand Design Imagine and did not get the hype. They have a contemporary style cabinet design and they are pressed wood with vinyl fake wood overlay. I can say that the Freedom Express and Vibes had a higher quality feeling cabinet. I know the Freedom Expresses are pocket screwed. I found out the Twilight cabinetry was stapled. After sitting the the horrible dinette and seeing that, I unchecked another one.
I'm trying to stay in a TT that has a 6000# UVW or so. I of course will be using WD. I have a Husky on our Vintage Cruiser that seems to work ok. I had an Equalizer on our last trailer years ago. I was told those WD hitches are now going on back order along with many other accessories.
I'm making sure to get a TT with a factory installed ladder so I can recaulk and wash the roof myself. I'm not paying the $400-800 I've been quoted. That is absolutely hilarious.
I do wish there were more of them using the Dexter Torflex axles, seems very few do.

The 2020 Grand Design Solitude we dumped because of its never ending issue had cabinetry just as you describe. The drawer fronts and door were solid wood, but every thing else was mdf board wrapped in a vinyl, and the Solitude is Grand Designs top of the line offering. The cabinets are so strong and attached so well that once when we pulled into a campground the microwave and its cabinet decided to drop to the floor taking 2 of the dinette chairs with it. Junk.

[Stclairm]

3.21 gears. I wouldn't tow much more than 6500 even if it had the 3.92's just due to suspension on 1500's. I looked at the Grand Design Imagine and did not get the hype. They have a contemporary style cabinet design and they are pressed wood with vinyl fake wood overlay. I can say that the Freedom Express and Vibes had a higher quality feeling cabinet. I know the Freedom Expresses are pocket screwed. I found out the Twilight cabinetry was stapled. After sitting the the horrible dinette and seeing that, I unchecked another one.
I'm trying to stay in a TT that has a 6000# UVW or so. I of course will be using WD. I have a Husky on our Vintage Cruiser that seems to work ok. I had an Equalizer on our last trailer years ago. I was told those WD hitches are now going on back order along with many other accessories.
I'm making sure to get a TT with a factory installed ladder so I can recaulk and wash the roof myself. I'm not paying the $400-800 I've been quoted. That is absolutely hilarious.
I do wish there were more of them using the Dexter Torflex axles, seems very few do.

[mr61impala]

lane hog wrote:


Jayco under Thor's ownership has fallen quite a bit. We owned three of them, and you couldn't have paid me to take one off the lot when we were looking back in July.

Exactly.

The first trailer we went to see last fall was a Jay Feather simply because of Jayco's past reputation. The more I looked and the more I read, the more apparent it became that Jayco has lost it's edge.

This will be our 5th TT so I know a few things to look for, but it sure is nice to have access to so much feedback these days.

Maybe when the covid induced trailer shortage works itself out we will get back to shopping!

[lane_hog]

mr61impala wrote:
To us, some of the Forest River products look to be better thought out than many of the others and their build quality is at least comparable to as well. That may be why one of their brands finally unseated Jayco as the largest selling brand last year.

Jayco under Thor's ownership has fallen quite a bit. We owned three of them, and you couldn't have paid me to take one off the lot when we were looking back in July.

Sure, you'll find people who will complain about any model, but you also have a lot of unrealistic expectations especially from the newer buyers. When you look at the actual complaints, it's been things like the refrigerator and tires, which are supplier issues and not necessarily the brand, but the newbies don't recognize that very quickly.

I'd like to think that after six trailers and a motorhome, my expectations are realistic, and our 2019 GD hasn't failed us. Yet.

And to be clear, everyone in this conversation has been doing this for at least 10 years. I'm not referring to people here. I'm talking about the newbie complainers that flood the Facebook groups.

