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waterlover63 
Newbie 
Joined: 09 Dec 2010 Online Status: Offline Posts: 10 |
 Topic: Skid Plates?Posted: 15 Apr 2011 at 4:43pm |
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Has anybody installed skid plates or belly armor? I have to replace my fresh water tank and would like to avoid doing that in the future.
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Kathy
Southwest Ohio 3 Aussie-dogs (or more when fostering) 11 R-Pod 182G 04 Chevy Colorado |
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Guests
Guest Group 
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Posted: 17 Apr 2011 at 6:23am |
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I have not heard/read where anyone has done this. Can you describe what happened?
It sounds like a custom welding/metal work job is in order. I am toying with the idea of upsizing my water tank from 27 gallons to a 40 or 50 gallon size. There are several web sites where these can be purchased. If/when I do so, I intend to take the camper to a local welding shop and have them fabricate 1 or 2 cross braces of 1" steel square tubing for center support. Or, being ever thrifty, I may just bolt something together here at home. If you were to do something like this, I would think that putting a metal or diamond plate "skin" fastened to the supports would be fairly straight forward. My Pod had no center support for the water tank and bulged downward quite a bit when full of water. My neighbor did something like this to his 5th wheel and is pleased/more comfortable. My Coleman does have one center support, but it is very flimsy and bent downward after the first use. Sorry to hear about the problem. I wish I could be of more help.  |
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TerryM
Admin Group - pHp 
Joined: 16 Nov 2009 Location: Saint Augustine Online Status: Offline Posts: 1950 |
Posted: 17 Apr 2011 at 6:58am |
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I have them on my Jeep but not the Pod! I never thought about doing that but it is a good idea. I have taken my camper off road so really I should have thought of doing that. Thanks for coming up with the idea!
Terry |
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RP-175 W/Lift Kit 2011 Ford F-150 4X4
Saint Augustine, FL: The first permanent European settlement in the USA: 1565 |
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waterlover63
Newbie
Joined: 09 Dec 2010 Online Status: Offline Posts: 10 |
Posted: 17 Apr 2011 at 8:04am |
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Not sure what happened. The tank manufacturer looked at pictures and said that I ran over something. I know that I didn't run over anything, but I have to admit the tank looked like it had gouges in it. It was disappointing as I had only had one trip and hadn't even gotten off a road.
I rarely stay in "developed" campgrounds. When I bought the camper, I should have been more aware of the soft parts that were exposed underneath. Just another learning opportunity for me :) In any case, I have friends who weld. I will be calling them soon. I like the idea of a center support bracket too - it did seem like a large area to be unsupported. Will add that while we're working. I'll post pictures. |
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Kathy
Southwest Ohio 3 Aussie-dogs (or more when fostering) 11 R-Pod 182G 04 Chevy Colorado |
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HuronSailor
podders Helping podders - pHp 
Joined: 10 Jun 2009 Location: Owosso MI Online Status: Offline Posts: 704 |
Posted: 17 Apr 2011 at 11:21am |
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Those tanks are pretty tough. If you had hit something hard enough to actually do the damage you'd remember it.
Can't imagine one getting out of the factory in that condition, though. I'd bet the damage was done while loading/unloading from a semi trailer during the delivery process. Almost like one side of it fell off the trailer while being backed off. Or the tank suffered fork truck damage while being put back on the trailer. Any other signs of damage, like scrapes on the undercarriage, pinched wires or hoses, bent stabilizers, etc.?
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.: Mark & Beth :: Silverado 5.3L :: 2018 rPod 180 :.
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Outbound
podders Helping podders - pHp
Joined: 19 Nov 2009 Location: Oshawa, Ontario Online Status: Offline Posts: 767 |
Posted: 17 Apr 2011 at 11:33am |
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I've got a couple of gouges in my fresh water tank. But, thankfully, no leaks.
I do know exactly where I was when I gouged the tanks: backing into a rustic campsite, a bit off-camber with several large rocks sticking out of the soil. But, there was no resistance when I did it and no scraping sounds. I don't think that it would be unusual to damage the tanks without realizing that you were doing it at the time.
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Craig :: 2009 RP171 towed by a 2017 F150
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Zilbub
Newbie
Joined: 06 Mar 2011 Online Status: Offline Posts: 13 |
Posted: 17 Apr 2011 at 2:01pm |
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R-Pod have risers that can be installed on the axles to raise the height of the trailer up--and therefore your tanks, etc. too.
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techntrek
Admin Group - pHp
Joined: 29 Jul 2009 Location: MD Online Status: Offline Posts: 9059 |
Posted: 17 Apr 2011 at 3:03pm |
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Now that I've installed my risers I highly recommend them. My tanks are so far off the ground now that I would have to gouge a canyon into the floor of my tow vehicle first. I'm sure I would notice that.
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happyfish
Newbie
Joined: 10 Apr 2011 Online Status: Offline Posts: 2 |
Posted: 17 Apr 2011 at 8:33pm |
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techntrek, How much do the risers go for? How much higher do they raise the r-pod?
thanks |
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techntrek
Admin Group - pHp
Joined: 29 Jul 2009 Location: MD Online Status: Offline Posts: 9059 |
Posted: 17 Apr 2011 at 9:52pm |
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About 4 inches, take a look at the sticky at the top of this sub-forum for details on ordering. They are about $75.
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Skid Plates?