As for the Dome, I think we're going to stick with the suction cup solution. I don't intend to use it in extreme wind, so we'll see how it goes. The Dome will only go with us on longer trips, true. We're likely going to pick up one of the Paha Que' visors for overnight stuff. Between sun, tree fallout and/or rain, having some kind of awning wherever possible is desirable.

Some friends of ours have nice setups on their large RV screen rooms. They use astro turf from the big box hardware store, and they use Mason jar lids (the flat parts only) as washers so they can stake the 'turf down. We're going to do the same in our dome, but with a layer or two of 6 mil visqueen underneath with drain holes poked in it just to keep everything as neat & clean as possible. Where we stay every Summer is very sandy and it does like to rain, hence the visqueen under the green carpet. Gotta love the Oregon coast!

On the question of where to get the tube, I found these http://www.campingworld.com/shopping/item/64-inch-e-z-hose-carrier-black/60174 and they come in a variety of sizes. Once I figure out how/where to mount it I'll go ahead and get one.

Couple quick questions for you if you happen back on this thread. Currently we are storing our dump tubes in a rubbermaid box in the rear storage area. The dealer set us up with the big Dominator tube. Kinda funny name, but I guess you don't really want a waste tube to be too meek! Did you mount a larger dump tube holder under your trailer frame on the right side, or where did you mean?

As for your R-Dome, did you go with the button snaps to secure the front and back or just suction cups? We are going to unfold ours in the back yard in a week or two and install it for a night, and I do not want to add screw holes to the nice new exterior.

We're putting some good blackout curtains in the "bedroom" as well. I don't relish the idea of having blinds above my head as we both like to read before heading to sleep.

Good to hear that you had a good experience at Pan Pacific. We're in Sacramento and are going to try a local place for repairs, but may have to go down to French Camp if we need something from a dealer who knows R-Pods.

We just picked up our little 177 HRE this past Friday from the French Camp location of Pan Pacific RV (I will post a good review on them in the future). We are stoked! While not new to towing big bulky stuff behind our TV, we are both new to travel trailers. We've spent the last several days outfitting and lightly modifying (read: Fixing) some of the things in the new Pod. Good thing I'm a carpenter! The posts here kind of warned me that FR doesn't have the tightest quality control so we expected the minor stuff that we've found so far...

There will be some light duty mods in the future, but for now I'm keeping us limited to LED lights and gusseting up of some of the thin plywood on the benches and bed.

We're going to camp in our back yard maybe next weekend to see how it fits us and what we'll really need. Then it's off to some of the local campgrounds for some dry camp weekends. Again, we are stoked!! 

I've been lurking on this site for the past couple of months soaking in as much knowledge as possible. Seems like a great community with lots of good info. Happy to be part if it! Now that we're official Podders I registered as a forum member. I'll be sure to post some of our camp experiences and I know there will be questions too....