Forest River Rv IBEX 20BHS 20BHS reviews

We love this trailer. The interior height was a huge draw for us since we're a tall family, tallest being 6'4" with no issues walking around inside. We were most interested in boondocking and the set up was perfect for this. The dual access and higher clearance was a huge draw for overall stability for off road sites and longer road trips. The solar panel and huge clean, grey and black tanks allowed us to stay out longer without having to dumpf. The residential queen bed allowed us to put a real queen mattress on the bed to maximize our comfort. The bunks have been great for our kids. This trailer has so much storage space inside, we never maxed it out. Ample space for food, clothes, toys and linens. The kitchen is small but anything bigger would have taken away from living space and added more weight to the trailer. We love this trailer. It does not disappoint. And having issues with warranty and Forest River or dealerships is common among all trailers. When we purchased, we did a full inspection with an independent inspector. They found a major defect in the slide out window. The dealership fixed it before we took ownership. But we know trailers are not built like cars as someone else mentioned. The quality isn't excellent in order to keep the weight of the trailer low. But the interior aesthetic was pleasing to us and any flaws are minor. Any work we've had done in the 3 years we've owned the trailer has been done by us or an independent contractor as we don't want to wait for warranty and dealership wait times. That said, we haven't had any warranty failures on our trailer. This is a great trailer that allows us access to the outdoors while also providing us the comforts of home. Great for full hook ups or dispersed camping. You can have it all in this trailer. Show less

We were looking to buy one of these trailers but after visiting the dealer and looking at the quality of the trailer I backed out the fit and finish is terrible. The ceiling is stapled to the top. You can see the staple holes. They try to patch it with glue if they want to hide something on the corner. They just put a piece of paneling over it and screw it to the floor. I know my comments don't mean diddly to some people but just really look over the trailer before you purchase. Show less

After 30 yrs in automotive I retired last year and we purchased our first RV a 2021 20BHS Ibex . Overall the layout is great! Head room excellent, we are a tall family and the extra space is great. Heater & Refrigerator works great. The furnace and refrigerator can be a little loud when sleeping but you soon get use to it. Good storage in cabinets and tows very well. Counter top space is limited but you adapt. We love the floor vacuum!. Outside canopy and lights are very nice! Assembly quality left a lot to be desired. On the day of pick up my wife lifted the door to the storage area under the bed and the panel came off in her hand. The hinges were stripped out and very cheap. I replaced with a piano hinge from home depot and no further issue. Over time some of the trim moldings became loose and fell off in several locations. The inside was dirty, lots of dust and hand prints with caulking. The table top seemed flimsy, we discovered there were several stripped bolts. The slide out has worked well but I noticed the motors labored when extending I found out that the rubber seal at the bottom were getting caught in the rollers when extending. The bathroom door margins were very tight and as the weather became humid we could no longer close the bathroom door. I had to disassemble door jam and cut away interference refit door. Now one year later I am getting a b601 error on the solar controller? I contacted FR they wont give me a schematic I am told to go to the dealer. Access to hot water heater was impossible from inside. All the trim molding prevented the bed panel from being lifted off, I had to cut clearances for access. I have had this trailer back to the dealer many times and " that's a whole story in itself" (General RV Wixom- Not impressed). I'm better off fixing issues myself. The dealer tends to make more issues not included in this write up. Ibex is a very nice design great floor plan, just poor execution! Its really too bad, a little extra effort in quality and this could be a great RV. I imagine like automotive it wont be long China or Mexico will make RVs better and cheaper. You pay as much for this trailer as some cars. I know automotive customers would not accept these defects. If I allowed my people to build cars and Trucks like this I would have been fired a long time ago. Show less

Horrible customer service with Forest River and no quality control. Would not recommend! First day off the lot brand new and had 3 major things wrong. It's been in the shop since January and we still have not received it back yet. Such a huge disappointment in a brand new trailer. Show less

