New 172 Owner

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   Hi all,
We recently purchased a new R Pod 172, western edition. We upsized from a T@B and are enjoying the extra space, especially the bunks. Our TV is a 2019 Subaru Ascent, which seems to do fine, except for the gas mileage.

We normally boondock, so we have already removed the microwave and TV to simplify things and add a little more storage. We will be adding rooftop solar in the next couple weeks. I haven't seen any posts on solar installs with the GoPower "wired for solar" option, but it looks fairly straightforward after removing the upper cabinet panel behind the solar controller sticker.

We'll see you out there...

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CamFrye Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Newbie Joined: 09 Jun 2020 Location: Colorado Online Status: Offline Posts: 6	Topic: New 172 Owner Posted: 09 Jun 2020 at 4:21pm
	Hi all, We recently purchased a new R Pod 172, western edition. We upsized from a T@B and are enjoying the extra space, especially the bunks. Our TV is a 2019 Subaru Ascent, which seems to do fine, except for the gas mileage. We normally boondock, so we have already removed the microwave and TV to simplify things and add a little more storage. We will be adding rooftop solar in the next couple weeks. I haven't seen any posts on solar installs with the GoPower "wired for solar" option, but it looks fairly straightforward after removing the upper cabinet panel behind the solar controller sticker. We'll see you out there...
	2020 R Pod 172 2019 Subaru Ascent

lostagain Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Senior Member Joined: 06 Sep 2016 Location: Quaker Hill, CT Online Status: Offline Posts: 2595	Posted: 09 Jun 2020 at 5:35pm
	Enjoy! and Welcome!
	Never leave footprints behind. Fred & Maria Kearney Sonoma 167RB Our Pod 172 2019 Ford F-150 4x4 2.7 EcoBoost

offgrid Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Senior Member Joined: 23 Jul 2018 Online Status: Offline Posts: 5290	Posted: 09 Jun 2020 at 6:00pm
	Fuel consumption while towing doesn't really depend on the tow vehicle. Most of the energy is consumed overcoming the aerodynamic drag of the trailer. In other words, it is what it is, the only way to improve it is to slow down. Have fun!
	1994 Chinook Concourse 1995 RV6A Experimental Aircraft 2015 Rpod 179 - sold

GlueGuy Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Senior Member Joined: 15 May 2017 Location: N. California Online Status: Online Posts: 2707	Posted: 09 Jun 2020 at 6:37pm
	OG is right about fuel mileage. You pay more based on how hard you press the "go" pedal. I would also suggest that you might be better off not attaching any solar panel(s) to the roof, unless you think you will always be parking your 172 in the sun. We prefer parking in the shade when we can, and so the best place to put the solar panels is where the Rpod isn't. This also eliminates the requirement to use the cute solar power connector, as you can just connect directly to the battery/ies. Enjoy your trailer in any case!
	bp 2017 R-Pod 179 Hood River 2015 Ford F150 SuperCrew 4WD 3.5L Ecoboost

StephenH Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List podders Helping podders - pHp Joined: 29 Nov 2015 Location: Wake Forest, NC Online Status: Offline Posts: 6422	Posted: 09 Jun 2020 at 6:59pm
	Welcome and congratulations! I hope you have many fun adventures and make many great memories with your RPod. I agree with the above that what you are experiencing is increased wind resistance from the much larger frontal area of the RPod when compared with the T@B. Limit your towing speed to no more than 60 mph, as much for safety as for the better fuel mileage when you are not trying to push it faster. One other thing that will help is a wind deflector such as the Purpleline AeroPlus or the Icon AeroShield. These will help with the airflow between the vehicle and the trailer. I have one that I used with an Escape that helped. Now that I have a Frontier, it doesn't help because it sits too far forward. There are pictures of it in my mods, but I couldn't tell you which specific post or page right now. I should probably try to sell it since I don't see us going back to an SUV for towing again.
	StephenH Happy is the man that findeth wisdom,... ouR escaPOD mods Former RPod 179 Current Cherokee Grey Wolf 24 JS

mjlrpod Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Senior Member Joined: 27 Sep 2016 Location: Massachusetts Online Status: Offline Posts: 1221	Posted: 10 Jun 2020 at 9:17am
	Welcome and congrats on your 172. I miss my 172, it was a nice camper. It was especially great when using the R-dome. Gives so much space, and I loved sitting in the dome during rain storms. Have fun.
	2017.5 Rp-172 2020 R-pod 195 2015 Frontier sv 4.0L 6cyl I'll be rpodding

EchoGale Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Senior Member Joined: 10 Mar 2019 Location: FL Online Status: Offline Posts: 469	Posted: 10 Jun 2020 at 10:04am
	I have a 172 and love it, you will too. I suggest removing the paneling in from of the under-bed supports (both the bottom bunk and the dinette to make the storage more accessible. Have fun and welcome!
	Julie

Pod People Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Visit Members Homepage Add to Buddy List Senior Member Joined: 22 Sep 2011 Location: Chapel Hill,NC Online Status: Offline Posts: 1088	Posted: 10 Jun 2020 at 10:38am
	I agree with Glue Guy-we use a Renogy 100 watt portable suitcase system and love it. We can park the Pod in the shade and i have about 35' of power cord to move the panels around for maximum sun exposure. It keeps my 2 6v GC batteries fully charged. Enjoy your new Pod-it is a great way to travel and have fun Vann
	Vann & Laura 2015 RPod 179

kennedto100 Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Newbie Joined: 17 Sep 2020 Online Status: Offline Posts: 8	Posted: 17 Sep 2020 at 9:17am
	Can you give us an update on the GoPower install? I just purchases a 2020 192 and am considering that. I would like to know what is involved.

CamFrye Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Newbie Joined: 09 Jun 2020 Location: Colorado Online Status: Offline Posts: 6	Posted: 17 Sep 2020 at 11:00am
	kennedto100, The install was straightforward. I installed a semi-flexible panel directly to the R-Pod roof between the A/C and the fin, with the long direction running side to side. I needed MC-4 extensions (one 2 ft long and one 1 ft long) to connect to the GoSolar roof port. I connected a solar controller to the wiring inside the cabinet above the sink. I mounted the controller on the outside of the cabinet (roughly where the GoSolar sticker was located), which required a hole through that side of the cabinet so the wiring could exit and then reenter the cabinet. That was it. My only problem was that one of the MC-4 connectors I ordered had a bad connector, but I had ordered and extra of that length, so that worked out okay. It works great. We don't use a whole lot of battery, and the system is intentionally oversized for how we use it right now, so it has no problem keeping our batteries fully charged. If you have more specific questions about the whats, hows or whys of our solar, let me know, I'm happy to share.
	2020 R Pod 172 2019 Subaru Ascent