R-Pod in the spring of 2017?
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=8947
Printed Date: 24 May 2025 at 11:02pm
Software Version: Web Wiz Forums 9.64 - http://www.webwizforums.com
Topic: R-Pod in the spring of 2017?
Posted By: D&K Davis
Subject: R-Pod in the spring of 2017?
Date Posted: 23 Oct 2016 at 9:46pm
| My wife and I are considering purchasing a 180 in the spring of 2017. However when I look at this forum I see lots of problems with the pods. Floors getting wet, seams leaking, ... Are there pod owners that have had no problems and just are not posting? Are the problems we see on here just a small percent and in reality most have no problems? |
Replies:
Posted By: Rainrider22
Date Posted: 23 Oct 2016 at 10:05pm
| We have a 2016 178. No major problems at all..... |
Posted By: blimey
Date Posted: 23 Oct 2016 at 10:22pm
| You are seeing only the issues. There are tons of people who don't have problems . Anything mechanical can have issues . I wouldn't have ordered mine if I saw a ton of complaints. Rest easy these pods seem to have fewer complaints . I have followed them since the were introduced and feel the are reliable. I committed a bunch of money to it because I truly believe that's true! |
Posted By: rocky top_relic
Date Posted: 23 Oct 2016 at 10:31pm
| We just bought a used 175 so I sure hope not :) |
Posted By: furpod
Date Posted: 24 Oct 2016 at 8:54am
|
MANY owners find this forum looking for information and help.. MANY more owners don't.. they are out camping. If you take your folding chair down to the Mercedes dealership, and sit by the service entrance for a week.. you will be sure MB cars are junk.. after all, the only ones you see are broken. ------------- |
Posted By: StephenH
Date Posted: 24 Oct 2016 at 9:20am
|
+1. We have had some minor fit and finish issues, most of which I have taken care of myself. The only major issue was when we first purchased our R-Pod. That one was caused by mud dauber wasps building a nest in the refrigerator's flue, presumably while it sat on the dealer's lot. We purchased it in December when they were not active and it was a week after we purchased it when we discovered the problem. When the service person said it could have happened in the week we had it. However, we had frosts before we picked it up and wasps were not active. It was repaired under warranty though so it only cost us the time and gas money to tow it to the dealer and back. At the same time, some other minor issues were addressed. Overall, we have been very pleased with our EscaPOD. I've spent a lot of time doing modifications to make it even better (see link in 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: D&K Davis
Date Posted: 24 Oct 2016 at 12:56pm
| . We saw an R-pod for the first time this summer and we really liked it. Since then we have been reading and researching. Overall we like what we are finding but they obviously do have some inherent problems along with everything else mechanical including BMW,s as mentioned above. All of these problems do seem to be minor. However we saw one that had a problem that really makes me nervous. This was a 3 month old 177 and the sides had pulled away from the front about 1/2". When I say pulled away I mean that the side panel was 1/2" from going up under the corner seal. This was on both side at the front in an area about 4' long. The roof panel was still under the seal and the seal was tight to the corner. Have any of you ever had this problem or even seen it before? |
Posted By: ArenaBlanca
Date Posted: 24 Oct 2016 at 5:32pm
|
We bought our 2017 179 in late August. I think this is the eighth camper that we have had. We just got back from a FROG rally in Texas and the Forest River representative who was there said FR was making an effort to improve the quality of their products. I have maintained that the Quality Inspector for most RV's is the first owner. This 179 may make me change my mind. The only problem we have had is registering the A/C because the Model number and Serial number didn't match. Of course, after so many campers, we went over fit and finish and all systems before we left the dealer's lot and signed financing papers. We also got the most thorough walk through from this dealer that we have ever had. It is quite possible that the dealer has a lot to do with the customer satisfaction. I have always felt that spring time is when RV sales start picking up. So I try to buy when the summer is ending and ideally would wait until November as I feel that dealers are getting "hungry" then and might be more like to make a "deal." A really important consideration before you purchase is to consider the tow vehicle. The comments in this forum about tow vehicles are very germaine. Good luck and good camping. |
Posted By: techntrek
Date Posted: 24 Oct 2016 at 9:05pm
|
Most posts on most product-related forums are from people experiencing problems. Few people hunt down a forum to post "nothing wrong with mine!" So most pods do not have major problems. The first quality inspection should be at the factory - at multiple checkpoints. Anyone with a business degree knows the earlier in the construction process you catch a problem the cheaper it is to fix it. Then a feedback loop will ensure the problems found aren't created again, and again. They would make more money by doing this! Anything they miss should then be caught by the dealer, since FR is paying them to inspect it (although as some of us have experienced, some dealer service departments are technically challenged - but not all). If the problem makes it to the buyer, it now costs ten times more to fix and ruins your reputation. Good to hear they are working on that now, but we've been talking about this for quite a while. ------------- Doug ~ '10 171 (2009-2015) ~ 2008 Salem ~ http://www.rpod-owners.com/forum_posts.asp?TID=1723 - Pod instruction manual 
|
Posted By: jato
Date Posted: 24 Oct 2016 at 10:54pm
|
We have immensely enjoyed our 177 since bringing it home in a snowstorm in March 2011. I have had 1 issue to bring up in the 6 years I have owned this beauty. The rear stabilizers have dragged on the ground a couple times due to operator pulling the pod over some pretty rough territory. Just replaced both of them this spring. Tried my best to drag and bend them again in the UP of Michigan as we were traveling on H-58, took a good hour to travel 7 miles, water was nearly a foot deep and potholes w/o water in them were nearly 2 foot deep in the middle of the dirt road. Obviously we steered well away from those! Tried to stay near the edge of the road as much as possible. However the campsite on Lake Superior was well worth the trip, stunning beauty!
