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List Your Mods:

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BAYAGMO2 View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Quote BAYAGMO2 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Topic: List Your Mods:
    Posted: 13 Sep 2015 at 1:37pm
Originally posted by Tri-Pod

Originally posted by Kobwo


<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; : rgb251, 251, 253;">Hello, I'm curious about your solar mount. Is the mount bracket welded to the rails?  Since you've had it for a while, how is it holding up in the wind?</span><div style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;">
<div style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;">Thanks<div style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><div style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;">Shawn

Originally posted by BAYAGMO2

<span style=": rgb251, 251, 253;">RPOD RP-172</span><div style=": rgb251, 251, 253;"><div style=": rgb251, 251, 253;">MODS:<div style=": rgb251, 251, 253;"><div style=": rgb251, 251, 253;">1. Relocate the spare tire to the tongue.<div style=": rgb251, 251, 253;">2. Install a second battery.<div style=": rgb251, 251, 253;">3. Fabricated a mount for Goal Zero Solar Panel.<div style=": rgb251, 251, 253;">4. Install a diamond plate tool box on the tongue.<div style=": rgb251, 251, 253;">5. Install sewer hose pipe underneath and behind both tires.<div style=": rgb251, 251, 253;">6. Install curtains and curtain rods on both bunked.<div style=": rgb251, 251, 253;">7. Install two corner shelve behind the dinette.  <div style=": rgb251, 251, 253;">


So is the batter in the tool box ? Is so what do you do for ventilation.

Yes I have 2 battery in the tool box and no ventilation other than a few holes on both side of the box



LAND ROVER LR3 2006
RP-172 2014
THE LAND RoPOD
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BAYAGMO2 View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Quote BAYAGMO2 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 14 Sep 2015 at 10:27pm
Originally posted by mcclurey

Nice! Is that a custom welded and fabricated mount for your spare tire? If not, can you tell me where you purchased?
Thanks!

Yes it is a custom made by a friend of mine. It is bolted on the frame.
LAND ROVER LR3 2006
RP-172 2014
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FL RPOD View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Quote FL RPOD Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 18 Sep 2015 at 10:56pm
Shelving above bed  (before)

Shelving above bed (after). Also replaced card board mattress with a 10" Cooling Memory foam mattress

Spice rack/Key holder in kitchen

Paper Towel Holder and beer opener in kitchen

A little added decor to dining area

New clock

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Post Options Post Options   Quote techntrek Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 19 Sep 2015 at 8:43pm
Nice mods.  I would tack down the clock from behind, if it is only held up by the rope, or it will bang around on the road.
Doug ~ '10 171 (2009-2015) ~ 2008 Salem ~ Pod instruction manual
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Post Options Post Options   Quote FL RPOD Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 19 Sep 2015 at 9:38pm
Originally posted by techntrek

Nice mods.  I would tack down the clock from behind, if it is only held up by the rope, or it will bang around on the road.
 
ThanksSmile I put a velcro pad behind to hold it steady and can still remove to change the battery
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Post Options Post Options   Quote Scoul Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 28 Sep 2015 at 9:59pm

We were not using the microwave, made a door for magnets, so now we use it for storage.


Pots, pans, plastic bowls, strainer and grill/griddle stuff


1st magnet from Collins Lake




And a wine rack for the misses
"Anyone can hold the helm when the sea is calm." Publilius Syrus

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Post Options Post Options   Quote TigerPawd Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 30 Sep 2015 at 3:24pm
Nice mods. 

As most R-179 owners know, the Pod is great except that the dining area is OK at best, and the bed it makes into is pretty bad, even for one child.  The table that drops down to support part of the sleeping area is quirky and the result, with a combination of five different cushions, is uneven.  Worse, keeping them together all night long isn't easy.  The table probably comes from an outside supplier as FR have said they have no interest in changing its height for R-179 sleeping.  Here's what it looks before changing anything.

 

There has to be a better way. 

Our first step was to get a duplicate of the seat cushion fabric (fully trimmed and complete with zipper) from Forest River - $63.75, with shipping.  Then the foam - $83.  A bit costy, but foam choices aren't great down here.  At least the foam dealer measured the fabric, cut the foam to size and even stuffed it into the fabric - not an easy thing to do. 

Here are the two cushions in place with the slide out extended.  The new tables store on the floor while moving. Also showing in the picture is a platform in case the DW wants to shower in a real facility. 

 

I had an old 4x8' sheet of cabinet-grade plywood that we had moved to three homes over the  years and it was getting to the place where the plywood just needed to be made into something.  The cavity for the couch is about 25" x 75.5", so I cut out a piece that's 26" wide by 74.5", tapering to 73.5" at the other (inside) edge.  The reason for the taper is to make sliding it in and out a little easier.  I found that out when the first try was 75" and sliding was none too easy.  Toting it in and out of the pod for modifications is a chore so I wasn't eager to do a lot of cutting and modifying.  Also, best to do them before attaching those end pieces!

