New Member - a 173er in Maine

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   We have found that the "new queen" in the back is much better for a lot of reasons-mainly it doesn't require changing the dinette each night, it provided more kitchen counter top space, the new foam mattresses are much better  and it offers a lot of storage underneath.  we use plastic boxes(Tucker totes) with labels for different meals(breakfast, lunch, dinner) or different things(clothes, sleeping bags, etc).

I would think that a 9 year old could sleep on the front dinette bench without having to set it up totally-just collapse the table and move the corner p[illows.  I nap there frequently as it is easy to use.

If you want to explore the removal of the futon and building a bed, let me know and I can tell you more about how we did it.  there are several pictures in our mod page that show the results.
Safe travels
Vann

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Pod People Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Visit Members Homepage Add to Buddy List Senior Member Joined: 22 Sep 2011 Location: Chapel Hill,NC Online Status: Offline Posts: 1088	Topic: New Member - a 173er in Maine Posted: 04 Jun 2015 at 1:42pm
	We have found that the "new queen" in the back is much better for a lot of reasons-mainly it doesn't require changing the dinette each night, it provided more kitchen counter top space, the new foam mattresses are much better and it offers a lot of storage underneath. we use plastic boxes(Tucker totes) with labels for different meals(breakfast, lunch, dinner) or different things(clothes, sleeping bags, etc). I would think that a 9 year old could sleep on the front dinette bench without having to set it up totally-just collapse the table and move the corner p[illows. I nap there frequently as it is easy to use. If you want to explore the removal of the futon and building a bed, let me know and I can tell you more about how we did it. there are several pictures in our mod page that show the results. Safe travels Vann
	Vann & Laura 2015 RPod 179

Pod4Two Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Senior Member Joined: 04 Dec 2014 Location: DFW Texas Online Status: Offline Posts: 120	Posted: 03 Jun 2015 at 6:28pm
	Hello and welcome
	Ina & Philip Kennedy 2011 -177 2014 GMC Z71 4x4

movemaine Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Newbie Joined: 31 May 2015 Location: United States Online Status: Offline Posts: 8	Posted: 02 Jun 2015 at 10:56pm
	Hi Vann, thanks for the tips. I'll go through your mods and see what might work for us. I like the idea of switching the gaucho to another queen. It will be 4 of us in the camper - my wife and I, our 9 yr old and our dog. Having 'another' queen would be helpful.

Pod People Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Visit Members Homepage Add to Buddy List Senior Member Joined: 22 Sep 2011 Location: Chapel Hill,NC Online Status: Offline Posts: 1088	Posted: 02 Jun 2015 at 9:02pm
	Hello MoveMaine, Welcome to the group-you will find a lot of nice people here with a huge amount of knowledge. We also have a 173-there weren't many made as far as I can tell. we've had ours(2009 model) for about 3 years and love it. We have used it primarily for long distance, multi-week travels throughout the US. We have done a lot of mods to make it better and easier. We think the 173 is a great design for just 2 people. We took the rear jack knife sofa out and replaced it with a queen bed that folded in half. That gave us a lot of storage under the bed and also gave us the opportunity to extend the kitchen counter top. Now, we don't have to tear down the table/dinette each night to sleep. The outside storage bay can be rearranged so that part is available from the inside and part from the outside-helps in keeping our stuff organized. There are a lot of mods in a page noted below in our signature. I hope you will come to love your 173 as much as we do. I think the older models "may" have been a little better constructed, as we have had no problems with ours so far. Safe travels Vann
	Vann & Laura 2015 RPod 179

Leo B Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List podders Helping podders - pHp Joined: 13 Jan 2012 Location: Lyndonville, VT Online Status: Offline Posts: 4518	Posted: 01 Jun 2015 at 9:24pm
	I give mine a rinse now and then and use the same cleaner/polish that I use for my Harley. Works great on the decals. They did have a lot of trouble with the decals on the 2010's.
	Leo & Melissa Bachand 2017 Ford F150 2021 Vista Cruiser 19 csk Previously owned 2015 Rpod 179 2010 Rpod 171

movemaine Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Newbie Joined: 31 May 2015 Location: United States Online Status: Offline Posts: 8	Posted: 01 Jun 2015 at 9:20pm
	My worry is the pine pollen and pine needles staining the finish. We have a pool, and I spend all summer "degunking" pine needles out of the equipment.

techntrek Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Admin Group - pHp Joined: 29 Jul 2009 Location: MD Online Status: Offline Posts: 9062	Posted: 01 Jun 2015 at 11:11am
	The decals on my 2010 peeled twice (front and back, the sides were fine). I gave up the 2nd time and left it blank.
	Doug ~ '10 171 (2009-2015) ~ 2008 Salem ~ Pod instruction manual

Leo B Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List podders Helping podders - pHp Joined: 13 Jan 2012 Location: Lyndonville, VT Online Status: Offline Posts: 4518	Posted: 01 Jun 2015 at 7:00am
	Welcome to the group! We are on our second pod, we do not cover ours at all, and we leave the vent open year round. Have never had a problem with mildew or anything. We had problems with the decals peeling on our 171 and got replacement decals through our dealership ( Mekkelsen's in East Montpelier,VT) Happy podding.
	Leo & Melissa Bachand 2017 Ford F150 2021 Vista Cruiser 19 csk Previously owned 2015 Rpod 179 2010 Rpod 171

movemaine Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Newbie Joined: 31 May 2015 Location: United States Online Status: Offline Posts: 8	Posted: 31 May 2015 at 10:58pm
	Hi All, I just purchased a 2010 173. Really excited to dig into it. The interior is mint; the prior owners did nothing to it and rarely ever used it (and by rarely, I mean 3 or 4 times). Great find for me. So now I have a couple of immediate questions. Living in Maine, our weather varies greatly. Additionally, my property has a lot of pine trees and the pine needles get in everything. I was thinking about buying a cover and covering the r-pod anytime it's not in use. Is this wise, or should I only cover it through the winter months? Should I cover it at all? (cover for reference: http://www.amazon.com/Classic-Accessories-80-199-151001-00-Overdrive-Teardrop/dp/B00GZLR6XC/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1433127240&sr=8-1&keywords=r-pod+cover) Secondly, the graphics are peeling and I'd like to take them all off and replace them with something interesting. Anyone have recommendations where they found large vinyl graphics for their pod?