Just joined from Idaho - 179 Owner

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Hi! We purchased a 2016 1/2, only 5 times out, 179! We are thrilled and terrified. :-) We were very fortunate to find this great deal from a really nice couple who barely used it (I spent yesterday taking off new appliance stickers and doing a formality clean) and did a few great upgrades (e.g., full-sized mattress, tv swivel arm, generator).  They clearly hated to see it go, but decided they wanted to join the toy hauler crowd. We, on the other hand, have been die hard tenters, but age is impacting our comfort, so we've been keeping our eye out for good deals in this floor plan. 
We've spent the last couple days searching this forum and really appreciate everyone that has shared their information and modifications. We have a lot to learn and this site is great to get people fully into the pod experience quickly. Thank you! 

Thank you especially for the "checklists" and "must haves" posts. We've been all over them trying to customize them for our use. We're from Pocatello/Driggs Idaho and have friends with rpods, or will soon be getting rpods. 

When we brought it home Friday, we managed to bottom out on a stabilizer jack (ever so gently) while backing it into my slightly sloping driveway. I have searched the forums for alternatives to the fixed stabilizer jacks and haven't seen anything. we are thinking we'd have better ground clearance for maneuvering without the two on the back being fixed. Maybe I need a better keyword? or more experience. Would appreciate your thoughts on this....

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IdSummitGirl Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Newbie Joined: 31 Mar 2017 Online Status: Offline Posts: 12	Topic: Just joined from Idaho - 179 Owner Posted: 02 Apr 2017 at 10:58am
	Hi! We purchased a 2016 1/2, only 5 times out, 179! We are thrilled and terrified. :-) We were very fortunate to find this great deal from a really nice couple who barely used it (I spent yesterday taking off new appliance stickers and doing a formality clean) and did a few great upgrades (e.g., full-sized mattress, tv swivel arm, generator). They clearly hated to see it go, but decided they wanted to join the toy hauler crowd. We, on the other hand, have been die hard tenters, but age is impacting our comfort, so we've been keeping our eye out for good deals in this floor plan. We've spent the last couple days searching this forum and really appreciate everyone that has shared their information and modifications. We have a lot to learn and this site is great to get people fully into the pod experience quickly. Thank you! Thank you especially for the "checklists" and "must haves" posts. We've been all over them trying to customize them for our use. We're from Pocatello/Driggs Idaho and have friends with rpods, or will soon be getting rpods. When we brought it home Friday, we managed to bottom out on a stabilizer jack (ever so gently) while backing it into my slightly sloping driveway. I have searched the forums for alternatives to the fixed stabilizer jacks and haven't seen anything. we are thinking we'd have better ground clearance for maneuvering without the two on the back being fixed. Maybe I need a better keyword? or more experience. Would appreciate your thoughts on this....
	The Journey Matters....

Leo B Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List podders Helping podders - pHp Joined: 13 Jan 2012 Location: Lyndonville, VT Online Status: Offline Posts: 4518	Posted: 02 Apr 2017 at 1:31pm
	Welcome to the group! Congrats on your 179! We really like ours!!
	Leo & Melissa Bachand 2017 Ford F150 2021 Vista Cruiser 19 csk Previously owned 2015 Rpod 179 2010 Rpod 171

Tars Tarkas Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Senior Member Joined: 14 Jan 2013 Location: Near Nashville Online Status: Offline Posts: 1454	Posted: 02 Apr 2017 at 2:30pm
	Idaho is a great place to have a camper! Congrats! Maybe the first thing to try regarding the rear stabilizers, is to lower your hitch ball. The pod should tow level to slightly low in front, so if it's already there, this suggestion may not help, but if you can lower the hitch end, that will raise the back end. There are other stabilizers that I'm not familiar with, and you can take the ones you have off and stow them and use them loose. Not nearly as convenient, obviously. You can put boards and bricks under the back when camped. In other words, almost anything will do. You can also put 3" - 4" risers on the axle, but I bet you already have them. TT
	2010 176 FJ Cruiser

