First big RPOD outing

Message Share Topic Printable Version Google Delicious Digg StumbleUpon Windows Live Yahoo Bookmarks reddit Facebook MySpace Newsvine Furl Topic Search Topic Options Post Reply Create New Topic

   We took delivery of our 178 in April and for various reasons have only had it out for three local one nighters since. We live in Teton County Idaho just across the pass from Jackson when we decided to purchase an RPOD I upgraded my tow vehicle to a 2015 Grand Cherokee EcoDiesel hoping it had the power to get over these mountains passes.  Since moving here two years ago we have wanted to see the mountains in central Idaho and last week was the time to try it.  I loaded up the wife and two dogs (one a five year old 65 pound Boxer and the over a 15-16 year old 36 pound Beagle).  On the first day we drove about 260 miles to Ketchum/Sun Valley Idaho where we stayed two nights in a campground with full utilities.  On the third day we went north about 60 miles (over the highest pass in the continental US) to Redfish Lake in the Sawtooth mountains.  The trip was great and the Sawtooth mountains and lakes were beautiful and that is something coming from somebody who lives in the Tetons.  On the trip home we travel the Salmon River Scenic Highway and Peaks to Craters Scenic Highway.  Both are good two lane roads.  The Salmon River Scenic Highway has plenty of curves so speeds are only 30-40 mph but scenery is great.  
Since this was our first major outing with the RPOD we had a bit of a learning curve.

First:  I am 6'3" and my wife is 5'10".  Original plan was for us to sleep in the queen bed and the dogs would sleep where the dinette makes into a bed.  Good initial plan but things didn't work out that way.  When I lay in the bed my head touches one wall and my feet the other.  One of us is going to be trapped on the inside where it can get a bit crowded.  Simple solution:  my wife and the Beagle slept in the queen bed while the Boxer and I took the dinette.  Worked out great since when you sleep diagonally there is plenty of room and everybody is happy.

Second:  The RPOD works best when only one person is moving around in it at a time.  When both people try to do something all you get is in each others way.  We worked out a system and all is well.

Third:  There is no storage to speak of.  We ended up moving things we weren't using out to the Jeep.  That way we kept the RPOD from being cluttered and didn't have to deal with things we weren't using.  To better facilitate this method we are going to use duffle bags for our RPOD camping.  Quick and easy to stack and move.  Watch out Cabellas and LL Bean.  I have a medium sized duffle and getting one for the wife so she can keep everything in one bag.

Fourth:  On this initial trip we decided no cooking.  Make things as easy as possible while we were learning.  Ready for camp cooking now.  Have all my cast iron ware seasoned and dusting off my old backpacking and tent camping recipes.

Fifth:  Total believer in WDH and sway bars.  Traveling the high desert of central Idaho you can get into some gusting wind conditions.  Sway bars were great.  My maximum speed while towing is around 55.  Could go faster but I feel comfortable at that speed.

Six:  My tow vehicle was great.  Pulled the passes with no problem.  My normal gas mileage is around 30 mpg.  Averaged about 19-20 while towing.  Not unhappy with that.

Issues I encountered:

1.  When we were at the full service campground I hooked up to city water.  Had good pressure coming out of the hose but only a dribble out of the faucets.  Don't know if there is some valve arrangement I am unaware of or what.  Will address that with Camping World.  When we got to Redfish Lake I was using water from my internal tanks.  Initially the water was very cloudy but i think that was just air in the lines because eventually it started running clear with sufficient pressure.  I turned the water pressure switch on and left it on the duration of our stay while using internal tank.

2.  The air conditioner worked great on shore power.  Noisy but worked.  Wish there was more than one fan speed when AC is on.  Problem was when we went to Redfish and I had to use generators.  I have two Champion 2000 watt generators I was running in parallel.  Even with everything else off they overloaded when I switched on the AC.  When I bought them Camping World assured me they would run the AC plus other things.  From reading the Forum I may be having an amperage problem with the AC.  Will also take that up with Camper World.

3.  Brake controller:  I am still trying to determine the correct settings for the brake controller.  I have a MOPAR digital brake controller that was installed by the Jeep dealer after factory.  I think I had the gain set too high as the trailer brakes would seem to lock on me.  Even when I thought I had them set correctly after about an hour of driving I would get lock when I braked.  Set the gain down to 1.5 and that seemed to solve the problem but unsure exactly how much I am getting from the trailer brakes now.  That is a little concern when going down some of the 7% and 10% grades around here.

4.  We used the radio a lot.  Only problem was when we turned on the bathroom light the radio went off.  When we turned the bathroom light off the radio came back on.  Figure that one out.  Another one for Camping World.

Overall we had a great initial experience.  My wife is already planning for a couple of nights in Yellowstone in the next couple of weeks.  The elk should start bugling soon and should be more bear activity and fewer tourists.  Should mention my backing expertise has improved but still a subject for amusing videos on UTube.  My wife, bless her heart, assists me in backing by standing somewhere out of my mirror vision behind the trailer with her arms crossed.  As I am about to hit something I do here a loud "STOP you idiot" from her but I am getting bette.

Lastly, it is amusing the amount of attention RPODs get.  People are always looking at it and pointing.  Even people with big expensive rigs have come up and talked about down sizing.  

See y'all on the road or in the western campgrounds.