Any R-Pod owners ???

[CptnBG]

The closest dealer from me is several hours away but when I get a chance I'm going to take a look. The factory's website is kind of sparse. One concern is interior height, especially in the shower. I have until next spring to decide so no hurry on my part.

I'm trying to keep as small as possible as it will only be me solo a lot of the time and my 6' adult son will go with me on a cross country trip next summer. We don't mind the taking down the dinette for the extra bed as we currently are used to a truck camper.

My tow vehicle is a '14 Silverado 1500, 5.3 V8, .308 rear.

R-Pod

[Bumpyroad]

bhh wrote:
We went about the same route as Bumpy. Though we ended up with a 19RB Ascend. Wet bath seemed like a sardine can. Bed jammed in the back. Minimal storage space. And at 6'5", tight on the headroom. I was also a little concerned that the black/gray dump valve was very close to the pavement. A big pothole or curb might just whack it off. No rear bumper, meaning any little thing in the way would cause some skin damage. I wanted it to work, but it was just not so.

Bumpyroad wrote:
I looked at the RPod when I bought my Ascend RD171. it had a wet bath vs dry, tiny corner sink in bathroom that would be barely useable, absolutely no hang up room, tiny overhead in kitchen slideout, vs. overheads all over in my Ascend, etc. felt it was worth $5,000 more.
bumpy

yep, if I would have had a little more robust a TV it would have been a 19 footer for me too. 🙂
bumpy

[bhh]

We went about the same route as Bumpy. Though we ended up with a 19RB Ascend. Wet bath seemed like a sardine can. Bed jammed in the back. Minimal storage space. And at 6'5", tight on the headroom. I was also a little concerned that the black/gray dump valve was very close to the pavement. A big pothole or curb might just whack it off. No rear bumper, meaning any little thing in the way would cause some skin damage. I wanted it to work, but it was just not so.

Bumpyroad wrote:
I looked at the RPod when I bought my Ascend RD171. it had a wet bath vs dry, tiny corner sink in bathroom that would be barely useable, absolutely no hang up room, tiny overhead in kitchen slideout, vs. overheads all over in my Ascend, etc. felt it was worth $5,000 more.
bumpy

[Bob806]

I really like the Livinlites, but they are very pricey indeed. If I knew I was going to hang onto it for 10 years or so, I'd definitely pull the trigger & purchase the 21'

[Uplander]

We are all wishing for better gas mileage but to sacrifice storage and put yourself in cramped spaces just seems foolish to me. The real issue with any travel trailer is weight and design. I lucked out and stumbled upon a used R-Vision Trail Light Travel Trailer when looking for a unit that would fit my needs. Unlike most Travel Trailers this unit rode lower to the ground, had a sealed bottom (less wind drag), and had a light weight metal frame. The 26 foot unit I found had fantastic storage spaces every feature anyone would want and only weighed 3370 Lbs (dry weight). It tows so well I forget it is back there for the trip!!! Using a Toyata FJ Cruiser SUV, V6 powered I get between 14 and 16 MPG. Sad thing is this maker got out of the TT business in early 2014 so the only source for a Trail Light TT is on the used market.

Only way to find better fuel mileage is to find a well designed, light weight unit....back in the 1980s I owned a few Sunline Travel Trailers but they too are long gone. I'm sure there must be another light weight TT out there that doesn't utilize the extreme sloping roof line I see in the IPod units. Such a roof line might work well if you were a dwarf. (IMHO)

[Bumpyroad]

xteacher wrote:
The only R-pod I'd consider is the 179. The others have no storage to speak of.
Yet another possibility is a Livinlite Camplite CL16TBS. It has twin beds up front, but the beauty of them is that they can easily be converted to a king size bed. It has a full bath, and a slide out for a dinette. These units have no wood in them and therefore are kind of pricey. I'd love to have one! Some of their other floorplans may also appeal to you. Livinlite Camplite Floor Plans

that Rpod does have a little storage but according to the floor plan, no overhead cabinets other than a little in the slide out.
one thing I didn't like about the small camplite units was the lack of a sink/vanity in the bath.
bumpy

[xteacher]

The only R-pod I'd consider is the 179. The others have no storage to speak of. The storage and slide out makes this floorplan doable. Also, the bathrooms in these units are TINY, no matter which floorplan you get. We had a 173 a few years ago (no slide, no storage) and we traded it after only a year. Not sure if the height is enough for your son. DH and I aren't tall people, so it wasn't an issue for us. R-pod 179