------------- 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: sean p
Date Posted: 25 Oct 2016 at 5:58am
|
we have had our 179 for 1 year now..no real problems and love it. headed to moab utah for 4 days tomorrow . the last trip this year..enjoy. i would buy another pod in the future.. ------------- 2016 179pod--BETTY 2010 nissan frontier Sean and Doug Butchie the morkie touring the west |
Posted By: ParPod
Date Posted: 29 Oct 2016 at 9:45am
|
We bought our Pod just this past July. Did the walk through at the Dealer - everything worked. We've had it out numerous times since and everything worked. So no problems really. I did notice that the wiring underneath the unit just seemed to be hanging out there so I got in there with some electricians tape and solved what could have been a future problem but overall really happy with the unit. ------------- Bob&Margaret 2017 179 2016 Toyota 4Runner 2 sets of Golf Clubs |
Posted By: voisj
Date Posted: 01 Nov 2016 at 11:37pm
|
Picked up our 2016 180 in June, I have logged over 2000 miles and 14 nights sleeping in it. I have had no problems except i left the porch light on and melted the cover, $2.50 later it's good as new. Many of my miles were on dirt roads and it's held up great. The silicone on the curved front roof to wall section separated a little (1 Foot long on both sides) and i re-did those parts, But i feel this is pretty normal routine maintenance. I do think the problems you here about here are a small percentage, I know if I had Issues I'd post here first to see what others would have to say. ------------- http://www.rpod-owners.com/forum_posts.asp?TID=9426&title=slopod-180-mods-johnsue - SLOPODMODS John&Sue,SLO,CA 2016 180 HRE, 2013 F150 Eco Boost 
|
Posted By: blimey
Date Posted: 02 Nov 2016 at 9:15am
| What's up with the melted porch light lens? I have read about that several times. Aren't porch lights supposed to be left on? How long is to long? Seems like a really strange issue to me. |
Posted By: StephenH
Date Posted: 02 Nov 2016 at 5:10pm
|
The one I removed had a metal heat shield above the incandescent bulb. Mine did not melt. I was trying to modify it for an LED bulb, which turned out to be the wrong type. I ordered a brand new LED one from Amazon. It came without the heat shield.
On the ones that melted, was there a heat shield? What type of bulb on the ones that melted? ------------- 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: voisj
Date Posted: 03 Nov 2016 at 1:15pm
|
Mine had a regular 15w incandescent bulb,i bought a 10 pack of 7w led bulbs off eBay for $10 and replaced both exterior bulbs. Way brighter and less heat. I also bought a new lens and this time went with clear. ------------- http://www.rpod-owners.com/forum_posts.asp?TID=9426&title=slopod-180-mods-johnsue - SLOPODMODS John&Sue,SLO,CA 2016 180 HRE, 2013 F150 Eco Boost
|
Posted By: StephenH
Date Posted: 03 Nov 2016 at 2:48pm
|
Yes, but did it have a metal heat shield above the bulb? Mine did not melt. I still have the lens from that fixture and it is in good shape. I'm keeping it as a spare.
------------- 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: mjlrpod
Date Posted: 03 Nov 2016 at 7:05pm
|
well, heres a nice little positive thing. all the new (blue) pods come with a power tongue. Electric up/down on the crank. i think thats a good thing. I'll let you know if i have problems, but i think thats pretty cool ------------- 2017.5 Rp-172 2020 R-pod 195 2015 Frontier sv 4.0L 6cyl I'll be rpodding |
Posted By: voisj
Date Posted: 03 Nov 2016 at 11:01pm
|
Yes it had the heat shield, I think it actually directs the heat in a bad way ------------- http://www.rpod-owners.com/forum_posts.asp?TID=9426&title=slopod-180-mods-johnsue - SLOPODMODS John&Sue,SLO,CA 2016 180 HRE, 2013 F150 Eco Boost
|
Posted By: StephenH
Date Posted: 03 Nov 2016 at 11:22pm
|
Interesting! Mine did not melt even though I had left it on overnight a number of times. I wonder what the difference is that yours melted and mine didn't. Anyway, now that mine is LED, I should not have to worry about it. ------------- 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 |