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racezx9 View Drop Down
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Joined: 20 Mar 2017
Location: downer grove
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Posts: 4 		Direct Link To This Post Topic: hello and questions
    Posted: 05 Aug 2017 at 4:34pm
I want to introduce myself, I am new to the forum.  I am in teh process of buying an RPOD.  there seem to be quite a bit of choice out there but it came down to 2 final RV for me the Mini drop and the RPOD, I am leaning towards the RPOD the community seems to much bigger and more available parts and accessory for it as well.

I have a couple of questions as I move to purchasing.

1. what is a best price out there I am down to around 14k with out prep and set up fee and battery cost but there is tax and licensing.

2. where are some of the best dealewr to buy it from.  I am talking to RV nation and Camping RV world.

3. I am thinking about upgrading the suspension for the RPOD for better off road or I should say country road capabilities. how easily is that doen adn can teh RPOD handle it

I am looking to do some overlanding where I use the RPOD as a base camp and go off road exploring with my Jeep Wrangler JKU

Any information, suggestion, experience is appreciated.
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Leo B View Drop Down
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Posts: 4508 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 05 Aug 2017 at 8:05pm
Welcome to the group!!
Leo & Melissa Bachand
2017 Ford F150
2021 Vista Cruiser 19 csk
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2015 Rpod 179
2010 Rpod 171
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DavMar View Drop Down
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Joined: 04 Aug 2017
Location: Lexington, NC
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Posts: 592 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 05 Aug 2017 at 8:46pm
Originally posted by racezx9

I want to introduce myself, I am new to the forum.  I am in teh process of buying an RPOD.  there seem to be quite a bit of choice out there but it came down to 2 final RV for me the Mini drop and the RPOD

I have a couple of questions as I move to purchasing.

1. what is a best price out there I am down to around 14k with out prep and set up fee and battery cost but there is tax and licensing.

2. where are some of the best dealewr to buy it from.  I am talking to RV nation and Camping RV world.

3. I am thinking about upgrading the suspension for the RPOD for better off road or I should say country road capabilities. how easily is that doen adn can teh RPOD handle it

Any information, suggestion, experience is appreciated.


I can only speak for myself but after looking at the Mini Drop, its tow weight and features, and compared to the Rpod it was a easy decision.

You didn't say what model Pod your looking at buying but at 14K even with "extra's" added on it sounds like a good deal to me.

As for where to buy it go on RVtrader or other sites like it and look at dealers who have the model you want in the distance your willing to drive to buy it.

I wish Rpod offered an upgrade suspension package that would lift the trailer and give it a better ride and more ground clearance but if I'm not mistaken they don't. One of my few "beefs" against the Rpod is how low it is which really comes into play when going into some full hookup campsites and you find the sewer inlet is nearly even, level, or above to your gray and black water outlet. Luckily that's been few and not many for us.
Dave & Marlene J with Zoey the
wonder dog.
2017 Rpod 180
2016 Toyota Tacoma SR5 4x4
Lexington, NC
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Richand Cindy View Drop Down
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Posts: 328 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 06 Aug 2017 at 9:02am
The Minidrop is a more expensive clone of the RPOD.  As you can from this board there is much support here for RPODS.  That was a big reason for me to get it as I knew nothing about travel trailers.  $14K is a great price, if that is from a local dealer buy it and don't look further.  Its better to buy close to home.  Don't know about the suspension except that the Hood River Editions sold on the west coast is made for off road.  But not an expert on the difference to see if what you plan to use the trailer would require a Hood River Edition.
Agree with you Dave, it is impossible to clean out the black tank on gravity alone since there is so little force being so low to the ground. We wait until almost full being cleaning and if not full we add water to the tank using the outside flush. We bought a flush wand and the last day of a trip before we put away the RPOD for a a few weeks we totally clean out the tank.  Every time we do this we find that what we thought was clean (ie., clear water coming out the outlet) it was not.  Wish there was some type of pump.
OLD 2017.5 RPOD 180 + 2015 Jeep Cherokee Trailhawk
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DavMar View Drop Down
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Posts: 592 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 06 Aug 2017 at 9:21am
Originally posted by Richand Cindy

Don't know about the suspension except that the Hood River Editions sold on the west coast is made for off road.  But not an expert on the difference to see if what you plan to use the trailer would require a Hood River Edition.
Agree with you Dave, it is impossible to clean out the black tank on gravity alone since there is so little force being so low to the ground. We wait until almost full being cleaning and if not full we add water to the tank using the outside flush. We bought a flush wand and the last day of a trip before we put away the RPOD for a a few weeks we totally clean out the tank.  Every time we do this we find that what we thought was clean (ie., clear water coming out the outlet) it was not.  Wish there was some type of pump.


