Awning Fever
Printed From: R-pod Owners Forum
Category: R-pod Discussion Forums
Forum Name: Wish List
Forum Discription: Tell Forest River what you would like to see in the r-pod
URL: http://www.rpod-owners.com/forum_posts.asp?TID=15752
Printed Date: 06 Mar 2026 at 10:16pm
Software Version: Web Wiz Forums 9.64 - http://www.webwizforums.com
Topic: Awning Fever
Posted By: Bowcat66
Subject: Awning Fever
Date Posted: 19 Jun 2023 at 7:47pm
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So, my wife and I just returned from our maiden voyage in our 2016 RPod 180, and we loved it!! However! It was pretty darn sunny and every other camper had a nice shaded awning.
I'm not interested in a visor/shade thing, but I am interested in an actual awning. So, here are a couple questions: 1. Anyone have one for sale? 2. Are they difficult to install without looking cheesey and crappy? 3. Are they expensive? 4. How durable are they? Any info would be greatly appreciated. ------------- God Bless America! Go NAVY!! |
Replies:
Posted By: StephenH
Date Posted: 19 Jun 2023 at 9:11pm
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Without the RPod going to the factory for a change in the side to provide the proper support, an awning is not advisable. I know because I did have to send mine after an accident and was able to add an awning. You could add one, but you would do so at your risk. Since your RPod is out of warranty, that is not a consideration. ------------- 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: gpokluda
Date Posted: 20 Jun 2023 at 10:05am
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+1 to what StephenH said. We wanted to put an awning on our 2017 (which was actually a 2016 but that's a whole other story) and were told the same thing by the dealer and Forest River. We purchased a 14X14 free standing shade canopy from Costco and got pretty good at putting that up easily and quickly. ------------- Gpokluda 2017 Rpod 179(sold 2023) 2022 Escape 5.0TA 2022 Ford F150 4X4 3.5EB Honda SCL500 |
Posted By: EchoGale
Date Posted: 20 Jun 2023 at 12:46pm
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Just to help make sense of this, Rpods come set up for an awning or the rdome. The ones that can support the awning have structural differences to do so. ------------- Julie |
Posted By: hank*pod
Date Posted: 11 Jul 2023 at 10:12pm
Off topic but I've come to the realization that my 2017 is probably a 2016 as well. I'm wondering whether there really is a story to that. |
Posted By: gpokluda
Date Posted: 12 Jul 2023 at 9:45am
Hard to say. We purchased our 179 brand new on a cold, windy November day. It was a Hood River in the green color scheme and we were told it was a 2017 and that's how it was titled. Later that spring, when one of our slide motors quit working and we dropped it off for repair, we saw the blue Rpods and those were 2017 models. Hmmm... I really didn't think much of it until I started to read reports of sagging floors, bent frames, and a host of other issues on post 2016 models, none of which we had experienced. When I checked the date of manufacture for our unit, it was built in May of 2016. So my gut tells me the dealer marketed it as a 2017 in order to get the 2017 price increase instead of discounting a 2016 as left over inventory. Fast forward to February of 2023 when we sold the 179. The purchaser specifically bought it over lower priced, true blue 2017 models on Craigslist because of its manufacture date and the research he did on Rpods. ------------- Gpokluda 2017 Rpod 179(sold 2023) 2022 Escape 5.0TA 2022 Ford F150 4X4 3.5EB Honda SCL500 |
Posted By: hank*pod
Date Posted: 12 Jul 2023 at 11:09am
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Mine was built in April of 2016. It's titled as a 2017 but I don't know what finagling is necessary to make that happen. VIN lookup tools say it's a 2017 but perhaps that's obtained from the title. It was originally sold in Alaska before making its way to Pennsylvania where I bought it and I don't know whether Alaska titles trailers. I'll move to a different thread for more discussion... |
Posted By: gpokluda
Date Posted: 12 Jul 2023 at 7:34pm
It doesn't take much if the RV dealer made the change from 2016 to 2017. The Manufacturer Certificate of Origin document is easily changed by the manufacturer/dealership. Once it is titled to an owner, it is almost impossible to change without a lot of paperwork depending on the state. ------------- Gpokluda 2017 Rpod 179(sold 2023) 2022 Escape 5.0TA 2022 Ford F150 4X4 3.5EB Honda SCL500 |
Posted By: Colt
Date Posted: 14 Aug 2023 at 8:51pm
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I am very pleased with my PaHaQue Visor. I traded an R-dome for it and would not take the R-dome back. An R-dome is a nice setup and kept the dog's crate dry and warmer, but it is very time consuming to put up and take down; 2 people help a lot. I can put up/take down the visor in 5 or 6 minutes, by myself. ------------- John '16 R-Pod 180 |
Posted By: Jcmorgan31
Date Posted: 17 Sep 2025 at 1:00pm
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I just bolted an 8' Roam awning to the side of my 183G last night. I'll get some pictures uploaded at some point. I don't understand why everyone insists that no awning can be mounted on the side of one of these campers unless it has factory supports built into the wall. There is very little force being applied to the wall of the camper by these types of awnings. Once deployed, the poles support the majority of the weight. I can see an awning that has vertical supports on the wall being an issue, but what I installed isn't much different than the awnings that fasten to the rail. You do have to have the courage to drill holes all the way through your camper walls (I drilled 7 holes), but once you get over that, it is pretty easy to do.
