Question Ember brand travel trailers?

[me1130]

As a ember owner of a 2021 191 missle I can tell you they are not worth the price. For the money you can get more trailer like grand design for same money. Ours has floor problem which ember said was corrected on our serial number. Had slide out motor fail on forth use awning motor about to go breakaway switch failed same poor craftsmanship as other rv designs. We are planning on selling it after 6 months 2 of which were in shop getting warranty repair. Also dealer told us it was getting harder for repair approval , probably because they are feeling the hurt from all the free fixing. The slam latches don't engage and going down highway on Michigan roads the big side hatch Flys open fully locked leaving yr belongings on the highway. We are done trying to fix something on every trip always wondering whats next. Youtube search will enlighten you. Sad because they could be a great thing.

 

[MyRVTravels]

We are in the same position and have been looking hard at Ember specially the 201fbq. Our desire is to be away from campgrounds boondocking off forest service roads and doing Harvest Host. We plan to get out 1-2 times/month, 10 months/year.

Some major red flags have popped up for me.
1-looked at them at an RV show last fall. The build quality was one of the worst. Exposed nails, loose cabinets, most openings not square at all.
2-went to a different dealer and looked, saw many of the same things.
3-responed to one of their Instagram posts, expressed my desire to be an Ember owner but had concerns about the quality I observed. A few other owners commented on the quality of their units. Ember responded by deleting the entire post. A reputable company would have either addressed or sent a message to get more info. They are trying had to hide issues.
4-it's not easy to find reviews, you have to do a lot of digging through a lot of forms and YouTube but, you will dig up many, many, many statements about water leaks in the slides. They had an issue with floor adhesive being incompatible and turning black. They are trying to fix it but...

I want to believe they are different, I like the no wood build and layout but I just don't think they are as premium as the price they want.

For these reasons we are looking at Lance (prices have come way down in line with Ember) and I'm leaning hard towards Outdoors RV (hate the brown, love the quality and 100 gallons of water, priced lower than Ember)

Being in the PNW it's nice they are local and nice they have an arched roof to really shed water.

We looked at them Artic Fox, Nash, NoBo, Sonic, Lance, Intech, Geopro and microlite yesterday. (yep ran the gambit) loved the Lance and Outdoors. Not sure how Lance will hold up to boondocking.

We are in the same position and have been looking hard at Ember specially the 201fbq. Our desire is to be away from campgrounds boondocking off forest service roads and doing Harvest Host. We plan to get out 1-2 times/month, 10 months/year.

Some major red flags have popped up for me.
1-looked at them at an RV show last fall. The build quality was one of the worst. Exposed nails, loose cabinets, most openings not square at all.
2-went to a different dealer and looked, saw many of the same things.
3-responed to one of their Instagram posts, expressed my desire to be an Ember owner but had concerns about the quality I observed. A few other owners commented on the quality of their units. Ember responded by deleting the entire post. A reputable company would have either addressed or sent a message to get more info. They are trying had to hide issues.
4-it's not easy to find reviews, you have to do a lot of digging through a lot of forms and YouTube but, you will dig up many, many, many statements about water leaks in the slides. They had an issue with floor adhesive being incompatible and turning black. They are trying to fix it but...

I want to believe they are different, I like the no wood build and layout but I just don't think they are as premium as the price they want.

For these reasons we are looking at Lance (prices have come way down in line with Ember) and I'm leaning hard towards Outdoors RV (hate the brown, love the quality and 100 gallons of water, priced lower than Ember)

Being in the PNW it's nice they are local and nice they have an arched roof to really shed water.

We looked at them Artic Fox, Nash, NoBo, Sonic, Lance, Intech, Geopro and microlite yesterday. (yep ran the gambit) loved the Lance and Outdoors. Not sure how Lance will hold up to boondocking.

I was looking hard at either Arctic Fox and Outdoors RV, was sold on the ArcticFox then started looking at the Ember. I liked that it was something different and had a lot of off grid features already included. I was concerned about alot of the same issues especially how new the company and models were. I decided on pulling the trigger and got the 26RB Touring Edition. We drove from Seattle to Pismo Beach, Ca to pick it up since we got a lot better price than here in the crazy NW. So far I have been very impressed, build quality is very clean, way better than the Forest River Surveyor I had prior. Like every RV they all have some issues and qwerks, the only thing so far we have noticed is that one of the Lexan windows has a crack in it around the handle. Waiting to get it warrantied out with fingers crossed it wont turn into a headache? Aside from that I am very impressed with the trailer has a lot of great features the quality is better than a lot of trailers out there it, is however a heavy rig. I'd rather have a heavier solid built rig than a lightweight one. I wanted a trailer that I could use all season, and was insulated well, the Ember fit that need. Time will tell on any other issues, so far I'm impressed with the build and al the extras that are included.

