List Your Mods:

As most R-179 owners know, the Pod is great except that the dining area is OK at best, and the bed it makes into is pretty bad, even for one child.  The table that drops down to support part of the sleeping area is quirky and the result, with a combination of five different cushions, is uneven.  Worse, keeping them together all night long isn't easy.  The table probably comes from an outside supplier as FR have said they have no interest in changing its height for R-179 sleeping.  Here's what it looks before changing anything.

There has to be a better way. 

Our first step was to get a duplicate of the seat cushion fabric (fully trimmed and complete with zipper) from Forest River - $63.75, with shipping.  Then the foam - $83.  A bit costy, but foam choices aren't great down here.  At least the foam dealer measured the fabric, cut the foam to size and even stuffed it into the fabric - not an easy thing to do. 

Here are the two cushions in place with the slide out extended.  The new tables store on the floor while moving. Also showing in the picture is a platform in case the DW wants to shower in a real facility. 

I had an old 4x8' sheet of cabinet-grade plywood that we had moved to three homes over the  years and it was getting to the place where the plywood just needed to be made into something.  The cavity for the couch is about 25" x 75.5", so I cut out a piece that's 26" wide by 74.5", tapering to 73.5" at the other (inside) edge.  The reason for the taper is to make sliding it in and out a little easier.  I found that out when the first try was 75" and sliding was none too easy.  Toting it in and out of the pod for modifications is a chore so I wasn't eager to do a lot of cutting and modifying.  Also, best to do them before attaching those end pieces!

There was a choice of hinging the plywood instead of having it slide in and out but I don't want to do anything that would compromise the slide-out.  No screws, nuts or bolts!

To make sliding easier, each end of the slab got a U-shaped aluminum cap (I had that too) and each end of the couch area got a 1" L-shaped aluminum piece for the other aluminum to slide on.  A little silicone spray helps with the sliding.  Below are a Below and After of the track:  

Attachment was with Gorilla glue and it looks pretty sturdy so far.  The long edges of the plywood got wooden corner moulding trim, mostly for appearances, although it does help keep the cushion in place.  Some rubbery kitchen drawer liner keeps other things in place when the bed is in use.  I considered Velcro® but so far, it hasn't been necessary.  We did use Velcro® to keep those end cushions upright when traveling (final picture). 

I also notched the rubber trim at the corners of the existing couch/slide out to clear the new bed and make sliding it in and out easier.  That was the easiest part.  The final touch was two pieces of 3/4" pine to bring the new cushion plus plywood up to the level of the other cushion.  Not essential, but it helps. The result is a bed that's about 52" wide - almost regular bed size, although still not the greatest sleeping surface.  FYI, that's just sunlight on the cushion.  

That table is off to storage for a while, and it may end up in the trash.  Or maybe we'll keep it in case the next owners want the original layout.  The goofy L-shaped cushions from the corners are history too,  Those big thick cushions sit at each end of the couch most of the time but are used on the "hassocks" when we set up for eating; we now use collapsible TV tables from Target.  When traveling, they stow nicely under the slid in slide-out. And if we want to set up outside, they are a lot easier to move out than the original table. Here's what it looks for eating or traveling.

One more detail - the plywood was finished with an English walnut stain.  The match looked pretty good till I added the clear polyurethane.  Not too bad, but it's a little lighter than what I wanted.  Good thing is that we're about the only ones who see it.

A couple of down-filled sleeping bag fits easily into the back hassock and are easy to get out at a moment's notice - a little easier if removed before the bed is out though.  The front hassock is great for storing extra john paper, and it's a little better with a piece of thin plywood to cover the bits and electric pieces for the slide, etc. 

As we grow older, nightly trips to the john have become more common.  It isn't easy for the one in back of the permanent bed to climb out, so the extra bed area has come in handy already.  Whoever got the outside edge first can move to the inside, or pull out the slide.    

The biggest drawback is that that cabinet-grade plywood is fairly heavy but it's probably no heavier than the old table.  I almost wish I had gone with light-weight plywood and covered it with a thin sheet of finish-grade paneling, or maybe a piece of rigid foam on a thin sheet of plywood.  The next biggest drawback is that the new cushion now blocks part of the view out the big side window.  That view was none too good to start, but it's been acceptable so far.