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MPRpod View Drop Down
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Direct Link To This Post Topic: Pod leaning to driver's side
    Posted: 01 Aug 2015 at 2:04pm
A friend following me down the highway said my 177 leans or lists very slightly (approximately 1") to the left (driver side or road side as I think it's called). I also notice this when parked in a level spot. There's nothing unusual in the way of extra weight on that side other than the slide out and associated appliances. Is this unusual? If it needs to be addressed, is it something that can be adjusted or is this bad news?

Thanks for any help!
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: 01 Aug 2015 at 3:29pm
Even with the slide-out it should sit level.  I would talk to your dealer to have it corrected under warranty.
Doug ~ '10 171 (2009-2015) ~ 2008 Salem ~ Pod instruction manual
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: 01 Aug 2015 at 3:46pm
Ditto ! 
Leo & Melissa Bachand
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: 15 Oct 2018 at 1:53pm
MPRpod
I am wondering what your resolution was. My 178 leans to drivers side too (with slide in) about 3/4 inch. I called the dealer tech, he said  "Is that all? That's normal because the slide weight is on that side."  What did you finally do about it?
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: 15 Oct 2018 at 2:01pm
Nice to get on this forum again.  Sadly, we sold our beloved RPod last year but enjoy many fond memories as we see them roll by from time to time.

In reference to your question, we didn't do anything about it.  After talking to the dealer and doing a bunch of online research, we concluded that it was normal and within reason.  I recall there was a height difference from one side to the other of about 1-2 inches but can't remember exactly (perhaps it's in the original post).  In any case, I could detect no adverse consequence to the "listing" other than offending my insatiable need for symmetry.

Sorry I can't be more insightful but I wish you happy trails!
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: 16 Oct 2018 at 6:59am
FYI
I called Forest River. They said up to 1 inch lean is ok.  I still dont like it though - it probably means the torsion spring suspension is going on the fritz. I just wonder if we are the only rpodders that have noticed this problem.
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: 16 Oct 2018 at 9:10am
Originally posted by malkbean2

FYI
I called Forest River. They said up to 1 inch lean is ok.  I still dont like it though - it probably means the torsion spring suspension is going on the fritz. I just wonder if we are the only rpodders that have noticed this problem.
That is just an acknowledgement that the slide side weighs more. If the suspension is identical right & left, then the heavy side is going to "list" for lack of a better term. Just like a car or truck with just a 200 lb driver is going to lean a little bit toward the driver's side. It is a fact of life.
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: 16 Oct 2018 at 10:16am
It's that darn gravity.  She pulls stuff to the center of the mass and she doesn't respect our sense of balance and aesthetics.  

Seriously though, one inch of list is likely, as GlueGuy suggests, to be from weight differential due to the location of heavier stuff on one side as opposed the other. Remember, the axle manufacturers build axles with equal torsion for both wheels, thus if something weighs more, like a slide out, on one side as compared to the other, it will make the trailer list a little.

 If you wan't to have the trailer balanced such that both sides are equal, put some jugs of water in the higher side to the point that the weight balances the trailer.  The advantage, is that you'll have some extra water along, which is always useful.  

It is not likely that one of the torsion springs in your axle is failing, though anything is possible.  These torsion springs, if I understand this type of axle correctly, are rubber rods that twist with the ups and downs experienced by each wheel.  They would likely deteriorate over time pretty much evenly.  Of course, it is always possible that some contaminant got into the rubber during manufacturing that went unnoticed and is causing one rod to be a little more flexible than another.  

Since your Pod will spend most of it's life on uneven roads and slanted parking places in camp sites, a 1" list is not going to result in any harm to the trailer.  

As I flail away on the keyboard drinking my morning coffee and hoping that they don't close for the winter the campground I'm heading to tomorrow, the thought occurs to me that maybe the best thing to do to balance this deviation is to put a small ice chest on the high side and load it with bacon until the weight balances out.  
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: 16 Oct 2018 at 10:26am
GlueGuy, for sure the side to side weight difference accounts for most of it. 

I weigh 230 lbs and when I put my weight on my step that side of the trailer drops maybe 3/8 of an inch. We all have pretty much the same 3500 lb torsion axles on our trailers and torsion axles are supposed to have linear spring rates, meaning that the deflection is proportional to the weight imposed. So, roughly 1/2 inch defection for 300 lbs.  

My 179 sits about 1/2 inch lower on the slide side (slide in). I can easily believe a side to side difference of 300 lbs on the 179 which has the fridge (100 lbs empty), microwave (45 lb), full water heater (80 lbs), furnace (30 lbs) and the slide all on that side, and only the plastic bathroom on the other side to balance it. 

The 178 is similar, probably a little worse. But 3/4 inch (450 lbs) difference is stretching it a bit. malkbean2, do you carry a bunch of heavy supplies in the kitchen cabinets?  If so, can you move those to the passenger side as much as possible?  That's what I do, although I know that would be harder in a 178.


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Direct Link To This Post Posted: 16 Oct 2018 at 10:31am
Wow! Just think, 300 pounds of bacon to balance the trailer.  That's some yummy breakfasts.  And some delicious BLT sandwiches. Wink

Again, on a serious note, measuring a 1" list has a lot of variables that make me wonder whether it is accurate.  One must start with an exactly level parking place, have the tire inflation exactly even, have laser level capable of accuracy to within a fraction an inch or millimeter to measure the list.  Simply putting the trailer on what appears to be a flat surface and eyeballing it leads to very substantial inaccuracies.  Our eyes don't see things as we think.  That's why the Mystery Spot near Santa Cruz makes so much money tricking our visual cues into thinking the world is not what it is.
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Fred & Maria Kearney
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Our Pod 172
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