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Topic: Do you ever find yourself
Posted: 20 Nov 2010 at 6:07am

Do you ever find yourself harkening back to the days when:

Winterizing meant doing, well, nothing.

Dumping meant emptying the porta-potty.

UVW were 995lbs (in my case), combined with a low profile, meant almost no drop in mpg

You could see what's behind you in your inside rear view mirror

Your entire maintenance list was packing the bearings and keeping the proper psi in the tires

Hook ups at campsites...why...what's to hook up?

Hitching - no problem - just pick up the tongue and set it on the ball

Fridge maintenance meant hosing out the cooler

Things were much simpler and less expensive back then. Was it better?

David and Danette View Drop Down

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Posts: 1214

Posted: 20 Nov 2010 at 9:29am

Yes! many times, we went from a tent to a trailer. Packing up our tent and camping gear and placing it in the back of our vehicle was much simpler than a trailer. No change in gas mileage, no extra insurance, simple safe driving, do not have all the maintenance of a trailer, and a lot less money. Yes we have thought of selling our trailer and buying another tent. With our jobs we do not have that much time to go camping and the trailer just sits and sits. If we were retired it would be much different. When we do have the time to go camping all the camp sites are reserved. On are part it was not the wisest of decisions, so yes we may go back to the simpler days of camping with a tent. David and Danette

2018 Vista Cruiser 19BFD (2018-
2012 Vibe 6503 (2014-2019)
2009 r-pod 171 (2009-2014)
Middle Tn
2014 Ram 1500 Quad cab

Outbound

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Joined: 19 Nov 2009
Location: Oshawa, Ontario
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 767

Posted: 20 Nov 2010 at 11:15am

No, actually. I don't miss our tent trailer. Thats not to say that I'm not nostalgic for it. I really enjoyed it while we had it. It was a great trailer and we had a lot of fun with it. We did a lot of mods and really made it a great place to camp.

I don't miss:

- Setting up/tearing down. It was often 30 minutes to setup and almost 45 to tear down.

- Forgetting to pull out the awning before cranking the roof and then having to stand on a lawn chair to unzip it and set it up

- Setting my truck keys on the roof, then cranking up the roof and then not being able to remember where I left my keys

- Cranking down some, pushing in canvas, then cranking down some more, then pushing in the canvas again.

- Setting up or tearing down in the rain.

- Storage: we had things in bins on the floor of the trailer that had to be removed every time we set up.

I'm sorry, David, but the things you've mentioned don't bug me.

- Trips to the dump station. Honestly, I don't mind it. Mind you, I never minded emptying the porta potti either.

- Reduced mileage. Meh. I really don't care about paying 30-40% more for gasoline. Most of our trips are 2-3 hours from home, which means an extra 20-30 bucks per trip. I paid just under 15 grand for the trailer... Hell, I pay $670/yr to store the trailer. I'm not going to complain about an extra $500/yr for gas to lug the trailer around.

- Hook-ups. If there's electrical, I'll hook up. Water and sewer I generally don't bother with unless we're staying for a while.

- Maintenance. I enjoy fiddling around; even doing the wheel bearings. My day job is a statistician: I work on equations and algorithms all day (or go to meeting after meeting)... I like a change where I spend some time working with my hands.

- I did have some new skills to learn as far as hitching and driving with side mirrors only, but it didn't take long. Hitching-up now takes no longer than it did with our tent trailer.

But, what I love about our trailer:

- Simple setup - 10 minutes, maximum, and everything's done and I'm sitting on a lawn chair with a cold beer in my hand.

- Storage: we've got room for everything. No rubbermaid containers. Nothing to move around, take out and set up. Everything has its place.

- Amenities: fridge (as opposed to an icebox), furnace and air conditioner; even the TV/DVD (although its rarely used)

- Being able to pull over at a roadside picnic area, open the trailer door, go in and make lunch.

- Pulling into a KOA at 11:00 pm, not bothering to unhitch, opening the door of the trailer and heading straight to bed.

- Urban camping. In the past, we'd go camping for the sole purpose of camping, hiking, canoeing, etc. With the r-pod, we've added urban camping, where we'll go somewhere to be tourists. We've stayed at trailer parks close to the centre of town, so that we can poke around and do the tourist thing.