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Posted By: David and Danette
Date Posted: 17 Sep 2025 at 5:28pm
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I think the biggest stress would not be from the weight of the awning but the wind hitting the awning when opened up. I am a sailor and there is a lot of pull on even a small sail. And should never have a awning extended during a windy day or storm. ------------- 2018 Vista Cruiser 19BFD (2018-2025) 2012 Vibe 6503 (2014-2019) 2009 r-pod 171 (2009-2014) 2023 Aliner Scout Lite Middle Tn |
Posted By: gpokluda
Date Posted: 18 Sep 2025 at 12:11pm
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+1 on the wind loading. More of a worry than the weight of the awning itself for me. ------------- Gpokluda 2017 Rpod 179(sold 2023) 2022 Escape 5.0TA 2022 Ford F150 4X4 3.5EB Honda SCL500 |
Posted By: poohbill
Date Posted: 18 Sep 2025 at 10:00pm
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Reading through, I’m struck by how little is made of the keder rail that model year had, equipped from the factory. It is how the R-Dome is attached and used by many to attach awnings. There were a number of ytubers posting afterwards how to make and install one. ------------- 2016 179 Gastropod 2017 Ridgeline |
Posted By: Yerfdog1
Date Posted: 03 Jan 2026 at 7:47am
| I just bought a 2017 rpod 179 which had a factory Thule awning which had been torn off in a storm. The c channel (keder rail) is still mounted on the camper. I wanted to just replace it with a new Thule but they have pulled out of the US market. I have called Forest River and everyone else trying to see if I could mount something to the existing rail. Not sure what to do because it’s a proprietary rail. I want a retractable box awning like what was on originally. Does anyone have any ideas on what I can do here? |
Posted By: JR
Date Posted: 03 Jan 2026 at 8:48am
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We purchased a new 2019 / 179 in July of 2018. It was my understanding then that the trailers from the factory came with either a "Keder" rail for the Rdome application or a Thule awning. If the purchaser wanted a Thule awning it would have to be manufactured that way in the building process because there was more supports built into the area where the awning attaches to the trailer. If the trailer was built for the awning application then the "Keder" rail was not installed on the trailer. Which I can attest to because my 179 does not have a Keder rail but we have a Thule awning. My guess is that your trailer was not producted for the awning application and had a Keder rail installed a the time of production. Sometime after the trailer was delivered to the dealer the Thule awning was added to the unit either by dealer or owner. Which explains why the Thule awning is no longer there. In answer to your question of if there are many applications that can use the Keder rail for attaching an awning to your unit. Some will be manufactured for that application or you can make up your own version of an awning using the existing Keder rail. For ideas search this forum for old posts there is a lot of ideas and information out there. I would not suggest trying to re-install another Thule awning or something similar to that. The trailer just does not have enough "beef" in the walls to attach an awning too. Hope this helps. ------------- Jay 179/2019 |
Posted By: Yerfdog1
Date Posted: 03 Jan 2026 at 11:01am
| I just bought a 2017 rpod 179 which had a factory Thule awning which had been torn off in a storm. The c channel (keder rail) is still mounted on the camper. I wanted to just replace it with a new Thule but they have pulled out of the US market. I have called Forest River and everyone else trying to see if I could mount something to the existing rail. Not sure what to do because it’s a proprietary rail. I want a retractable box awning like what was on originally. Does anyone have any ideas on what I can do here? |
Posted By: GlueGuy
Date Posted: 03 Jan 2026 at 11:09am
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The 2017 Rpods did NOT have the reinforcement for an awning. If yours had the awning, it was added after manufacture by a dealer or owner. Our 2017 RP179 does not have the awning reinforcement. It was not an option back then. ------------- bp 2017 R-Pod 179 Hood River 2015 Ford F150 SuperCrew 4WD 3.5L Ecoboost |
Posted By: JR
Date Posted: 03 Jan 2026 at 11:15am
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I didn't know that, thanks for the clarity. Jay ------------- Jay 179/2019 |