As soon as we saw the rPod we fell in love with it! We had tented at the end of September and my husband was miserable. It was difficult for him to maneuver in and out of the tent due to recent surgeries. The rPod had the queen bed, bathroom, kitchen, and table that we wanted. With its light weight we could pull it with our Honda Odyssey. We purchased the 171 because we didn't want the slide.
After reading many posts here we had a transmission cooler installed on our van by the Honda dealer and the Stoltzfus RV in Adamstown installed our weight distribution hitch, prodigy breaking system, and anti-sway bar.
At the time, the rPod was perfect for us since we didn't have a bigger tow vehicle. We purchased in October and have been out for two long weekends and one 12 day trip. Now that we have done the big trip we have decided to get a bigger tow vehicle and trade in the rPod for something about 22-24 feet. I have mixed feelings about giving up the rPod. First, I love the design. It pulls like a dream, I often have to remind dh that we are pulling a trailer and to watch his speed. When traveling we can pull into a grocery store and park easily in two spots. We added a shelf in the back by the bed so there was plenty of room for clothing. We travel with three big dogs and they all found their places either on the bed or in the rDome during the day. Hitching and unhitching are fast and easy (once we learned the right way to do it).
Our biggest problem is the shower. My husband can't maneuver in it. I have found that sitting down to shower works well.
We go to Colorado every summer and my husband wants something roomier for that trip since we will be gone for three weeks. With my retirement around the corner we will be on the road a lot so space for us is key.
We have one more trip planned for the pod and will trade up in April. Even though we are trading up rather quickly we don't regret purchasing the rPod for a minute. Like any first love, we learned a lot and our 'Taj-maPod' will be in our hearts forever.