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RPod 195 Review - SCARY Reading

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caroldwyer View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Quote caroldwyer Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Topic: RPod 195 Review - SCARY Reading
    Posted: 08 Nov 2021 at 2:39pm

On 09-18-20 we bought a new R-Pod 195 from Wilder RV in Port Angeles, WA for $26,190.  We are going to keep it but we have a lot of complaints about the cheap construction, which is so tragic because it could have easily been done so nice and sturdy. Here are our complaints from our first outing:

 1. Nice pantry with astonishingly cheap plastic clips holding up the shelves. In the first week, the clips snapped off and the groceries came crashing down. We could not even close the pantry door. Groceries rolled everywhere as we drove. NO,  we were not overloading the shelves, just normal groceries. Forest River, please use unbreakable, adjustable METAL clips.

 

2. The front screen door attaches to the exit door by a cheap plastic clip that does not hold. The two doors separate constantly when they shouldn’t, causing struggles on enter/exit. Soon something will break. Yes, we did adjust it. Your clip design is too shallow and should be metal.

 

3.Someone is knocking at our door and we have no way to see who it is! Because the door is frosted glass. Are they friend or hatchet murderer? Forest River, you must add a peak hole or a small panel of clear glass. Strangers come and go all the time in RV parks.

 

4. All the window unlocking clips are also cheap plastic and won’t last.

 

5. Stove design . . .there is a DEEP CRACK around all four edges of the stovetop. Filth falls in this crack while your are cooking and wiping up. The crack is so deep and narrow that you can NEVER get the dirt out of there. This is a filthy and dangerous design. You cannot even lift this burner plate up to clean up under it. Truly the worst possible design for food. There will be mold under there in no time. This is our strongest complaint about the R195.

 

6. The bathroom sink faucet spout does not reach the middle of the sink. It is too close to the back wall. Whenever you use this sink, water runs down the wall behind the faucets.

 

7. Bathroom sink cold water knob is backwards: LEFTY loosey. RIGHTY tighty, right? We should turn our faucets ON by turning left. But no, on this sink, the hot turns left but the cold turns RIGHT. They are opposite! This is impossible to get used to. The shower is also backwards the same way, so be prepared to burn yourself in the shower.

 

8. Did I mention the shower curtain rings? They are as teensy as angel hair pasta, and no bigger around than a penny. When you pull the curtain shut gently, the rings tear open and fall. I have a photo of this to show you.

 

9. The kitchen faucet design looks nice but pinches your finger. Right where you grab the faucet to turn it off, there is a crack that closes and pinches the heck out of your finger skin, no matter how careful you try to be.

 

10. The kitchen faucet tip should have been threaded so you can add a sprayer.

 

11. The mattress on the bed was so bad it would make a Bedouin cry. We immediately replaced it. Why not give people a decent mattress and make them like you? Or just no mattress at all, because you just wasted your money on this. 

 

12. The baseboard trim between floor and side walls fell off in the first week. Jeez.

 

Now for the slide-out and sofa area:

 

13. When the slide moves, the bottom of the slide drags on the top of the fender outside. Not good.

 

14. The two cube-shaped floor cushions make extra sleeping at night, but destroy all your floor walking space during the day. If you try to sit on these cubes, you will go flying backwards and nearly kill yourself. Goodbye cubes.

 

15. The back cushion on the sofa sits low and feels like a bad back support. Your body is pushed forward but your head bumps backward onto the wall. Thus, there really is NO comfortable way to sit down in this RV while watching TV. You are forced to lie on the bed. The entire sofa area on the RP195 should be replaced with the dual recliner shown in RPod202. 

 

16. The board underneath the sofa cushions is extremely thin wallboard, not even thin plywood. My husband and I made the mistake of both sitting down on it at the same time and we heard a loud crack. We are not overweight. This board is also the floor of the slide with a wheel below it so the thinness worries me for long term. You all know that Forest River is trying to keep the weight down but we still need to be safe.

 

17. Thank you for reading this. Any feedback is appreciated. The staff at Wilder RV took good care of us but they could only fix things that were broken. They could not address the cheap construction. I hope we will hear from Forest River and that they will take this to heart.