[ford_truck_guy]

Stclairm wrote:

ford truck guy wrote:

Stclairm wrote:
^ Wow, thanks for that info. I would think our Ram 1500 Hemi etorque should have no problem, but we do have some pretty serious mountain grades in the NC mountains. They have that exact unit at a CW near me, but they're asking crazy money at $36900. I've seen it for $27-28k at several dealers online I also just checked out the Freedom Express 279RLDSLE. I would need to see it in person to see if it compares. Now I'm also hooked on the 12V frig idea. Both have them.

My daughter pulls hers with a 2017 F150 with the 2.7 eco boost.. traveled from PA to Florida to Gatlinburg TN, to Luray TN and home. no issues with either the truck or the 26RK Vibe..

SHe got the 50 amp and 2nd ac.. paid $26,000

Did she buy hers at Keystone in PA? So far only the Camping World's around here have them and they are stupid high and their fees are nuts.

CW in Lakewood NJ... I have known the manager there for years....

[mr61impala]

We have been searching for a new TT for over a year and at first we were overwhelmed with the diversity of questions we had about trailers and tow vehicles, and while you will get some fan boys, this is truly a great forum to answer your questions.

You tow vehicle probably has a #1820 payload, the dry hitch weight and hitch itself will probably consume half of that. Add in your passenger's weight and you will see that you need to load the trailer with an eye towards weight in the front of the trailer.

Does your truck have the 3.92 gears, if so it will tow it comfortably but if you have the 3.21 it will shift gears much more. The average 3.21 equipped Ram 1500 has a towing capacity of around #8,500 whereas the 3.92 jumps to around #11,400. I would never put a #10,000 trailer behind a half ton truck, it just means you will have a more relaxing trip towing a trailer of this weight with the deeper reduction.

At first we were drawn in by the Grand Design advertising, and they do use some nicer looking materials inside. But their fit and finish was about on par with the others, and if you check you will find they have about as many dissatisfied customers as any other brand, primarily water leaks and poor dealer support as I recall. The best thing you can have is a good dealer, for example not Camping World.

We have done quite a bit of research and looked at quite a few trailers. To us, some of the Forest River products look to be better thought out than many of the others and their build quality is at least comparable to as well. That may be why one of their brands finally unseated Jayco as the largest selling brand last year. Americans talk to each other and word of mouth is good advertising.

In my opinion none of the trailers in this price range are significantly better than the others and a good dealer would be a primary concern.

[lane_hog]

I'm sure you'll enjoy your Forest River product, but when I see two dozen individual brands under one roof, I start to think of Fleetwood and their "quality" towards the end. Get too big and your quality control evaporates.

For fit and trim, I found the Imagines to be one of the better second level coaches (i.e. not entry level but still not quite full-time material). Grand Design's floorplans and features in general seemed better thought out than a lot of the other stuff we looked at. It was almost like they actually used RV's they designed and built.

[Stclairm]

ford truck guy wrote:

Stclairm wrote:
^ Wow, thanks for that info. I would think our Ram 1500 Hemi etorque should have no problem, but we do have some pretty serious mountain grades in the NC mountains. They have that exact unit at a CW near me, but they're asking crazy money at $36900. I've seen it for $27-28k at several dealers online I also just checked out the Freedom Express 279RLDSLE. I would need to see it in person to see if it compares. Now I'm also hooked on the 12V frig idea. Both have them.

My daughter pulls hers with a 2017 F150 with the 2.7 eco boost.. traveled from PA to Florida to Gatlinburg TN, to Luray TN and home. no issues with either the truck or the 26RK Vibe..

SHe got the 50 amp and 2nd ac.. paid $26,000

Did she buy hers at Keystone in PA? So far only the Camping World's around here have them and they are stupid high and their fees are nuts.

[Stclairm]

Well, I looked at the Twilight 2500 and 2620 today. What a difference vs watching videos. I thought I liked it a lot until I sat in the dinette and the crappy back cushions were so bad you immediately feel the wood in your back. Then I saw the stapled cabinetry and kind of lost interest. Also looked at a Kodiak 261RBSl- super cheap tires, non Azdel, no 12V frig. The last thing I looked at was an East to West trailer, pretty impressed, but they only had one that was too heavy for me. I think we're between the Freedom Express 279RLDSLE and Vibe 26RK, but the Vibe is about 300 lbs heavier. The Vibe 26RK also has a little more than we "need" with the sleeper couch and dinette.