- The ability to travel. With the tent trailer, we were reluctant to go on a road trip because the amount of time we'd spend tearing down/setting up each day, particularly on overnighters. With the r-pod, overnighters are a breeze!

Craig :: 2009 RP171 towed by a 2017 F150

David and Danette View Drop Down

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Joined: 24 Nov 2009
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Posts: 1214

Posted: 20 Nov 2010 at 1:31pm

You are right Outbound. We are disapointed that we are unable to use it as much as we would like to. With our jobs at Walmart we get about a two week notice of our work scedule, it changes every week. Then when we finally have time off together there is no place avialable to camp. All the camp sites are reserved. So it's diffulcult to justify the expense of the trailer and only be able to use it two or three times out of the year. Yes camping in the R-Pod is fun and that is what hurts we are unable to camp as much as we would like to. I didn't mean to sound so negative about the trailer. If we had the opurtunity to use it more we would we have a different view. A tent is not that costly to be placed in storage and not to be used that often. Hopefully things will change somehow and we will have the opurtunity to use it more. If we were to sell it we would lose a lot from what we have into it. So we are just keeping it and hoping for better camping days in the future. David and Danette

2018 Vista Cruiser 19BFD (2018-
2012 Vibe 6503 (2014-2019)
2009 r-pod 171 (2009-2014)
Middle Tn
2014 Ram 1500 Quad cab

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Posted: 20 Nov 2010 at 3:35pm

Outbound....I had a few good chuckles when reading your "I don't miss" because I've done them all at least once. Your reasons for liking what you now have are almost exactly the same as mine. My needs/wants are better filled with the TT. I didn't get a slide out because I don't even want to mess with that much set up (although the extra room would be nice). And, like you, I enjoy tinkering with it.

David and Danette...Sorry to hear about the work/camping situation - it's a shame. I know what you mean about reservations. It's tough to get in a lot of places without one. Hint/tip - I don't know who handles reservations in your area but, the firm that does Indiana State Parks does several other States. They only charge $5 to change a reservation. On more than one occasion I've had to reschedule for various reasons. Maybe check into it, take your best guess at a trip date and if you have to reschedule, it may be only a small fee.

Trying to keep the conversation flowing. I was looking thru my picture albumn this morning and waxing nostalgic for the old pop-up. Life's needs and wants have changed it no longer would fill those as well as the TT. I was hoping it would stimulate a few replies.

Brin

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Joined: 21 Dec 2009
Location: Manassas, Va
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 93

Posted: 20 Nov 2010 at 5:40pm

I don't miss sitting in a tent in a thunderstorm hoping a branch won't hit us. I don't miss having the water seep through the ground cloth even though there are two of them and everything is damp. In case you can't tell, it poured the last time we tent camped.

I had hoped to go Thanksgiving camping this week but it looks like the weather in the mid-atlantic may not cooperate to make it worthwhile. I understand not having enough time due to work schedules and hope that will improve over time but am trying to take advantage of every opportunity that I get. Since we don't often get two days or more off in a row together, our camping options are also limited.

Personally, I think that the pod offers us opportunities that are good for us right now. When/if we are able to go to a very small fifth wheel in the future (if they every make one), I would like to travel around the country. It is a pipe dream, I know, but I guess I will put it on my bucket list.

Terri and Craig and Panzer
2009 - 175 RPod
2000 Ford F250 XLT Extended Cab Diesel

rpodcamper.com View Drop Down

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Posted: 21 Nov 2010 at 9:26am

Yes I do miss having the popup. We had one for ten years we bought when the kids were small. took it out just about every other weekend from April through October. The nice thing was the time spent with my 3 kids. 2 kids learned to ride bikes at camp, they learned campfire and dutch oven cooking and many other things. Today my kids are older (17, 19, 22) and really do not want to camp so the rpod is great for hook up and go. Most of the weekends we go we did not plan till hours before leaving - just looked at the weather and said lets go.

