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new r-pod

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Category: R-pod Discussion Forums
Forum Name: Wish List
Forum Discription: Tell Forest River what you would like to see in the r-pod
URL: http://www.rpod-owners.com/forum_posts.asp?TID=13849
Printed Date: 29 Mar 2024 at 6:08am
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Topic: new r-pod
Posted By: Mom Dunn
Subject: new r-pod
Date Posted: 31 Jul 2020 at 5:53pm
So hubby and I have wanted a r-pod for a while. We are ready to buy  the 196 but get cold feet when reading some reviews. Do all campers need some type of warranty services first 6 months? We are new to owning an rv. Are we too old(59,62) to be newbies ? Towing with a Toyota Tacoma Pro so I think we should be good in that aspect. Thanks in advance Smile



Replies:
Posted By: podwerkz
Date Posted: 31 Jul 2020 at 6:32pm
Its more or less normal for some warranty issues, but if you cant replace an LED lightbulb, ziptie a few loose wires, or tighten a couple of cabinet door hinges, you might not be suited to owning an RV. 

Little things will happen. And it is quicker and easier to deal with those small issues yourself compared with bothering the dealer for the little stuff. 

The warranty is there to cover you if something significant happens. And even then, it's a crapshoot whether it will be covered, and when.

Even expensive RVs have been known to have issues....so, price paid is not a factor.

BTW, unhappy customers post way more reviews than happy customers ever do.


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r・pod 171 gone but not forgotten!


Posted By: GlueGuy
Date Posted: 31 Jul 2020 at 6:42pm
+1. It's a house on wheels. A lot of troubles you might have in a stationary house are like those with a trailer. One of the bigger issues is that this one experiences an hours-long earthquake every time you take it somewhere. That said, we have not really had a lot of troubles with ours.

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bp
2017 R-Pod 179 Hood River
2015 Ford F150 SuperCrew 4WD 3.5L Ecoboost


Posted By: jato
Date Posted: 31 Jul 2020 at 9:36pm
+2  We have been very fortunate in the 9.5 years of owning a 177.  Only 1 big expense and that was last year as the ignitor went out on our furnace.  Price of labor and part was $ 300.00.  Other than replacing tires once and doing a few upgrades, no costly or non-costly repairs.  36,000 miles thus far and still a joy to go out and enjoy the wondrous outdoors.

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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: offgrid
Date Posted: 01 Aug 2020 at 5:06am
59 and 62 is perfect. Old enough to generally know how to stay out of trouble, young enough to be resilient when faced with life's little trials and tribulations. Your Taco should be fine. I would suggest a weight distribution hitch and sway control for it, it will tow better. 

Several things to look into right away with a new trailer. If you're new to it, your first focus should be on safe and relaxed towing, the odds and ends of the trailer systems will get themselves sorted out. 

Tires. What is the load rating of what comes from the factory?  There is a tendency for trailer manufacturers to put on the minimum, The axle rating in the 196 is 4400 lbs or 2200 lbs per wheel. I would want tires rated at least 2500 lbs, higher if possible. Keep them inflated to the max psi on the tire, lower is not better for trailer tires. 

Follow the setup procedure for both your trailer brakes and weight distribution hitch. Take your time and be sure you understand what's what. Ask any questions here that you might have. Make up a pre-tow checklist and follow it to be sure everything is put away, connected, and adjusted right before hitting the road. 

Tow slowly and conservatively. Its both safer and saves tons of fuel. There's no rush. Many of use never exceed 60 while towing. If its wet, windy, or there are lots of tractor trailers blasting by on the freeway slow down. Don't ride the brakes when going down grades, shift down and let the engine to most of the braking work. Be sure the Taco's brakes are in top condition. 

Practice backing in an empty parking lot if towing is new to you. Get your mirrors set up so you can see what's back there, the 196 is a wide rPod. Hand on bottom of wheel, steer in the direction you want the trailer to go. Small movements. You'll be backing like a pro in no time. Before entering, scope out fuel stops and parking areas where you have enough room to pull through when you leave, you won't be able to cut corners sharply. 

Take a couple of short trips first so if you have any problems/surprises you can just go home and sort them out. Have fun!



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1994 Chinook Concourse
1995 RV6A Experimental Aircraft
2015 Rpod 179 - sold


Posted By: StephenH
Date Posted: 01 Aug 2020 at 8:53am
Go to 1A Auto ( https://www.1aauto.com/ - https://www.1aauto.com/ ) and look for towing mirrors for your Tacoma. I did so for our Frontier. They make a big difference for visibility. The ones I ordered are power, heated mirrors. They manually extend and retract and manually fold, but the original mirrors were much smaller and did not extend. Even with our narrower 179 it makes a big difference in visibility. With the 195, it will make an even bigger difference since the 195 is wider to begin with.

The mirrors aren't cheap, but I think they are well worth the price. They are not difficult to install, but if you don't feel comfortable removing the door panels to get to the plugs and screws, you may need to get someone to do it for you. It really isn't hard though and you will appreciate the increased visibility that the towing mirrors will provide.


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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: Pod People
Date Posted: 01 Aug 2020 at 10:10am
We have had 2 different  RPods(2011 173 and 2015 179).  We used both of them for 4-5 years each and had no real problems with either unit.  w have traveled extensively with the pods, going cross country from NC to Washington/Oregon and north south from Florida to Michigan.
Every RV will have some small problems no matter what the price point.  I think the R Pods are great campers and don't hesitate to recommend them to anyone.  If my was destroyed by a tree falling on it, I would be looking for a replacement R Pod immediately
find the floor plan that suits you and don't look back
Vann
ps
we are 70/69, so you guys are young!