There was a choice of hinging the plywood instead of having it slide in and out but I don't want to do anything that would compromise the slide-out.  No screws, nuts or bolts!

To make sliding easier, each end of the slab got a U-shaped aluminum cap (I had that too) and each end of the couch area got a 1" L-shaped aluminum piece for the other aluminum to slide on.  A little silicone spray helps with the sliding.  Below are a Below and After of the track:  

 

Attachment was with Gorilla glue and it looks pretty sturdy so far.  The long edges of the plywood got wooden corner moulding trim, mostly for appearances, although it does help keep the cushion in place.  Some rubbery kitchen drawer liner keeps other things in place when the bed is in use.  I considered Velcro® but so far, it hasn't been necessary.  We did use Velcro® to keep those end cushions upright when traveling (final picture). 


I also notched the rubber trim at the corners of the existing couch/slide out to clear the new bed and make sliding it in and out easier.  That was the easiest part.  The final touch was two pieces of 3/4" pine to bring the new cushion plus plywood up to the level of the other cushion.  Not essential, but it helps. The result is a bed that's about 52" wide - almost regular bed size, although still not the greatest sleeping surface.  FYI, that's just sunlight on the cushion.  

 

That table is off to storage for a while, and it may end up in the trash.  Or maybe we'll keep it in case the next owners want the original layout.  The goofy L-shaped cushions from the corners are history too,  Those big thick cushions sit at each end of the couch most of the time but are used on the "hassocks" when we set up for eating; we now use collapsible TV tables from Target.  When traveling, they stow nicely under the slid in slide-out. And if we want to set up outside, they are a lot easier to move out than the original table. Here's what it looks for eating or traveling.


One more detail - the plywood was finished with an English walnut stain.  The match looked pretty good till I added the clear polyurethane.  Not too bad, but it's a little lighter than what I wanted.  Good thing is that we're about the only ones who see it.

A couple of down-filled sleeping bag fits easily into the back hassock and are easy to get out at a moment's notice - a little easier if removed before the bed is out though.  The front hassock is great for storing extra john paper, and it's a little better with a piece of thin plywood to cover the bits and electric pieces for the slide, etc. 

As we grow older, nightly trips to the john have become more common.  It isn't easy for the one in back of the permanent bed to climb out, so the extra bed area has come in handy already.  Whoever got the outside edge first can move to the inside, or pull out the slide.    

The biggest drawback is that that cabinet-grade plywood is fairly heavy but it's probably no heavier than the old table.  I almost wish I had gone with light-weight plywood and covered it with a thin sheet of finish-grade paneling, or maybe a piece of rigid foam on a thin sheet of plywood.  The next biggest drawback is that the new cushion now blocks part of the view out the big side window.  That view was none too good to start, but it's been acceptable so far.    

Joan, Jerry and the two Pugs
2015 R-Pod 179
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Post Options Post Options   Quote techntrek Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 30 Sep 2015 at 8:24pm
Very nice change.  It is a shame they don't make that area level for sleeping from the factory.
Doug ~ '10 171 (2009-2015) ~ 2008 Salem ~ Pod instruction manual
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Carlos&Alicia View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Quote Carlos&Alicia Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 30 Sep 2015 at 9:41pm
Originally posted by furpod

Originally posted by JStrube

So I assume these shelves cannot be used in transit, only once parked?


unless you put something on them that will fall out, no reason not to use while in transit. We have not ever had an issue.

I would like to know where did you get the shelves.  i have been in Home Depot and Lowes and I can't find them.  Please help.  Thanks.  I love your idea.

Carlos & Alicia
2015 RPod-178
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Post Options Post Options   Quote Shelpod Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 14 Dec 2015 at 3:08pm
Finished my first real mod this weekend.  I put on a new stinky-slinky storage that would hold my hose. Took off the short front storage tube, cut it in half and added a section of 5" vinyl fence post between the two cut pieces and hung it under the trailer just in front of the black water valve. A little spray foam, and black paint completed the install.  Very happy with it as my 15 ft rhino hose and all the fittings will now go in it.  No more hose in my underneath storage.  We had replaced the mattress and put in LED lights all around previously, but this was the first major change. We have had the trailer for just a few months, bought it used and already been out 4 times for long weekends.  The previous owner only had it out 6 times.  My next mod will probably be to deepen the two drawers in the kitchen and add pan dividers under the sink.  Why they made the drawers so short, i will never understand. Big smile

2013 RP178


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