TIDALWAVE

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Joined: 21 Nov 2009
Location: MINNESOTA
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 315

Posted: 21 Nov 2010 at 10:48am

I don't miss my tent-trailer much, either. I don't miss the frost on the inside of the canvas sides when the temps dropped below freezing (the LP furnace never could keep up with the freezing). I don't miss having the crank-up system jam in a camp-ground 200 miles from the nearest dealer (ended up cutting the cables so we could get home). I don't miss having an inch of water on the floor (and the bedding) when storm winds accompanied by monsoon rains drove water through every canvas attachment. I especially don't miss having to pick up and leave when Park Rangers evacuated all canvas 'tents' from our campground because a Grizzly found out that it could simply rip the side out of a soft sided tent to look for a meal.
But I, too, miss the 18-25 mpg while hauling the tent-trailer and not having to worry about an 18-wheeler trying to wind blast me off the road.

TIDALWAVE

techntrek

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Joined: 29 Jul 2009
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Posted: 21 Nov 2010 at 1:32pm

Nope. We still have our popup but haven't once considered taking it out. I do miss the extra room but that's it. My parents took our family around the country with a popup 24 years ago. Setup and takedown almost every day for 5 weeks. I'm hoping to do the same with my kids very soon - but this time with no setup before bed!

Doug ~ '10 171 (2009-2015) ~ 2008 Salem ~ Pod instruction manual

cane2

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Joined: 06 Dec 2009
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Posts: 92

Posted: 21 Nov 2010 at 6:10pm

David nice looking Rohn freestanding tower, where is your 80 m wire?
I was siting here thinking about the olden days of my younger years when i could handle pop ups and tents and had many fond memories with and about them. Now days i need the more comforts of ease of set up and use, age and health does that to you. It is very rewarding to see all the young people with family's and newly weds that are out and about camping. It is so much fun talking to these people and see their excitement about camping. We need new people out using our state parks and campgrounds, we do not need to loose any more campgrounds like we have here in Mn. I guess i miss some of my early camping years but now i have a few more dollars to invest in campers i enjoy the luxury of hard side and top.

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Guests Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Guest Group	Topic: Do you ever find yourself Posted: 20 Nov 2010 at 6:07am
	Do you ever find yourself harkening back to the days when: Winterizing meant doing, well, nothing. Dumping meant emptying the porta-potty. UVW were 995lbs (in my case), combined with a low profile, meant almost no drop in mpg You could see what's behind you in your inside rear view mirror Your entire maintenance list was packing the bearings and keeping the proper psi in the tires Hook ups at campsites...why...what's to hook up? Hitching - no problem - just pick up the tongue and set it on the ball Fridge maintenance meant hosing out the cooler Things were much simpler and less expensive back then. Was it better?

David and Danette Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List podders Helping podders - pHp Joined: 24 Nov 2009 Online Status: Offline Posts: 1214	Posted: 20 Nov 2010 at 9:29am
	Yes! many times, we went from a tent to a trailer. Packing up our tent and camping gear and placing it in the back of our vehicle was much simpler than a trailer. No change in gas mileage, no extra insurance, simple safe driving, do not have all the maintenance of a trailer, and a lot less money. Yes we have thought of selling our trailer and buying another tent. With our jobs we do not have that much time to go camping and the trailer just sits and sits. If we were retired it would be much different. When we do have the time to go camping all the camp sites are reserved. On are part it was not the wisest of decisions, so yes we may go back to the simpler days of camping with a tent. David and Danette
	2018 Vista Cruiser 19BFD (2018- 2012 Vibe 6503 (2014-2019) 2009 r-pod 171 (2009-2014) Middle Tn 2014 Ram 1500 Quad cab