Steve and Carol Dwyer  steve1dwyer@gmail.com

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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TheBum View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Quote TheBum Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 08 Nov 2021 at 4:39pm
Yeah, those shelf supports are a joke. I broke several as well on my first trip; fortunately, none were actually supporting shelves. I plan to replace them with these when I get the time:


The rails will need to be cut down in length to fit.

I have a 2021 196 and haven't noticed any issues with the slide under the jack-knife sofa.
Alan
2022 R-Pod 196 "RaptoRPod"
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RoverPod View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Quote RoverPod Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 08 Nov 2021 at 5:43pm
It's easy to unscrew the stovetop to clean underneath if needed.
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caroldwyer View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Quote caroldwyer Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 08 Nov 2021 at 6:41pm
Bum, thank you for the link! The old reliable metal clips - available everywhere - are the same ones we used.
 

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caroldwyer View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Quote caroldwyer Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 08 Nov 2021 at 6:51pm
Sorry RoverPod, but i'm going to say that you don't understand women. We have to clean the stove every time we use it. Here is the procedure you call "easy to unscrew":
1. Get out screwdriver and unscrew two phillips heads screws.
 Do not lose the washers that fall out when you lift the screw.
2. Pull hard to remove the two heat control knobs.
3. Lift off the two iron burner grates and set aside.
4. Remove the huge flat stovetop plate and set aside.
5. Look down in the deep hole and start cleaning. 
6. Reverse all steps to put rangetop back together.
7. Pour yourself a stiff drink.

Sorry RoverPod, this is a functional disaster and women will not do it every day.
I did this myself five minutes ago and was horrified to find a deep layer of grease down in there next to the gas supply. This design is a TRUE FIRE HAZARD!!!  This 2-burner gas range is a Suburban brand, if you want to google it.


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lostagain View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Quote lostagain Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 08 Nov 2021 at 8:35pm
If you don't want to clean between the stove and the the counter top, why don't you fill the gap with some sort of caulk?  Then you'll only need to clean it once in a while, which will, of course, necessitate the removal of the caulk, so don't use something like silicone that is hard to remove.  

As for your other comments about the trailer, remember R-Pods, and many other low end trailers, like our FR Sonoma, are built to be not only light, but relatively cheaply.  If you want something that doesn't have the flaws you listed, you may want to consider a higher end, more costly, trailer.  They make the low end trailers as cheaply as they can and they are maintenance intensive.  In a word, you get what you pay for.
Never leave footprints behind.
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Post Options Post Options   Quote Dirt Sifter Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 08 Nov 2021 at 9:15pm
Wow, you either didn't look over your unit very closely before you bought it, or didn't compare these with other RV's in this price range. We've been inconvenienced by some of these things you mentioned, but can live with them for the price. Would I like to have everything perfect; you bet. Can I live with what I bought; you bet. Do I like the cheap mattress - nope, but we've replaced the mattress in every trailer we've owned. Now we plan on it. At 6'4" and 250 lbs, I've not broken the slide out base yet. But will replace the cushions on it at some point. Some stuff you live with, other stuff you fix. As lostagain said, you get what you pay for.
Greg n Deb 2020 195 HRE
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offgrid View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Quote offgrid Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 09 Nov 2021 at 1:36am
+1 to lostagain and Dirt Sifter. Most of what you're describing is normal stuff on this level of RV.

You haven't mentioned any serious issues (except possibly your slide
issue) with the trailer structure systems or appliances, in this you are lucky. None of this stuff gets better with age BTW, RVs just require a lot of maintenance, and even if your very diligent they still don't age well (at least not until they reach an age where they become collectible).

You might want to reconsider if RV ownership is right for you. Are you going to be getting the enjoyment from it that compensates for the work and cost involed? If not, now is a uniquely good time to sell a used RV. I asked myself that question this Spring and decided that for the next couple of years I wouldn't.

Good luck!



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caroldwyer View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Quote caroldwyer Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 09 Nov 2021 at 12:46pm
thank you LostAgain for your wise and true words
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Post Options Post Options   Quote caroldwyer Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 09 Nov 2021 at 12:47pm
calk is a GREAT idea. thank you
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