New 171 owner in NC w/ questions

Congratulations on your 171!  I am sure you are going to enjoy and make many fond memories with it as you travel.  Does your 171 have a keder rail on top and along the bottom edge?  If so it is set up for having the r-dome.  I didn't use ours the first year of owning our 177, as I didn't want to fuss with setting up and taking down a tent.  The thought of just being able to set up the 177 in about 5 minutes was perfect; taking more time with the dome just wasn't in my sights at the time.  However during the second year of ownership we met a few podders who used their r-domes a lot, so we tried it, and now use it anytime we are going to be in one location for a few days or more.  Takes one person about 15 minutes to set up, much less to take down.  Many here also like the use of a clam as they only take a minute or two to set up, each has their place and different folks have different tastes.

Our 177 is nearly 10 years old and still has  that 'showroom' appearance probably due to an annual application of MeGuiar's Ultimate liquid wax in the black bottle.  There are many other great waxes out their, this just happens to be the one we use. 

The cover is probably a good idea, not only to keep the sun off for extended periods of time but also if you are in an area where trees are mature and you park under one (to keep it out of the sun) it will protect your pod from a lot of sap dropping on it, and from experience, it is not a fun job getting on the roof to remove tree sap.  We park our pod in an old horse barn so never had any experience with a cover.  Looking at your post, if you park yours under a pole barn you probably would not need one as you would be protected from the elements and the sun.  How does the sunlight hit/shine on anything inside a pole barn unless it has no side panels on?

Finally, we have carbon frame Specialized road bikes and keep them inside the pod while traveling.  Again, I don't like having to clean bug juice and worse off the bike as well as cleaning the chain as it will pick up dirt and debris from outside travel.  I am sure many others will have much more info that you are looking for in regard to covers and bike carriers.  Certainly, for the most part look at a carrier you can mount to the front a-frame of the pod.  Unless you are going to beef up the rear end of the pod with additional metal and welding, you will be asking for trouble if you put a bike carrier on the rear of your 171.

We have not done any huge trips with it this year mainly because my wife has had some health issues due to a bicycle accident BUT here is what I can report on- travel has only been in Michigan.  Short trips we have averaged 14.5 mpg but that is slow driving and only speeds up to 55 mph.  On longer trips including expressway driving (70 mph) and a lot of driving at 55 mph in the U.P of Michigan the average dropped to 13 - 13.5.  Last year we traveled for 30 days out west to Colorado and Utah with a 2011 F-150 with the 5.0 V-8, average was 11.5 for 6000 miles.

Have really enjoyed the ecoboost as well as the comfort level of this truck.  Quite an upgrade from my old '94 F-150 with the 5.0 V-8 stickshift with 322,000 miles and 31 deer kills.  Would be afraid to hit a deer with this truck though, we are in thick deer country where I live, drive like an old lady on our road, S L O W, like molasses!