2024 Forest River Wildwood X-Lite 171RBXL—couple’s small camper with big cargo capacity

Today’s RV review is of the 2024 Forest River Wildwood X-Lite 171RBXL. This is a small, no-slide, couple’s camper that has the same layout as my very first new RV. This features a Murphy bed up front and a bathroom that spans the width of the trailer in the back. 

Unlike yesterday’s RV, the Coachmen Remote 19R, this one has two axles—which will make some of you very happy. That’s different than my first RV, which was a single-axle trailer. Those two axles result in a lot of cargo carrying capacity in a small trailer—more than 3,600 pounds CCC! That’s more than some toy haulers. 

Like many of the Wildwood models in this family, you have a number of interesting options, including getting this with either corrugated aluminum skin or fiberglass skin. Normally I’m more of a fan of the corrugated skin. That’s only because the fiberglass models are still wood-framed but then have a layer of wood to which the layer of fiberglass is glued, thereby adding weight. But, as you can tell, that’s not as much of an issue with this trailer.

Starting outside the Wildwood X-Lite 171RBXL

One of the things I like about these Wildwood trailers is that they feature an enclosed underbelly where the enclosing panels are segmented. This enables you to remove just one panel more easily than peeling back the plastic that most trailers have underneath. 

This features import tires and does not feature a tire pressure monitoring system. This also rides on leaf springs—so something to consider if you’re hoping to rack up the miles. 

Since we’re outside, there are a few things that are pretty neat on this rig. In addition to the pass-through storage at the front, there’s also a storage bay on the camp side in the back. This has a nifty bottom surface that can be lifted to access and winterize/dewinterize the water heater. Clever. 

This also incorporates the new Lippert Quick Drop stabilizers, which I think are the best manual stabilizers in the industry. 

Wildwood X-Lite 171RBXL - 2024

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Inside the Wildwood X-Lite 171RBXL

Inside the trailer, the front features a Murphy bed—but this one is not a bendy bed. The whole platform under the mattress tilts so that it’s a single-piece mattress. Now, I’m not crazy (depending on who you ask), so I know that this is likely a typical lousy RV company mattress—which was the case with the one in my first RV. Unfortunately, this is an RV queen and you really can’t put a longer mattress here if you ever plan to put the bed back up. 

But we put a memory foam topper on our mattress and it actually made it quite comfortable. That might be the way to do this, as well. We also discovered the RVSuperbag, which solved the bed-making issue. 

There are nifty little cubbies beside the bed and they each have both household and USB power outlets. Another thing I like is the use of curtains by the windows rather than shades. This can allow you to customize easily, and we did this in our first trailer with vintage car curtains. 

Kitchen in the Wildwood X-Lite 171RBXL

Over on the road side is the kitchen. As I mentioned in my article about RV features that I have seen forthcoming, one of those is a combination three-burner stove and convection air fryer. Unfortunately, the memo didn’t hit Wildwood just yet so this has the three-burner propane stove top and the dreaded (by me) 17” (vertical) oven that is pretty much worthless. 

Had this had the combination stove/microwave gadget, then that would free up the overhead cabinet for more storage. For as small as this kitchen space is, storage isn’t horrible—but you’ll definitely want to pack carefully. 

Counter space is very limited, although this has a flip-up counter extension. I effectively did this in my own trailer by putting a rail into the side of the counter and using the outdoor table as a counter extension. I thought I was so clever. 

On the camp side is a booth dinette that’s pretty small, but there’s enough room for two people. There are totes in the seats of the dinette which are pretty substantial. So there’s a good bit of storage here. 

Above that is a cabinet which has one cabinet door and then a cubby. Below the cubby is a sound bar. Honestly, I’d much prefer another cabinet space up here. Dump the sound bar and let me choose my own Bluetooth speaker. That would also dump the outside speakers—which would also make me happy. 

Honestly, have any of you been happy with the outdoor speakers on your RV? I didn’t think so. They all remind me of when I had two soup cans and a string. 

A great bathroom

Lastly, the bathroom in here is very well done. There’s a sink with a decent amount of counter space, given the size of the rig. 

There’s also a cabinet with plenty of space next to one with the same amount of space but also includes a hanging rod. 

This features a corner radius shower, and there’s more cabinet space next to that. Yowsers! But the raised floor in the shower will mean that the skylight and the headroom it provides overhead will be more welcome by some travelers. 

Boondocking and travel access

With no slide, access is good all of the time. There is a 200-watt solar panel now standard, with a 30-amp charge controller which could compensate for the 12-volt fridge. But you’ll likely want more power if you’re off the grid for any amount of time.

Conclusions

As I’ve mentioned before, Wildwood and Salem are the same product with different stickers. So, if you have a local dealer that sells Salem, everything here applies equally. 

This floor plan served me well for five years (before I hit a drainage ditch and split the frame—frames can be better now!). With some of the newer appliances, the kitchen could offer more usable counterspace. I think that cabinet over the dinette with the big sound bar is a bit silly. 

At this point, I’d like to see all RVs have tire pressure monitoring systems, but they don’t. However, it’s easy enough to add one.

But, with that aside, Wildwood has done a good job with this floor plan, especially with the cargo carrying capacity that this two-axle implementation offers. 

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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