IdSummitGirl Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Newbie Joined: 31 Mar 2017 Online Status: Offline Posts: 12	Posted: 02 Apr 2017 at 2:35pm
	Thank you. I like the hitch and riser idea. I am not sure where we are at on either. We also have an FJ. :-)
	The Journey Matters....

birderdiane526 Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Senior Member Joined: 08 May 2016 Location: Texas Online Status: Offline Posts: 320	Posted: 02 Apr 2017 at 2:43pm
	Hi and welcome! Congratulations on your new POD! We purchased our gently used R-pod 2016 179 last June and have been very happy with it. We full-time with 3 cats! We removed the rear jacks because they often scraped on uneven surfaces. We use what are called stack jacks. They are metal jacks that you put under the frame to level and remove and store when traveling. They're available at Walmarts and Camping World. Probably Amazon, too! Also, if you're on Facebook consider joining the Rpod group there. Like this forum, there's lots of great people and great information and advice! Have fun!
	Diane and Michael 2016 179 "PIP" (PODDING IN PARADISE) 2007 Toyota Tundra BLOG:Podding in Paradise, birderdiane526.blogspot.com

Tars Tarkas Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Senior Member Joined: 14 Jan 2013 Location: Near Nashville Online Status: Offline Posts: 1454	Posted: 02 Apr 2017 at 2:47pm
	I hope that smiley means you like yours as much as I like my FJ! Absolutely the most fun vehicle I've ever had. Even though it's not that big a truck, I had to lower my hitch a good bit to level the pod. And I don't have a lift or monster tires or anything. It does very well towing the pod, but I don't enjoy the 9-11 mpg I get when towing. I tend to drive faster than I probably should though. Two things I think are very important if you have an automatic transmission: an auxiliary transmission cooler (very easy to install) and some way to monitor the transmission fluid temperature. I use a Scanguage. Third thing: don't drive in 5th at all, and in the mountains you may need to drop into 3rd or even 2nd, not so much for the torque, but to keep the transmission from searching for gears. That's what really drives up the temp. I drive a lot in the Smokey Mountains and even there, my transmission used to get way hotter than I like. Last fall in the Rockies with the transmission cooler I did fine. TT
	2010 176 FJ Cruiser

IdSummitGirl Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Newbie Joined: 31 Mar 2017 Online Status: Offline Posts: 12	Posted: 02 Apr 2017 at 3:03pm
	Thank you!
	The Journey Matters....

IdSummitGirl Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Newbie Joined: 31 Mar 2017 Online Status: Offline Posts: 12	Posted: 02 Apr 2017 at 3:08pm
	We like it alot. Named it Onyx. We actually have a manual transmission and we did notice the low mpg with that as well, but knew it going into it. We were also driving slower than I would have liked bringing the pod home, but the wind was very high that day. I appreciate all your info. My man will be reviewing it....
	The Journey Matters....

IdSummitGirl Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Newbie Joined: 31 Mar 2017 Online Status: Offline Posts: 12	Posted: 02 Apr 2017 at 3:17pm
	Thank you for these tips re: the jacks. We have so many uneven surfaces out here. If we can adjust the leveling as another poster suggested and modify the jacks, it might make a huge difference for us. I am also interested in your "logistics" (i.e., cat box) with three cats. We have one and if we could make her pod compatible, it would give us options on longer trips. She wasn't too impressed when we introduced her to it the other day. Seemed more interested in getting back into her "real" house. I will look for the rpod FB group as well. Hadn't even thought of that....
	The Journey Matters....

mcarter Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List podders Helping podders - pHp Joined: 07 Apr 2016 Location: Greenbrier, TN Online Status: Offline Posts: 3419	Posted: 02 Apr 2017 at 5:03pm
	There was a post in the recent past by a member who replaced the upper jack bolts, not the ones holding jack to frame, the bolts thru top of jack with locking pins. SO they could remove the jack when the got in a situation where they would drag. Fairly easy fix and solved the drag issue. For some reason my search does get me anywhere past today, have tried the advanced search and it indicates I have results, but nothing is displayed.
	Mike Carter 2015 178 " I had the right to remain silent, I just didn't have the ability."