Introduce Yourself: New here and RP171 question

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New here and RP171 question

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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=14861
Printed Date: 26 Aug 2025 at 11:57am
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Topic: New here and RP171 question

Posted By: lanhet
Subject: New here and RP171 question
Date Posted: 10 Aug 2021 at 11:08am

Hi everybody !

I'm new to R-Pod and to this forum. I'm a retired electronics technician / recording engineer and I live in Sutton, Québec.

We recently acquired an older RP171 at a reasonable price to replace a small clamshell type teardrop trailer. The unit required a bit of TLC, all stuff I could do myself, but one thing is bothering me. When walking inside the trailer, the floor tends to flex in two spots, apparently between lateral reinforcement bars. I'm worried that this could be a sign of water infiltration and rot. It's impossible to detect from under because of the fiberglass shell, and the floor covering inside shows no signs of swelling or anything. On the other hand, I removed the 2 long wood screws that hold the furnace in place and they are rusty.

Any opinions on the matter ?

Thanks in advance !

Replies:

Posted By: offgrid
Date Posted: 10 Aug 2021 at 11:52am

If you really suspect the floor is wet then you can get a wood moisture meter (quite inexpensive) and check. it will have two point probes that will need to penetrate into the
thin plywood that is used in the floor. It is a sandwich with a layer of ply on top and bottom with foam in between. Also look carefully around the inside perimeter of the trailer (under the cabinets etc) for signs of water damage. If it's really bad the floor might not be able to support the side walls and they will begin to sag.

It is also quite likely that your soft floor spots are not from water leakage but just because of traffic at those spots and insufficient floor support. That is a pretty easy fix relative to dealing with a wet floor. There are posts on that and even videos you can find going back a few years by using the advanced search.

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1994 Chinook Concourse
1995 RV6A Experimental Aircraft
2015 Rpod 179 - sold

Posted By: David and Danette
Date Posted: 10 Aug 2021 at 6:34pm

It could be water damage but it could be a heavy previous owner and the floor gave into the weight of walking on it. As was said it is constructed with a layer of foam for strength and insulation other campers with same construction have had problems in high traffic areas with the floor becoming spongy. The rusty screws that too could be for some other reasons we had rusty screws in our r-pod 171 where there was no moisture at all. I don't know what causes the rust maybe some kind of chemical reaction I wouldn't think it was built at the factory using rusty screws perhaps it is just moisture in the air penetrating the floor. Hopefully it's not water damage but I am just saying it could be other reasons to have a spongy floor.

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2018 Vista Cruiser 19BFD (2018-
2012 Vibe 6503 (2014-2019)
2009 r-pod 171 (2009-2014)
Middle Tn
2014 Ram 1500 Quad cab

Posted By: Leo B
Date Posted: 10 Aug 2021 at 6:55pm

+1 with David and Danette. The rpods have been knowo have soft spots in certain areas, we had it in our 171 and 179. There is a fix that was passed on by John a while back that he learned from having his 179 repaired at the factory.

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Leo & Melissa Bachand
2025 Ford Transit Camper van
2017 Ford F150
2021 Vista Cruiser 19 csk
Previously owned
2015 Rpod 179
2010 Rpod 171

Posted By: StephenH
Date Posted: 11 Aug 2021 at 8:10am

I have a similar fix for our 179 to head off the soft spots before they happen. You can see it in my mods. Mine is a simple additional beam underneath. Others have added more arms to provide support on either side of the beam. The issue arises because there are not enough cross-members in the aluminum floor frame so the spaces between them can wear and soften from normal foot traffic. Supporting underneath helps.

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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: lanhet
Date Posted: 11 Aug 2021 at 11:31am

Thanks a lot gentlemen, that was really helpful. I did check the video about the factory mod, and I will do an adapted modification on my RP171.

By the way, I had already checked all around where the walls meet the floor and there was no trace of water anywhere, so that was reassuring, but the floor flex was bothering me.

Thanks for helping !