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bodie55 
Senior Member 
Joined: 25 Mar 2013 Location: San Francisco Online Status: Offline Posts: 100 |
 Topic: Back from First Trip in 178Posted: 27 Jun 2013 at 12:50am |
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Oh, the AC is very loud, but giving the heat we've been experiencing this week, we are very thankful to have it. Today was 95 in mid-Missouri and we expect temps around 105 as we travel across Kansas over the next few days. At least it cycles on and off on auto mode (figured it out with the help of the manual).
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Bay Area Crew
2013 178 Beach Pod F-150 SuperCrew ...sempre in viaggio sul mare... |
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bodie55
Senior Member
Joined: 25 Mar 2013 Location: San Francisco Online Status: Offline Posts: 100 |
Posted: 27 Jun 2013 at 12:45am |
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Regarding #1, we just had a similar problem. I posted the issue in the maintenance section. Check your sink drain connection to the drain hose under the sink and behind the panels. You might have the same problem. Run water down the drain and see if any is leaking (or gushing) out of the coupler. Quick fix with the appropriate part replacing the poor design ours came with.
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Bay Area Crew
2013 178 Beach Pod F-150 SuperCrew ...sempre in viaggio sul mare... |
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Podsible Dream
podders Helping podders - pHp
Joined: 03 Dec 2010 Location: Hightstown, NJ Online Status: Offline Posts: 571 |
Posted: 26 Jun 2013 at 6:54pm |
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Welcome Top!
For the r-dome: we don't camp without it for more than one night. I made the following mods after several frustrating tries: 1). Made a pair of blocks from 4x4 about 8" long (essentially square) by splinting together two pieces with a 1x and lots of glue. Drilled a 1/4" hole in the center for the end of the support pole and another hole all the way through at a corner to stake it down. This brings the front of the dome to the same level as the pod side. The flaps at the bottom still can be staked down or held down ( we use firewood hunks around the base). 2) On the pod side, we bit the bullet and attached 2" industrial white Velcro to the pod (hook side) and the loop side Chris sewed to the edge of the flap with our 40 year old sewing machine. There are some aesthetic questions here tho, if you don't like the idea of a white or dirty grey strip down the side of the pod, or the 'decals' (actually stickers) are not done right, they can peel off, which happened on the hatch door of our 171. We also put a short section on the roof to hold the flap up (it goes at an angle). So far we haven't had a leak or the wind blow the dome off the side of the trailer. Our experience with attaching the dome through the channel led me to copy another mod and make a metal end to the vinyl attachment cord and a rope pull. After replacing the screws with flathead ones, and lots of silicone spray, I can install the dome alone using a two step kitchen stool in about 7 minutes. Good luck and enjoy! Walt
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Chris and Walt
'10 RP-171 'Free Spirit' '13 Dodge Durango Crew 5.7 L Hemi V8 |
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techntrek
Admin Group - pHp 
Joined: 29 Jul 2009 Location: MD Online Status: Offline Posts: 9062 |
Posted: 25 Jun 2013 at 9:06pm |
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Welcome, if I haven't already said that to you. There is a handful of Stoltzfus customers here, including me. Next time you have to drop your pod off for service don't forget to go a half-mile down the street to the 50's ice cream & food stand (cash only). I have a thread around here discussing multiple options for replacing that hurricane AC, including a smaller roof-mounted unit which should be on the pod to begin with. Unfortunately the AC and propane heater are both way oversized for pods. |
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furpod
Moderator Group - pHp 
Joined: 25 Jul 2011 Location: Central KY Online Status: Offline Posts: 6128 |
Posted: 25 Jun 2013 at 4:52pm |
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I just remove the smoke detector battery when when cooking. I mean it's not like you have to walk into the other room to do it... Just replace it when done. Fan on always when cooking, window cracked. In fact our pod is almost always in that condition cooking or not.
You do need to make sure your tv is charging while towing, if not, a single battery system can only run the 'fridge a few hours. Pre-cooling the fridge and contents helps some. You CAN use propane while driving. The dome is kind of a hate it love it thing. They are not designed for the Pod exactly, but risers, uneven/level spaces, lots of things can contribute to a poor fit.. No one I can think of uses the suction cups. just make sure your first stake pulls the main body of the dome against the trailer, and use a bungie to hold that sealing flap thingy to your stabilizers.. That's how we do it anyways. |
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kymooses
Senior Member
Joined: 01 Aug 2010 Location: Louisville, Ky Online Status: Offline Posts: 1807 |
Posted: 25 Jun 2013 at 3:45pm |
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Nothing you mentioned is too out of the ordinary.
