RV review: 2024 Forest River Vibe 31HB—love it or loathe it

Today’s RV review is of the 2024 Forest River Vibe 31HB travel trailer. I suspect this is a trailer that you’re either going to love or loathe—I don’t see a lot of middle ground here. And that’s okay. 

I suspect the thinking on this is you have a towable RV that is meant for entertaining friends often, including those who might enjoy adult beverages. But there’s also a hidden bunk room/office. 

I also suspect that this may be popular as a destination trailer more than one that roams around—but who knows, right? Maybe you only take it from a storage facility to Camp Margaritaville and then back again. There’s certainly a great place for a Margaritaville Tahiti Frozen Concoction Maker with its three blenders. 

Start underneath

Before we go looking for that lost shaker of salt, let’s see how this is made. What you have here is a BAL huck-bolted frame. It’s a simple leaf spring suspension with imported tires. Bleh. 

This also has a segmented underbelly. That means you could get to a trouble spot without having to remove the entire underbelly panel. With a trailer this long, that’s not a bad idea. 

Do know that this uses a laminated floor and, while some companies have nailed this, I don’t know if Vibe has. Perhaps they have. Perhaps they haven’t. But there were some trailers with laminated floors where they developed soft spots in the floor as the Styrofoam core eventually got mashed over time. 

The reason for these floors is that they’re lighter than something like plywood. But how they’re braced and what materials are used in the laminate make all the difference. I don’t know what Vibe is using. But companies like Keystone and Ember are using laminated floors with great success. I’ve seen the laminated flooring material used in an Ember and it’s good stuff. 

Something I saw that I really liked is they’re using pegboard in the front pass-through storage compartment. It’s like the kind your uncle used on his workshop wall where he drew a line around all the tools so he knew which one you borrowed and didn’t put back properly. 

That bar, though…

Over on the camp side of this rig is a counter with a wine fridge underneath. This also has a cabinet with drawers and a cupboard plus a narrow pantry—but one with a trash can incorporated into it. 

On top is a counter and there’s one of those dual-pane polycarbonate windows. Those windows can open a full 90° and the shades and screens can be retracted into the frame. So I’m guessing that the idea is that you have a walk-up bar. You could flip that window open and pass drinks or food through the window. 

The party doesn’t have to be outside only. There’s a counter bar that runs the width of the back of this rig, which includes four bar-height stools. In this kind of layout, you might expect there to be a couch at the back, but here you get a bar. There are a good number of windows, though. 

Interestingly, the drawer and cabinet doors are a compressed material rather than the solid wood that some RVs use. I don’t think this is bad, but it is unusual. 

A secret room in the Forest River Vibe 31HB

Over on the road side opposite the theater seats is a huge 50” TV surrounded by storage. There is a good amount of storage here, for sure. 

But open up one of those cupboards and you gain access to a secret room. In that room is a flip-up bunk with cubbies behind it. There’s also a flip-down desk and even a chair for said desk. 

There’s a mattress in the flip-up bunk, of course, but a second mattress pad is provided so someone could sleep on the floor. Perhaps this would be for those party guests who had too many margaritas or, maybe, youthful members of the family. It could even be a place to get some work done while the party happens in the rest of the trailer. 

Vibe 31HB - 2024

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Kitchen in the Forest River Vibe 31HB

The kitchen in this is no slouch—with the exception of that worthless 17” RV oven. But at least they make up for it with a convection microwave, so I guess it’s okay. There are certainly a lot of cabinets in here in which to store things, along with a second pantry. Storage inside this rig is plentiful to the point where, yes, I can see someone going over the 1,627-pound cargo carrying capacity. 

Like most RVs nowadays, this has a 12-volt compressor fridge. This one is 10 cubic feet. 

More to like

The bathroom in this rig is nice and the ceiling is 6’9”, which is a few inches taller than the average travel trailer’s 6’5”. There’s even a bit of storage in here. 

While the bedroom features an RV queen, there is certainly space for a real queen-sized bed. You’re going to replace the mattress anyway, right? 

I like the closet that’s at the foot of the bed. It includes a hanging organizer that you can utilize here or in a closet on either side of the bed. There are also wicker baskets under the bed to organize stuff. 

Oddly enough, there is a closet beside the bed on the roadside with a space behind it with household and USB outlets, but only a table on the camp side. I guess that closet at the foot of the bed is for the camp-side sleeper. 

Boondocking and travel access

I would be shocked to see this thing off the grid, although there is a 200-watt solar panel that may compensate for the 12-volt fridge.

This is a trailer with opposing slides in the main living space. That is essentially code for using the word “fuhgeddaboudit” regarding accessing the rig in transit. At least you can get to the bathroom, so that’s good.

Conclusion

Who spell checks things at Vibe? There are so many misused apostrophes on the Vibe website I had to go outside and scream for a moment. 

Underbelly’s. Not used as a possessive, not used as a contraction, but as a plural. And Vibe claims 100% PDI inspected. But the example in the video here… perhaps only the visually impaired were on staff that day. 

Also, a 12-volt fridge isn’t a residential fridge. I know I’m being picky but, geez Louise. You’re sending a message on the website in multiple ways here and it’s not one that builds confidence. I think Forest River’s corporate website is lousy, anyway. But each brand does have a degree of control and you folks at Vibe should, perhaps, consider hiring someone with a better understanding of English. 

Which camp are you in? Love it or loathe it? 

If I had some lakeside property where my friends were coming over for waterfront parties, this might be a great choice. In fact, I just visited a campground in New Mexico along the Chama River that this would have been great for. 

I always appreciate your input on these rigs and am looking forward to what you have to say. I am a bit wary about the laminated floor, quite frankly. The Vibe 31HB isn’t one of the premier brands in the Forest River portfolio, so shop carefully if you are in the love-it camp. 

My thanks to Josh from Bish’s RV for the photos and video in 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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