I'm happy to answer any questions on the trailer before anyone decides on buying one.

 

[MyRVTravels]

Mark,

I purchased the 26RB and pull it with a 2018 F250 Powerstroke, drags nicely with he diesel. Probably wouldn't haul it with much less as its a heavy trailer, more is always better.
I've researched the trailers quite a bit, had a 2018 Forest River Surveyor I upgraded from. There's a big difference between the two trailers, The Ember has a lot of nice features it comes with that you wont have to buy as an upgrade. Has a great finish no nails, staples showing very clean and solid.
Any questions as away, and can post pictures if you want to see anything?

 

[TLuke60]

Very good info thanks for chiming in. Update on my status: I have a 2019 Ford F250 diesel now. And (for better or worse) we went ahead and purchased a 2003 Ember 26RB. We will be picking it up this Friday.
Since there's no "Ember Owners Club" thread here, I'll keep you informed on what we find here as the trailer gets used.
I did see some posts and am following several Ember's owner's "groups" on Facebook and have searched extensively on YouTube. I could have entertained another brand, but the wife was sold on Ember. I bought the truck and she's buying the trailer. ((shrug)) time will tell.

Do you have an update? We are considering an Ember and wondered how things are so far?

 

[me1130]

Greetings. My wife and I attended the local RV show this past weekend. We have decided to take the plunge into this lifestyle soon. With no truck OR trailer yet, we are planning out a slow entry. On the truck side, we will invest in a 3/4 ton truck soon. Still working out the whole "diesel vs gas" though. Trailer will probably follow next year. We have friends (three couples) that are all RV veterans and have assisted on advise etc.. We go with them on some trips but are tired of cabin life.
On to the question: I was wondering if anyone has experience with the Ember brand? We really liked the Ember 26RB model (spec sheet attached). The Ember brand is pretty new (started in 2021). Anything to look for as far as issues, praises and quality comments etc.. I did a search here to no avail. Any opinions or shared experiences appreciated.
Thanks,
Mark

We own a 2022 190 MSL. We also own a large RV Park in the PNW. That being said we are not new to RVing and all makes of RVs. When we decided to dip into the outbacking type RV for traveling the Ember looked like it hit all the marks. After 1 year of ownership and a trip across the country and back it turned out to be a disappointment. My reason is this. Everything we experienced and continue to experience is the same problems you would expect from a 38K midlevel unit. Not a 50K overlander supposedly made for the offroad light travel.

If you want to fix and work on a new trailer then Ember is for you like the rest. All RV's are build with such poor craftsmanship that you get what you pay for does not really work out. So when you pay 20K more for same quality as 28K trailer it just make you angrier that you fell for the notch above the best. Just some off the problems. Side hatch does not lock correctly and has flown open going down highway. Door steps do not latch correctly. Murphy bed falls down when driving on rough highway destroying everything in its patch. Side water fixture leaked and flooded lower insulation. There are many other items that we fixed or had done under Warranty.

Ember has always helped and approved repairs, but buyer beware. If your dealer is booked for 6 months your warranty will run out before you get it fixed unless you drive 300 miles or more to next approved service spot. That will cost you more in time and Fuel than just fixing it yourself.

So we will probably sell the unit at a loss, since it has not lived up to the hype.

 

[Tusk]

Do you have an update? We are considering an Ember and wondered how things are so far?

Yes I do. We had a pretty good first "season" considering we had no idea what we were doing for the most part.
But regarding the Ember, we have the 26RB Touring Edition. Not Overlander. So me1130's experience (post above) is a different unit all together. The Touring Edition held up great and we have had no dealer reportable issues so far with any hardware, structure or appliance outside small things that you normally may see. Like a decal peeling off the outside fridge or some surface rust on the drop down stabilizer chains. Oh, the pull release on the theater seat got stuck. So I disassembled it myself and fixed it. A screw had gone loose. The doors are hard to close. I had to modify the strike plate to help with that. No mold or leaking problems so far.
As previously stated, all RVs have little stuff that need attention. Ember is new and had some "growing pains" maybe on initial units. Then COVID hit and supply/inventory problems hurt them like it did everyone.
The Touring Edition tows very well with the 3/4 ton diesel I have. The CUB lane change assist lights are very cool. They could be a bit brighter during the day I think. But work well and I like that feature! We park camp, so the solar really is just a lead acid battery tender. But needed as I have to store in an unpowered lot. Same with the Inverter (and all plugs inverted). Nice to have, but so far I've used it once. When working on the door in storage. The inverter powered my Dremel.
All in all we really love our Touring Edition and I understand they are getting better as Ember grows and makes more units. Was it spendy? Yes. But my wife and I picked it over other models and have no regrets.

