New Pod 189 Owner
Printed From: R-pod Owners Forum
Category: R-pod Discussion Forums
Forum Name: Introduce Yourself
Forum Discription: New Members - tell us about yourself and your r-pod
URL: http://www.rpod-owners.com/forum_posts.asp?TID=11095
Printed Date: 17 May 2024 at 11:39pm
Software Version: Web Wiz Forums 9.64 - http://www.webwizforums.com
Topic: New Pod 189 Owner
Posted By: 2wolves
Subject: New Pod 189 Owner
Date Posted: 25 Jan 2018 at 11:41pm
|
Good evening all,
Picking up my r-pod 189 on 1 February. Does anyone have suggestions on what I should be paying particular attention to? This is my first travel trailer and I'm very nervous about doing the walk through, and knowing what to look for. Just retired after 38 years of military. I'm 58 years old and about to begin my travels with my canine Cyrus. I would greatly appreciate any advice you may be able to provide. Thank you in advance! 2wolves ------------- 2022 196 2021 Chevy Tahoe |
Replies:
Posted By: jato
Date Posted: 26 Jan 2018 at 6:43am
|
First and foremost, THANK YOU for your unselfish service to this great country. When our son (Army) returned home from Afghanistan we were so thankful that he came back in one piece and alive. Take your phone or other device and record the walk through. Our dealer was very thorough and if you are fortunate to get a good dealer it will be easy to forget all that is covered as there is much to go through. Then in your own time you can play back and review all that was covered. Of course there is this forum which has proven to be invaluable to many of us as there are many seasoned veterans who can answer just about anything you may have questions about. Welcome to this forum.
------------- 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." |
Posted By: 2wolves
Date Posted: 26 Jan 2018 at 6:59am
|
Go morning God's pod,
Thank you for taking your time to respond. I had planned on filming my walkthrough, so I could do exactly that. As mentioned in my post this is my 1st travel trailer, so I know you can imagine my stress and and anxiety lol. I agree most questions would be answered on the pod forum. I'm so thankful for the forum and forum members like yourself. Again thank you and I hope you have a blessed day! ------------- 2022 196 2021 Chevy Tahoe |
Posted By: Leo B
Date Posted: 26 Jan 2018 at 7:50am
|
Welcome to the group!! Congrats on your 189!! ------------- Leo & Melissa Bachand 2017 Ford F150 2021 Vista Cruiser 19 csk Previously owned 2015 Rpod 179 2010 Rpod 171 |
Posted By: StephenH
Date Posted: 26 Jan 2018 at 8:17am
Congratulations and welcome! I am a 26 year Army Veteran. When we bought our 179, it was our first camping trailer also. We have had a number of trips with it, both local and cross-country. We have enjoyed it. I hope you have many great adventures with your 189 and make many happy memories in the process. 
------------- StephenH Happy is the man that findeth wisdom,... http://www.rpod-owners.com/forum_posts.asp?TID=7712 - ouR escaPOD mods Former RPod 179 Current Cherokee Grey Wolf 24 JS |
Posted By: WW2@1941
Date Posted: 26 Jan 2018 at 8:43am
|
Thank you ------------- Prod 189 2017 Chevy Silverado Crew Cab 2014 Harley |
Posted By: WW2@1941
Date Posted: 26 Jan 2018 at 8:45am
|
Good morning! Thank you for your response. Thank you for your service! ------------- Prod 189 2017 Chevy Silverado Crew Cab 2014 Harley |
Posted By: WW2@1941
Date Posted: 26 Jan 2018 at 8:48am
|
Good morning Leo,
I have a 2017 Chevy Silverado crew cab. Do you use weight distribution when towing your 179? I was thinking of only getting a sway bar. Your thoughts? Again thank you for your response and I appreciate any advice you may be able to provide. Thanks Tom ------------- Prod 189 2017 Chevy Silverado Crew Cab 2014 Harley |
Posted By: Leo B
Date Posted: 26 Jan 2018 at 9:35am
|
Don't use the wdh or any sway bars. Tows great! Have towed up and down the east coast and through the mountains in VT,NH ad Maine haven't had any problems. We usually poke along at 55-60 and if the weather is bad or the winds are real bad we wait them out. I did tow my 179 around the area this past December, just to see how it was towing in and on snow. Still handled really good. I know a lot of people use the wdh and sway bars. Boils down to personal preference and comfort. ------------- Leo & Melissa Bachand 2017 Ford F150 2021 Vista Cruiser 19 csk Previously owned 2015 Rpod 179 2010 Rpod 171 |
