Forest River Vibe West Double Axle 27FKB reviews

We’ve owned this RV for 9 years and have really enjoyed it. I even lived in it for 3 months during a transfer for a job. It’s small but very well set up. It’s perfect for a couple, but the sofa folds out to a bed and the dinette makes a small bed if you have company. The bathroom and shower are a nice size for a small RV. It’s easy to hook up and go for a weekend but we’ve also stayed for a couple of weeks comfortably. Show less

Excellent balance towing, comfortable and roomy bed and bedroom, lots of kitchen counters and cabinets with Pantry. Very comfortable furniture to include two recliners, sofa and booth breakfast eating area. Nice large refrigerator and three burner stove with oven. Much, much more Show less

Big living area as well as kitchen and sitting room. Nice large flat screen TV with Winegard tv/Internet dish roof mounted antenna. Lots of storage throughout the unit. Nice comfortable queen bed. Electric stabilizer jacks and a roof mounted solar panel. Show less

Before we decided to build our retirement home next year, we decided to purchase a second RV for living purposes on the family farm. We have enjoyed our first RV purchase in 2021, a new Heartland Bighorn Traveler 5th wheel with minimal issues. So we went into this second purchase with great expectations. But reality, like a large hat-pin, punctured that hope with acuity that has been both a physical and mental anguish. We now wish we had waited on this second purchase. The Vibe 3400XL floor plan is a good one, rear kitchen and easy pulling 2 plusses. But the little things that happened every day drove us to the edge of buyer's remorse. On the first day we found out that extending the awning all the way prevented the entry door from opening all the way with pushing it into and past the awning. The awning also went over the slide-out and rested on it, worrying us that the contact on the sharp corner would wear a hole in that part of the awning. The only way to avoid the door issue was to pull the bracket down on the slide side for water drainage, but it still rested on the slide. The service specialist at the dealer we bought it from later told us we had the awning out too far. Huh? Isn't that what an awning is for, to extend and cover/protect as much area as possible? Next, when inside going to sit in the theater chairs, we felt as though the slides were tilted down slightly; a level proved us correct. The service specialist claimed this not true when his mechanic checked it. Having new stuff stacked everywhere and hungry, we sat on the bar chairs at the nicely elevated island to eat, and nearly fell over. Both bar chairs where horribly unbalanced and wobbling so badly that we thought we were sitting in rocking chairs. Then, we opened the newly installed washer to do a load of clothes and discovered 4 items of wet clothing already in there! So, in the dryer they went. The dryer started, then stopped after a few minutes, then started up again, then stopped...you get the idea. This happened on every cycle we tried, with nothing else on in the RV, while plugged in to 50-amp shore power. Nor breakers popped either. Service mechanic response? Can't duplicate. The washer has a coin slot on the bottom to open and remove any debris, but only after pulling the rubber tube out to drain any excess water. Did that, tube dry, opened the coin slot plug and woosh! A tidal wave of water came out! Both times we washed a load. And the dryer continued to start and stop... Next, my wife is cleaning the floor in front of the beverage cooler. And what did she see? Two deep grooves cut into the flooring. Service specialist said later that two screws, too long on the cooler had cut into the floor as it was pushed into the hole under the counter. Next - I'm back at work and my wife is staying in this new RV by herself, and after she retires to the bed, it starts raining out, a nice steady rain. After a couple of hours, much to her horror, she sees a trickle of water coming into the track on the floor, then pooling onto the floor by the washer/dryer closet. The service specialist "could not duplicate" again, so I suggested they check the water lines. They found that the hot water shut off for the washer was broken, and letting water leak into the track and floor. Well, the last slap in the face was when my son hooked up to the RV to take it back to the dealership for all this service, and he found one of the tires was flat. He aired it up, took it 65 miles to the dealership without further issue, and they, repeat after me, "could not duplicate." These mechanical defects happened all in the first 13 days of use. We asked for a buyback; the dealership refused. We asked for the entire floor to be replaced since the factory worker tore it up; Forest River refused. I would not buy another travel trailer from Forest River. The floor plan was good with tons of counter space, a coffee bar, and windows everywhere. But based on our experience in less than two weeks, no. Will this happen with other Forest River brands? Don't know and we aren't going to find out since we will not purchase from them again. Show less