Outbound Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List podders Helping podders - pHp Joined: 19 Nov 2009 Location: Oshawa, Ontario Online Status: Offline Posts: 767	Posted: 20 Nov 2010 at 11:15am
	No, actually. I don't miss our tent trailer. Thats not to say that I'm not nostalgic for it. I really enjoyed it while we had it. It was a great trailer and we had a lot of fun with it. We did a lot of mods and really made it a great place to camp. I don't miss: - Setting up/tearing down. It was often 30 minutes to setup and almost 45 to tear down. - Forgetting to pull out the awning before cranking the roof and then having to stand on a lawn chair to unzip it and set it up - Setting my truck keys on the roof, then cranking up the roof and then not being able to remember where I left my keys - Cranking down some, pushing in canvas, then cranking down some more, then pushing in the canvas again. - Setting up or tearing down in the rain. - Storage: we had things in bins on the floor of the trailer that had to be removed every time we set up. I'm sorry, David, but the things you've mentioned don't bug me. - Trips to the dump station. Honestly, I don't mind it. Mind you, I never minded emptying the porta potti either. - Reduced mileage. Meh. I really don't care about paying 30-40% more for gasoline. Most of our trips are 2-3 hours from home, which means an extra 20-30 bucks per trip. I paid just under 15 grand for the trailer... Hell, I pay $670/yr to store the trailer. I'm not going to complain about an extra $500/yr for gas to lug the trailer around. - Hook-ups. If there's electrical, I'll hook up. Water and sewer I generally don't bother with unless we're staying for a while. - Maintenance. I enjoy fiddling around; even doing the wheel bearings. My day job is a statistician: I work on equations and algorithms all day (or go to meeting after meeting)... I like a change where I spend some time working with my hands. - I did have some new skills to learn as far as hitching and driving with side mirrors only, but it didn't take long. Hitching-up now takes no longer than it did with our tent trailer. But, what I love about our trailer: - Simple setup - 10 minutes, maximum, and everything's done and I'm sitting on a lawn chair with a cold beer in my hand. - Storage: we've got room for everything. No rubbermaid containers. Nothing to move around, take out and set up. Everything has its place. - Amenities: fridge (as opposed to an icebox), furnace and air conditioner; even the TV/DVD (although its rarely used) - Being able to pull over at a roadside picnic area, open the trailer door, go in and make lunch. - Pulling into a KOA at 11:00 pm, not bothering to unhitch, opening the door of the trailer and heading straight to bed. - Urban camping. In the past, we'd go camping for the sole purpose of camping, hiking, canoeing, etc. With the r-pod, we've added urban camping, where we'll go somewhere to be tourists. We've stayed at trailer parks close to the centre of town, so that we can poke around and do the tourist thing. - The ability to travel. With the tent trailer, we were reluctant to go on a road trip because the amount of time we'd spend tearing down/setting up each day, particularly on overnighters. With the r-pod, overnighters are a breeze!
	Craig :: 2009 RP171 towed by a 2017 F150

David and Danette Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List podders Helping podders - pHp Joined: 24 Nov 2009 Online Status: Offline Posts: 1214	Posted: 20 Nov 2010 at 1:31pm
	You are right Outbound. We are disapointed that we are unable to use it as much as we would like to. With our jobs at Walmart we get about a two week notice of our work scedule, it changes every week. Then when we finally have time off together there is no place avialable to camp. All the camp sites are reserved. So it's diffulcult to justify the expense of the trailer and only be able to use it two or three times out of the year. Yes camping in the R-Pod is fun and that is what hurts we are unable to camp as much as we would like to. I didn't mean to sound so negative about the trailer. If we had the opurtunity to use it more we would we have a different view. A tent is not that costly to be placed in storage and not to be used that often. Hopefully things will change somehow and we will have the opurtunity to use it more. If we were to sell it we would lose a lot from what we have into it. So we are just keeping it and hoping for better camping days in the future. David and Danette
	2018 Vista Cruiser 19BFD (2018- 2012 Vibe 6503 (2014-2019) 2009 r-pod 171 (2009-2014) Middle Tn 2014 Ram 1500 Quad cab

Guests Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Guest Group	Posted: 20 Nov 2010 at 3:35pm
	Outbound....I had a few good chuckles when reading your "I don't miss" because I've done them all at least once. Your reasons for liking what you now have are almost exactly the same as mine. My needs/wants are better filled with the TT. I didn't get a slide out because I don't even want to mess with that much set up (although the extra room would be nice). And, like you, I enjoy tinkering with it. David and Danette...Sorry to hear about the work/camping situation - it's a shame. I know what you mean about reservations. It's tough to get in a lot of places without one. Hint/tip - I don't know who handles reservations in your area but, the firm that does Indiana State Parks does several other States. They only charge $5 to change a reservation. On more than one occasion I've had to reschedule for various reasons. Maybe check into it, take your best guess at a trip date and if you have to reschedule, it may be only a small fee. Trying to keep the conversation flowing. I was looking thru my picture albumn this morning and waxing nostalgic for the old pop-up. Life's needs and wants have changed it no longer would fill those as well as the TT. I was hoping it would stimulate a few replies.

