Intro

Easy fix pump is in slide unit on the left side, unscrew with hand and clean if it happens to you.

Have a great trouble free trip.     

First, I'd like to share some thoughts about the buying experience.  We live 40 miles from Couch, so selecting a dealership was a no-brainer.  Other dealers would say they would meet their price, but somehow always came up short.  I had read a couple of posts that suggested some type of negative experience associated with Couch.  I never look to make a new friend when buying something a lot of people carry--I'm shopping price, so that was my only expectation.  However, the guys at Couch, from my sales guy Brian Scruggs to Brian in Service far exceeded my expectations.  The sales experience was pleasant and no-nonsense.  The price is what it is (the lowest), and they made some minor concessions beyond that.  What hit it out of the park on our end is what they did after the Pod was delivered.  As soon as we hooked up, the brakes locked on the Pod.  We unplugged and then drove back to the Service area. The guys there had vehicles waiting to be delivered, installing tow wiring, etc, but they immediately began troubleshooting our issue (wait to hear what they found!).  Initial testing determined the fault was not in the Pod...it had to be something from the hitch forward.  Our TV is the new Jeep Cherokee Trailhawk with tow package, and outside out of factory specs, I could find nothing on the web about anyone who had actual towing experience with this vehicle.  The vehicle debuted last September and no one seemed to know much about it.

Even though, the Service guys at Couch quickly knew the trailer they sold me was not the issue, they dogged the problem until they found the solution.  Brian in service didn't assume anything, so he begin to test every component installed.  I had purchased a Tekonsha controller with the appropriate Tekonsha wiring harness from Amazon.  It turns out the hot and ground wires on the Tekonsha harness were reversed from the factory!  Brain learned this from a Tekonsha service rep he contacted on the phone. So, when I plugged in the controller, it sent 12V to the brakes. They re-wired the plug and everything worked fine.  Props to Couch!

OK, now to the disappointing part...not terrible but disappointing.  I love the Pod, it pulls great behind the new Cherokee.  I'm sold on the construction and believe it will be durable going forward.  I read many posts about the poor mattress, the loud A/C, etc, so there were no real surprises.  Suburban heaters are pretty much standard in all RV's, and so are Dometic reefers--they should be fine.  But the Jensen TV is really cheap, and you have to be looking at it at eye level and straight one to be able to see a good picture.  I've already ordered a TV bracket that will swivel vertically and horizontally(the bracket that comes with the 179 is swing out only) so that we can see the picture.  What's worse is that the connection between the TV and the combo DVD/Radio is A/V.  So that means even if you upgrade the television, your picture quality will always be limited by the A/V connections coming out of the DVD player, which is 70's technology.  HDMI connections are now state of the art, Composite would be next, and A/V delivers the worst video quality. it's like buying a Ferrarri and then only being able to drive it on a single lane, dirt road.  The mattress is also cheap as has been discussed before on this forum.  The Convection Oven/Microwave is also a cheaply made component that appears to be disavowed by Sunbeam.  The indoor and outdoor speakers are among the cheapest made, and display no highs or lows.  Truly, the sound coming out of the tiny speakers on my iPhone and iPad sound better.  I'm serious.

Even at the Couch discounted price of $14,250, the Pod isn't cheap, and the components inside shouldn't be either.

This is not a rant, but just my truthful evaluation of my new Pod that I hope will be as helpful to others who read this forum as the posts I read to help me make my buying decision.  I would buy the 179 again in a heartbeat and will be recommending it to other RVer's who are looking for a true lightweight trailer that will serve them well.   But FR is not serving it's brand by putting these cheap components in the Pod. 

Kinda funny...our mentors and camping companions just downsized from their Class C to a Roadtrek 190. The quality fit and finish in the Roadtrek is obvious, but you know what...

Our last weekend camping together we spent the vast majority of time (when not hiking) under the dome or in our rPod. Just felt more comfortable. If I could just convince them to tow our Pod with their Roadtrek, we would be all set!

fred