Have You Done Any Mods?

Mods and misc.,

We had the same issue with our sewer pipe being too short.  So, I purchased the 15 foot rhino and then tried to figure out a place to put it on the RPOD171.  After considerable searching and pondering, I installed it on the same side the clean out drains are located.  I purchased the factory super tube for the rhino hose and fastened it in using the correct length fasteners of stainless steel.  It's a perfect fit and if installed carefully, the door will open toward the front nicely to remove or replace the hose.

We did this because we didn't want to store a drain/sewer hose inside the POD or externally in the tow vehicle.  It works perfectly and I left the original storage hose on the tongue.  Now I can use either hose when I need them and they are stored outside the POD.

In other news, I modified the tongue jack with an inserted wheel.  Now I can roll the POD when on a cement floor inside our large shop.  The wheel removes easily for travel and leaves the original space between the jack and the ground that way.

Several other mods include mostly the use of "found" storage places and careful utilization of them.

We also replaced all the incandescent lights with LED's.

We found that the Home Depot "Homer" buckets fit perfectly underneath the bed storage area.  I put blue tape marked with contents on the tops to indicate what is inside of them so you don't have to open them to find out.

We turned one of the Homer Buckets into an LED porch-light with a removable white LED plastic vinegar jug inside.  It can be used as an orange porch light or a large "flashlight." 

Next is a purchase of UHMW 1/2" sheet to make a cover/cutting board for over the sink.  I'll rout out the shape of the sink for an indentation to hold in place when traveling.

We moved the table holder (the sharp-edged prong) back toward the front bulkhead and replaced the inserts there.  Now it doesn't scratch our legs up when sitting or getting up.  In my mind, this is the first thing you should do to any POD that hose those little scratchers!

We replaced the mattress with a futon.

Replaced the sacrificial anode just in time 2 weeks ago.

Created a hookup bucket with all the basic tools, locks, and any etceteras to put into the truck bed for easy hook up or unhooking.  Created an outside storage area where all POD stuff is located.  The RDOME and other necessaries are all in the same place along with the hook up weight transfer stuff.

Beefed up the Ranger transmission and put a chip in it.  Works like magic.  More MPG and more torque now.

Outside the POD, I put a receiver hitch on the loader of our tractor.  Now we can "push" the POD into the storage area or place it outside without cranking our necks to figure out where it should be by backing up.

Made a couple of reservations already for next year.

There's more but that is the big stuff.

Burt, Laura the White Tornado, Buddy the Wonder Dog and Norman, the Japanese-American Big Mouthed Orange Tractor, the JABMOT

By "Y" tubes I am guessing you are talking about something that connects the Black and Grey outlets into a single drain pipe? I looked that those and thought about how they would work in the case of the Pod. When we first got the Pod I didn't like the fact that there were 2 separate dump valve pipes. After using them for a while I have actually decided that having separate tubes is an advantage. When you dump the black line and then add water to the rinse line to flush out the tank you effectively clean out that line. Then when you move the hose to the grey line you effectivelly get a second rinse.

What I have learned is that where you park your camper is important and next is having the correct length sewer hose. That was the main reason I wanted the 15' hose and decided to buy/add the 48" storate tube. Now I have the best of both worlds because in the rare instance when I would need more than 15' of sewer hose I can always grab the 10 footer in the factory hose and connect it to the 15' hose with a hose adapter.

'Slogger

I have not measured the 15 ft rhino hose collapsed, it fits well into the tube I have, if needed I can measure it for you, on my 172 it worked best to put it about 6 inches in front of the black water drain, the tube will fit between the frame rails on the pod, but its tight, you only have about 1/4 inch of error, I built ofset spacers to put the end I use closer to the side toward the black water drain, of course both ends of the tube have a latch and a door, but I wanted the side toward where I use it close as possible to the black water drain.

I just went outside and measured our current tube (around 26-27"). I also noticed that you could move that mounting back about a foot and have enough room to mount the 60" in front of the first frame cross member. That would allow for a longer hose AND give you better access.

'Slogger

Yes Slogger, I could not believe the price I googled the www. address on the end of the factory tube and went to their web site, they had a 1-800 number, called them they were very helpful, they said we make a replacement tube that is built to go between the frame rails on r pods that holds the rhino 15 ft hose with accessories, I could not believe the price, I had it in about 2 days, no pix, I have not figured out how to reduce the size of photos that will allow this site to post, I am one of the old fogies (63 next month) that is a little sloppy on computer tricks, I think you do it through windows paint or something. I like the new tube as it is completly out of sight and takes a small amount of weight off of the tongue. happy poddin