Wanted to help you just on the 179 dinette question. For us, the big rear kitchen works best for my wife as she loves to cook. Also, no bodies (like mine) squeezing past her, (as you'd get with a traditional side "galley" kitchen along the hallway). Also there is an amazing amount of room for kitchen storage cubbies inherent in the 179.
The trade off is a few issues with the 179's center dinette's usefulness. We answered one of our contentions with one low-tech modification: I remounted the leg assembly on the dining table, offsetting the leg mounts toward one side. (I'm not the originator of this idea, I learned of this mod from another member... whose name I wish I had handy to insert here).
After this mod, you can more easily reposition the table perpendicular in the center dinette zone, and now, one portion of the table overhangs (more than before) over the long center back padding of the dinette.
This is more convenient for a couple having beverages/snacks, or playing cards, or sitting opposite each other, as you are looking across the table the narrow way. A few more inches of one end of the table can now overhang back center bench (now that leg mounts are offset the other way).
We now prefer having a full meal with the table set perpendicularly (as opposed to lengthwise). However, if YOU DO want to position the table crosswise, that's OK too. After the mod with the legs shifted one way, it's easier to get in and slide around past the table leg obstructions, since they are slightly shifted to one side underneath. Just enter the dinette past the table on the more open side.
The table itself is very heavy, rigid and strong, so there are no negatives to the legset being remounted in an offset position of 4 to 7 inches (your choice). And best of all, the modification is completely reversible to the factory holes.
The converse benefit of the "table legs remount" mod, is that the opposite end (hallway side) of the table end, (when perpendicular) now does not stick out into the hallway as much, and thusly stays further out of range of the open swing of the bathroom door.
Finally, a mod #2 is coming: haven't done this one yet: The "end pads" that you sit on with the 179 dinette feel like sitting on squishy marshmallows to us. Neither of us are big people, but we'd be happier with higher-density foam stuffed into those two end-pads. I have yet to put better foam into those two "butt pods" on the ends, but that is planned for 2017.
( Incidentally, we did add a sheet of thin high density foam under the back bench pad of the 179 dinette. ) And, I've noticed some podders getting quite creative revamping ALL the seating material in the dinette portion, ....including purging the factory table, and coming up with their own unique table.
Anyway, once both mods are done, we will be happy still with the 179 dinette.
Yet, I completely understand why others choose the 180 or 178, however. But since I benefit greatly from the "Rachael Ray" aspects of my wife's skill set, we knew the 179 was best for us. Hope this helps in some small way. Whatever your model choice (which also affects the size of your bathroom), best wishes on scoring the most perfect model for you. And whatever the issue may be, "there's (almost) always a mod for that." There are some really smart pod-modders in our community.
B & L
WonderPod, the ('17) 179 HRE
towed by "BG"
Western NC