I don't leave it open unless I'm camping, here in Wy where the wind blows a lot. 

I found out that's how you get dust in the pod even when not moving. 

They are built tight and don't leak dust if you keep them closed up, even on the worst dirt roads.

I'm the new, proud owner of a 2017 179. The wife and I are very excited for our first use this weekend. It will be a dry camp and in the low 40s at night. We have a 9 month old so we are nervous about warmth and batter life. We have two 124 batteries and just going for the night. Any thoughts on if we will run out of battery power to run the furnace over night? Is the furnace and fan very loud? I've heard mixed reviews. 

Sorry I am replying to this thread. I'm new to the forum and haven't quite figured out how to create a new post. 

Thanks!

Big Cat

If you ain't used 5 gallon', your hands are a smellin'.

You can make it run less often if you add a pressure tank, but the trade-off is it will run longer when it does run.  So you might get by with a flush and quick hand wash in the night - but you might also catch it right when it needs to recharge and get a long run.  One option for the night for #1 uses, is to leave the pump off and use hand sanitizer.  Since you need to fill the bowl 2/3 up for #2 uses, and you should do a full hand wash, there isn't much of an option there.  Maybe leave the bowl filled 2/3 just in case, and one of these on the edge of the sink.

The pod is the quietest camper I've been in since it has so much insulation, including styrofoam in the floor and side walls.  Our current camper is noticeably louder inside but still much quieter than being in a popup.  Starting with the pod, we started leaving the A/C fan on low continuously overnight for white noise, to drown out the noises that do make it inside.  Plus that masked the sound of the compressor kicking on and off.

I always recommend a weight distribution hitch (WDH), one that includes sway control, no matter how capable your tow vehicle (TV) is.  Even if you have a full-sized pickup it acts as an additional suspension system which makes your ride more comfortable.

You will be fine long-term with a solar system, get at least 100 watts in panels.  However, if you have even a little shading the panel output will drop dramatically.  Half-shaded and you'll get almost nothing.  So if you often camp under trees it may not be the solution.  A small inverter-generator may be better.

The water pump is right under our bed, so even if it was virtually silent, a light sleeper would probably hear it. I've heard a loud pump, in my dad's 5th wheel and ours is very quiet in comparison. 

We have a Renogy 100w suitcase panel and just one 12v battery. The panel easily tops off our battery each day, but we are not large electric users when we camp. We did run the fan in the bathroom continuously on one recent trip to try to keep things cool. Otherwise, we run some LED lights and charge some phones.