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Topic Closednew rpod 179 owner/ issues and concerns - Event Date: 18 Nov 2017 - 06 Dec 2017

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Jm179 View Drop Down
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Direct Link To This Post Calendar Event: new rpod 179 owner/ issues and concerns
    Posted: 18 Nov 2017 at 11:09am
 As a recent owner of a new 2017 rpod I would like to relay my overall opinion of my trailer and get some feedback as to whether any body else has had similar concerns. First of all I just retired in August with the purchase of a new Chevy colorado diesel and a new rpod 179. My wife and I liked the layout of the 179 and were excited to get out on the road. During the checkout process we noticed a crack in the bathroom floor. Our checkout person at the rv dealer noted the crack and suggested we bring it in this winter so Forest River can replace the floor. I was somewhat concerned at this point that there may be more hidden problems. I took trailer on several summer camping trips and on a 1 month 5,0000 mile journey through the southwest. To date these are these issues I have found
1) The electrical box at the entryway blew out of mounting screws on one side and was hanging out on the floor. The rv dealer rescrewed box with oversized wood screws. This lasted for 2 weeks and came out again on long trip. When I looked at opening for box to mount in I discovered that the factory had made the opening too large and they scabbed in a trim piece to close up the opening. Alas the mounting screws will not hold in the trim piece and pulled out. Poor workmanship here.
2) Cabinet drawer will not close without pulling up to engage latch. This was not noticed during checkout so I am wondering if things settled.
3) The metal support members that span beneath floor and support the three holding tanks are not securely bolted to frame. Three of top bolts pulled loose and I can not tighten since they appear to be stripped.
4) The lock on the underfloor storage cabinet is very difficult to operate with key. I quit locking as I was afraid I would break key in lock
5) After towing through a rainstorm in Oregon I noticed water had soaked the fabric where seat rests on floor next to refrigerator. I am concerned about water leak. Sprayed hose on that side of rpod and could not re create leak.

On the plus side all appliances/ plumbing work great! Love the floor plan. Will take unit in to dealer for repair.

Also does anybody know why antifreeze is required in plumbing if all water is drained out of rpod when winterizing??
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StephenH View Drop Down
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: 18 Nov 2017 at 11:46am
Last one first: RV antifreeze is needed to ensure that ALL water is pushed out or drained from the system. Just draining the pipes, even with the low-point drains will not ensure all water is clear from all the pipes and the valves. Any water in a faucet or toilet valve has the potential to crack the valve. This also applies to the water pump and pump filter.

A lot of people use just compressed air to blow the water out of the lines. I have tried that, followed with RV antifreeze. Even after blowing the lines out, I did notice some residual water in the lines when I ran the RV antifreeze through. This year, I just drained everything and ran the RV antifreeze through, skipping the compressed air. It worked well and took less time than before.

1. You may wish to put a stronger backing board behind the trim piece so the screws will have something to grab onto.
2. You may need to adjust the placement of the catch to line up better.
3. I noticed that on mine. I replaced one screw in each one with a stainless steel bolt, washers, and nylock nuts. I don't remember if I put pictures in my mods. There is a risk of the tank falling if the screws don't hold. This may be "industry standard" but it is a rather poor method of securing tanks. Bolts through the frame to hold would be much better.
4. Push on the door slightly as you lock and unlock. I think you can adjust the catch also to make it slightly looser.
5. It may have been water that blew in through the refrigerator vent openings or, if the window was not tightly shut, from there. It is hard to tell. What was the wind like in that rainstorm and how fast were you towing? Either or both might have played a part in this.

I hope you get the shower floor repaired to your satisfaction. While they are at it, they can reinforce the floor to reduce the flex that can break the shower drain and cause a leak there.

