Hit the reset, which rpod would you pick now?

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I am really struggling in my choice of r-pod and it is enough to drive me nuts.  A little history first.  I have an XLR Toy Hauler that I really love but I am simply not comfortable towing it.  I purchased it because I thought my family of 4 (two teenagers) would camp a lot and it was going to be a blast.  Well, as often happens life did not exactly follow my game plan.  I would say 80% of the time it is just me camping, 15% of the time it is the wife and I...and maybe once a year the kids are with us.  As much as I love the toy hauler, I do not enjoy towing it and find myself sticking close to home.  I go less often because it is a production to get it ready and it is too large to pull in the driveway so I have to haul all of my stuff to the storage to load it.
I know I want to downsize.  I know I want an r-pod.  I am really struggling with which model so I was hoping to tap into those of you that have lived with them for a while and have real life experience.  Sometimes you have to live in them to know what you would have done differently.  Here are my thoughts:

I have narrowed it to the 179, 178, and 182g.  Thoughts on each are as follows, but now I want real world experience.

179 - Love the interior cabinets but do I need that much kitchen space?  There is almost no exterior storage.  I also find the dinette a little strange in placement and the fact that I couldn't really sleep 4 in a pinch very well.  My biggest gripe is the door which only opens 90 degrees and where it is located.

178 -  I really prefer this to the 179 I think.  It has tons of exterior storage and the interior to me felt far more open in person than the 179.  This was odd because the pictures made me think the 179 would feel more open.  I much prefer the placement of the door and the larger dinette/second bed but where on earth do people put food?

182g - probably my favorite but it is also several thousand more dollars.  It also lacks a dedicated bed which is no issue when i am alone as i would sleep on the bunk but perhaps in the years ahead I could see myself wishing we had a large bed always ready.  This solved my concern about where to put food though as it could all sit in the garage.  I LOVE the garage.  My question to owners is how much do you use your garage when you also have an r-dome.  I see myself using the dome a lot so would i really spend much time back behind the unit?  One other note is this unit is in the older color scheme.  I am not sure which i prefer but leaning towards the new colors.

All have pros and cons.  I am not worried about where to store clothes as I tend to live out of a duffle bag when I camp.  I would just love to hear feedback from owners of these 3 models on what they love or hate.  I know I would have a ton of feedback on my toy hauler after my time with it.

Thanks for any thoughts.  The decision is driving me bonkers but anxious to join the group.

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green18 Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Newbie Joined: 23 Jul 2014 Location: Iowa Online Status: Offline Posts: 18	Topic: Hit the reset, which rpod would you pick now? Posted: 07 Oct 2014 at 12:31pm
	I am really struggling in my choice of r-pod and it is enough to drive me nuts. A little history first. I have an XLR Toy Hauler that I really love but I am simply not comfortable towing it. I purchased it because I thought my family of 4 (two teenagers) would camp a lot and it was going to be a blast. Well, as often happens life did not exactly follow my game plan. I would say 80% of the time it is just me camping, 15% of the time it is the wife and I...and maybe once a year the kids are with us. As much as I love the toy hauler, I do not enjoy towing it and find myself sticking close to home. I go less often because it is a production to get it ready and it is too large to pull in the driveway so I have to haul all of my stuff to the storage to load it. I know I want to downsize. I know I want an r-pod. I am really struggling with which model so I was hoping to tap into those of you that have lived with them for a while and have real life experience. Sometimes you have to live in them to know what you would have done differently. Here are my thoughts: I have narrowed it to the 179, 178, and 182g. Thoughts on each are as follows, but now I want real world experience. 179 - Love the interior cabinets but do I need that much kitchen space? There is almost no exterior storage. I also find the dinette a little strange in placement and the fact that I couldn't really sleep 4 in a pinch very well. My biggest gripe is the door which only opens 90 degrees and where it is located. 178 - I really prefer this to the 179 I think. It has tons of exterior storage and the interior to me felt far more open in person than the 179. This was odd because the pictures made me think the 179 would feel more open. I much prefer the placement of the door and the larger dinette/second bed but where on earth do people put food? 182g - probably my favorite but it is also several thousand more dollars. It also lacks a dedicated bed which is no issue when i am alone as i would sleep on the bunk but perhaps in the years ahead I could see myself wishing we had a large bed always ready. This solved my concern about where to put food though as it could all sit in the garage. I LOVE the garage. My question to owners is how much do you use your garage when you also have an r-dome. I see myself using the dome a lot so would i really spend much time back behind the unit? One other note is this unit is in the older color scheme. I am not sure which i prefer but leaning towards the new colors. All have pros and cons. I am not worried about where to store clothes as I tend to live out of a duffle bag when I camp. I would just love to hear feedback from owners of these 3 models on what they love or hate. I know I would have a ton of feedback on my toy hauler after my time with it. Thanks for any thoughts. The decision is driving me bonkers but anxious to join the group.

