Mods to our 177

 

Made an awning to fit into the rail by sewing a 3/8" rope to one edge of a tent tarp. With the two tent poles guyed down, it's pretty stable in mild winds and rain.

 

Bought an Atwood wheel on Amazon that slips onto the end of the Atwood jack, which allows us to easily move the trailer around our driveway.

 

The under-the-cabinet TV/DVD combo that came with the trailer went kaput after only four months, so I replaced it with a 16" flat screen TV/DVD with both 12V and AC power adapters. I mounted it to the side of the cabinet so that it's easily viewed from the dinette, but also swivels around so we can watch in bed.

 

I was able to attach headless bolts into the back of the TV so that it mounts quickly and easily with wing nuts. The power and antenna cables are long enough, I leave them plugged in, remove the TV, and lay it flat on the bed for travel. It takes just a few seconds.

 

Here's the kitchen area with adhesive hooks, spice racks, dish drying rack and cutting board stove cover.

 

On the other side of the counter I placed a wire basket for dish and hand soap and attached adhesive hooks to hold it in place.

 

Since 99% of our camping is without electrical hookups, we've not once used the microwave/convection oven in the ten months of owning the trailer, so I removed it. I want the option to put it back in if we do a long trip and plan on having hookups, so at this point, I don't want to do any permanent structural changes to it. For now, I use it as pantry/food storage once we arrive at our destination and set up camp.

 

My husband sectioned off the under seat storage area on the dinette bench, and opened up the side to allow for shoe storage.

 

Baskets over the window awnings are secured with adhesive hooks. We have taller ones over each window in the bed area for toiletries and smaller ones over the windows in the dinette area for knick knack items. So far, they've stayed very secure during travel, and nothing has fallen out.

 

I attached a hanging pocket storage from Ikea on the outside of the bathroom door for hand towels, washcloths, plastic bags, etc. Also found mesh pocket hangers at Ikea that I hung over the bed on the bathroom wall. We're able to keep socks, underwear, and small clothing items in here.

 

I also recently purchased and installed the clear vent cover in the bathroom. It made a huge difference. On our last trip out, we didn't use the bathroom light once. I've installed LED lights throughout the trailer. We've had one or two lights on for most of the day and evening on recent trips with little to no drain on the battery. Our most recent purchase was a 30W solar panel. I spliced and soldered 25 foot cables between the panel and charge controller, which allows me to move it around easily for the best sun exposure. In full sun, the panel has the battery charged back up by mid day, so we're able to use the lights and watch TV without worrying about draining the battery.

 

We upgraded last year from a T@B to our pod, and it's been a blast. We've gotten quite a bit of use out of it already. It's so nice to be able to hang out inside the trailer and read or play cards in bad weather. It's still small enough to get it into the rural Forest Service campgrounds that we like to stay at, and I have no problem with towing, parking, hitching or unhitching it myself. I would like to get a sway bar in the near future. Our F150 has plenty of power, but when we tow through the Columbia River Gorge in NW Oregon, it gets quite windy and tends to create a bit of sway and porpoising that I could do without.

 

Marila

 

Pete & Marila

Portland, OR