Honest RV review: Palomino Pause Reboot 19.4: Champ of off-grid camping

Today’s RV review is of the 2024 Palomino Pause Reboot 19.4. This is a newly announced member of the Palomino Pause series of overlanding trailers that have been quite a surprise to those familiar with the Palomino brand. 

Forest River’s Palomino Division may not be the first brand you think of if you’re into overlanding unless you’re aware of their Pause line. Of course, some owners of pickup campers likely have shopped the Palomino line, especially in their pop-up camper line. We’ve covered several Palomino RV products in the past. 

Reboot

I think the reason that the term “reboot” applies to this newest member of the Pause family is that it’s a bit less well-equipped in terms of over-the-top features. It’s still a premium trailer with standout features, but this is more of a normal approach to trailer design within the extraordinary appeal of these Pause models. 

For example, there’s just a normal bathroom at the back, a normal kitchen on the road side and a traditional booth dinette on the camp side. 

A standard queen-sized bed is there up front, although there is an option to have a power lift mechanism to raise the head of the bed. But none of these are outlandishly unusual features like fishing pole/gun storage spaces or a wet room or even aluminum cabinets. 

There is still a lot of premium thinking here in the Palomino Pause Reboot 19.4. For example, the lighting is essentially a halo around the cabinets rather than puck or strip lights on the ceiling. It really does make for a premium feel. So they haven’t completely gone low-end by any stretch of the imagination. 

Palomino Pause Reboot 19.4

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Built differently

The Pause line is not only a complete departure from the company’s other products but is quite a departure in the entire RV space. 

Starting at the frame, this is an aluminum frame that is Huck^® riveted together rather than welded. Many RVs have enclosed underbellies, but this one is enclosed with diamond plate metal. Typically, a corrugated plastic material is what you’ll see used. 

While we’re down here, let’s take a look at the suspension, which is a MORryde independent air suspension. Independent suspensions are becoming more common with our first seeing them coming from Australian RVs and then migrating to the Ember line through the CURT division of Lippert Industries. 

Ups and downs

This air suspension goes to the next level as the air suspension on this can be raised and lowered. At its top setting, the suspension provides up to 25 inches of ground clearance. But then you can lower the suspension once you’re at your destination so that you can get in and out more easily or take advantage of the (optional) outside kitchen. 

One of the reasons towable RVs are such an aerodynamic disaster is that you’re pulling a huge box behind you and it just takes some power to overcome the wind resistance. You can also lower the suspension such that the trailer isn’t as high in the air, which may help with this wind resistance, but then raise the suspension as you go over a driveway apron or hit the trail.

For aerodynamic reasons alone this MORryde suspension is a significant advance. 

Since there’s a provision for compressed air to operate the suspension, you can also use this to fill tires. 

On the subject of tires, there are four that touch the ground on the initial releases of the Pause, but they also include a similar spare. The assumption is that you’re going to go to places that are barely places and you may pop a tire and want the same quality tire as you already had on the ground. 

The spare in this unit is mounted to a rack system that can be removed, exposing two receiver hitches. 

Material differences in the Palomino Pause Reboot 19.4

It’s not just the chassis and suspension where this model stands out. The walls are a new composite material from a company called Ridge Corporation in Ohio. Their TransCore walls are a different type of construction than you’ll typically find in RVs, and Palomino had a sample of the wall at the RV dealer open house event. And a big, big sledge hammer. 

Dylan Risser of Palomino took the big sledge hammer and gave the wall all he had, and the wall was just fine. 

The advantage of this is that the walls are seamless, unlike in most RVs, but also don’t use a wallpaper-like product. That means there are no seams on the interiors either, which are a place where the seam tape fails with great regularity on many RVs. 

Further, all the holes for the windows are cut with a CNC machine, so they’re very precise. While this isn’t typical in the RV industry, I know Lance uses the same process for holes in the wall. 

I have seen more than one RV factory where a worker with a router simply free-cuts the holes in the RV walls. Yikes. 

Interestingly, the original offerings in the Pause series used metal cabinets. But this is more traditional RV stuff with sticker-wrapped hardwood doors. Oh, well. 

Technology

One more area where these are different is in the technology behind them. Palomino has partnered with Garmin to provide a whole-RV monitoring system. 

Many RVers are already familiar with Garmin as they have made navigation systems for many years, but they actually do much more than that. In the marine industry they have full-house…er, full-boat control systems, and that’s what you have here. 

Using an included Garmin tablet, you can operate just about any system on the Pause. 

With the tablet you can raise and lower the suspension including to levels preset by you, operate the lights, monitor tank levels and almost every other aspect of the RV. Further, you can also employ your own phone and tablet to do this. 

But the Garmin device, called ONE, that’s included also incorporates navigation, of course. That navigation accommodates the length and height of your total vehicle so you won’t go where you won’t fit. 

The term “ONE” is actually an acronym meaning Operation, Navigation and Entertainment. 

I haven’t had a chance to fiddle with that system yet but I’m hoping to and will share a full review. I do know that it also incorporates things like customizable checklists—and that’s a good thing. 

Interesting options in the Palomino Pause Reboot 19.4

Something that really surprised me were the options on this trailer. When most RV companies offer changes, it’s usually to basic pieces like furnishings or interior colors. Here you can really make a material change in the unit. 

For example, the standard A/C unit is the rattletrap Dometic that so many of us curse in the summer. The furnace is the standard Suburban unit that gives a jet engine a run for its money in the sound department. 

But you can do better with a Truma Aventa air conditioner and a Truma VarioHeat heater/water heater system. I wouldn’t hesitate to order these options. These are all infinitely better than the typical components the RV industry uses. 

There are also some incredible solar/power options.

Boondocking and travel access

I was really surprised by the power options and how the company thought these through. It’s as if they’re hard-core RVers or something. 

The basic solar package includes a 200-watt roof-top solar panel and also includes a 270-amp-hour lithium battery, 50-watt solar controller and 3,000-watt inverter. 

If you wanna go a bit nuts, the next upgrade is 900 watts of solar consisting of 600 watts of rooftop solar panels plus a 300-watt portable solar panel along with 540 amp hours of lithium battery reserves. I love the fact that 300 watts are in portable panels because that means you can place them to optimize their exposure. I have 1,000 watts of rooftop solar and still bring along 200 watts of portable panels for this same reason. 

Then there’s the nutsomatic system. 1400 total watts of solar with 800 watts of rooftop panels along with two 300-watt portable panels and 1080AH of lithium batteries. My gosh, combine that with that Truma climate system and you may never run out of power—or heat or cool. Well, until the propane tanks run dry if you’re using the furnace. 

Of course, a rig with tires like this and an adjustable suspension and all the other things that make up a build like this should be great off the grid—and this one absolutely is. There is a ShowerMiser to save water. 

Oh, and on the subject of water, there are 65 gallons of fresh water storage on this rig. Not bad. 

Conclusions

What we have here is a preproduction unit, so final specifications and pricing haven’t been determined yet, which is why I didn’t make a chart for this. But I’m liking what I see quite a bit. 

The initial Pause was so very different from anything in the RV industry that I would imagine it took some convincing to get people into it. It is a very premium trailer, but that means it’s also at a very premium price. 

This model is more mainstream, but not totally mainstream, so it should be a bit closer to where some buyers might be expecting. But it’s also an exceptional offering and there are people who like premium products and are willing to part with the money to get those. 

And these Palomino Pause units are definitely those. 

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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