I generally don't review badly, but... - R-pod Owners Forum

The issue is the walk through. Testing the city water line missed the issue. End of the day read this forum before you buy and get an all systems check. Complete. I bought a Pod from a dealer who wasn't an RPod dealer. I made them prove all the stuff worked. Very minor issues since.

Mike Carter
2015 178
" I had the right to remain silent, I just didn't have the ability."

This kinda bothered me.

A new friend of mine just purchased a brand new 180 from Couch's She drove from Las Vegas to Ohio to buy it and then stopped close by here in NJ, new pod in tow. A novice rv owner, she relied on her own research and manufacturer and dealer to guide her. I'm sure she's one of hundreds, if not thousands who depend on professional guidance.

She contacted me to help walk her through some things she wasn't clear on. Kinda fun to play with a brand new 180. She thought she had been given a thorough walkthrough. She hadn't.

Propane system was explained but not even turned on (stove, water heater, fridge). I purged the lines for her, started and verified HW system, stove, fridge and heater. Couch's should have done that.

When the FW system was demonstrated, they did it via city water hookup. Never even turned the pump on. There were other things, but this turned out to be the most egregious. Fortunately, she was camping nearby.

She filled her FW tank for the first time. I had mentioned that she may need to run with the HW faucets open for a bit to fill the 6 gallon HW tank. She called and said it had been running for a while and was still just spitting mostly air. Same with cold side. Hmmmm.

My first thought was they (Couch's) left the antifreeze sucker hose valve open during the walkthrough. Silly thought as they didn't do a winterization walkthrough. Over the phone I walked her through where it was and what to look for. I suggested she look at the pump filter also to make sure it wasn't loose or clogged. She checked it out and said that it looked fine, the valve was in the proper position and the filter was too tight to get off. I decided to go have a look...

It was a little baffling at first. BTW, the water pump on a brand new 180 is very quiet. When I turned on the faucets they just spit and spattered like the pump was running dry. The FW tank was full. I stared at the pump for a minute and saw the problem. You probably will too:

When I grabbed the antifreeze hose, the tank supply host popped right off the valve. The clamp wasn't even crimped! It was just sucking (mostly) air.

OK, so Forest River made a silly, but consequential mistake. But worse was that Couch's should have caught that on walkthrough. A fifty cent hose clamp easily fixed the problem, but it should not have left the lot that way.

I guess I'm bringing this up because I have heard too many stories of people who have little or no clue about the rv they just bought, much less its systems. Yes, there is a certain amount of personal, buyer beware responsibility but given the lack of manufacturer QC I would think both buyer and seller would benefit from a complete and thorough walkthrough and systems check *before* the unit leaves the lot.

I hope someone from both Forest River and Couch's occasionally reads this forum.

fred

2014 RPod 178 => MyMods and Buying Habits
2008 4Runner Limited 4.0-liter V6
Yes, those are wild ponies dining on grass while dumping tanks!

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mcarter Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List podders Helping podders - pHp Joined: 07 Apr 2016 Location: Greenbrier, TN Online Status: Offline Posts: 3419	Topic: I generally don't review badly, but... Posted: 19 Jun 2017 at 5:52pm
	The issue is the walk through. Testing the city water line missed the issue. End of the day read this forum before you buy and get an all systems check. Complete. I bought a Pod from a dealer who wasn't an RPod dealer. I made them prove all the stuff worked. Very minor issues since.
	Mike Carter 2015 178 " I had the right to remain silent, I just didn't have the ability."

Richand Cindy Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Senior Member Joined: 16 Apr 2016 Location: New Jersey Online Status: Offline Posts: 328	Posted: 19 Jun 2017 at 5:45pm
	I think the moral of the story is that if you are new to RVing and/or not very handy do NOT buy an RV from a distant dealer. There are so many small things that can and do go wrong which can ruin a trip. So buy locally, take a few short camping runs (even if only in your driveway) to work out the bugs before taking that big trip. Couch is a volume wholesale dealer. They can save you thousands but you probably will have problems getting your RPOD serviced at a local dealer you did not buy it from. It is not like cars which the majority of dealers do not care where you bought it. We bought from a dealer 100 miles away and had to leave it there on the way home from a two week trip for two things that broke. But now we have a long drive to pick it up unless we make another trip in that direction. If it was not on the way I would had to read up on the issues and attempt to fix them myself first. Would be much easier if the dealer was local.
	OLD 2017.5 RPOD 180 + 2015 Jeep Cherokee Trailhawk NEW: 2018 Passport Elite 23RB + 2017 Ram 1500 Diesel

fwunder Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Senior Member Joined: 04 Oct 2013 Location: New Jersey Online Status: Offline Posts: 1676	Posted: 19 Jun 2017 at 3:43pm
	This kinda bothered me. A new friend of mine just purchased a brand new 180 from Couch's She drove from Las Vegas to Ohio to buy it and then stopped close by here in NJ, new pod in tow. A novice rv owner, she relied on her own research and manufacturer and dealer to guide her. I'm sure she's one of hundreds, if not thousands who depend on professional guidance. She contacted me to help walk her through some things she wasn't clear on. Kinda fun to play with a brand new 180. She thought she had been given a thorough walkthrough. She hadn't. Propane system was explained but not even turned on (stove, water heater, fridge). I purged the lines for her, started and verified HW system, stove, fridge and heater. Couch's should have done that. When the FW system was demonstrated, they did it via city water hookup. Never even turned the pump on. There were other things, but this turned out to be the most egregious. Fortunately, she was camping nearby. She filled her FW tank for the first time. I had mentioned that she may need to run with the HW faucets open for a bit to fill the 6 gallon HW tank. She called and said it had been running for a while and was still just spitting mostly air. Same with cold side. Hmmmm. My first thought was they (Couch's) left the antifreeze sucker hose valve open during the walkthrough. Silly thought as they didn't do a winterization walkthrough. Over the phone I walked her through where it was and what to look for. I suggested she look at the pump filter also to make sure it wasn't loose or clogged. She checked it out and said that it looked fine, the valve was in the proper position and the filter was too tight to get off. I decided to go have a look... It was a little baffling at first. BTW, the water pump on a brand new 180 is very quiet. When I turned on the faucets they just spit and spattered like the pump was running dry. The FW tank was full. I stared at the pump for a minute and saw the problem. You probably will too: When I grabbed the antifreeze hose, the tank supply host popped right off the valve. The clamp wasn't even crimped! It was just sucking (mostly) air. OK, so Forest River made a silly, but consequential mistake. But worse was that Couch's should have caught that on walkthrough. A fifty cent hose clamp easily fixed the problem, but it should not have left the lot that way. I guess I'm bringing this up because I have heard too many stories of people who have little or no clue about the rv they just bought, much less its systems. Yes, there is a certain amount of personal, buyer beware responsibility but given the lack of manufacturer QC I would think both buyer and seller would benefit from a complete and thorough walkthrough and systems check *before* the unit leaves the lot. I hope someone from both Forest River and Couch's occasionally reads this forum. fred
	2014 RPod 178 => MyMods and Buying Habits 2008 4Runner Limited 4.0-liter V6 Yes, those are wild ponies dining on grass while dumping tanks!