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parisim105 View Drop Down
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Joined: 25 Jan 2017
Location: Wilmington, NC
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Posts: 3 		Direct Link To This Post Topic: Seriously Considering 178
    Posted: 25 Jan 2017 at 10:00pm
I tow a 2017 RPod 171 with a 2012 V6 Nissan Frontier.  The gas mileage isn't very good (10-11 mpg), but the power on the truck when accelerating is good.  I also had supersprings (extra support for the rear leaf springs) put on the truck, which makes a big difference.  No sagging whatsoever now.  I previously had a 2016 Coachmen Clipper 17BH that I towed without the supersprings.  It really pulled the back end down, and only got 9 mpg.  The GVWR was only a little higher on the Coachmen, but the tongue weight was almost double, and the truck didn't like it.  I preferred the bathroom on the Clipper - small tub/shower rather than the shower pan in front of the toilet with the RPod (this is what I like the least about the RPod), but I like everthing else better, including the quality of the RPod.  I got the 171 because I wanted the lowest weight and wanted to stay away from slides.  I often pull over to free parking spots while in transit (Walmart, truck stops), and didn't want to have to mess with slides.  I also had seen several posts about issues with leaking or stuck slides, and didn't want to have to deal with that.  

I have done lots of mods for storage and organization purposes, and a little decorating.  I put up a wire shelve from one window to the other across the master bed to put clothes.  I ran bungie cord in a zigzag from the front edge of the wire shelf to the ceiling using hooks in order to keep the clothes in place, and support the weight of the shelf.  Works great!  I also put up shelves above a couple windows, and put some bungie netting in front of them to keep the stuff in.  These shelves help immensely with storage. 

Good luck with your purchase, I'm sure you'll love it!
Out exploring the country
TV: 2012 Nissan Frontier
2017 RPod 171
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HikerSteve View Drop Down
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Posts: 15 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 23 Jan 2017 at 7:01pm
Originally posted by Leo B

Welcome to the group! We tow with our 179 with our Grand Caravan and have towed up and down the coast from Vermont to Florida. Our caravan tow it find, we average between 13.5 and 16.5 mpg depending on hills and wind. Have never had a problem. 

Thanks for the information! I got pretty beat up for mentioning the Caravan in a different form, they're actually still going on about it haha. 

My wife and I talked it over and we are going to continue pulling with my Silverado for now, even just downsizing to have less weight to pull plus being able to fit in much smaller spots will be worth it.

Originally posted by jato

Storage will probably be near the top of your list I would be concerned about.  My wife and I have a 177 and the majority of our storage is in the back of our Explorer.  With the addition of an r-dome you double your space which will help but then you have the addiitonal time spent in setting up (15 min.) and tearing down (10 min) each time you use it.  When our family was small like yours we had a 4 person Rockwood pop-up, which had zero storage and no amenities, we made it work.  Will depend on how much you need creature comforts and how much you are willing to go simple and rough it.  We didn't mind roughing it and made it work until the next baby came.

We are pretty savvy when it comes to bring gear and try to keep it to a minimum. The biggest items are the bikes and we are hoping to either put them on the back of the Pod or in the back of the truck. We typically just use the picnic table and have a table top grill, simple things like that. Most our gear is backpacking / hiking gear. We definitely looked at the dome but think the awning will be enough for us.

Originally posted by mcarter

I went to the RV Super Show in Nashville last SAT. They had two RPods there, a 178 and a 179. The price you were quoted is within $400 of what they were selling the 178 for. I have a 2015 178. I also saw your posts on the other forum. You didn't get a lot of support for the Caravan plan. I have no complaints with my 178, I do a lot of mods myself, and basically to me it's fun. I wish I had more storage inside, but I have managed to make it functional with mods. Lots of good ideas on this forum to assist.

I called another place that was selling their 178 for $15598 which is $1500 less but they also offered my $1700 less for our current unit so I would be losing $200 with that deal.

I think we are ok with the deal we are being offered and will be calling the dealer in the next day or two to get the the paperwork going.

