Forest River Ibex 19MSB—Adventure-ready and interesting

Today’s honest RV review is of the 2024 Forest River Ibex 19MSB travel trailer. Ibex has really started to set itself apart from other smaller travel trailers with some of the features the company is using on their rigs. 

For example, what we’re looking at today is a model with the “Beast Mode” package. That means it’s outfitted with the CURT independent trailing arm suspension, possibly the best towable RV suspension system on the market.

CURT independent trailer suspension

While vehicle suspension systems have come a long way in even the past 10–20 years, many, many towable RVs are still living in the horse and buggy days with leaf spring suspensions. Yeah, they’re cheap. But the better the suspension in a vehicle, the better the experience of towing and shock absorption that vehicle will have. 

Less vibration and harshness transmitted to an RV means fewer things that are likely to vibrate loose and break. 

While you cannot find a vehicle that doesn’t have shock absorbers to help dampen the vibration going down the road, you almost can’t find a towable RV with shocks. That’s another advantage of this suspension. Plus, there is greater suspension travel, so when you’re suffering along I40 in New Mexico and some of the potholes are so gigantic that they have their own ZIP code, this is a better way to absorb those bumps. 

From what several people have told me, this suspension also provides a dramatically better towing experience. Plus, it’s quite adjustable—so if one of those potholes does knock it out of alignment, it can be adjusted. With most RV suspensions, you’re just replacing axles. 

Other features

There are more great features of these Ibex trailers, as well. I like the central vacuum system that’s included. 

The roof decking is thicker than most travel trailers, as is the floor. While this is a laminated floor, which does give me pause, apparently they use a thicker material that’s less likely to become spongy. I hope this is true. 

There’s also a high-performance vent fan in the bathroom—but for a reason that we’ll get to shortly. 

The ShowerMiser is something I like in my own trailer. It redirects water back into the water system while you’re waiting for it to get hot, rather than just sending it to the gray tank. It thereby extends the time you can be off the grid. 

What’s inside the Ibex 19MSB?

This is a couple’s camper with a Murphy bed up front. That means there’s also a couch by day, if you choose to fold up the Murphy bed. This is one of those less-ideal Murphy bed designs where the mattress has to fold about a third of the way down to accommodate the design of this bed. 

The plus side of this is that you still get a full pass-through storage compartment. But the downside is that you have a folding mattress. At least it’s a proper queen-sized mattress. 

If you prefer, you can also just leave the Murphy bed in the bed position even with the slide room closed, although you would lose the front couch. 

There’s a breakfast bar and a decent amount of counter space. I like the fake live-edge look of the counter space where it’s meant to look like rough-hewn wood planks. You can use this breakfast bar with the included bar-height chairs, or use the couch at the front or the one in the slide for dining. 

To facilitate that munching, there’s a portable table included—which I really like. You can use it at either of the couches, as a place to put things, or take the darned thing outside and use it there. 

Ibex 19MSB - 2024

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Kitchen

Of course, this has the two-burner propane cooktop, as you might expect, but there is no oven. Instead, you get a convection microwave, which isn’t a horrible substitution. I’m seeing this setup more and more in towable RVs. 

Something else that counts in the kitchen department is outside in the form of a flat-top griddle that hangs from the side of the rig. I have this in my own trailer and use it quite a bit. But wait, there’s more!

Typically, this griddle comes with a cast iron flat-top griddle, and this one does. But you can also swap that out for the included pizza oven. This is sort of like a hat that sits on the griddle, but now you can bake things outdoors. I think I want one of these “hats” for the griddle, as it just swaps out from the flat-top. 

There are drawers in the kitchen but inside a cabinet. Do you like these? They’re fine—not necessarily my first choice, but not bad. 

Things I’d change

There are some things I didn’t prefer in this trailer that I might want to see done differently. 

It’s not a huge trailer, but still, both heat and air conditioning are direct dump instead of being ducted. That might be fine for the A/C, which is a larger 15,000 BTU unit. I suppose the high-performance vent fan in the bathroom might draw some of this cool air into that space, too. But I wouldn’t be bothered if it were ducted instead. 

That’s true of the furnace, as well. There is just a single-point furnace in the back of the trailer. Yeah, it’s by the bathroom but it doesn’t blow air into the bathroom per se. 

Lastly, whoever told the RV industry that a windshield in a Murphy bed travel trailer was a good idea, please go swim in an ocean of septic waste. This is such a dumb idea. 

Boondocking and travel access

This suspension, which, as mentioned, Ibex has branded as “Beast Mode,” really tells the story that it’s meant to go off-road. Friends of mine, Jason and Abby from RVMiles, took an Ibex trailer with this suspension from Baja, Mexico, to Alaska and reported that it was really beneficial in that trip. I can imagine.

I also like that they’ve outfitted the tires with internal tire pressure monitoring systems.

To go with the suspension, Ibex outfits these with 400 watts of solar along with a 2,000-watt inverter and 30-amp charge controller.

You can also get one of these with the Unplugged package, which is similar to the system I have in my own trailer. This features 500 watts of solar panels, a high-efficiency A/C system, a 3,000-watt inverter and a Mastervolt power and control system that originated in the marine industry. It’s an extraordinary package. It has really opened up boondocking for me and has been absolutely bulletproof.

Conclusions

Aside from the mattress for the Murphy bed, this is a pretty slick design that offers a lot of features for the money that I really like. 

I’m hoping to see better suspensions on more RVs and, quite honestly, when it comes time to shop for whatever I get next, I would likely prioritize this suspension system. Leaf springs are fine for your average horse and buggy, but that’s not what this is. 

I also like the map of North America on the bottom of the Murphy bed. But then, that’s the kind of stuff that floats my boat. Apparently, you can get the stickers to cover the states you’ve been in. 

My thanks to Josh from Bish’s RV for use of the video and photos for this article.

More about these RV reviews

These RV reviews are written based on information provided by the manufacturers along with our writer’s own research. They are based on information from a single unit and may not reflect your actual experience. Shop your RV and dealership carefully before making a buying decision. We receive no money or other financial benefits from these reviews. They are intended only as a brief overview of the vehicle, not a comprehensive critique, which would require a thorough inspection and/or test drive.

Tony comes to RVtravel.com having worked at an RV dealership and been a life long RV enthusiast. He also has written the syndicated Curbside column about cars. He also works closely with a number of RV manufacturers to get an inside look at how things are done and is a brand ambassador for Rockwood Mini Lite with his wife, Peggy.

You can also check out his RV podcast with his wife, Peggy. 

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