A great Forest River trailer with fantastic features and no surprises. My wife and I did extensive research and considered many other brands when we upgraded from a 20’ RPOD, eventually settling on the Ibex 20BHS for trips with just the two of us plus occasional friends and family. Major selling points for us were the expansive suite of features included as the standard dealer package, rugged ground clearance, off-the-grid capability, and flexible sleeping space. The trailer feels ritzy and luxurious compared to the RPOD yet rugged enough for some serious boondocking. And at 25’, you can fit the 20BHS into almost any campsite. Towing – being one of the smallest two axle trailers available gives a huge ~3000 lb carrying capacity and some flexibility for towing vehicles. I am towing with a 4.6L Tundra. The trailer towed great on this 1500-mile trip through the Appalachians, though gas mileage left something to be desired (hovered around 8mpg). Was a little tough on the steepest grades, slowing as low as 50mph. The trailer is very tall and not aerodynamic, all tradeoffs I’m willing to make for all the headroom inside. Keeping the fresh tank empty and minimizing cargo weight would presumably have helped a lot with my lowish-end tow vehicle. We haven’t taken this thing off paved roads yet but compared to the old RPOD, this suspension and ground clearance is beastly! Looks like the most rugged trailer at our KOA right now and I look forward to more adventurous trips. The trailer is prewired for a Furion rear camera and this is a huge asset on the highway and when backing, not to mention an easy 10-minute setup if you are willing to pay the premium for the camera. Sleeping space – super comfortable and flexible with the bunks and convertible dinette. I’m 6’3” and sleeping space was a major sticking point for me. I love the residential queen and could even fit in the top bunk with my feet hanging out a bit. Overall it’s comfortable for 3-4 adults (we had my parents stay for a short time) – would be cramped with more, but you could certainly do it. Especially if you spent most of your time outside. The converted dinette is only 72in long as opposed to the 74in bunks and 80in queen. The 15k AC is bigger than some of the 30 ft trailers I’ve been camping near, and as a bonus the fan negates quite a bit of noise between the bunks and queen bed. We’ve been running it in 90 heat and humidity without a hiccup while seeing some of the other folks’ units freeze up. I read remarks that suggest a curtain or divider between the queen sleeping space and the rest of the trailer – this doesn’t seem practical and I’m glad this isn’t an included feature, though I’m sure you could install something like this if you disagree. Kitchen – small, but the space is well utilized. Check it out on the floorplan and realize you sacrifice here a bit to get all the space elsewhere. We find the kitchen space to be sufficient, and love to cook outside when we can. The sink and faucet are awesome. The glass fold-over stove top provides very functional countertop space. The lack of drawers sucks but is understandable given the layout. If you are a boondocking fan, make sure you check to see if your fridge will run on propane. This is unit dependent and some will have an electric-only model. You can easily tell by looking at the trailer exterior because a propane fridge will have a big black access panel on the right side by the black range hood vent, and an electric-only model will have none at all. Bathroom – huge improvement over a wet bath! The space feels well used. At 6’3” I can stand up in the shower without issues and have plenty of leg room on the toilet. The bathroom sink feels a little small though, and the faucet is so short that it’s tough to get your hands under the running water. Storage – some pros and cons here. Outside storage is as small as our old 20’ trailer and the access doors feel undersized. We can’t fit our modestly-sized folding table in any of the doors. There is ample storage inside but the kitchen lacks any drawers. Our camper came with cabinet doors to access the dinette storage (love this, may be unit dependent), and we modified it so we could also access it from below the seat cushions. Love the storage under and around the queen bed, and when it’s just my wife and I we use the bunk beds for extra functional storage as well. Misc – There seems to be a QA problem with solar wiring - make sure you check this out at the solar controller during the walkthrough. Our dealer didn’t realize that the inverter power switch has to be off for the interior control panel to function, otherwise it will always be on. Would not recommend paying $500 for the optional grill, but it's convenient nonetheless. Double-check that the JBL speaker is present, as those apparently go missing all the time at dealerships. We are very happy with the Ibex 20BHS and would definitely recommend it to friends! Show less