Thanks to everyone for all the information here! We are pretty excited to get the 178, unfortunately even once we sign the papers it'll be another few months before winter will be over and we can get out camping!

Any other information is appreciated! 
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mcarter View Drop Down
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Joined: 07 Apr 2016
Location: Greenbrier, TN
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Posts: 3419 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 23 Jan 2017 at 6:09pm
I went to the RV Super Show in Nashville last SAT. They had two RPods there, a 178 and a 179. The price you were quoted is within $400 of what they were selling the 178 for. I have a 2015 178. I also saw your posts on the other forum. You didn't get a lot of support for the Caravan plan. I have no complaints with my 178, I do a lot of mods myself, and basically to me it's fun. I wish I had more storage inside, but I have managed to make it functional with mods. Lots of good ideas on this forum to assist.
Mike Carter
2015 178
" I had the right to remain silent, I just didn't have the ability."
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jato View Drop Down
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Joined: 23 Feb 2012
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Posts: 3331 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 23 Jan 2017 at 8:48am
Storage will probably be near the top of your list I would be concerned about.  My wife and I have a 177 and the majority of our storage is in the back of our Explorer.  With the addition of an r-dome you double your space which will help but then you have the addiitonal time spent in setting up (15 min.) and tearing down (10 min) each time you use it.  When our family was small like yours we had a 4 person Rockwood pop-up, which had zero storage and no amenities, we made it work.  Will depend on how much you need creature comforts and how much you are willing to go simple and rough it.  We didn't mind roughing it and made it work until the next baby came.
God's pod
'11 model 177
'17 Ford F-150 4WD 3.5 Ecoboost
Jim and Diane by beautiful Torch Lake
"...and you will know the Truth and the Truth will set you free."
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Leo B View Drop Down
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Joined: 13 Jan 2012
Location: Lyndonville, VT
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Posts: 4518 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 22 Jan 2017 at 8:39pm
Welcome to the group! We tow with our 179 with our Grand Caravan and have towed up and down the coast from Vermont to Florida. Our caravan tow it find, we average between 13.5 and 16.5 mpg depending on hills and wind. Have never had a problem. 
Leo & Melissa Bachand
2017 Ford F150
2021 Vista Cruiser 19 csk
Previously owned
2015 Rpod 179
2010 Rpod 171
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HikerSteve View Drop Down
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Joined: 21 Jan 2017
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Posts: 15 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 22 Jan 2017 at 6:55pm
Hello everyone. My wife and I are considering downsizing from our Prime Time Avenger 26BH to a 178. We are a family of 4 currently have a 2 year old boy and a 4 month girl. 

We are seriously considering downsizing because my current TV has over 200,000 and is getting a bit tired. I really don't want another full size truck. I originally got it in my head that I can pull one with our 2014 Grand Caravan because over the last summer I saw quite a few being pulled by them, but I got told numerous times on another forum that under no circumstances a Grand Caravan should ever pull one. So that idea got killed. 

We are still considering one because it really seems to fit our needs and I really don't want to purchase another full size truck in the near future. Basically has everything we have now but is 10' shorter. We currently have the bunkhouse but our kids are too young to use the top bunk and will be for quite a few years. We think that the kids will be good sleeping on the dinette conversion bed.

We went to the dealer yesterday and they are offering us a 2017 which seems to have all the options along with the awning for $16,998. They are about the only RPod dealer in the area without driving 60+ miles. They are tossing a couple of extra gimmicks in like $200 in store credit and 10% off in the store for life.

Does this sound like a reasonable price? The next closest one to us that I can find is $15998 but I don't think it has an AC unit included. 

Does this seem reasonable for a family of 4? We considered another pop-up but we really didn't care for our last one and the 178 is basically the same thing without the setup time and it has a few more amenities. What don't you like about your RPod? Is there anything specific I should be looking at?

Any tips, pointers, questions, or opinions are greatly appreciated! Thanks for your time!
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