R-pod Owners Forum Homepage

This site is free to use.
Donations benefit a non-profit Girls Softball organization

Forum Home Forum Home > R-pod Discussion Forums > Podmods, Maintenance, Tips and Tricks
  New Posts New Posts RSS Feed: Have You Done Any Mods?
  FAQ FAQ  Forum Search   Calendar   Register Register  Login Login

Have You Done Any Mods?
 Post Reply Post Reply Page  <1 1516171819 52>
Poll Question: Have you done any mods to your R-Pod?
Poll Choice Votes Poll Statistics
683 [81.41%]
10 [1.19%]
134 [15.97%]
10 [1.19%]
2 [0.24%]
You can not vote in this poll

Author
Message Reverse Sort Order
  Share Topic Share Topic  Topic Search Topic Search  Topic Options Topic Options
sailor323 View Drop Down
Senior Member
Senior Member


Joined: 11 Jun 2015
Location: S Central KY
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 281 		Post Options Post Options   Quote sailor323 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Topic: Have You Done Any Mods?
    Posted: 01 Jul 2016 at 10:42pm
Originally posted by Kantuckid

. We already live in the woods where there's no one around to begin with.


Hmmm!  Sounds familiar.  We too, live in the middle of the woods, 70 acres surrounded by hundreds more of nothing but trees.  Nearest neighbor 1/2 mile as the crow flies.  Part of the "back to the land" crowd back in the 70s.  Built our own house, lived off the land, etc.  My brother, a city dweller doesn't understand why we want to go camping. 
Back to Top
Kantuckid View Drop Down
Newbie
Newbie


Joined: 14 May 2016
Location: KY
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 38 		Post Options Post Options   Quote Kantuckid Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 01 Jul 2016 at 1:19pm
My wife says the TV sound comes out on all our speakers now, best she can remember. It's a 2016 bought new last July/2015, so maybe the mfg does the sound wiring you speak of?
Why is there so much extra room behind the drawers? I've not looked but seems like a poor design?
I am planing to do the sink drain mod..
I spent a bunch of money on setting up two batteries for our old T@B and they never really served any purpose for us as we mostly do either Walmart parking lots or developed CG's on grid. I don't have much for the notion of a "reconditioned battery". The sulphation that occurs over time is not all removed by any process I have faith in. My pricey CETEK charger has a revamp mode but I've looked down into an older battery and couldn't see any difference as the plates still had white on them.
I already own a Honda 2000 generator and may take it along if I need to dry camp. For us as empty nesters the pods mostly for travel vs. what I call actual camping. We already live in the woods where there's no one around to begin with.
We had an egg crate foam, it's in a douvette cover/sp? that fit the king bed in the T@B and now using it on our dining table bed.
Have a bike rack coming from ebay to place @ rear after moving spare to front. Great values if you have the time to watch and search.
We checked and the regular old plastic laundry baskets we use at home and for our travel clothes on truck back seat will now fit under the main bed.
I hope the CURT anti sawy will take care of what I experienced towing during a wind storm-only $35 solution.
I need to do the stovetop thing-I'm a wood worker so I'll glue something up and need to see how big serves a purpose vs. getting in the way when off the stove?
Back to Top
WillThrill View Drop Down
Senior Member
Senior Member
Avatar

Joined: 04 Jul 2014
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 298 		Post Options Post Options   Quote WillThrill Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 29 Jun 2016 at 11:19pm
Originally posted by Marco T

Modding seems like it's half the fun when podding!  Here's what I've done/added so far, but we haven't done any substantial trips yet so I am sure I will come up with more mods to add to the list Tongue

- replaced the Group 24 battery with two Group 27 AGM batteries (formerly used as telco batteries, reconditioned and $80CDN each)
- added 72W solar over four panels and a charge controller.  The four panels are each only 1ft wide, so they are easy to store in the pass-thru storage.  The whole kit was $188CDN.  I will test it this weekend with the new batteries, but I don't expect it will fully charge the system very quickly, but it should give us a buffer for the 2-3 days at a time we'll be away from power.
- added a 12V port and I use it for checking the battery voltage.  I also wired up an analog volt meter I had laying around and mounted that.
- added a 400W inverter that came with the solar panels
- I replaced the drawers in the kitchen with deeper drawers, going from 17" depth to 22.5" depth.  There was a lot of wasted space back there.
- Added legs to a cutting board to cover the cook top.
- I wired the audio-out on the television to the auxiliary plug on the entertainment unit so all sound goes through the speakers.  I also got an HDMI extension cord and can easily plug in an Android G-Box or any other HDMI device.  This allows me to download youtube videos for the kids or to play movies from a USB stick on the TV if we need to.  With such a small space and three kids under 10 I figured we'd better be prepared for multiple rainy days in a row LOL
- also added a Husky WD Hitch and then I added a lower drop hitch to that so I could get the right angle on the trailer when towing.  At the lowest mounting point the trailer was still tilted up a little and we had a bit of sway.
- some other accessories include a hitch lock, a bunch of plastic storage containers that fit well in the various compartments, a handful of 3M hooks, a couple of magnet bars from IKEA to keep things in place around the kitchen sink, a foam topper for the mattress from Costco, and a few little organizers/dividers for drawers and other storage areas to keep small items in their places.

