178 Owver

I bought a 178 in July 2015. Right away I had a problem with the WH. The more I read this forum and the problems people are having with their Pods the more nervous I get.

I too bought my 178 in July of this year.  The only issue so far has been the brake lights filling with water.  I was in Virginia at the time and contacted my dealer who refered me to a nice lady at Forest River.  I was afraid of not having brake and signal lights on my trip back to Connecticut.  We came to the agreement that if I needed the lights she could have them express shipped to me to arrive three days later.  That worked with my schedule.  I did my best to drain the lights and then hooked them up to power and they operated fine.  The emergency was diverted.   So now I'm going to wait until the Spring and still within my warranty period and have the lights replaced by the dealer I bought the trailer from, Stoltzfus in PA.  I don't expect there will be any issues or problems and will let you know if that isn't the situation I encounter.

Originally posted by Don Halas So now I'm going to wait until the Spring and still within my warranty period and have the lights replaced by the dealer I bought the trailer from, Stoltzfus in PA.

Once the warranty period is over, find a new dealer for service. They proved to me - twice - that their service department doesn't know a thing about how to diagnose/repair. I would even try to find a different dealer for warranty work, if you can.

My life partner and I bought a new 178 model in September. As newbies to the trailer ownership experience, he and I decided to buy a 5-year service warranty to lower the stress level associated with owning and maintaining a trailer. Our only issue, so far, has been a minor water leak from the back window.

After purchasing the trailer, we discovered the caulking around the back window was cracked. It was allowing a small amount of water to seep into the inside of the trailer following rain events. I called the dealership and talked to a service rep about how to fix the leak. I was able to do a DIY fix that took care of the leak. The DIY fix is the same one that has been suggested in postings that have been made to this user forum. I removed the old caulking and resealed the window using a clear silicone caulking.

I've taken the trailer out on 4 shakedown trips to get more comfortable hitching/unhitching the trailer to the tow vehicle, towing in different weather conditions, backing into tight spaces, and connecting/disconnecting to electrical services at campgrounds. The learning curve has gotten progressively smaller with each trip. We bought the trailer toward the end of the outdoor camping season in the midwest, so chose to winterize the trailer at the dealership on the day of purchase as opposed to doing it later in the fall. I still need to overcome some anxiety associated with using the plumbing, but feeling confident the learning curve will become smaller after the first experience.

By the way, this forum has been a great place to get advice about the R-Pod ownership experience. Love it!