Greetings from St Helens

As Mick Jagger once said, "Please allow me to introduce myself...". While I am not a man of wealth and my taste may be questionable, I am for sure, a new I-pod owner. My wife Mare (aka Mary)and I recently acquired a 2016 mod 179 from a couple who decided it wasn't working for them. We upgraded from a 5'x8' tear drop that served well for week-end trips into national forests and state parks. Since we are leaving for a cross-country trip in July we simply needed more space and air conditioning. Our 65# Lab mix rescue dog pretty much demanded both. The fact that we are both of Medicare age played into the decision too.

We've taken a couple of shake-down trips over to the Oregon coast and down to our former stomping grounds in Klamath Falls, Oregon. Each trip enabled us to test out systems, learn from a few mistakes, and generally prepare for our trip back East to Essex Junction, Vermont. We are experienced campers, having started as back-packers in our early twenties on Vermont's Long Trail. As various body parts began yelling at us to "back off" we turned to tent camping and travelled the AlCan Highway to Fairbanks and back in the early '90's. After hitting the point where sleeping on the ground only caused more pain and suffering we opted for the tear drop. And now, well - here we are.

I will presently post a few questions in the appropriate forums but wanted to simply say "Hey" and thanks for your advice, which has already helped us a lot. We hope to meet some of you on the road as we cross one more item off the old "bucket list."

Regards,

Trapper John, Mare, and Zeke the Dog

Thanks, bjk. And of course, I meant "R-pod" not "I-pod." There are too darn many pods/pads out there for this old geezer to keep track of.

Welcome to the group!! Congrats on your 179!

Welcome! We have had similar experiences to yours. We full-time and just recently upgraded from a Teardrop to a 2016 179 that we bought gently used from a couple who decided camping was not for them! We also have a lot of outdoor experience.

We began our travels last year from our beloved Cape Cod. We are heading to the Cape and other New England spots this fall.

This forum is a great resource for all things R-pod!

Have a wonderful trip to Vermont!