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Have You Done Any Mods?

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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%]
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techntrek View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Quote techntrek Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Topic: Have You Done Any Mods?
    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
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WillThrill View Drop Down
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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
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Kantuckid View Drop Down
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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?
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Post Options Post Options   Quote sailor323 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post 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. 
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Post Options Post Options   Quote Jobwabe Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 06 Jul 2016 at 11:01am
I have 2 100w solar panels, one ahead of the roof  fridge unit and one behind paralleled.  I use a breathing apparatus at night so it takes care of that nicely.  But usually only use the pod for a few days in a row.  The power indicator (if accurate) shows that the solar is taking care of business with the two 6 volt batts we have.  We would typically watch one dvd movie each night-sometimes a concert dvd while cooking as well.  All our overhead lights had been changed to LEDs though. 
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Post Options Post Options   Quote Jobwabe Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 06 Jul 2016 at 11:06am
Did you move the spare to the front only in order to put on the bike rack?  I mounted an over the spare tire bike rack.  I sure don't like how loose the hitch to tire carrier connection point is.  The spare get's loose and bouncy on the road all the time even though I continually tighten the bolt!  Maybe a heavier grade bolt is in order.
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Post Options Post Options   Quote Alaskaflyer Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 24 Sep 2016 at 6:55pm
Moved the spare to the front so I can use the hitch for a bike rack instead.


Had to move it slightly more forward on the frame than I would have wished, to have enough clearance from the scissor jack as to not interfere with the winching. Used the ExtremeMaxx heavy duty clamp-on mount.

And added an EazLift anti sway friction bar. I didn't think we needed one but now that it's on I notice the difference!

Finally, added a 12v socket in the entertainment center. Plug in a small inverter and there's enough amps to power the TV & charge a phone too.



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dbrimm View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Quote dbrimm Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 25 Sep 2016 at 3:17pm
::moved my post to the other mod thread after realizing it was the larger/primary one::

http://www.rpod-owners.com/forum_posts.asp?TID=842&PID=82798#82798
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Leo B View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Quote Leo B Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 25 Sep 2016 at 3:45pm
Nice work! Great pics!!
Leo & Melissa Bachand
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dbrimm View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Quote dbrimm Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 25 Sep 2016 at 4:11pm
Thanks again Leo!
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