Congratulations and welcome to the forum. I would like to get a diesel powered vehicle. Right now we tow with a 2010 Nissan Frontier LE Crew Cab 4x4. It is nice but could use more power.
StephenH
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john in idaho View Drop Down
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: 18 Nov 2017 at 12:26pm
I put a Sava-Jack on each of the back stabilizer jacks just to give more clearance.  Seems like a lot of gas stations have a pretty deep gutter at the street- driveway interface.  10 minute installation.
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mcarter View Drop Down
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: 18 Nov 2017 at 4:30pm
+1 to sav-a jack.
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jato View Drop Down
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: 18 Nov 2017 at 4:51pm
Antifreeze use is at owners discretion and comfort level.  This will be our 6th year we have only used compressed air to blow out our lines.  Line pressure is about 60 psi.  I hook it up to the pigtail from the 3-way valve located below the kitchen sink.  I always keep one line open when blowing out, takes about 1 minute to twice go through hot and cold at both sinks and at the commode.  We are in northern Michigan where winter temps can hit -20 F or lower during our cold spell in January.  I do use 16 ounces of rv antifreeze each year to dump into both traps for the sinks, the trap for the shower and some on top of the lid on the commode to keep the seal wet.  You can do the math, I do use 1 gallon of RV antifreeze over an 8 year period.  The one I am using now cost me 99 cents when I purchased it back in 2012.  
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: 18 Nov 2017 at 5:07pm
I am new to the RV world also and use antifreeze.  More importantly I found that using the pink stuff can help find leaks in the plumbing. Winterized this week for the first time and found the pink stuff in my shower.  Looking into it further I found my bathroom sink trap had only been hand tightened.  (I had found my kitchen trap loose earlier.)  Can't hurt especially during your shake down period.
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: 19 Nov 2017 at 10:10am
Unfortunately JM, some of the workmanship on the pod is , well, piss poor. I had a similar issue with them cutting a hole to big, and out of round and only 3 screws actually screw into anything, One of them isnt even 100% enclosed in material. Some would say only 2 screws actually do anything. But its built inexpensively, and light. This doesnt excuse poor quality in workmanship in my opinion, but, if its only minor things that the dealer takes care of, I dont get to upset. It sounds like you are at least being treated well by the dealer, even though its a hassle to need to go to them. I hope you get everything resolved and have a great time from here on. I had 2 issues do to poor workmanship on my new pod. The dealer was great about fixing them, no hassle, no charge and everything has been good since. 
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Jm179 View Drop Down
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: 19 Nov 2017 at 12:59pm
 Great info..I did assume that winterizing with compressed air and antifreeze was probably the most conservative approach to prevent any trapped water in pumps/filters and valves from doing damage.

I have talked with people in rv campgrounds about their experiences with their vehicles and the general consensus is that you better be handy with tools to address issues that come up during trips. Even spoke with owner of Winnebago diesel pusher who had his hydraulic slideout fail in Alabama. He had a 45 day wait for repair to be done. Winnebago covered cost including hotel but still a hassle. I have been told also that you have to be persistant with warranty repairs as rv companies sometimes are leaning on rv dealers to make the repairs. Not sure if the rv dealers are reimbursed by manufacturer on this. Bottom line is you get what you pay for and rpods are not that expensive when compared to Airstreams or others. I have looked on Jayco feedback on Hummingbird and they have similar complaints. Overall I do like the floorplan and appliances and plumbing all seem good. Just the fit and finish on trailer construction is a bit lacking. My guess is that the baby boomers are retiring and rv manufacturers may be pushing their ability to assemble product with consistent quality results.
As far as the lock on the front storage hatch..I am pushing in on door while unlocking and it still is a bit tricky. I read one person broke his key in lock..bad if you need to get in and since all my tools are in there it is really not a situation I would want to be in. Anybody try to get a locksmith out at Valley of Fire state park??
 
Water on floor could be refrigerator hatch but not sure at this point. Will document with dealer and if it happens again, even outside of warranty, I have a leg to stand on with Forest River.
Bottom line here is I think owner upgrades on certain items in trailer are the norm with these products. Afterall the companies are trying to make profit and when you think about the complexity of the systems that are installed in these small trailers, it is amazing they turn a profit. I suspect they hire workers and pay them a marginal amount for their labor.

Thanks for the informative feedback! Much appreciatedThumbs Up
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Jm179 View Drop Down
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: 19 Nov 2017 at 1:26pm
 Thanks for response. I agree with you on the compressed air as being important if you are not fully recharging system with antifreeze. It would seem that you could either fully blow out system and selectively add antifreeze to plumbing components..or just drain h.w tank and all plumbing through low point drains and then add antifreeze to storage tank with some water and use trailer water pump to pump "pink stuff" through system. No need to blow down if you are pumping antifreeze through system I would think.
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: 19 Nov 2017 at 1:49pm
We were out checking some things on the Rpod this morning, and ran out the slide-out to look at some things. There was a small puddle of water under where the refrigerator/microwave are.

It was a little surprising, but we did just have a rain storm (over 2" of rain in about 12 hours) with wind gusts around 50 MPH. As it happens the Rpod is parked such that the slide-out was in the direction of the wind.

I suppose it's possible that there was/is some gunk on the gasket at the top of the slide-out, so I will check that later today, and treat the gasket with some protectant. FWIW, we use 303 Aerospace Protectant on the gaskets (and other things outdoors).
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