Another camper you might want to consider is the Aliner Expedition. It still has storage issues (which can be overcome with mods). The interior is tall enough for your son, and can be ordered with a cassette toilet or cassette toilet/wet bath. It has a queen bed on one end and a dinette that can be made into a roomy bed for one person at the other end. Aliner Expedition

A third possibility is a Palomini 179BHS or the Palomini 179RDS. The BHS has a queen bed, slide out for 2 person sofa, and two bunks in the back. The RD has a dinette in the back instead of the bunks that can be made into a single bed. Palomini, Palomini 179RDS

Yet another possibility is a Livinlite Camplite CL16TBS. It has twin beds up front, but the beauty of them is that they can easily be converted to a king size bed. It has a full bath, and a slide out for a dinette. These units have no wood in them and therefore are kind of pricey. I'd love to have one! Some of their other floorplans may also appeal to you. Livinlite Camplite Floor Plans

[dadmomh]

Being used to a truck camper, the 179 should feel like a castle. We camped next to some folks with a different model R-Pod last year and got the .50 tour. In their case, they has SO MUCH stuff crammed in that you couldn't tell what was what - sort of a mini-hoarding thing going on. The bathroom was a wet bath, which would be fine with us as we had that in our boat and didn't object at all. The kitchen space in the 179 is roomier than I would have expected and good counter space. I like the U-shaped dinette. One thing DH asked when he looked at the floorplan was if there was a place for a TV if you wanted one....didn't see one, but there could have been a mounting area for a flat screen.

Is part of your thinking the fuel economy? No info here, but you might check that as you still have the large frontal area, regardless of the sloping back.

Personal opinion is that there is definitely a niche for that type trailer and it may be perfect for your needs. I do like the look and coziness of them. Your tall son could be a problem, so would suggest a test "fit" before you sign on the dotted line.

If you haven't looked at something like the Casita or similar trailers, it would be good to do some comparison.

Good luck and happy shopping. Enjoy that trip next season!

[irishtom29]

My wife and I looked at the various R-Pods but decided against one. We thought storage was poor and the shape wasted floor space by closing it in vertically, thus leading to the poor storage and a dark and confining feel for their size.

Our opinions.

[BStrummin]

Our friends have one. The only word of advice would be to avoid the floorplan with the kitchen slide out. The drain hose to the sink has to rotate when the slide moves, and it has broken the fitting on the bottom of the sink now three times. Theirs is a few years old so maybe they've fixed that problem.

[Bob806]

Good luck OBX camper. For us, we were also looking at the Whitewater Retro RVs (175 model), but are now leaning R Pod 179, mainly due to the storage/cabinet space for kitchen stuff.

It's going to be tight in there on the rainy days, but we should be fine.

[CptnBG]

Bob806 wrote:
OBX camper we have the same issues. I drove 130 miles to see the model 179. I think we are going to pull the trigger in spring as well on this model. We want to downsize so we can hopefully get better gas mileage on the long trips out west to visit our kids.

Looking at the R Pod website, we initially were thinking the 178 or 182 model was what we wanted. The 179 seems to fit our situation better, we like the floor plan. There won't be as much room for clothes and frozen food as before, but we'll adjust. I think it may be like our old pop up days again, but I'm looking forward to it.

Bob, the more I look the more I like the 179 as well. I've spent a couple of hours today looking at youtube reviews. Kinda like looking at boats, they ALL look good online. I'm going to make time to look at one in person.

[CptnBG]

goducks10 wrote:
You might post your question here toohttp://www.forestriverforums.com/forums/f197/

Thanks for the link!! I've scoured that forum and found a lot of useful info.

[Bob806]

OBX camper we have the same issues. I drove 130 miles to see the model 179. I think we are going to pull the trigger in spring as well on this model. We want to downsize so we can hopefully get better gas mileage on the long trips out west to visit our kids.

Looking at the R Pod website, we initially were thinking the 178 or 182 model was what we wanted. The 179 seems to fit our situation better, we like the floor plan. There won't be as much room for clothes and frozen food as before, but we'll adjust. I think it may be like our old pop up days again, but I'm looking forward to it.

[goducks10]

You might post your question here toohttp://www.forestriverforums.com/forums/f197/

[Bumpyroad]

I looked at the RPod when I bought my Ascend RD171. it had a wet bath vs dry, tiny corner sink in bathroom that would be barely useable, absolutely no hang up room, tiny overhead in kitchen slideout, vs. overheads all over in my Ascend, etc. felt it was worth $5,000 more.
bumpy