 

[Kevin D Pem]

Yes I do. We had a pretty good first "season" considering we had no idea what we were doing for the most part.
But regarding the Ember, we have the 26RB Touring Edition. Not Overlander. So me1130's experience (post above) is a different unit all together. The Touring Edition held up great and we have had no dealer reportable issues so far with any hardware, structure or appliance outside small things that you normally may see. Like a decal peeling off the outside fridge or some surface rust on the drop down stabilizer chains. Oh, the pull release on the theater seat got stuck. So I disassembled it myself and fixed it. A screw had gone loose. The doors are hard to close. I had to modify the strike plate to help with that. No mold or leaking problems so far.
As previously stated, all RVs have little stuff that need attention. Ember is new and had some "growing pains" maybe on initial units. Then COVID hit and supply/inventory problems hurt them like it did everyone.
The Touring Edition tows very well with the 3/4 ton diesel I have. The CUB lane change assist lights are very cool. They could be a bit brighter during the day I think. But work well and I like that feature! We park camp, so the solar really is just a lead acid battery tender. But needed as I have to store in an unpowered lot. Same with the Inverter (and all plugs inverted). Nice to have, but so far I've used it once. When working on the door in storage. The inverter powered my Dremel.
All in all we really love our Touring Edition and I understand they are getting better as Ember grows and makes more units. Was it spendy? Yes. But my wife and I picked it over other models and have no regrets.

Can I ask what you mean by plugs inverted?

 

[Tusk]

The Ember Touring Editions come with a 2000 watt (I believe) Inverter (12v to 120ac) that allows you to run the AC power plugs while using just the battery. All of the Ember's AC outlets are connected to the Inverter.

 

[Ember owner]

We are in the same position and have been looking hard at Ember specially the 201fbq. Our desire is to be away from campgrounds boondocking off forest service roads and doing Harvest Host. We plan to get out 1-2 times/month, 10 months/year.

Some major red flags have popped up for me.
1-looked at them at an RV show last fall. The build quality was one of the worst. Exposed nails, loose cabinets, most openings not square at all.
2-went to a different dealer and looked, saw many of the same things.
3-responed to one of their Instagram posts, expressed my desire to be an Ember owner but had concerns about the quality I observed. A few other owners commented on the quality of their units. Ember responded by deleting the entire post. A reputable company would have either addressed or sent a message to get more info. They are trying had to hide issues.
4-it's not easy to find reviews, you have to do a lot of digging through a lot of forms and YouTube but, you will dig up many, many, many statements about water leaks in the slides. They had an issue with floor adhesive being incompatible and turning black. They are trying to fix it but...

I want to believe they are different, I like the no wood build and layout but I just don't think they are as premium as the price they want.

For these reasons we are looking at Lance (prices have come way down in line with Ember) and I'm leaning hard towards Outdoors RV (hate the brown, love the quality and 100 gallons of water, priced lower than Ember)

Being in the PNW it's nice they are local and nice they have an arched roof to really shed water.

We looked at them Artic Fox, Nash, NoBo, Sonic, Lance, Intech, Geopro and microlite yesterday. (yep ran the gambit) loved the Lance and Outdoors. Not sure how Lance will hold up to boondocking.

I traded a Lance for an Ember 29MRS. Could not be happier with the Ember. Far superior in every way from my perspective. Not a single issue with the new Ember. My first year with the Lance was issue after issue one of which put the trailer out of commission for more than 3 months. In addition the slide out on my Lance 2445 was poorly engineered and required structural changes which were not done properly at the first authorized dealer I took it to. Lived in constant concern that it might not retract. So far I am more than impressed with Ember and their customer response to any questions I had.

 

[cag61]

Mark,

I purchased the 26RB and pull it with a 2018 F250 Powerstroke, drags nicely with he diesel. Probably wouldn't haul it with much less as its a heavy trailer, more is always better.
I've researched the trailers quite a bit, had a 2018 Forest River Surveyor I upgraded from. There's a big difference between the two trailers, The Ember has a lot of nice features it comes with that you wont have to buy as an upgrade. Has a great finish no nails, staples showing very clean and solid.
Any questions as away, and can post pictures if you want to see anything?

Hi,
We are looking at the 26RB. Also we are near you just south of Seattle. I tried to message you, but can't figure it out.

Would you please share were you purchased your trailer? And if you had had any issues and what you like most?

Thanks Chris