Considering an Rpod
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URL: http://www.rpod-owners.com/forum_posts.asp?TID=11262
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Topic: Considering an Rpod
Posted By: jerome
Subject: Considering an Rpod
Date Posted: 19 Mar 2018 at 8:13am
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Hello All I am making the transition from a Westy to a travel trailer. I have always liked the look and mystique around the Rpod, and now I want to purchase. I have narrowed it down to a 2018 180 or 190 Hood River edition. When searching reviews, I was very disheartened to read some very negative ones on late models. Needless to say this burst my bubble, and having a hard time believing it. It was mostly about poor craftsmanship, silicone and calk everywhere, heater and AC loud to the point of almost unusable, refer beeping and not working. Most of all they said no support from the dealers and Forest River. I am still very interested in the rpod and jumped in this forum to get some reviews from real owners. Any comments, experiences with late models would be very helpful. Thanks ahead for any who take the time to answer. Jerome in Idaho
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Replies:
Posted By: furpod
Date Posted: 19 Mar 2018 at 8:23am
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http://www.rpod-owners.com/forum_posts.asp?TID=11249&title=looking-at-an-rpodnew-owner
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Posted By: David and Danette
Date Posted: 19 Mar 2018 at 8:30am
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Furpod I am going to miss your signature hope it returns, time changes a lot of things. The canine campers are going to feel left out. David
------------- 2018 Vista Cruiser 19BFD (2018- 2012 Vibe 6503 (2014-2019) 2009 r-pod 171 (2009-2014) Middle Tn 2014 Ram 1500 Quad cab |
Posted By: Richand Cindy
Date Posted: 19 Mar 2018 at 9:50am
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This topic has been discussed several times on this board and there is actually a current thread discussing. Let me say this. I research everything, its my OCD. Was with my wife in the supermarket yesterday and she picked up a pizza cutter. I said no way was I paying $12.00. I came home and went on Amazon and bought the best reviewed one for $6. So why did I buy an RPOD with all the negative reviews? Basically because all RVs are built to a price point and they maximize how many they can make a day. So you may be unlucky and get one with more issues than another. But all RVs come with issues. If you want lesson the risk of a problem you could upgrade to a Lance or an Airstream. So go ahead and get an RPOD. Forest River does back their product. The place where I store my RV does not sell RVs but repairs all of them. He says FR is the best for paying him to do warranty work. In terms of the 180 or 190 it depends on your priorities. If a small dinette with larger bath is ok go with the 180. If you want more open space with a larger seating area but smaller dry bath go with the 190. Remember though the 180 can be fully used without having to extend the slideout. The 190 is very tight and I do not think you can even walk through to the bed or open the door to bath without having to put the slide out. ------------- OLD 2017.5 RPOD 180 + 2015 Jeep Cherokee Trailhawk NEW: 2018 Passport Elite 23RB + 2017 Ram 1500 Diesel |
Posted By: StephenH
Date Posted: 19 Mar 2018 at 10:07am
Hello Jerome, First, remember that complaints get voiced often and loudly. Positive experiences are not so often expressed. While there are some problems with R-Pods, other brands are not much different. The same hardware is used in different brands. The refrigerator that has problems in R-Pods may have the same problems in a Jayco or Winnebago clone. The same with the AC or furnace. Fit and finish is overall good in an R-Pod. You would have to look at R-Pods and other models to compare. That being said, vacuuming out the inside of hidden areas seems to get skipped. I opened up areas and vacuumed the sawdust out myself. It is not something that should be a deal killer. By "silicone and calk everywhere," it really depends on point of view. Around the vent stacks and fan openings, there is a lot of lap sealant (not caulk which would not work well). However, that is up on the roof and I don't know too many people that climb up there to admire the view. It is out of sight, so isn't a problem. The furnace and AC are loud. That is a problem of a small trailer with non-ducted furnace and AC. There are some things you can do to mitigate the noise. One is something I did to the inner shroud of the AC unit. I removed it (check because there are more screws in not very visible places holding it than you would think) and then took some thin, closed-cell foam and glued it to the inside of the shroud. This reduced the noise somewhat but it is still far from quiet. Changing the fan to run on low constantly and not cycle on and off with the compressor helps as then the sound is steady which is much less obnoxious than the cycling. For the furnace, make sure the thermostat is set so the AC does not come on when the furnace turns on. That will reduce the noise from there. I run a small fan both to help circulate the heat from under the bed of the 179 and to provide a steady sound that helps mask the furnace cycling. Forest River support? Our R-Pod had to go to the factory for repair after an accident. Although communications with the factory were slow, in the end, the factory went above what we expected and our R-Pod came back in great shape with some repairs that I did not even know were needed such as changing the Fantastic Fan out for the newer model fan and replacing the microwave which did not pass a HiPot test. We also got the newer style spoiler on the back. There are some issues though as I am waiting on a fender to replace one where the paint was peeling. The wrong one was sent to the authorized repairman. He told me that the factory said they were having a problem with the supplier for that particular part so we are waiting for the replacement to arrive. Dealer support? Our dealer (Country Roads RV