Brin Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Groupie Joined: 21 Dec 2009 Location: Manassas, Va Online Status: Offline Posts: 93	Posted: 20 Nov 2010 at 5:40pm
	I don't miss sitting in a tent in a thunderstorm hoping a branch won't hit us. I don't miss having the water seep through the ground cloth even though there are two of them and everything is damp. In case you can't tell, it poured the last time we tent camped. I had hoped to go Thanksgiving camping this week but it looks like the weather in the mid-atlantic may not cooperate to make it worthwhile. I understand not having enough time due to work schedules and hope that will improve over time but am trying to take advantage of every opportunity that I get. Since we don't often get two days or more off in a row together, our camping options are also limited. Personally, I think that the pod offers us opportunities that are good for us right now. When/if we are able to go to a very small fifth wheel in the future (if they every make one), I would like to travel around the country. It is a pipe dream, I know, but I guess I will put it on my bucket list.
	Terri and Craig and Panzer 2009 - 175 RPod 2000 Ford F250 XLT Extended Cab Diesel

rpodcamper.com Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Admin Group - pHp Joined: 26 Nov 2009 Location: Reading, Pa Online Status: Offline Posts: 3990	Posted: 21 Nov 2010 at 9:26am
	Yes I do miss having the popup. We had one for ten years we bought when the kids were small. took it out just about every other weekend from April through October. The nice thing was the time spent with my 3 kids. 2 kids learned to ride bikes at camp, they learned campfire and dutch oven cooking and many other things. Today my kids are older (17, 19, 22) and really do not want to camp so the rpod is great for hook up and go. Most of the weekends we go we did not plan till hours before leaving - just looked at the weather and said lets go.

TIDALWAVE Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Senior Member Joined: 21 Nov 2009 Location: MINNESOTA Online Status: Offline Posts: 315	Posted: 21 Nov 2010 at 10:48am
	I don't miss my tent-trailer much, either. I don't miss the frost on the inside of the canvas sides when the temps dropped below freezing (the LP furnace never could keep up with the freezing). I don't miss having the crank-up system jam in a camp-ground 200 miles from the nearest dealer (ended up cutting the cables so we could get home). I don't miss having an inch of water on the floor (and the bedding) when storm winds accompanied by monsoon rains drove water through every canvas attachment. I especially don't miss having to pick up and leave when Park Rangers evacuated all canvas 'tents' from our campground because a Grizzly found out that it could simply rip the side out of a soft sided tent to look for a meal. But I, too, miss the 18-25 mpg while hauling the tent-trailer and not having to worry about an 18-wheeler trying to wind blast me off the road.
	TIDALWAVE

techntrek Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Admin Group - pHp Joined: 29 Jul 2009 Location: MD Online Status: Offline Posts: 9059	Posted: 21 Nov 2010 at 1:32pm
	Nope. We still have our popup but haven't once considered taking it out. I do miss the extra room but that's it. My parents took our family around the country with a popup 24 years ago. Setup and takedown almost every day for 5 weeks. I'm hoping to do the same with my kids very soon - but this time with no setup before bed!
	Doug ~ '10 171 (2009-2015) ~ 2008 Salem ~ Pod instruction manual

cane2 Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Groupie Joined: 06 Dec 2009 Online Status: Offline Posts: 92	Posted: 21 Nov 2010 at 6:10pm
	David nice looking Rohn freestanding tower, where is your 80 m wire? I was siting here thinking about the olden days of my younger years when i could handle pop ups and tents and had many fond memories with and about them. Now days i need the more comforts of ease of set up and use, age and health does that to you. It is very rewarding to see all the young people with family's and newly weds that are out and about camping. It is so much fun talking to these people and see their excitement about camping. We need new people out using our state parks and campgrounds, we do not need to loose any more campgrounds like we have here in Mn. I guess i miss some of my early camping years but now i have a few more dollars to invest in campers i enjoy the luxury of hard side and top.