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Vann & Laura 2015 RPod 179
https://postimg.cc/0zwKrfB9">


Posted By: Mom Dunn
Date Posted: 01 Aug 2020 at 7:56pm
Thank you, everyone has  great advice here Big smile. We signed contract today, and get to pick it up Saturday, very excited. We are in the middle of remodeling whole house room by room now that kids are gone, so we are able to do a lot of repairs on our own.Where would be a place for sway bar? Will also check into the mirrors.


Posted By: StephenH
Date Posted: 01 Aug 2020 at 8:43pm
A great site for all things trailering is https://www.etrailer.com - etrailer.com . That and Amazon Prime get a lot of business from me. I already mentioned 1A Auto. If you find that your Tacoma sags a bit too much, you could get a weight distribution hitch with sway control. That might be better than just a sway bar. Your dealer can advise.

On our 2010 Frontier, the rear suspension seemed rather weak so I added a set of https://www.supersprings.com - Sumo Springs . Right now there is a 10% off site wide deal with the code JOURNEYBETTER used at checkout. 

Edit: Here is a https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iEYMlmru0lg - YouTube video of the SumoSprings in action.


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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: Mom Dunn
Date Posted: 01 Aug 2020 at 9:07pm
also, I'm having a hard time finding a cover for the 196. Even FR web site doesn't have one.


Posted By: StephenH
Date Posted: 01 Aug 2020 at 10:18pm
Don't look to FR for a cover. Classic Accessories makes covers for RPods. I don't know if they have one suitable for the 196 though. I have one for our 179.

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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: EchoGale
Date Posted: 02 Aug 2020 at 8:04am
Many of have purchased covers from ClassicAccessories. There was one specifically to fit my 172. I don't know about the 196.  They are very help if you call them (or at least they were...may not have office staff right now.)  BTW their mid-grade covers (they sell three levels) has a lifetime warranty. Its far superior to the slightly cheaper one that came with my pod.

https://classicaccessories.com/ - https://classicaccessories.com/


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Julie


Posted By: crw8sr
Date Posted: 03 Aug 2020 at 5:27pm
Bought ours from Classic.

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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: offgrid
Date Posted: 03 Aug 2020 at 6:42pm
Originally posted by Mom Dunn

Thank you, everyone has  great advice here Big smile. We signed contract today, and get to pick it up Saturday, very excited. We are in the middle of remodeling whole house room by room now that kids are gone, so we are able to do a lot of repairs on our own.Where would be a place for sway bar? Will also check into the mirrors.

You will really want a weight distribution hitch (WDH) I think. That is a totally different function from a sway bar.  When you drop a trailer on your tow vehicle (TV) hitch the weight on the back actually lifts the front of the tow vehicle up, reducing your ability to steer and brake.  And the load on the rear axle of the TV goes up by even more than the tongue weight. For a relatively light TV like the Taco that's not good. The WDH is designed to compensate for that by re-balancing the TV axle loads.  It has tension bars on it that you adjust to push the front of your TV back down. 

Most but not all WDH's also have anti-sway capability by creating friction to limit the trailer's tendency to sway side to side. That is good to have but it is very important to first load the trailer correctly so you don't get sway to begin with.  That means to place enough weight toward the front of the trailer so the back end isn't creating a tail wagging the dog scenario. 

I highly recommend loading up and weighing your rig at a public scale at least once so you know what you actually have. You want the tongue weight to be at least 10% of the total trailer weight to minimize the possibility of sway. To get your tongue weight go through the scale twice, once with and once without the trailer, getting the weight on each axle one at a time. The difference between the combined weight of the two TV axles with and without the trailer attached is the tongue weight. Don't have your WDH tensioned up when you weigh or it will throw things off.  

I know all this sounds complicated and it is, until you understand how it all works. Like everything else in life, after that its easy. 


-------------
1994 Chinook Concourse
1995 RV6A Experimental Aircraft
2015 Rpod 179 - sold


Posted By: Badweissenbier
Date Posted: 10 Aug 2020 at 10:37am
Your dealer should be able to sell you the weight distribution hitch and sway bars.
It may cost a little more than the internet sales, but you get the added benefit of having them set it up for you.


Posted By: PaulP
Date Posted: 29 Aug 2020 at 8:41am
My wife and I have owned several travel trailers, large and small (ALiner)--we recently bought the rpod 192 and love it!   Small SUV pulling it no problem.  It is the perfect size for an older couple (67 & 66 yoa) with a small dog.  Pulls easily, sets up easily, plenty of storage.  Still getting used to the convection oven.
We have not dry-camped yet with it but I always carry a spare deep cycle battery just in case.

Good luck and hope you love it!!

Campn in NY


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retired cap


Posted By: offgrid
Date Posted: 29 Aug 2020 at 9:43am
Originally posted by PaulP

  Small SUV pulling it no problem.  It is the perfect size for an older couple (67 & 66 yoa) with a small dog.  Pulls easily, sets up easily, plenty of storage.  


Welcome. 
 
A small SUV means a 3500 lb tow rated one? Or 5000 lb, which is generally considered mid size? 

The gross trailer weight of a 192 is almost 5000 lbs, 3500lbs is waay too small for that trailer. Bear in mind that vehicle tow ratings assume nothing but the driver is in the TV. A mid size SUV might work if you keep the trailer as light as possible (don't carry any water in the tanks) and very little load in the tow vehicle. 

I highly suggest that you weigh your trailer, tongue, and rig and see what you really have rather than depend on how it feels to tow it. Cars these days generally have plenty of hp so that can feel fine even though the TV is overloaded. 


-------------
1994 Chinook Concourse
1995 RV6A Experimental Aircraft
2015 Rpod 179 - sold



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