We were super excited with the 19.5 - when we first got it. The trim was nice and plain compared to many trailers, and we thought we could make do with or alter its many minor shortcomings. Right off the bat, we changed the bed. Why do they even bother with those terrible mattresses? They are like lightweight...
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We were super excited with the 19.5 - when we first got it. The trim was nice and plain compared to many trailers, and we thought we could make do with or alter its many minor shortcomings. Right off the bat, we changed the bed. Why do they even bother with those terrible mattresses? They are like lightweight bricks. We took out one side of the couch footrest and removed the table, creating more room to move around.
On our first long trip, the problems started. We went down 11 km of dirt road and the medicine cabinet fell off the wall. The cabinets are screwed to the walls, and the walls are made out of foam insulation, so there's nothing for the screws to bite into. We had it repaired under warranty, but the fix is to glue the cabinets to the walls and dip the screws into some kind of strong adhesive. Later the kitchen cabinet started to fall off, and at the very end, the whole kitchen came away from the walls and the floor.
What really killed our NoBo was the chassis. After about a year of use - and not very intense use - the chassis cracked behind the passenger side axle. The crack was about 3/4 of the way through the chassis, and our insurance wrote off the trailer. The chassis and axles are understrength for the weight of the trailer. The axle is rated for significantly less than the GVWR of the trailer, which I know is common with most RV manufacturers, but it is problematic.
Generally, all cabinets and fittings were very poor quality. Everything was held together with staples and glue, and the particle board that they used to make the cabinets had a very thin finishing layer on it. It wore out wherever you touched it. The bumper is not even really strong enough to stand on. The seals were very poorly done at the factory - we had three leaks plus a bad window from the factory.
To sum it up, this trailer is marketed as off-road capable, but it is not! Our previous trailer, a 2005 Prowler 300 BHS did better on backroads than the NoBo. NoBo checks a lot of boxes on paper, but in real-life conditions it just doesn't stand up.
I've had people say "well, it's a cheap trailer, what did you expect?" But it was not that cheap. We paid $38,900 CDN, and it was a polished turd.
Livability
Overall quality
Floorplan
Driving/towing
Factory warranty/support
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