Hi RichandCindy,

I wonder if anyone knows if you can buy a suspension add on that is used in the Hood River Editions from the factory that would raise the trailer height?

Like you guys we wait until the black water tank nears full before dumping and flushing out with the gray water. I've also found that its best to flush out the black water tank, using the flush out water inlet, a couple times to clear the tank and not have any miss reading black water sensors. You can also add a bag of ice into your black water tank and let that slosh around and clean out the tank. I'm also lucky that I have a RV sewer inlet at my home where I can do a good flushing.
Dave & Marlene J with Zoey the
wonder dog.
2017 Rpod 180
2016 Toyota Tacoma SR5 4x4
Lexington, NC
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GlueGuy View Drop Down
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Posts: 2630 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 06 Aug 2017 at 12:08pm
Originally posted by Richand Cindy

Don't know about the suspension except that the Hood River Editions sold on the west coast is made for off road.  But not an expert on the difference to see if what you plan to use the trailer would require a Hood River Edition.
I was not aware that the HRE was only available on the West Coast? Ours is the HRE, and we certainly seem to have plenty of ground clearance.

Welcome to the group (BTW)!
bp
2017 R-Pod 179 Hood River
2015 Ford F150 SuperCrew 4WD 3.5L Ecoboost
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chiman View Drop Down
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Posts: 44 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 06 Aug 2017 at 1:55pm
HRE is only available on West Coast. I have the HRE new 180.  Has plenty of ground clearance.

Perhaps you could plan a super vacation and come to West Coast to buy and then camp on way back home.  With towing with a jeep wrangler you are going to be limited to one of the smaller Rpods.  They still come with HRE and you wouldn't have to pay to upgrade a non-HRE. You might be able to get a HRE smaller Rpod for around the price you state but maybe not.  Remember the cost of upgrading a non-HRE pod and factor that into your price range. There are plenty of dealers on the West Coast.  I recommend Highway Trailer Sales in Salem Oregon.  Have purchased a lot of RV's from them and like them a lot.  They have good prices and are willing to deal some. 
Chiman
2017 180 "Frog" towed by 2017 Toyota Tacoma with co-pilot "Willow" a 80 lb Labradoodle
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Richand Cindy View Drop Down
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Posts: 328 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 06 Aug 2017 at 2:11pm
Actually I should not have said West Coast as they are sold in the 10 most western states so you may not have to go all the way to the coast to get one
OLD 2017.5 RPOD 180 + 2015 Jeep Cherokee Trailhawk
NEW: 2018 Passport Elite 23RB + 2017 Ram 1500 Diesel
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Keith-N-Dar View Drop Down
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Posts: 1447 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 06 Aug 2017 at 3:20pm
I understand that they now have a dofferent axle for the increased tide height.  In the past (lie with ours) the additional height was with riser blocks and many of us put them in.

It is a mistake to think you can successfully "off road" with an HRE pod.  Maybe on smooth ground, or unpaved roads, but truly off roading will destroy a pod.  The differences between the HRE and a regular pod are largely cosmetic.
Keith-N-Dar
Boris & Betty (Boston Terriers)
2011 R-Pod 177
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chiman View Drop Down
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Joined: 03 Dec 2013
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Posts: 44 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 06 Aug 2017 at 7:14pm
You are incorrect in saying the HRE is cosmetic. There are many features to one that are not available on a east coast pod.
I have a friend that takes his HRE 178 off road a lot and on some rough roads and has done so for years and his pod has not had any problems. I have taken my 180 on a few not so smooth off roads and no problems
My friend and myself go slow and don't do anything stupid.
I believe driving on highways with bumps taken too fast will cause more problems than careful off roading
I see far too many pods with poor use of WDH's bouncing down the road which is really hard on the trailer causing more problems than my careful off road use.
Chiman
2017 180 "Frog" towed by 2017 Toyota Tacoma with co-pilot "Willow" a 80 lb Labradoodle
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