2021 Forest River Vibe Travel Trailer reviews

After selling our 2006 Winnebago Journey DP in late 2019, we decided we missed traveling in a RV, so we started looking for our new RV. We were moving to a short TT (Travel Trailer), under 26’ long, under 7600 lbs GVWR and a bunk bed floorplan. We started our searched in early 2020, yes, the start of Covid and after looking on-line and in-person at dealers, we purchased our new 2021 Vibe 21 BH in May 2020. Note: Forest River makes two versions of the Vibe 21BH camper, West and Midwest, the West version 21BH does NOT have a slide-out. So my review is on a Midwest 21BH with a Dinette slide out and sold East of the Rockies. The Vibe 21BH is 25’ 7” long, 11’ 2” high, dry weights of 4925 lbs and a 627 hitch with an amazing CCC of 2702 lbs. It has one deep passenger dinette side with a large window. It’s a Bunk Bed style floor plan, which was what we wanted so we could take our grandkids with us on trips and it also becomes a huge storage area for us when we take longer trips. It has a front murphy bed, which can be stored ‘made’ (sheets on and pillows) including a 1 ½ topper. When the murphy bed is stored, it reveals a couch with two seats with a flip-out foot rest and a lot of storage under it. On each side of the couch there are small Wardrobes, not very tall, so I removed the fake floor in each wardrobe and added small doors to help access lower area. Other storage includes two door floor to ceiling wardrobes and storage cabinets in slide. And a small pantry at the end of the bunk area. And two large pull out drawers under the dinette seats, two kitchen draws and a pot and pan draw under the Oven. There are two Bunk beds that are quite wide, both have windows and ceiling lights that can be turned on and off from the bunks. Our two Grandkids, that have traveled with us, enjoyed their bunk space for play and sleeping. When the Grandkids are not with us, on longer trips, we use the lower bunk for storage of additional clothes, food and other items needed for longer trips. There is also a large storage area under part of the lower bunk that we use for container storage and a place for a kitchen garbage container. The Bathroom, while small, is very functional for us and grandkids. The shower is rectangle shape (roomy) with a pullout shower curtain and is big enough for a blowup Duck style toddler bath tub. It has an upgraded ceiling fan with an outside hood so it can be left open even if it’s raining outside. The Kitchen is functional for a 25’ long camper, includes a Microwave, 3 Burner stove, and small oven. The stainless steel farmhouse kitchen sink is a good size with a moveable faucet. Electrical: This is a 30 amp camper with a 15k Air Conditioner, Gas/Electric 6 Gal hot water heater and a 10.7 Cu Ft 12v DC only residential style Refrigerator, not a good choice for people who do a lot of boon docking type camping. We are always connected top power so this style Refrig is what we prefer. This is our first 30 Amp camper, so I added and inteletec Power management system that will enable me to run our hot water heater on Electric rather than on my LP. The system has been perfect automatically turning off the HW heater anytime the microwave is run, 45 seconds after the Microwave stops the HW Heater is turned back on. Entertainment: The Vibe 21BH comes with a single 24” TV, I replaced that one with a Smart TV and added a 40 inch Smart TV mounted on a Swivel Mount on the top of the Pantry. The couch/recliners face the new 40” TV. Since we stream everything, if good WiFi, directly on the smart TV, if poor WiFi, we will stream from our Ipad via HTMI cables. I’ve added a HTMI switch that enables me to stream the same content or different to each TV. I’ve installed a weBoost Drive Reach RV - Cell Phone Signal Booster to help in weak Cell Signal. The Vibe 21BH (Midwest version) is a great camper small enough to easily be towed by a ½ ton truck. It is very stable towing behind my F150. It has big bunkbeds for our grandkids, great size shower for bathing the infants and toddlers. A very functional kitchen and a great residential style refrigerator. Lots of storage for a small camper. We have enjoyed traveling in the Vibe 21BH on long multiweek trips and week trips to Fort Wilderness with our grandkids. It has been a great decision for us. We have towed about 8000 miles (three 2000 mile round trip trips from Florida to Pennsylvania) and a number of short trips and the only failure I have had was a outside Awning motor that failed which I replaced myself. I contribute my trouble free ownership from it being manufactured per-covid, late 2020. I did replace all the China-Bomb Castle Rock tires with Goodyear Endurance tires before we took our first trip. For it’s length and weight the Vibe 21BH was a great choice for us. -Russ G Show less

The layout of the Vibe is great, the quality of the build is not. We purchased the Vibe in 2021 new. The couches came ripped, the shelving was crooked, the lights did not all work, panels popped on the slide out, microwave seal on door was faulty and the refrigerator seal was broken. The very worst has been the leak in the shower into the wall. The dealer we purchased from has had the camper for 3 months and not gotten the leak fixed yet. Show less

Brand new and heater won't work. Vary difficult to get any help no matter who you call. Still under warranty only answer haul it 80 Miles away to get checked Terrible service have to play phone tag. Show less

Bought in April, within 2 months, awning broke, cable not wired correctly, dealer tried to fix and radio stopped working. poor finishing job for paint splattered and fingerprints, stick on paper laminent peeling off, molding falling off, window curtain so tight it pulled screw out of wall and now hangs....outside outlet and outlet for fridge/convection top stopped working. 2nd dealer fixed but lasted less than 1 week; now at 5 months- countertop falling apart from water leaking between undermount sink and counter top. doors coming off tracks, shower still leaks, toilet sometimes leaks. air to front bedroom? yeah right even with all other vents closed and portable fans blowing air toward the room. did i mention the vent over oven never worked right and then fell off during a trip? dealers fix was to "wedge" with cardboard open the external flap. solar panels don't work for off-griding, you get maybe 2.5 days fridge use only and everything starts shutting off. slideout sits high not flat on floor.... hit your foot on that a few times!....screen door closing mechanism refused to stay in place. was shown how to "fix" it, (i did multiple times) and it fell off after the dealer left. now screen handle doesn't retract and catch latch, so handle has to be "jiggled" to ensure it catches....awning arm broke instead of "dumping", had to go to manufacturer for warranty... dealer and FR did not want to warrantee.... what else would you like?? we like the floorplan, bathroom size, counter and storage space... that is it. would like my refund now..... Show less

After getting the rv home was showing it to friends and family. A friend pointed out where a hole in the outside wall had been patched. There is a leak in the plumbing. It is missing braces that stabilize some if the lower trim panels. I found where some wood has been patched inside and painted over. May be just the place I bought it but I'm very unhappy and giving my 2 cents everywhere I can. Show less