New Design: Rpod 195 - R-pod Owners Forum

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StephenH

podders Helping podders - pHp

Joined: 29 Nov 2015
Location: Wake Forest, NC
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Posts: 6285

Topic: New Design: Rpod 195
Posted: 18 Jan 2019 at 7:38pm

My thoughts also. That is why I would really like some more information.

StephenH
Happy is the man that findeth wisdom,...

ouR escaPOD mods
Former RPod 179
Current Cherokee Grey Wolf 24 JS

offgrid

Senior Member

Joined: 23 Jul 2018
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Posts: 5290

Posted: 19 Jan 2019 at 7:00am

That math is right. What's the minimum acceptable walking area around a bed? Gotta have somewhere to put your feet when you get up. Unless you're a Chinese empress with tiny feet maybe 12 inches?

60+12+12=84+2x1.5 inches for 2 wall thicknesses = 87 inches. There are any number of TT's available with a 8' width (96 inches, only 9 inches wider) to choose from.

The way FR could perhaps get around this is to extend the dinette slide forward to include part of the bed, but I'm not sure the slide could catch enough of the length of the bed before the roof curve comes down too far. And big slides are heavy because they weaken the trailer structure so it requires more framing to compensate.

Any way they do it this would be a really big, heavy rPod. It would almost certainly need a heavier axle (or two axles) and likely a heavier frame. More weight. Its a vicious circle. But there are lots of folks towing rPods now with TV's that are much heavier than needed for the application, so I'm sure there will be customers for it. I just won't be one of them. My wife and I will continue to climb over each other, after awhile you get it down to a science.

1994 Chinook Concourse
1995 RV6A Experimental Aircraft
2015 Rpod 179 - sold

StephenH

podders Helping podders - pHp

Joined: 29 Nov 2015
Location: Wake Forest, NC
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Posts: 6285

Posted: 19 Jan 2019 at 9:08am

There comes a time when a combination of creaky and increasingly stiff joints makes the climb-over more difficult. That is one of the reasons I did my dinette modification. If it came down to it, I wanted a more comfortable place to sleep if it came to the point of not being able to do the crawl-over. I would really like to see the 195. It is possible that if a full-sized bed were used instead of a queen (54" wide instead of 60) it would give enough foot room to maneuver(about 10-1/2" on each side), but then it would be not quite as nice as the queen.

To increase the width of the RPod would require a brand new frame as well. I don't see any way of increasing the width which would make the outboard part of the axle even larger and subject it to even more stress unless the frame rails were also repositioned. The other alternative would be to modify the body to allow the wheels to be recessed. That would mean somehow having a wheel well in the RPod. Given the placement of the dry bath, I don't think this is possible even if a wheel well under the dinette might be worked in somehow. Somehow, I don't really think that the width will be increased.

As it is, it looks like the dinette may be shrunk to allow room for the bed. That does not bother me as it is not likely that we would be having overnight guests if we were to go for the 195.

StephenH
Happy is the man that findeth wisdom,...

ouR escaPOD mods
Former RPod 179
Current Cherokee Grey Wolf 24 JS

kymooses

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Joined: 01 Aug 2010
Location: Louisville, Ky
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Posts: 1807

Posted: 19 Jan 2019 at 9:36am

It will be longer, and wider. Forest River should be giving me the first photos and specs maybe in less than a month to release to you all.

Appreciate your patience

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StephenH

podders Helping podders - pHp

Joined: 29 Nov 2015
Location: Wake Forest, NC
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 6285

Posted: 19 Jan 2019 at 10:38am

Thanks for the update. My speculation was wrong. I'm looking forward to seeing the photos and specs.

StephenH
Happy is the man that findeth wisdom,...

ouR escaPOD mods
Former RPod 179
Current Cherokee Grey Wolf 24 JS

offgrid

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Joined: 23 Jul 2018
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Posts: 5290

Posted: 19 Jan 2019 at 11:24am

Longer, wider, and by no doubt heavier but still with a curved roofline. Hmm. sounds like an Evo with an rPod decal on it. Nothing wrong with that if you're Ok to tow that around. It will be interesting to see what axle(s) they put under it.

We'll see.

1994 Chinook Concourse
1995 RV6A Experimental Aircraft
2015 Rpod 179 - sold

Kup-Pod

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Joined: 08 Jun 2017
Location: Guelph, Ontario
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Posts: 153

Posted: 19 Jan 2019 at 3:43pm

Just came back from the Toronto RV show and they had the 10th anniversary 191 and 179. Looking at them up close, I will say that (in my opinion) the real life versions look better than the photo's but I still find the "all grey" colour very bland. It doesnt seem to have the same striking appearance that the 2015 & 2017 colour schemes had. The insides were well appointed, the colours were very light, so I can see why someone may want to dim down the LED lights (somewhere else on the forum). The pull out kitchen from the front storage bin was a nice touch, but would also limit the amount of functional storage space.

All in all, the RPod's still showed well. We toured a lot of units like Airstreams, Alto's, NOBO, Rockwood's, etc and in the end we are still very happy we bought our RPod. The functionality is still superb and for the space you get, the weight is unbeatable!

The Airstreams are beautiful TT's! but when the price is 3-4x the RPod, it is difficult to get your mind wrapped around that.

It was a fun day, now we can't wait for spring to arrive... especially when you drive home in the snow and ice :-)

2017 RP-178
2021 F150 5.0l
"Lead me on a level path"

GlueGuy

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Posted: 19 Jan 2019 at 4:07pm

Originally posted by offgrid

Longer, wider, and by no doubt heavier but still with a curved roofline. Hmm. sounds like an Evo with an rPod decal on it.

An Evo or a Rockwood. If they make it wider, then the wheels would have to have wells, because (I think) axles are pretty much fixed in width. Maybe they will be doing a Evo/Rockwood/R-pod hybrid?

bp
2017 R-Pod 179 Hood River
2015 Ford F150 SuperCrew 4WD 3.5L Ecoboost

Richand Cindy View Drop Down

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Joined: 16 Apr 2016
Location: New Jersey
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Posts: 328

Posted: 19 Jan 2019 at 4:37pm

We just toured the 191 at the Tampa RV supershow. We really liked the twin bed design. And would love it if they made the 180 with a twin bed option. But after not being in an RPOD in over a year we realized we made the right decision moving up to a bigger RV. The RPOD was just too small for us. So while the twin bed option is an improvement, the lack of under bed storage now with the twin bed makes for even less storage capacity.

OLD 2017.5 RPOD 180 + 2015 Jeep Cherokee Trailhawk
NEW: 2018 Passport Elite 23RB + 2017 Ram 1500 Diesel

offgrid

Senior Member

Joined: 23 Jul 2018
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Posts: 5290

Posted: 19 Jan 2019 at 4:58pm

Yeah you may be right on the Rockwood. Look at the Geo Pro 19FD. There is the 88 inch width, about the minimum practical for a walk around queen. It has vestigial fenders on the inboard trailer wheels. Weighs in at about 3900 lbs, similar to the largest rPods, but without a slide. Marketed for off grid use with a 12V TV, solar module and dual propane cylinders. They can probably add a slide and still be about the same weight by specifying a low cargo weight.

1994 Chinook Concourse
1995 RV6A Experimental Aircraft
2015 Rpod 179 - sold