[Stclairm]

^ That is nuts !! That was a good deal on yours. We are also checking out the Freedom Express 279RLDSLE at a dealer that is pretty cool about 90 minutes from us. I figure the build quality should be similar as it's Forest River as well. The only negatives for me is the lighter color interior, small toilet sitting area, and the roof is only slightly crowned. A lot of big positives though. Fully covered front end nose cap with wrap around sides, power stabilizers controlled from the BAL tongue jack. All aluminum framing and Azdel, heated and enclosed, remote fantastic fan in master, etc.

[gaymeadowsman]

ford truck guy wrote:

Stclairm wrote:
^ Wow, thanks for that info. I would think our Ram 1500 Hemi etorque should have no problem, but we do have some pretty serious mountain grades in the NC mountains. They have that exact unit at a CW near me, but they're asking crazy money at $36900. I've seen it for $27-28k at several dealers online I also just checked out the Freedom Express 279RLDSLE. I would need to see it in person to see if it compares. Now I'm also hooked on the 12V frig idea. Both have them.

My daughter pulls hers with a 2017 F150 with the 2.7 eco boost.. traveled from PA to Florida to Gatlinburg TN, to Luray TN and home. no issues with either the truck or the 26RK Vibe..

SHe got the 50 amp and 2nd ac.. paid $26,000

We paid $28,900 for ours at Johnston RV in Cullman Al. We looked at a "left over"2020 unit a couple of weeks before we bought that had been used as a parts unit for sold trailers that had items that didn't work. They were asking full retail price($25,995) on that trailer and no delivery date on the replacement parts that were missing.

[ford_truck_guy]

Stclairm wrote:
^ Wow, thanks for that info. I would think our Ram 1500 Hemi etorque should have no problem, but we do have some pretty serious mountain grades in the NC mountains. They have that exact unit at a CW near me, but they're asking crazy money at $36900. I've seen it for $27-28k at several dealers online I also just checked out the Freedom Express 279RLDSLE. I would need to see it in person to see if it compares. Now I'm also hooked on the 12V frig idea. Both have them.

My daughter pulls hers with a 2017 F150 with the 2.7 eco boost.. traveled from PA to Florida to Gatlinburg TN, to Luray TN and home. no issues with either the truck or the 26RK Vibe..

SHe got the 50 amp and 2nd ac.. paid $26,000

[Stclairm]

^ Wow, thanks for that info. I would think our Ram 1500 Hemi etorque should have no problem, but we do have some pretty serious mountain grades in the NC mountains. They have that exact unit at a CW near me, but they're asking crazy money at $36900. I've seen it for $27-28k at several dealers online I also just checked out the Freedom Express 279RLDSLE. I would need to see it in person to see if it compares. Now I'm also hooked on the 12V frig idea. Both have them.

[gaymeadowsman]

We just bought the 2021 Vibe 26RK. We have only been able to take it out for a long weekend but that was enough to know we are going to enjoy this trailer.
The extra counter space over our last trailer is what hooked us, but the details are what sold us. We have only found one thing that I have to do and that is caulking around the base of the shower enclosure.
Yes the Slide and dinette do block the pantry doors from opening fully, but it for small item storage because it is actually not large enough for a pantry. The rear overhead cabinet is more than enough to hold all our pantry items and is in easy reach of the prep area.

We bought the 50amp, dual A/C unit and in the Alabama heat and humidity, I wish we had done it sooner. I put large deep shelves in the bedroom closet because there is no linen cabinet, but we have plenty of room in the wardrobe closet for hanging items.
Our 2010 Silverado pulls the Vibe easily and it's a nice combo.