No Boundaries NOBO by Forest River

[Frank]

Just curious if anyone has any info on the new Forest River product called the NoBo for "No Boundary". Specifically the 10 series. My fear is that they are another mass-produced trailer that looks the part but lacks in true capability for the adventure trailer market. It seems to offer all of the right ingredients but lacks some of the key features of a great package.

In true 'big corporate trailer' fashion, they like to brag about the JBL audio, large tires, LED lighting and a TV connection but fail to really dive deep into the nitty-gritty like the chassis and other features that are required for true off-road capability. When I asked them via FB, they replied 'it's high gauge'. RTT capabilities (which is important to a lot of adventure trailer enthusiasts) is still an unknown to them which tells me they didn't do any real homework when designing the trailer.

That said, there are some decent 'mass produced' trailers coming from assembly lines. InTech has a line up called the 'flyer' which I have looked at up close and it looks promising.
Sure there are a few downfalls but the key features are all there.

I realize the market is quickly becoming flooded with expedition trailers, but being about 15 miles from the RV capital of the world, I would like to support my local economy with one of their trailers but also want to spend my money wisely. The Moby1 XC is priced along side the NOBO 10 series.

Forest River website
http://www.forestriverinc.com/travel-trailers/no-boundaries

Camping World
https://rv.campingworld.com/rvdetai...-no-boundaries-105-rear-living-10k-WRC1520136


Thoughts?

 

[ScottReb]

Personal opinion only... Its just a typical RV with larger tires and decorated up for "off road." Nothing related to a real off road trailer, like several teardrop manufacturers here or Australian caravans.

 

[Flying Fuzz]

I went and checked out the 10.5 last month, spent about 45 minutes crawling all over it. The only thing I was unable to investigate was the frame, the entire underneath is blocked off by a piece of composite so viewing the frame without disassembly isn't possible... I do remember not being impressed by what I could see of the axels.

I have zero experience with expedition/overlanding trailers but know a lot about aluminum structures and composites and this thing seemed well built from I could tell, no weird random structural lines or substandard material used. Inside had plenty of room and it came with a Dometic AC/heater unit, it also came with an exterior Dometic fridge on a slide out. The exterior pantry was neat but I don't recall if there was access to the pantry from the inside also it was mostly for holding cans of soup/cups and what not, I don't remember seeing a layout for plates or stove storage.

Inside the cabin the back wall on the 10.5 doesn't fold down like the other models so it is one big cubbyhole area for clothes, also there wasn't much room for storage inside, some trailers have storage under the seats, the salesman stated "you just throw everything in here" so if you like compartments and organization I just couldn't visualize it.

My opinion, neat trailer and seemed well built but nothing special or original. For the same price you could get a Taxa Tiger Moth that is slightly smaller but better thought out and different or some other smaller company trailers.

Tom

 

[ottsville]

I own a 2016 Forest River Rpod. There is an owners group on facebook, and newer trailers have had many issues from faulty inverters to issues arising from lack of attention to detail. The larger Nobo models are essentially the same floor plans as the Rpods. I don't know if they come out of the same factory.

My guess is that if you want something that looks "cool" behind your Subaru, this may be a good choice. For off-road capability and durability I would look elsewhere.

 

[Martinjmpr]

We own an R-pod as well (a 2018 179) and I have to echo what's been said above. If you actually tried to take one of these trailers on a serious off-road trip the thing would shake itself to pieces in just a few miles. Travel trailers just aren't made for that kind of treatment. I think the biggest feature of the NoBo is its supposed 4 season capability with an insulated undercarriage so that you (theoretically) don't have to winterize under normal conditions. But even then I'd be skeptical.

I think like Harry Calahan, "a man has to know his limitations" and that goes for a trailer, too. We plan on taking our R-pod to the same kinds of places we took our T@B: State parks, National Forest campgrounds, the occasional boondocking trip on a reasonably well graded Forest Service or BLM road, but that's it. For one thing, at 3000lbs, there's no way we're dragging it across anything even remotely rugged.

If you use it within its limitations it will be fine.

 

[cntryislandboy]

I went and checked out the 10.5 last month, spent about 45 minutes crawling all over it. The only thing I was unable to investigate was the frame, the entire underneath is blocked off by a piece of composite so viewing the frame without disassembly isn't possible... I do remember not being impressed by what I could see of the axels.

I have zero experience with expedition/overlanding trailers but know a lot about aluminum structures and composites and this thing seemed well built from I could tell, no weird random structural lines or substandard material used. Inside had plenty of room and it came with a Dometic AC/heater unit, it also came with an exterior Dometic fridge on a slide out. The exterior pantry was neat but I don't recall if there was access to the pantry from the inside also it was mostly for holding cans of soup/cups and what not, I don't remember seeing a layout for plates or stove storage.

Inside the cabin the back wall on the 10.5 doesn't fold down like the other models so it is one big cubbyhole area for clothes, also there wasn't much room for storage inside, some trailers have storage under the seats, the salesman stated "you just throw everything in here" so if you like compartments and organization I just couldn't visualize it.

My opinion, neat trailer and seemed well built but nothing special or original. For the same price you could get a Taxa Tiger Moth that is slightly smaller but better thought out and different or some other smaller company trailers.

Tom

Not to hijack but thanks for sharing the Taxa suggestion, those are really nice, and I had never heard of them until you pointed them out.

