ouR escaPOD mods

Like many others, I did not like the wallpaper behind the sink in our 2016 RP179. However, I had not done anything about it until now. Encouraged by seeing what others had done and taking advantage of a sale at Camping World, we purchased stick-on "tiles."

I took off the trim strip that was about 3" above the counter and saw that it had a purpose. That was to cover a seam that was less than even. On one end, there was a gap of almost 1/4". On the other end, the panel coming down from the roof was not flush with the panel that completed the wall to the counter. I did not think it was good to just stick the tile over the top of this seam, so I took some wood filler and filled the seam, making it smooth at the one end and filling the gap at the other end so it was smooth all the way down. After a little sanding to make sure it was smooth, I started on the door side and worked my way over to the slide side. I had previously put a trim strip below the window. I pulled that off and added another row of tile squares above what I had already installed. This made the top edge of the tile tall enough that the trim strip when replaced covered the top edge of the tile. After replacing the curtain rod holders and reinstalling the curtains, we have a very attractive tiled backsplash in the kitchen area behind the sink. I did not do the side walls as they looked okay as is against the tile backsplash.

Here is another handy little modification/addition to the R-Pod:

I mounted ours to the front driver's side corner of the R-Pod using double-sided tape. It also came with screws to attach it, but Idid not want to drill holes. Because the tape causes the unit to not sit flat against the side, it tends to sag a little. I improvised a shim to hold it square with the bracket. Once mounted, the unit can be removed from the mounting bracket for storage inside when not being used or when traveling.

Once set up, it is a simple matter to place the unit on the bracket, open the cover, swivel the unit to measure side-to-side level, and push the button to turn it on. Then it is a matter of looking at the column of LEDs on either side which indicate which side needs to be raised and how much. If it is level, the center (green LED) column lights. Once the side-to-side leveling is done, the unit swivels to do the front-to-rear leveling.

This sure beats running back and forth to the door to check the torpedo level I had been using. While not as accurate as the torpedo level, it is very close. If the Hopkins level is indicating perfectly level, the torpedo level might show a slight difference, but still within the centering lines of the bubble level.

I found it at a good price while we were traveling. For the ease of leveling and the visibility of the LEDs from within the TV and that it does both side-to-side and front-to-back leveling plus it is removable and does not need to sit outside all the time, I recommend this unit. Even better if you find it on eTrailer or elsewhere for a better price.

THX!