Intro - Potential R-Pod 190?

Hi R-Pod Owners,

My name is Mark - I recently sold our 2010 Open Range 399BHS and our 2005 Chevy Duramax.  When I purchased the Open Range in 2009, I started the Open Range Owners forum (www.openrangeowners.com) after seeing there was very little information about the company or their campers at the time.  My wife and our 2 daughters (now teenagers) took many cross-country trips in that 5th wheel.

My wife and I felt that given the increased activities of our daughters and the inability to get time for the whole family to take long trips (3-4 weeks at a time) - it was time to sell the Open Range and truck.  Ended up selling them both to a family that wants to full-time in the camper, so it worked out well for all of us.

Since my wife and I love camping and want to bridge the gap between now and retirement (another 6-10 years away) we thought we would look for a camper that we could tow with our 2015 Toyota Highlander Hybrid.  The R-Pod 190 seems to fill our needs well and would allow us to bring our daughters along if they were available.  We would mostly do local trips, maybe long weekends, state parks, etc.  Our previous camper was 40' long to we were limited on where we could camp.

We want to learn as much as possible about R-Pods and look forward to getting to know the R-Pod community here. 

A couple of questions (I will be searching the forum for these as well ):

Towing Vehicle - if anyone has information related to towing with a Highlander Hybrid we would be interested in learning more - the brakes, suspension, body are the same as the gas version that can tow 5,000 lbs.  I believe the 3500 lbs tow limit is based on the Hybrid system - specifically the electric motors that act as the transmission.  I realize that there is much more to towing besides tongue weight and camper weight, so whatever we get we will tow with a WDH with sway control.  I will be adding a Redarc brake controller with a 7 pin harness/plug (car came with factory tow package and 4 pin plug).

Thule awning versus R-Pod R-Dome?

Adding Jack-It or another bike rack to the camper jack for 2 bikes?

Why separate sewer outlets for grey and black (our Open Range had 4 sewer tanks and 2 outlets - pain to dump)?

Battery (group 24 AGM versus Lithium Ion) weight/capacity?

Solar on roof or carry 200 watts of flexible panels to plug into Zamp plug (maybe add a controller if I get serious)?

Mounting a Surge/voltage protector in the R-Pod 190 (hardwire)?

Looking forward to reading all about the DIY/Mods - I did tons of these with our Open Range.  My favorite was creating my own Auto Level system with a Raspberry PI (it worked well) ....

Interested in Rallys that would be near-by.

Does Forest River have plant/factory tours where the R-Pods are produced (in Indiana)?

Glad to be a member!  I am in Cooksville, MD.

 

Welcome to the group.  Search and you will find all your answers here.  We just went the opposite selling our RPOD for a larger but still couples camper for long trips as we are retired.  I think most will recommend a lighter RPOD since you only have 3500 lb towing capacity (or stick to short hauls over flat terrain).  That is pushing it.  The 189/190 is the heaviest of RPODS.  A 171 would be better at 400 lbs less weight and 2 feet shorter.  I did not know the 189/190 went back to the separate sewer outlets.  Using one is a pain.  I would not like to have to use two connections. Also note that the RPOD is almost unusable without extending the slideout as it pushes against the door to the bath.  Other PODS with slideout can be used without having to extend it. For some other questions:  A Thule is the way to go if you just want shade over your picnic table.  The R Dome is really for having the kids sleep in a tent or you camp in mosquito infested campsites.  It is not easy to put up and not worth it if you just want an awning.  With the Thule you can buy a conversion kit that converts to a tent but I think they are still only sold in Europe thus too expensive to ship.  People have mounted the internal EMS 30W surge protector next to the fuse box in the 190.  We think it is one of the must have additions.  Forest River does not offer plant tours but they have an annual Rally nearby and I heard fantastic stories about them.  One person I met who has a five year old motorhome went two years ago and a bunch of FR staff descending on him and looked at the home.  They left and came back an hour later bringing all sorts of new goodies (such as new seat cushions, new doors, and anything else that needed repairs was fixed all out of warranty!!!).  Whatever POD you select you will love them for the ease of travel as they are the best campers around hands down.  And nobody has a better forum than this one for help

I'd be concerned about the structure of the vehicle. Remember that the gasoline model's layout doesn't have to make room for a huge bank of batteries. That's likely the reason for the 3500 pound tow limit.

I did some TV research today - looks like the Hybrid model weighs more (somewhere between 500-1000lbs more for battery and other additional electronic gear) so they decreased the tow rating from 5K based on this.  One site mentioned that Toyota only tests towing at 3500 lbs or 5000 lbs.  Several people have pulled 4K (scale-weighed) trailers with the same model/type vehicle with no issues.

Originally posted by openrangeowner I wil look at other lighter models (my wife is insisting on a dry-bath, so the 180, 189 and 190 are the only R-Pods that have these).  Personally I don't care if the bath is wet or dry .... but I don't spend much time in there.