 

[counterbalance]

I looked at a 19.5 a few weeks back and felt the build quality -- or at least the finish quality -- was much superior to the other travel trailers (Jayco Baja, Bullet, etc.) I've looked at which are all near this price point and in the under 25 foot length and can sleep 5 (all of that makes for a tall order!). The 19.7 model, which I ordered, seems more or less like a Coachman Apex (also by Forest River), again with better finishes. We're upgrading from a rugged, high axle, tent trailer, and expect the hard sides will add ~6 weeks to either side of our camping season, speed our setup/tear down times, and let us go to more places that lack services (the kids don't love pit toilets, go figure). As above, I'm under no illusion that I could take a NoBo on much of anything beyond a well graded forest service or BLM road. Which is fine, I'll use it for what it's designed for. We looking forward to getting out more.

 

[FinsUp]

Is there a way to mount a hitch for a bike rack on the rear? I have a four bike rack that I would like to use. Thanks

 

[ottsville]

Any camper in this size, even if it has a hitch, will need some kind of reinforcement to carry a 4 bike rack. Best option is the bikes on the roof of the car, or on a rack over the tongue.

 

[DCGibbs]

It is very interesting! I posted photos of our discovered "new" to the Dealer, still hadn't been serviced. The RV dealer said they have one set-up, do you want to look at it. The Mrs., said yes, and back out into the yard we went. I crawled under it, up on it, into it! It's not the Rpod frame, similar layout, better headroom. I agree with a previous comment, Forest Service roads, most likely OK, but nothing Off-highway (ie. Serious Off-road). I would want to change out the hitch Assembly for better, more secure towing, and security. It's a well designed layout. I can't speak for the smaller units. DG

 

[RacerAV]

Personal opinion only... Its just a typical RV with larger tires and decorated up for "off road." Nothing related to a real off road trailer, like several teardrop manufacturers here or Australian caravans.

id agree with this. its a little better but nothing compared to the true adventure trailers! it DOES have boundaries lol...

 

[counterbalance]

Well, we received our 19.7 last week. I'd like to retract my previous comments about the finish quality appearing better than most others in this category. While I still feel that 19.5 I looked at was solid, the 19.7 I received needs a lot of work. There are countless blemishes, if not defects, that nobody in their right mind could have missed. I guess this is what I get for buying sight unseen from an out of state dealer...

 

[Martinjmpr]

As the kids like to say, "it is what it is." Travel trailers in the sub $20k price range tend to be like this with annoying little fit-and-finish issues. God knows we've had ours, but we didn't really expect anything different. It also helped that we bought ours used so many of the "teething" issues were resolved by the original owners before we got her.

I'll share some impressions of our Forest River R-Pod 179 (floor plan seems to be identical to the NoBo 16.7 trailer):

We've taken "Calista" out 6 times now and are really enjoying her. My favorite feature is the 3 way fridge - we've never had that before and it was awesome to be able to keep the fridge nice and cold even when we were dry camping in May.

The R-Pods that are sold in the West are all "Hood River Editions" built in Oregon, and feature bigger, off-road type tires, suspension spacers to lift the trailer up, and lots of features come standard that are options on the Indiana-built R-Pods: Thule awning, Maxx-Air fan cover, electric tongue jack and AC among other things.

I would never consider our R-Pod to be an "OFF-road trailer" but for Forest Service/Park Service/State Park use, it is very well suited.

A few photos are attached:

Bear Creek, April


Cheyenne Mountain, April



Maybell, May

 

[ottsville]

Travel trailers in the sub $20k price range tend to be like this with annoying little fit-and-finish issues. God knows we've had ours, but we didn't really expect anything different. It also helped that we bought ours used so many of the "teething" issues were resolved by the original owners before we got her.

Not just the sub $20k range - I've talked to owners of more expensive trailers, Airstreams, and even large class A's that have many fit and finish issues. The RV industry is crazy right now - campers are selling like mad, and manufacturers are slamming them together. I saw a piece on CNN that the camper industry in Elkhart, IN where most manufacturers are has 9000 empty jobs they are trying to fill. Corners are being cut and quality suffers.

@Martinjmpr , if you are on facebook there is a large Rpod owners' group on there that can answer any pod question you might have.

 

[Martinjmpr]

I've talked to owners of more expensive trailers, Airstreams, and even large class A's that have many fit and finish issues.

I've heard much the same. Some friends of ours bought a brand new LG-Max, almost double the price of our R-Pod, and ended up having to take it back to the dealer multiple times to fix various issues.

@Martinjmpr[/USER] , if you are on facebook there is a large Rpod owners' group on there that can answer any pod question you might have.

Oh yes, I'm on that group. In fact, the group was one of the reasons we went with an actual R-pod instead of one of the "copies" (Winnie Drop, Jayco Hummingbird, StarCraft Comet, etc.) I knew we would likely have "issues" and I liked the idea of being able to tap into the "hive mind" of the R-pod group. It's been tremendously helpful, even though in reality we've had very few issues compared to some other people.

Our Pod is going to get well used this year. We have 6 camping trips done and 9 more to go. We generally dislike "commercial" RV parks and much prefer National Forest, National Park or State Park campgrounds. We will be boondocking at Valley of the Gods in October but all of our other trips will be to more "established" facilities.

We previously had a T@B Clamshell. The T@B was nice but after 3 years we decided we needed something (a) bigger (so we could camp with grandkids as well as having a place to eat indoors in case of bad weather) and (b) something with a bathroom (though we still haven't de-winterized ours.)