Posted By: crw8sr
Date Posted: 26 Jan 2018 at 9:44am
|
Congratulations on your retirement and thank you for your service to our country. I'm a US Army, Medic, Viet Nam Veteran. We will use the wdh and sway bars. I feel for a small expense it'll add to towing comfort. We pick up our 190 on Saturday the 27th. ------------- Chuck & Lyn Izzy, Morkie. RIP Zoe Joy & Gracie, Yorkie 2018 R Pod 190 2019 Traverse In moments of adversity;when life's a total wreck, I think of those worse off than me and really feel like heck. |
Posted By: mcarter
Date Posted: 26 Jan 2018 at 10:25am
|
I tow with a Silverado crew cab, I do use a sway control but no WDH. Tows fine. Sway bar comforts me in windy conditions. ------------- Mike Carter 2015 178 " I had the right to remain silent, I just didn't have the ability." |
Posted By: 2wolves
Date Posted: 26 Jan 2018 at 10:39am
|
Chuck thank you for your service. Congrats on the new 190. I agree I think at a minimum I will use the sway bar. It's really a small world! one of my positions in the military was overlooking all training for 68W combat medics at Department of Combat Medical Training DCMT Fort Sam Houston, TX. Again thank you for your service. I greatly appreciate your reply.
Thanks Tom ------------- 2022 196 2021 Chevy Tahoe |
Posted By: 2wolves
Date Posted: 26 Jan 2018 at 10:43am
|
Thanks Mike for the response. It's funny I have a cousin and his name is Mike Carter. His father's name was Bernie ------------- 2022 196 2021 Chevy Tahoe |
Posted By: mjlrpod
Date Posted: 26 Jan 2018 at 2:54pm
|
Being your first, I would like to make one recommendation that you might want to think about. A T.T. should have an EMS system installed. They "should" but.... They don't. An EMS system is a unit that will protect your camper from bad electrical issues you might encounter in a campground. There is a chance that the campground can have high voltage, low voltage, ungrounded service, or a few other possible issues, that will destroy your campers system. An EMS will guard against this. It's a couple hundred bucks, but, having your T.T. at risk is not really worth it. I believe most here, if not all, will agree that you want to get this, and done soon. Welcome aboard, and thank you for your service. Progressive Industries seems to be the brand everyone gets. EMS is an elec management system. You would want the EMSHW30C. amazon or e-trailer are possible sources. ------------- 2017.5 Rp-172 2020 R-pod 195 2015 Frontier sv 4.0L 6cyl I'll be rpodding |
Posted By: 2wolves
Date Posted: 26 Jan 2018 at 3:01pm
|
Thank you for your response. Is this something I should have the dealer install? Really appreciate the heads up. I had never heard Of that being an issue. Again thank you! ------------- 2022 196 2021 Chevy Tahoe |
Posted By: Richand Cindy
Date Posted: 26 Jan 2018 at 3:45pm
|
Agree an EMS system is critical. We had ours click off twice this past season. Progressive industries makes a portable version (which costs more) that plugs in at the electric box but do you really want to worry about it getting stolen at a campsite? Better to get the hard wired. Not hard to install just needs to get spliced into the AC line before it hits the fuse box. There are YouTube videos on it. We paid to have the dealer install it for around $120 if I recall. Only because we took a trip straight from picking it up and did not want to leave home without it
------------- OLD 2017.5 RPOD 180 + 2015 Jeep Cherokee Trailhawk NEW: 2018 Passport Elite 23RB + 2017 Ram 1500 Diesel |
Posted By: crw8sr
Date Posted: 26 Jan 2018 at 4:37pm
|
Thanks to this forum an EMS was the first thing we purchased for our R-pod. And it's the reason we purchased a pod. Again, thanks to the forum, there's a bunch of mods we,re going to be doing. ------------- Chuck & Lyn Izzy, Morkie. RIP Zoe Joy & Gracie, Yorkie 2018 R Pod 190 2019 Traverse In moments of adversity;when life's a total wreck, I think of those worse off than me and really feel like heck. |
Posted By: mcarter
Date Posted: 26 Jan 2018 at 4:44pm
|
2wolves,
