SLO_F-250
Explorer
Hey Expo Team,
We ended up selling our customized hybrid family camper for a NoBo 16.6. To keep in tradition, I felt the need to start a thread as it is my 4th camping rig thread on this forum. I started modifying it a bit the day it came home and my goal here is to document and give my honest opinion.
First, I know this is not a Black Series, Ember, MDC, etc Camper. This is production mainstream camper with average build quality. I went into this knowing that and expecting to work on/modify/ and fix things. We simply don't need a true overland camper nor had the budget. This one fit the bill and was a very nice upgrade. We typically camp as a family 35(+/-) nights a year and as much as I hate to admit, not as much dirt/off road time as I would like.
I ended up getting a good deal from a dealership in Southern California and picked it up at the end of January.
The next weekend, my daughter and I took it out for a weekend trip together.
At this point, a list of things I wanted to change started growing. It is much lower to the ground than I would like. For something that is advertised as an "adventure rig" the stance/clearance was disappointing.
Next, the inside is not super efficient and even though this is banged out in a factory with thousands of other brands models, I could not help but think there are simple things that could be done to help.
So I started with the basics... Bye bye microwave. Storage gained... (Note, I just kept it simple and painted plywood for the doors. No finish carpentry grade work, but good enough)
Next, the only USB chargers in the camper were in the kids bunks! Come on Forest River, need more options. I have plans of more, but quickly added one at the dinette.
Then, the TV was removed. We don't watch much TV, especially camping!! Jacket, Hat Rack added:
Then I added a simple spice rack to clear up storage space and a net for misc. items. Note, it drove me nuts that this camper did not come with a flush mount stove. So I ordered one that should be here soon.
I also added some storage nets for the kids at the bunks.
Then the bathroom. While nice, it has two random spaces without doors. Not sure what FR was thinking here, but I added cabinet doors to actually be able to use these.
The sink in the bathroom is pretty much a joke. It needs a new faucet to actually get your hands in there to wash them.
The showerhead sucked and basically did not work. Doing a little research I ordered a Oxygenics RV Handheld Shower Head. It worked like a charm and we actually have a shower now!!
That was good enough to get us ready for 4 days in Death Valley as the next trip....
We ended up selling our customized hybrid family camper for a NoBo 16.6. To keep in tradition, I felt the need to start a thread as it is my 4th camping rig thread on this forum. I started modifying it a bit the day it came home and my goal here is to document and give my honest opinion.
First, I know this is not a Black Series, Ember, MDC, etc Camper. This is production mainstream camper with average build quality. I went into this knowing that and expecting to work on/modify/ and fix things. We simply don't need a true overland camper nor had the budget. This one fit the bill and was a very nice upgrade. We typically camp as a family 35(+/-) nights a year and as much as I hate to admit, not as much dirt/off road time as I would like.
I ended up getting a good deal from a dealership in Southern California and picked it up at the end of January.
The next weekend, my daughter and I took it out for a weekend trip together.
At this point, a list of things I wanted to change started growing. It is much lower to the ground than I would like. For something that is advertised as an "adventure rig" the stance/clearance was disappointing.
Next, the inside is not super efficient and even though this is banged out in a factory with thousands of other brands models, I could not help but think there are simple things that could be done to help.
So I started with the basics... Bye bye microwave. Storage gained... (Note, I just kept it simple and painted plywood for the doors. No finish carpentry grade work, but good enough)
Next, the only USB chargers in the camper were in the kids bunks! Come on Forest River, need more options. I have plans of more, but quickly added one at the dinette.
Then, the TV was removed. We don't watch much TV, especially camping!! Jacket, Hat Rack added:
Then I added a simple spice rack to clear up storage space and a net for misc. items. Note, it drove me nuts that this camper did not come with a flush mount stove. So I ordered one that should be here soon.
I also added some storage nets for the kids at the bunks.
Then the bathroom. While nice, it has two random spaces without doors. Not sure what FR was thinking here, but I added cabinet doors to actually be able to use these.
The sink in the bathroom is pretty much a joke. It needs a new faucet to actually get your hands in there to wash them.
The showerhead sucked and basically did not work. Doing a little research I ordered a Oxygenics RV Handheld Shower Head. It worked like a charm and we actually have a shower now!!
That was good enough to get us ready for 4 days in Death Valley as the next trip....