Can't wait for our big trip starting later this month!  Banff, Okanagan, Oregon Coast, Crater Lake, Couer d'Alene, Waterton ~ 5500kms/3400miles.

Very nice mods!

We're heading into the last week of a month long trip with our 14 month old, so I'm impressed that you guys have three kids in one!  We'll be camping at Crater Lake later this weekend in the park.

Also, we live about 20 miles from Coeur d'Alene and can offer some suggestions for dining, sightseeing, etc. if you're interested.  It's a very lovely place.
"Not all those who wander are lost." Tolkien

2014 Hood River 177
2005 GMC Envoy XL
Back to Top
techntrek View Drop Down
Admin Group - pHp
Admin Group - pHp
Avatar

Joined: 29 Jul 2009
Location: MD
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 9062 		Post Options Post Options   Quote techntrek Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 29 Jun 2016 at 9:18pm
Originally posted by Kantuckid

What purpose does a knobby tire do for a trailer? FWIW, "I think", I know about tires from years of wrenching, some racing and many years of motorcycles. IMO, it's a marketing ploy of the mfg. on the Hood River edition? Tires that tow well are tread designs that look like trailer specific tires?

I could see it providing better braking in heavy water or snow, but otherwise I agree with you.
Doug ~ '10 171 (2009-2015) ~ 2008 Salem ~ Pod instruction manual
Back to Top
Leo B View Drop Down
podders Helping podders - pHp
podders Helping podders - pHp
Avatar

Joined: 13 Jan 2012
Location: Lyndonville, VT
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 4518 		Post Options Post Options   Quote Leo B Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 29 Jun 2016 at 8:14pm
Welcome to the group!
Leo & Melissa Bachand
2017 Ford F150
2021 Vista Cruiser 19 csk
Previously owned
2015 Rpod 179
2010 Rpod 171
Back to Top
Davidsutton66 View Drop Down
Newbie
Newbie


Joined: 04 Jun 2016
Location: Va
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 5 		Post Options Post Options   Quote Davidsutton66 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 29 Jun 2016 at 8:11pm
Added a second battery and a battery cutoff switch for dry camping in fall and spring
Back to Top
Kantuckid View Drop Down
Newbie
Newbie


Joined: 14 May 2016
Location: KY
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 38 		Post Options Post Options   Quote Kantuckid Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 20 Jun 2016 at 9:50am
What purpose does a knobby tire do for a trailer? FWIW, "I think", I know about tires from years of wrenching, some racing and many years of motorcycles. IMO, it's a marketing ploy of the mfg. on the Hood River edition? Tires that tow well are tread designs that look like trailer specific tires?
Back to Top
3ofUs View Drop Down
Groupie
Groupie
Avatar

Joined: 12 Jul 2014
Location: TN
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 99 		Post Options Post Options   Quote 3ofUs Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 16 Jun 2016 at 7:16am
I use the sticky foam and apply to any metal hooks that are hanging over the door. They are less likely to slide during travel.
Back to Top
Scooby's Shack View Drop Down
Newbie
Newbie
Avatar

Joined: 24 Jul 2014
Location: Mich. City, IN
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 25 		Post Options Post Options   Quote Scooby's Shack Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 15 Jun 2016 at 8:54am
I'm using the same shoe organizer for bathroom storage, but instead of using the over-the-door hooks I'm using 3M hooks with the outdoor rated adhesive strips.  That way you don't have the possibility of damaging the door with the metal hooks.
Scooby's Shack
2010 R-Pod 151
2005 Jeep Liberty Tow Vehicle
Co-Pilot - Scooby the Terrier
Back to Top
Jobwabe View Drop Down
Newbie
Newbie
Avatar

Joined: 15 Oct 2015
Location: Susanville
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 17 		Post Options Post Options   Quote Jobwabe Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 14 Jun 2016 at 7:25pm
Hey Marco,  See my previous posts about sheeting the underside of your Pod for great mileage improvement!~
Back to Top
 Post Reply Post Reply Page  <1 1516171819 52>

Forum Jump Forum Permissions View Drop Down

Bulletin Board Software by Web Wiz Forums® version 9.64
Copyright ©2001-2009 Web Wiz