Center in Lexington, North Carolina) has been excellent in providing warranty support. Other dealers are not so great. You do want to look at reviews for the dealer to decide if the dealer is one of the better ones or one best avoided. That applies no matter which brand of RV you eventually choose to purchase. Since we live in NC, we have the "Midwest edition" which is built in Goshen, Indiana. These seem to get more complaints than the "Hood River edition" RPods. Whichever plant builds them, these are lightweight travel trailers built to a price point where they are affordable. You spend many times more for an Airstream, but even they have problems. Because our R179 is inexpensive, I have had money to make modifications to make it even more to our liking. It isn't all Fiberglass inside like an Oliver or Bigfoot which would be difficult to modify. I am in the middle of a project now to modify the table and dinette to improve the sleeping arrangements. I will write that up in my mods when I am done. My other mods can be seen in my mods link (see signature). ------------- 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: ArenaBlanca
Date Posted: 19 Mar 2018 at 10:10am
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Welcome to the forum! This forum is very helpful in solving issues and addressing concerns. I think many of us are the "old school" people who never learned to type rapidly and therefore have a tendency to be rather terse in responses. We have a 2017 179HR and are quite satisfied with it. I think this is because we purchased it from an excellent dealer. We have bought other Forest River products from other dealers and have discovered that all dealers are not the same. You might want to see if your dealer will/can give you names of previous buyers for you to contact. As far as the noise for the heater and A/C, please keep in mind that the Pod is a small enclosed space. The Dometic A/C unit is very loud. We have a 34 foot TT with Dometic A/Cs and they are loud also. I was at a rally in Texas where one of the questions to a FR representative was what to do about the noise from the A/C. These owners had big Class A's and big 5th wheels. The only solution I have found is to camp when you don't need the A/C and use the Fantastic fan. We typically use the heater only in the mornings (if then) and it isn't as loud. Someone on this forum said you could multiply the number of "complainers" by ten to get the number of satisfied owners. I don't know that this is true but it is good to remember that any forum is what statisticians call a biased sample. These are mostly people looking for solutions. ------------- Enjoy Life!! |
Posted By: Happy Tripping
Date Posted: 19 Mar 2018 at 10:34am
Not to hijack, but I strongly agree, signatures enable us to get a quick 'feel' for the person on the forum. This 'p.c.ness' is what is also killing many forms of humor. Furpod, Keep the signature and bash on.
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Posted By: jerome
Date Posted: 19 Mar 2018 at 6:47pm
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I am so grateful for all of you who took the time to address my concerns. I am feeling much more positive again after hearing the practicalities and realities of a small travel trailer. Being handy and a woodworker for most of my life I am sure I can sort out any cosmetic issues and lack of proper fastening, and making things fit better. Thanks again, and I will report back when I pull the trigger! Cheers |
Posted By: jato
Date Posted: 19 Mar 2018 at 8:23pm
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Go for it Jerome! I really can't add anything new to what has already been addressed by those seasoned podders above. Anyway, my 2011 is getting 'grey hair' now going on year 8. Complaints with my 177, none.
------------- 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: Leo B
Date Posted: 20 Mar 2018 at 8:00am
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Ditto! ------------- Leo & Melissa Bachand 2017 Ford F150 2021 Vista Cruiser 19 csk Previously owned 2015 Rpod 179 2010 Rpod 171 |
Posted By: Wood River Pod
Date Posted: 20 Mar 2018 at 9:31am
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Jerome, Greetings from Hailey, neighbor. Jeff here. Just left you a voice mail. We just confirmed everyone's suspicion on this forum...everyone in Idaho must know each other.  All I can say is come this spring, drive around the valley and start counting how many pods you see. Once you keep an eye out for pods, they start popping out of the woodwork. I remember driving home from work one night and spotting one across the field over in lower Northridge. I drove over and I found four within 3 blocks. We got our 179 after a friend had one and I got B to take a look at it. We have been super pleased with our and have not had any major problems. Have we tweaked a few things to fit our needs, yes. Do I wish they had and used a darn shop-vac at the factory, yes. But given the opportunity to clean up a little sawdust or reapply some caulk that I felt was poorly executed vs. shelling out and additional $10M+, I'm happy to do it. I know our valley is heavy with Sprinters, Sportmobiles, and VW's. I just had friends get rid of their Sprinter full conversion and move over to a R POD. They didn't like that when they were camped out somewhere, when they wanted to go anywhere, they had to "pack-up" since their transportation was also their shelter. It's nice to unhook the pod and head out to adventure and know your camp spot will still be when you return. As far as all the weekend warriors who battle up to Redfish for the week with there huge trailers, the can have it. We like be able to head out on our own and stretch our legs. We've taken the pod up over Trail Creek with no problem. Granted, it's a slight pucker. You and Barb come by and I'll give you the grand tour of our 179. We're headed out for spring break to Sedona next week, but she's all dialed and ready to go. I'll fill you in on my thoughts were to buy. Talk soon. Jeff
------------- Smith's in Hailey Early 2017 179 HRE http://www.rpod-owners.com/forum_posts.asp?TID=9134&PN=1&title=wood-river-179-mods - Wood River Mods |