R-pod Owners Forum : Hello r-pod owners! http://www.rpod-owners.com/ This is an XML content feed of; R-pod Owners Forum : Introduce Yourself : Hello r-pod owners! Copyright (c) 2006-2009 Web Wiz Forums - All Rights Reserved. Fri, 01 May 2026 14:55:41 +0000 Tue, 08 Mar 2022 06:41:35 +0000 http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss Web Wiz Forums 9.64 360 www.rpod-owners.com/RSS_post_feed.asp?TID=15169 R-pod Owners Forum http://www.rpod-owners.com/forum_images/web_wiz_forums.png http://www.rpod-owners.com/ Hello r-pod owners! : Again, welcome!Your story sounds... http://www.rpod-owners.com/forum_posts.asp?TID=15169&PID=147227#147227 Author: Kup-Pod
Subject: 15169
Posted: 08 Mar 2022 at 6:41am

Again, welcome!
Your story sounds very similar to ours: we started with tents, then to a 25y.o. old tent trailer, then 10y.o. one and finally to our RPod.  We've never looked back!
Our children are all in the same age bracket as yours and we've been blessed with some grandchildren as well, so it is a nice trailer to take along a couple of grandkids for a weekend here and there.
There are lots of modifications posted on this site as well, take a look and see where & how you can gain storage and functional space - even in an "efficient" trailer like a 178!
Enjoy! 
]]> Tue, 08 Mar 2022 06:41:35 +0000 http://www.rpod-owners.com/forum_posts.asp?TID=15169&PID=147227#147227 Hello r-pod owners! : Welcome Brian. One key piece... http://www.rpod-owners.com/forum_posts.asp?TID=15169&PID=147226#147226 Author: offgrid
Subject: 15169
Posted: 08 Mar 2022 at 5:45am

Welcome Brian.

One key piece of advice if you want to keep your rpod for years. Be extremely vigilant about water leaks of any kind. Everything else is quite reasonably fixable but not significant water damage, that can send your new to you trailer to the junkyard. This isn't unique to rpods of course.

Your new to you trailer has a few years on it so if it hasn't been resealed yet it probably needs to be. Key areas to look out for include the window seals, the spoiler, and the top and bottom wall seals. It's a good idea to proactively reseal the spoiler as a minimum. Also inspect for any plumbing leaks in either the feed or drain water systems.

If you keep water out of the trailer it can last a long time. Most of the rest of the systems are pretty inexpensive to repair or replace, other than the absorption fridges, which have become very spendy. Expect to get roughly 10 years out of one if you're lucky.

When you get around to the solar feel free to post your questions here, I and others will be happy to answer them.

As for weight limits you should be fine with that tow vehicle, even boondocking. Just keep your heavy gear in the truck bed, leaving the 178 to carry water, batteries, and supplies.

You can load up for a long trip and take the rig to a scale so you know for sure. I have several posts here you can search for on how to get all the required weights and run them through a towing calculator.

Yoy might want to proactively consider an axle reinforcement if you are near the axle weight limit. Several of us have posted on this topic.

Also there are outriggers you can add to help the outer floor edges carry the wall loads. That is recommended in the 178/179 series especially if you plan to travel on rougher roads.

Enjoy your new trailer. You might find as many of us have that it is the right compromise between size and comfort and that the wet bath and crosswize bed are not really an issue for you. They weren't for my wife and I.

]]> Tue, 08 Mar 2022 05:45:13 +0000 http://www.rpod-owners.com/forum_posts.asp?TID=15169&PID=147226#147226 Hello r-pod owners! : Welcome Brian to your 24/7 live... http://www.rpod-owners.com/forum_posts.asp?TID=15169&PID=147225#147225 Author: jato
Subject: 15169
Posted: 07 Mar 2022 at 10:12pm

Welcome Brian to your 24/7 live owners manual.  You will definitely enjoy the move up from tent camping.  We went from tent camping to a couple of pop-up campers.  In 1982 we purchased a 4 person Rockwood pop-up and later as the family grew got a 6 person Jayco which we kept until we purchased a 177 in January 2011.  What a difference, especially if you camp in the off months when sleet and cold rain are common.  You will be cozy in that 178.  Enjoy!
]]> Mon, 07 Mar 2022 22:12:56 +0000 http://www.rpod-owners.com/forum_posts.asp?TID=15169&PID=147225#147225 Hello r-pod owners! : Hello Brian and welcome!I hope... http://www.rpod-owners.com/forum_posts.asp?TID=15169&PID=147222#147222 Author: StephenH
Subject: 15169
Posted: 07 Mar 2022 at 8:33pm

Hello Brian and welcome!

I hope you have many fun adventures with your new-to-you RPod and make many great memories with it. We have enjoyed our 179 and have made long trips with it. It turns out to be the right size for us and travel. I am not sure I would want to tow a bigger TT around the country like we have with the RPod.
]]> Mon, 07 Mar 2022 20:33:09 +0000 http://www.rpod-owners.com/forum_posts.asp?TID=15169&PID=147222#147222 Hello r-pod owners! : Hello all,My wife (Patricia) and... http://www.rpod-owners.com/forum_posts.asp?TID=15169&PID=147220#147220 Author: bmaddux
Subject: 15169
Posted: 07 Mar 2022 at 6:44pm

Hello all, 

My wife (Patricia) and I (Brian) are new owners of an 2017 178. We'll be pulling it with a 2013 Ford F150 EcoBoost.

I grew up camping in a Starcraft tent camper. When I was 13, my family took a 6 week vacation to see the western U.S. from Ohio. After my kids were born, my wife and I decided we needed to start camping, and tent camped for 3 summers before deciding we wanted to graduate to a tent camper. The camper itself doesn't take that long to set up or take down, but the packing of everything around it has gotten tedious. So, with our youngest off to college and busy, I've been looking at travel trailers with an eye for both weekend local trips, and maybe some big trips during the summer. My wife found our RPOD on Facebook Marketplace, being sold for a great price by a couple that found "they are van people, not travel trailer people." They gave it a try and it just wasn't for them.

Our maiden voyage will be from our home on Whidbey Island, WA, to eastern washington (almost Idaho) to see the kids at school without crashing on the couch of their apartment.

The RPOD isn't our "dream RV", but I expect to learn a lot from having it. We don't want anything big, and previously, I didn't want anything with a slide-out. Things like "are we fine with a wet bath, or do we hate it?", or "is the bed being side to side too cramped?", and "do we need more counter space?". I also will be looking at figuring out how much solar we need to be able to do some boondocking (like with Harvest Host) and can we stay within the weight limits for longer trips. And while this maybe isn't our "dream RV", we also hate to spend money on something new when what we have is working well and is reliable. So I could see us having this RPOD for years.

I look forward to being part of the group and learning from all of you and your years of experience with RPODs!

Thanks,
Brian
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