Just bought this unit the furnace that came in it didn’t work right was bad from factory . Was sent a new one and it works better but not correct have to keep re setting the thermostat it is absolutely ridiculous the heater is in back of camper bedroom in front and only has one vent it struggles to keep warm in there apparently this system is new 6 months old I don’t recommend buying this until that system has bugs out and a good working furnace Show less

We purchased a 2023 Vibe rear kitchen in October 2022. Love the floor plan, beautiful to look at . We have used the camper 9 times and in August of 2024 we went to use the over the bed cabinets and saw that the "wood look" paper was peeling from the sides of the cabinet. Looking further we found the same paper peeling in various places including the entire top of the pull out section. We called the dealer who said it was no longer under warranty. My husband called Forest River directly and they said oh yeah, we had a bad batch of glue. Two days later we found the entire bedroom closet door and jam had fallen off the wall. There is a crack in the top corner of the shower wall. The bathroom faucet handles are cracking and falling off. The camper jack fell down when we were coming home from a trip - scraping the highway all the way home. We had to buy and install a new one. The kitchen seats broke with the first use as the screws were not completely in the correct place. We have since had to reinforce both booth bottoms. Just one issue after another. I have never been so disappointed in such poor use of materials and workmanship for something that we still owe $30,000 on. We paid $50,000. What a complete waste of hard earned money. Do NOT buy a Forest River product!! Show less

is the fourth camper I've owned? I'm not very impressed with it. Some of the cupboard doors in the bunkhouse portion don't shut in the master bedroom. The outlet is coming out of the wall and in the kitchen there's one that is loose as well. There is absolutely no cupboard space for dishes! I honestly didn't realize that until after I got it and tried to put dishes away. No cupboards. There is the most ridiculous door in the master bedroom. It's always in the way. There's no room in the master bedroom to change clothes or to barely walk through it. Show less

We bought the unit new in 2023. First thing that went wrong was the water heater didn’t work. The dealer was able to get Forest River to provide a different brand (Subruban). This was our first experience with an on demand water heater. If we had to do it over again we would chose a regular water heater. The main entry door never did work correctly (still doesn’t) even though the dealer fixed it 3 times. Still doesn’t work right. On our trip back from Michigan (after the door had been fixed) It came open on the highway even though it was locked and the large handle was closed over it! The current trip we are on is to Florida and now the sliding door hinge to the bedroom came off while traveling and the door screws are stripped. We are veteran rv’rs and have had many different types and brands of rv’s/travel trailers over the years and the East/West is the worst. We would never buy this brand again. Show less

I bought a new 2023 Forest River, East to West, Entrada for a one year trip around the country. After two-weeks the refrigerator failed. The model is the Ever Chill and the freezer builds up ice preventing cold air going into the refrigerator. This is well known in the industry. The Forest River warranty is awful. I have been trying to get this model replaced and no one will talk to me. It was in the shop for 14 weeks with them only agreeing to replace the electrical panel. I had to cancel the Florida Keys due to warranty delays. It failed again. I can't get a direct contact to send a letter documenting the issues to get help with this issue. I need a new refrigerator. Then.. the microwave is a bad product as well. After the timer is finished, the convection oven turns on and still produces heat. It was replaced. First time I used the new unit, the convection oven came on. When you buy an RV, the appliances should work. The warranty is useless and the customer service is horrible. Buy from another company. If you have a problem, you will not be supported. Show less

Our Forest River Vibe model is actually a VBT27FK-OR bit that choice was not available on this site. Our dealer declared bankruptcy soon after we purchased the unit. The next closest dealer is two hours away. Parts are not available through Forest River at all. On our first trip, we had a part break. We filed a warranty claim and were told the parts were on order. Now, nearly two years later we do not have the parts. We have noticed several quality defects since then. Our sliding door fell from the ceiling. The screws holding it up are secured to 1/8” ceiling panels. I would not recommend Forest River for your next purchase. Show less