What is funny is I also have a cousin named Mike Carter, his Dad was Glen and mine was John :) +1 on EMS, mine is the in line type that plugs into the shore power cable. I retired from the Army a year ago, 35 years. Started out in "NAM" as USMC 0311. ------------- Mike Carter 2015 178 " I had the right to remain silent, I just didn't have the ability." |
Posted By: 2wolves
Date Posted: 26 Jan 2018 at 5:21pm
|
WOW that's awesome! Thank you for your 35 years of service.I know how difficult that was. I did a little research and I agree I'm going to use the portable one and not hardwire. Again thanks for the info I appreciate you. ------------- 2022 196 2021 Chevy Tahoe |
Posted By: ron_whitt
Date Posted: 27 Jan 2018 at 7:52am
|
Welcome 2wolves from north of 49. Yes an ems system is important. I'm going on my 3rd year with the portable type (this is year #7 with our pod.) I got it after I lost my hot water heater due to a power surge in a thunder storm.... As I said 3rd year with a portable ems. All we do is put a garage bag over the electrical post and people think we are just protecting our plug in case of rain. I also have a chain and lock around the post that is also covered by the garbage bag. ------------- Ron & Shirley 2020 Tacoma 2012 177 rpod |
Posted By: 2wolves
Date Posted: 27 Jan 2018 at 9:11am
|
Good morning,
Should I use a EMS when I'm using a Honda EU2000 generator with inverter? ------------- 2022 196 2021 Chevy Tahoe |
Posted By: mcarter
Date Posted: 27 Jan 2018 at 9:13am
|
I believe you could with adapter, I don't on my generator just commercial power. QUESTION- I you checked out the KY mini-mini, think they are a couple sites left, the post is on forum? ------------- Mike Carter 2015 178 " I had the right to remain silent, I just didn't have the ability." |
Posted By: mjlrpod
Date Posted: 27 Jan 2018 at 7:03pm
|
Just a heads up on the generator. If you install the EMS, and you try to run off your generator (any size, any brand name) your EMS will block the power, and not run. There are 2 choices. Run without the EMS, which i would NOT recommend, or, also buy a progressive generator plug. Because gennys arte not grounded, the EMS does its job and stops the "un-grounded" power from ruining your camper. The plug, tells the EMS it's ok to let the power thru. You can get those at amazon or e-trailer also. ------------- 2017.5 Rp-172 2020 R-pod 195 2015 Frontier sv 4.0L 6cyl I'll be rpodding |
Posted By: NAP1947
Date Posted: 27 Jan 2018 at 7:25pm
|
Mjlrpod, first I have heard of the generator issue, but it certainly makes sense. We have the hard wired Progressive Industries unit however when I went to their site I did not see a generator adaptor, would you provide more details please. ------------- Susan and Norm 2016 Venza, V6 factory tow 2018 RP179 |
Posted By: mjlrpod
Date Posted: 27 Jan 2018 at 8:22pm
It's called a neutral bonding plug. I can't believe i cant find one. I bought one from progressive industries 6 to 8 months ago. You can make one, you just tie the white and green wire together, there is DIY videos on you tube. perhaps others can chime in. ------------- 2017.5 Rp-172 2020 R-pod 195 2015 Frontier sv 4.0L 6cyl I'll be rpodding |
Posted By: StephenH
Date Posted: 27 Jan 2018 at 10:16pm
|
Yes, it is simple to make. Go to your local hardware store and purchase a male plug with ground, preferably weather resistant. Take a short piece of wire (10 gauge is best followed by 12 gauge). Fasten one end to the neutral (silver colored) connector, screw or insert depending on your plug. Fasten the other end to the ground (green) connector. Do not connect anything to the third (gold/brass colored) connector. Close the housing and then use a little silicone to seal where the wire would normally go through. You will then have a functional neutral bonding plug for a lot less than Progressive Industries would want to charge. Plug it into one of the outlets on your generator. Plug your cord into the other outlet (assuming a 2000 watt generator with a dual 15A plug). If you have a 30A outlet, plugging the neutral bonding plug into the 15A outlet should also provide the bonding for the 30A outlet. I made one. It only took a few minutes (plus time for the silicone plugging the hole to cure). I tried it and it works very well. The reason you need one with a generator is that most generators have a "floating neutral" unlike the power coming from your home's outlets or the post in an RV park. There, the bonding is done at the service panel. The circuit analyzer is expecting bonded neutral and the plug provides this. ------------- StephenH Happy is the man that findeth wisdom,... http://www.rpod-owners.com/forum_posts.asp?TID=7712 - ouR escaPOD mods Former RPod 179 Current Cherokee Grey Wolf 24 JS |
