which r-pod should I buy?

Well, I've got my 178 home!  I pulled it 860 miles and through some high winds and snow through WY.  It was my first time pulling a trailer, but everything went well.  Thank goodness for the e2 with stabilizer bars!  Although I could feel the wind trying, the pod never once waggled; it stayed straight and true behind me the entire way.  I have it set up at the side of my house.  Tested the water heater, microwave, furnace and A/C unit; turned on the fridge today.  Will check it before leaving for work tomorrow to make sure it's cold, then shut it down.  We hope to take it camping this next weekend for our first outing!  I'm excited.  We'll try to set up our R-dome then. 

Also, in replacing the mattress, would you recommend a 10" or 12" memory foam?  Will the 12" be too tall?

Keep your water heater full all camping season, you won't save much of the anode by draining and refilling it each time.  You will increase the "fiddle factor" and the chance you'll burn out the electric element by leaving it on with an empty tank.

We only have a 3 or 4 inch memory mattress on top of the factory mattress.

The Equalizer and E2 are designed to stay on while backing.  Stand-alone friction sway bars must be removed.  No worries, leave yours on.

When we lived in the Midwest, I would remove the anode only when it came time to winterize my RV.  Here in Florida, where we can use an RV all year, I don't remove the anode or drain the water heater.  We normally use facilities with full hookups, and I use only the electric element to heat our water.  Since the heater is always filled with water, I keep the element switch turned on all the time since it is a pain to use. Instead, I use the breaker when I have the pod hooked to shore power at home.  When on the road, I keep the breaker in the on position. 

In 40 years of camping, I have never replaced an anode.  But, maybe I should check it every few years or so.

Bob

Could someone confirm how you fill the hot water heater?  Is it either having water in the fresh water tank and the water pump on, or having an external water source hooked up - then simply turning the hot water faucet on?  When the air is removed from the hot water faucet line, does that mean your hot water tank is then full??