- Diamond plate rock protection on wheel wells and front wall

- Axle riser for elevated ground clearance

- X-treme 15 in. tires

- Aluminum rims

I will check on the clearance, great call!

What does the Hood River Edition give you that the others don't? I couldn't find ANY information about this online surprisingly. Or maybe my Google Fu isn't strong enough for this. 

And lastly, the tow vehicle. Yes, these two are the max sizes we want to do. They will be ~3800lbs loaded down I believe, with maybe max 4000. Still not ideal for the 4Runner, as something 3500lbs would be perfect, but I think it will work. The Sequoia would be next on the list, but DAMN that sucker is huge. The 4 Runner has been so awesome I don't think we'll ever sell it. Maybe upgrade it for a 2012 with the V8 if we could find a cherry one. REALLY love the 4th Gen.

All I'm trying to do is minimize how much I would lose when I sell it. 

I don't expect the Rpod to be an "even" match to a CL or a Lance. It's not supposed to be. But I'm wondering if it's "worth it", you know? Everyone here has responded in a positive way about the RPod, so far at least. That's cool!

As far as the 2 person dinette on the 14DBS. There is the appeal that with the Lance we can do 4 people in the camper. The dinette there is huge, and can sleep two people, and can also sit 3. But most important, it can sit 2 with their feet up and comfortably chilling. The 14DBS is more "sit 2 to eat and then move on". It doesn't look like a place where you can just lounge. 

And as said above, the 16DBS is really above our comfortable towing limit, so we're not even looking at it. It's really 14DBS (likely not), Lance 1575, or Rpod 179. All 3 of those will be 3000lbs after options (ac/awning/dual 6v batteries) and ~3700lbs loaded with our stuff. That's max that I want to tow, even with the "5000" limit. 

Thanks again for the opinions!

The Camplite is still "on the list", but I don't like the 2 person dinette option of the 14 DBS and the 16 DBS baaaaarely fits our truck (4Runner with V6)

Glad to hear about the "5 trouble free years" from the Rpod. 

If "cost wasn't an issue" really, would you get the Rpod over the Lance? It's not that the money itself isn't an issue, it's that I feel the "potential cost of 3-4 years of ownership" is the same. In that in the Lance, I just have more money tied up in a trailer, but I get more back when I sell :)

I dont know about the Lance.

We've gotten some advice to pick up "not a stick built" trailer basically because of the gravel roads and wear and tear. Friends/etc have been steering us towards a Camplite 14DBS or a Lance 1575. Those seem to be super sturdy, plenty of options, and are in the same weight class as the Rpod 179 we are also exploring. 

Either way, we are planning on purchasing a trailer, keeping it ~3 years and then either trading in or selling for something else. I want to keep the "new" feel, and also I don't like maintenance. 

Having said all that, the Rpod has some options that we really like, and we've sort of narrowed it down to the 179 vs the Lance 1575. The Lance has better options, seemingly sturdier construction and a layout we really like. Also for 50% more money, it better, right? The Rpod has a great layout, plenty of storage, and hitch mount bike rack (huge deal, I'm a mountain bike racer). The Lance is lacking any bike mount, so I'm sure I'm in for another $1k in setting up something custom (can't do a hitch rack on them without killing the warranty)

So my question is, will the Rpod last us 3 years without any issues? I'm assuming I'll have to hit the dealer after the first trip or two for some general fixes, but am I looking at 3 easy years of ownership? Or will all trailers in that $14-15k price range have "issues", and I should really be looking at the Lance in the $22-23k range in order to get that "attention to detail" during assembly and better construction?

Thanks for any help!
-Tom