Posted By: Old & out-to-play
Date Posted: 28 Jan 2018 at 10:48am
|
Thank you for your service! Just a suggestion, have the wheels balanced at a tire center. We had major wheel hop on our 177 as the left wheel was in balance but the right was way out of balance causing a harmonic type of wheel hop very noticeable at speeds above 55. At 70 the hop caused sway in even slight side winds. After having the wheels balanced the trailer pulls nicely and the need for sway bars was negated. Some folks have commented on tire failure but we have had not issues as we keep the tire pressures at 50 lbs. and the wheels balance. From what I have been able to discern the tires are NOT factory balanced. Hope this helps, Bert ------------- Old and in the way so now it's time to play |
Posted By: 2wolves
Date Posted: 28 Jan 2018 at 12:11pm
|
Bert,
Thanks for the advice! I'm picking up on Thursday not sure what tire comes on the unit, but I was thinking about switching out to the new Good Year ST. Will have them balanced when I do the exchange. Will probably use the old tires to create myself a couple of spares. ------------- 2022 196 2021 Chevy Tahoe |
Posted By: crw8sr
Date Posted: 28 Jan 2018 at 1:00pm
|
IT'S HERE!!! Picked up our R-pod 190 yesterday. A non-standard, January mid 50's sunny day in Omaha. Drove around a big parking lot practicing turning and backing up before hitting the streets to get comfortable in traffic. Now today when I want to tinker with it, it's mid 20's and snow flurries! Grrrrrrr. ------------- Chuck & Lyn Izzy, Morkie. RIP Zoe Joy & Gracie, Yorkie 2018 R Pod 190 2019 Traverse In moments of adversity;when life's a total wreck, I think of those worse off than me and really feel like heck. |
Posted By: mcarter
Date Posted: 28 Jan 2018 at 3:53pm
|
+1 to old and-out-out-to-play. I think new pods come with D rated tires which is a plus, but chances are they will not be balanced. ------------- Mike Carter 2015 178 " I had the right to remain silent, I just didn't have the ability." |
Posted By: mcarter
Date Posted: 28 Jan 2018 at 4:08pm
|
+1 to SH, made my own plug for less than 4 bucks, did not silicone. I used 12 GA wire, it's a 15A plug. Only issue I have is getting it all to fit on the genset. You have the floating neutral adapter, the standard plug adapter and the power protector. Probably why I don't use genset to run the pod. I use it to recharge battery(s). ------------- Mike Carter 2015 178 " I had the right to remain silent, I just didn't have the ability." |
Posted By: Live2Camp
Date Posted: 28 Jan 2018 at 5:43pm
Welcome! And thank you very much for your service to our country. Something tells me you & Cyrus are going to do great with your RPod. We love ours and you will too! ------------- 2017 R-Pod 179 HRE (the green one) His:Ford F150 double cab 4WD; Hers/mine:Tacoma V6 double cab 4WD Still love rugged, diggin' comfy too |
Posted By: Live2Camp
Date Posted: 28 Jan 2018 at 5:45pm
Congrats! Sorry about today's conditions but I'm glad you got to drive it home with weather drama :-) ------------- 2017 R-Pod 179 HRE (the green one) His:Ford F150 double cab 4WD; Hers/mine:Tacoma V6 double cab 4WD Still love rugged, diggin' comfy too |
Posted By: mjlrpod
Date Posted: 29 Jan 2018 at 3:39pm
I just have the neutral plug, and my 30 amp plug. I have 2 left over 20 amp plugs. I use two honda's, and a hard wired EMS ------------- 2017.5 Rp-172 2020 R-pod 195 2015 Frontier sv 4.0L 6cyl I'll be rpodding |
Posted By: Anovib
Date Posted: 31 Jan 2018 at 9:26am
|
Any do it your sellers out there?
Installing w/d e2 hitch on my 1/2 ton crew cab Silverado Pulling our 190. Looking for advice on how many shims to use for best anti sway results. Measurements are all set and look good. Still I can detect a slight sway at highway speeds Thanks in advance |