With risers domes just don't fit and a lot of times our smoke detector goes off. Just the nature of the beast.
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TopJimmy5150
Newbie 
Joined: 05 Jun 2013 Online Status: Offline Posts: 23 |
Posted: 25 Jun 2013 at 2:23pm |
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I will check on #2...have to buy a volt meter. I have to turn in several man cards...I hate buying tools and cannot stand going to hardware stores. Lowes/Home Depot makes me itch. :-)
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Jay
2014 R-Pod RP178 2015 Toyota Tundra SR5 Crewman 2008 Honda Odyssey |
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P&M
Senior Member
Joined: 13 Aug 2012 Location: Spokane, WA Online Status: Offline Posts: 454 |
Posted: 25 Jun 2013 at 2:21pm |
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Regarding the oven, turn on the bathroom fan when cooking (same as on gas cooktop) and it will help pull any fumes/smoke away. Ours also smoked a bit the first 2-3 times we used it, and since then has been just fine.
Glad you enjoyed your first trip out overall!
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P & M ... and Comet too!
2012 171 -- The Monkey Pod 2018 Ram 2500 |
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Thinker
Senior Member
Joined: 25 Feb 2013 Location: S. Mississippi Online Status: Offline Posts: 171 |
Posted: 25 Jun 2013 at 1:44pm |
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#1) I have never had an RV with a slide that did not leak at sometime or other. Hence I bought 171 with no slide. Check all seals and gaskets.
#2) Are you absolutely sure you are getting a 12v feed from your seven pin connector. Do this. Get a volt meter and hook up the trailer to 7 pin. Do NOT start the engine. Open the battery case and read the voltage across the two posts. Should read around 12.7v DC if fully charged. If discharged may be 12.0 volts or 11.9. Now, start the engine and get the RPM up to 2000 (need a helper). While the engine is at 2000 RPM you should read around 13.5 - 14.0 Volts. If you do not, then your feed from TV to RV is not getting to the battery. #3) Stuff like that happens.... good you were able to find it. #4) If your pod has the lift kit, this can affect rDOME fit. #5) This should only happen the first time or two when on convection. Will go away. #6) AC is oversized for these little well insulated pods. Kills noise from neighbors.. you may be thankful some night. #7 Yep... the fantastic fans are fantastic. Thanks for the report and welcome to the forum. |
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Tow Vehicle: 2013 Pathfinder 4WD R-POD Model 171
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TopJimmy5150
Newbie
Joined: 05 Jun 2013 Online Status: Offline Posts: 23 |
Posted: 25 Jun 2013 at 1:16pm |
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We just returned from our maiden voyage in the '14 rPod 178.
We spent the week of June 16th at the Cape Cod Campresort in East Falmouth, MA. We were very lucky to have almost perfect weather all week. What a beautiful campground! The rPod got a lot of attention from other campers and campground staff.
We are very pleased. The rPod towed like a dream behind our Honda Odyssey. I towed mostly between 55 and 60 mph over some windy bridges (Tappan-Zee) and no problems. Not sure I would recommend an 8 hour drive for the maiden voyage, but we lived.
Everything seemed to work as it should once we figured it out. Some observations.
1. We had a puddle of water in front of the galley one day before we left. We had the rPod set up in the driveway with the slideout out and we had a severe T-Storm with torrential rain. What's up with this?
2. We ran the fridge on RV battery only to find at our first stop that it was beeping and the RV battery was exhausted. I switched it over to propane for the rest of the trip.
3. When we arrived I switched the fridge over to A/C power, but it just started beeping like crazy. Turned out the GFCI (sp?) safety switch was tripped on the outlet and had been since we bought it....it never got switched on. Oopsie.
4. Not happy with the rDome. It does not fit the rPod at all. The two sides closest to the rPod were about a foot from the ground (meaning the black part that lays on the ground) and it just overall seemed like a poor fit. The suction cups are a joke. I called the dealer (Stoltzfus in Adamstown, PA) but they offered nothing constructive other than it was the correct (and only) model for the 178. Not sure what to do about this.
5. Cook in the microwave/convection oven? Expect the smoke detector to go off! I had to pull the 9-volt battery to get some peace.
6. Only turned it on for a minute, but the A/C unit is the noisiest A/C I have ever heard.
It sure was nice camping in a travel trailer as opposed to the pop-up. I never realized how great those fantastic fans are in the bathroom....turn it on and the air comes flowing through the opened windows....what a great sleep! It sure was nice to have hot water and a shower.
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Jay
2014 R-Pod RP178 2015 Toyota Tundra SR5 Crewman 2008 Honda Odyssey |
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Back from First Trip in 178
