Comments on the newest 178's

We picked up our new 178 two weeks ago at Lazy Days in Seffner, Florida.  It came with surprises, some good, some bad.  For example, the tongue jack does not come with a foot.  This was of no concern to me since I was having it swapped with the electric tongue jack on my old 173.

I expected to see a Group 27 deep cycled battery, but it came with the smaller Group 24.  The good news is that it is an Interstate battery, not a lesser brand.  And, I will be using my two Group 24 that sit idle except during shrimping season.

We think the mattress furnished is very comfortable, but we do have a 3" topper for it.  The mattress is made by Williamsburg.

The 19' Jensen TV is great but does not come with a base (we planned to use a 24" TV/DVD combo in its place) not did it come with a manual.  I can't find a manual on the Internet.

The electric door lock is great but does not come with a manual.  We did print one from the Internet.

The A/C is a low profile Dometic Penguin 13.5K BTU.  It is much quieter than our last Dometic and rivals the Coleman models which are great.  We have not noticed any thuds or thumps from compressor starts or stops.  I have yet to master the electronic heat/cool thermostat, but that is the owner's fault.

The axle is Lippert 3500# capacity.

Lazy Days weighed the trailer with the battery, full tank of propane, R-Dome in the storage unit, and the TV, microwave, refrigerator, etc  The weight is 2,649 pounds, but without water, occupants or personal belongings. I thought it would be heavier.

The sink in the bathroom makes the area hard to use, as others have reported.  Our old 173, without a sink, seemed much roomier. 

Gas mileage on the Interstate was about 12 mpg.  We towed it extensively in Lakeland FL where the speed limit is predominately 40 mph and our gas mileage approached 14 mpg. This was with token supplies of water in the three tanks and with our gear inside.

FR has eliminated the task of accessing the storage areas under the dinette benches.  The plywood under cushions has been cut so only the end cushions must be raised to access the areas. 

Coat/towel hooks are now installed near the top of the bathroom door.

The light bar is secured at the bottom by 12 screws.  I have not had the opportunity to check the top but I assume it is fastened the same as the bottom.

Our old 173 was sold almost before we vacated it.

Bob

We had to cut our stay at the dealer's campground short and that is one thing I did not look for.  We had to leave early to find an emergency pet clinic for our Maltipoo.  She passed away the next day and I never got to finish my personal inspection of the pod.  We put the pod in storage and headed to Illinois for Thanksgiving.  I will check on that (and several other items) in a few days when I recover from all the driving.