My Search Has Led Me To NOBO 19.1

[Dranrab]

I have spent a good bit of my idle time over the past month exploring travel trailers online. I have 10 acres in MS. The unit will spend most its life under a carport/RV cover on the acreage and serve as an occasional weekend getaway. My wife and I will use it occasionally for other weekend trips and perhaps for a longer summer vacation in the mountain west.

I found myself focusing on non bunkhouse models in the 21-24 foot size range and around 5000 pounds of unloaded weight. I wouldn't want to go much higher than that for my 1/2 ton truck in the event I do go out west. When I retire in 5 years I may do a full summer long trip.

I have toys. I am an avid bicyclist. Those will go in a rack in the bed of the truck. I also kayak and have a 4 wheeler. I do a little hunting as well. I hadn't found a smaller toy hauler that I liked until I saw the No Boundaries 19.1 Thursday. It will fit the 4 wheeler or two kayaks easily.

The kitchen is small, but I envision doing most of the cooking outside. It has a convection/microwave which I have never used and is very limited on counter space. Storage is fine for shorter trips, but could get tight if I do a summer long trip. The cargo area with one sofa set up is spacious and the large windows let a lot of light in. I really like the idea of popping the cargo door open on a cool Colorado morning and drinking in the mountain views over a cup of coffee. It'll make a great seating area on fall and spring evenings at the acreage. I like that it's narrow but has a conventional queen size bed.

At 4300 pounds dry, it's not a heavyweight, but it's also not overly light given the overall dimensions. The build quality seemed on par with others I looked at. I climbed up on the roof and was impressed with how well it was sealed. The dual torsion axles and extra ground clearance would be a bonus on the forest service roads out west. I have no illusions of it being an 'off road" RV. I didn't see a place to store the sewage hose.

Just airing out my thoughts. Still new at this and don't really know enough to ask educated questions. I do invite your feedback. Do you see anything off putting? Is there anything out there that would compete in this size/price-point/quality range?

https://forestriverinc.com/rvs/trave...es/NB19.1/4300

[Dranrab]

This looks to be a direct competitor. Looks like an ATV would be a tight fit, but otherwise has much to offer.

https://coachmenrv.com/travel-traile...te/220EXT/4770

[KM Rolling]

I think you will find the build quality on a Coachmen 17BLSE a bit better than the NoBo.

The specs...weight, capacities, etc. are a bit better too, also taking into consideration your 1/2 ton.

We had one and were very pleased with it. We went to the larger model of the same, a 271BL

Give a look at the 17, you may be pleasantly surprised.

https://coachmenrv.com/toy-haulers/f...st/17BLSE/3786

[KM Rolling]

Originally Posted by Dranrab

This looks to be a direct competitor. Looks like an ATV would be a tight fit, but otherwise has much to offer.

https://coachmenrv.com/travel-traile...te/220EXT/4770

Dunno what 1/2 ton truck you have, but if it is like 99.8%% of them out there, I believe you are looking at trailers that are too heavy and too long.

I do like the PVC roof and torsion suspension on the NoBo. But again, pretty heavy and long for a 1/2 ton.

The other thing that is weird about the NoBo is the small fresh water capacity. 30 gallons is not going to go very far.

[Dranrab]

Originally Posted by KM Rolling

Dunno what 1/2 ton truck you have, but if it is like 99.8%% of them out there, I believe you are looking at trailers that are too heavy and too long.

I do like the PVC roof and torsion suspension on the NoBo. But again, pretty heavy and long for a 1/2 ton.

The other thing that is weird about the NoBo is the small fresh water capacity. 30 gallons is not going to go very far.

My tow vehicle is a Ram 1500 with 5.7 V8. Tow rating is 8700 pounds. I figure with a really heavy load and either of those I wouldn't top 6000 pounds.

Thanks for pointing me toward the Coachmen. I'll check it out.

[knightstorm]

Check out the payload and axle ratings of your Ram. You may find that you’ll be running up against those before you reach the 8,700# tow rating. If you post those numbers (they should be on a door pillar) you will get better advice.

[KM Rolling]

Originally Posted by knightstorm

Check out the payload and axle ratings of your Ram. You may find that you’ll be running up against those before you reach the 8,700# tow rating. If you post those numbers (they should be on a door pillar) you will get better advice.

What he said.

Most will max out the payload before anything else.

A couple other variables:

The length of the trailer is a sail for crosswinds, semi's passing, etc. The longer the trailer, the longer wheelbase truck you want/heavier truck you want.

Most agree, 80% of what a truck is rated for is the max you want to go on payload and towing. If a truck has a payload rating of 1000 lb. The max you'd want to be at is 800. Even though it is rated for 1000, it will handle/pull poorly.

Weight adds up quickly. Fresh water, gray and black tanks, propane, batteries, etc. It can all add up to surprisingly more in reality than even the most thorough planning.

Toy Haulers generally have a heavier tongue weight than most bumper pull travel trailers.

Lot's of things to think about before getting a trailer than then ends up being more than a truck can comfortably pull.

[Dranrab]

Originally Posted by KM Rolling

What he said.

Most will max out the payload before anything else.

A couple other variables:

The length of the trailer is a sail for crosswinds, semi's passing, etc. The longer the trailer, the longer wheelbase truck you want/heavier truck you want.

Most agree, 80% of what a truck is rated for is the max you want to go on payload and towing. If a truck has a payload rating of 1000 lb. The max you'd want to be at is 800. Even though it is rated for 1000, it will handle/pull poorly.

Weight adds up quickly. Fresh water, gray and black tanks, propane, batteries, etc. It can all add up to surprisingly more in reality than even the most thorough planning.

Toy Haulers generally have a heavier tongue weight than most bumper pull travel trailers.

Lot's of things to think about before getting a trailer than then ends up being more than a truck can comfortably pull.

The two toy haulers above do have more tongue weight than a typical RV. My truck will handle all the weight I'd amass with them. This won't be my first RV. In fact it will be smaller and lighter than one I easily handled with a half ton Titan about 15 years ago. I am not at all new to towing.

1000 pounds of FW, GW BW, propane and batteries and 1000 pounds of other items would take my load up to 6300 with close to 800 on the hitch. Well within the GVWR and towing capacity of the truck. It has a 1700 pound cargo carrying capacity. A weight distributing hitch will help tame things a bit.

As with most weight ratings you'll likely find that the manufacturers leave room for error when they assign the capacities/ratings.

[KM Rolling]

Originally Posted by Dranrab

The two toy haulers above do have more tongue weight than a typical RV. My truck will handle all the weight I'd amass with them. This won't be my first RV. In fact it will be smaller and lighter than one I easily handled with a half ton Titan about 15 years ago. I am not at all new to towing.

1000 pounds of FW, GW BW, propane and batteries and 1000 pounds of other items would take my load up to 6300 with close to 800 on the hitch. Well within the GVWR and towing capacity of the truck. It has a 1700 pound cargo carrying capacity. A weight distributing hitch will help tame things a bit.

As with most weight ratings you'll likely find that the manufacturers leave room for error when they assign the capacities/ratings.

Sounds like you have a handle on it.