JStrube Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Groupie Joined: 11 Aug 2014 Location: Atwater, CA Online Status: Offline Posts: 90	Posted: 07 Oct 2014 at 1:40pm
	I have the 181G, so far, totally enjoy. Lots of outside storage, the only thing I have not figured out is where to put my bags. Still learning it, as we have taken it out twice. Love the garage though!
	2012 181G

Whatmud Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Newbie Joined: 07 Aug 2014 Location: Tennessee Online Status: Offline Posts: 23	Posted: 07 Oct 2014 at 2:39pm
	We just purchased the 181G. We have always been tent campers but wanted some more comforts of home i.e. heat and air. We will use it for sleeping only, cook and hang out outside as that is what camping is all about. I worried about storage until I loaded all of my tent camping stuff into the Pod and still had room. If I wanted to stay inside, I'd stay home...I can't understand the people who pull up and spend all of their time inside. Even our friends and their two teenagers still spend most of the time outside.
	Debbie & Larry 2015 181-g Knoxville, TN

green18 Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Newbie Joined: 23 Jul 2014 Location: Iowa Online Status: Offline Posts: 18	Posted: 07 Oct 2014 at 2:57pm
	Thanks, I do like the 181G though i have never seen one in person. Do you actually find the bar stool thing usable? I feel strange about having no interior area to play board games or whatever on a stormy day but outside of that it seems like a cool floor plan.

hogone Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Senior Member Joined: 09 Apr 2013 Location: St. Louis Online Status: Offline Posts: 1042	Posted: 07 Oct 2014 at 2:57pm
	green 18: I am curious about 1 thing regarding toy haulers (27-29 footers), as I always look at them. it is frequently discussed about the 300+ pounds of fresh water behind the axle on the pod and an increased concern for sway. I have always wondered then how 1400+ pounds of hog would be on the rear end of these. Or does the dual axel take care of this? I'm curious on other feedback (pros/cons) as well. hogone
	Jon & Pam 2013 RP177 2010 F150 2017 HD Streetglide 2009 HD Lowrider CHEESEHEAD

green18 Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Newbie Joined: 23 Jul 2014 Location: Iowa Online Status: Offline Posts: 18	Posted: 07 Oct 2014 at 3:04pm
	Hey hogone, I almost never loaded my freshwater for towing as I basically stayed close to home where i had city water hookup. I will say the dealer loaded it with water and I never had too much of a problem with sway. I purchased a toy hauler because I can store my kayaks inside and the bed comes out of the ceiling so it doesn't take up floor space. Pretty cool! That said, it is still 6000 pounds and 28 feet long and every time we discuss using it further from home I find myself not really wanting to tow it. It actually hasn't been too bad but i just really feel like the tail could wag the dog if i get in a weird situation. I do think the dual axle and the beefy frame would support any weight. I live at the end of a street that is a curve so i have basically no frontage area in front of my house. Part of my reasoning for downsizing is the ability to pull the r-pod in my driveway to load up food and clothes. I would never say anything bad about the toy hauler other than the fact that i am going to take a financial bath trying to trade it. It is such a cool layout and so versatile. 6k is just a lot of weight and when i primarily camp alone I find myself only going if I am going to be there 3+ days. I think with an r-pod i will be far more willing to take 1 or 2 day quick trips to the campground.

hogone Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Senior Member Joined: 09 Apr 2013 Location: St. Louis Online Status: Offline Posts: 1042	Posted: 07 Oct 2014 at 3:16pm
	green 18: sorry if I made my post confusing. my comment was that those with rpods that fill there fresh water tank (300+ pounds of water which is behind the axel) have encountered (at times) excessive sway (usually with undersized tow vehicles). i guess my question to you would be what about 1400+ pounds of weight behind the axel on a toy hauler. it sounds though like you did not haul large amounts of weight behind the axel with it. as far as rpods, i have a 177 which didn't make your cut!! i am very happy with iy however. hogone
	Jon & Pam 2013 RP177 2010 F150 2017 HD Streetglide 2009 HD Lowrider CHEESEHEAD

JStrube Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Groupie Joined: 11 Aug 2014 Location: Atwater, CA Online Status: Offline Posts: 90	Posted: 07 Oct 2014 at 3:31pm
	I went from a 24' 6500# Toy Hauler to the POD & with my F250, had 2 BMW RT motorcycles loaded once. You load them pretty far forward, though each bike about 600#, I'd say they were centered over the axles. So, not really back loaded. On the longer haulers, you have so much weight forward, a little in the rear doesn't hurt much. My biggest reason for going to the POD is that I hated towing that much crap around. For a long trip, I just dreaded it, fuel mileage is now up by 4MPG, fatigue from towing is down a TON, you don't even know the POD is behind the truck. Granted my tow vehicle is way over sized, but that is a good thing, keeps the stress off the driver. No way would I go back. I need to buy a slightly shorter motorcycle, as my RT doesn't quite fit in my 6'6" bed...
	2012 181G

hogone Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Senior Member Joined: 09 Apr 2013 Location: St. Louis Online Status: Offline Posts: 1042	Posted: 07 Oct 2014 at 3:35pm
	i would love to have a F250!!!! thanks for the info and feedback jstrube. hogone
	Jon & Pam 2013 RP177 2010 F150 2017 HD Streetglide 2009 HD Lowrider CHEESEHEAD

kymooses Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Senior Member Joined: 01 Aug 2010 Location: Louisville, Ky Online Status: Offline Posts: 1807	Posted: 07 Oct 2014 at 8:02pm
	i'd still pick my 181g, only other consideration for me would be a 175 or a 173 with the alternate floorplan of having 2 lounge chairs back in the day. oh and the barstools for us at least in the 181g are pointless. ours became part of a great bonfire at camp the first trip out in our Pod
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