‘Nother Newbie

I’ve already been posting since June, so I know some of you, but as someone who was considering buying an R-Pod and wondering if our 4-cyl Outback would be up to the task (barely -I’m looking for a dedicated tow vehicle). And now we are owners! Three weeks ago today we drove from the Bay Area to Phoenix to look at an RP 173 that I had had my eye on. It was pretty homely, they had taken the cute fiesta decals off (apparently they don’t do well in the Arizona sun).  It sat on their website for four months. Their starting price was $10,000, which I thought was way too much for non-primo condition, but three months later it had gotten down to $8000. A month later I offered $5000, they countered at $6000. I’m still not convinced that my price wasn’t closer to value, but everything works and it’s solid, it’s just funky.  And there don’t seem to be a ton of 173’s out there, which is what I wanted. I like the couch in the back. A place to sleep, a place to sit, and a place for A place to sleep, a place to sit, and a place for the dog’s bed and food. So I’m happy.  Best thing is the toilet! We had a Forest River A-Frame which we enjoyed, but going outside in the middle of the night I did not enjoy.  And it didn’t work out very well with the dog. No place for him to go, no place for his dishes without kicking his water over.

Currently we’re stripping out unnecessarily heavy stuff – the monster table is gone and the gap in the dinette has been filled in with light weight IKEA bed slats to make a full-time bed. The 44 pound microwave is gone and will be replaced by something less than half its weight.  The valances and mini blinds are gone, to be replaced by light weight café curtains. Lean, mean and green is the mantra...