Should I buy? |
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mcarter
podders Helping podders - pHp Joined: 07 Apr 2016 Location: Greenbrier, TN Online Status: Offline Posts: 3419 |
Topic: Should I buy? Posted: 26 Oct 2018 at 3:31pm |
The brakes are electrical, from a brake signal from the vehicle to the electric brakes on trailer. Typical tasks are preventative - tire pressure, lug nut torque, bearing lube, cleaning, vehicle and trailer inspection (hitch, leaks, lights, etc). Much like your vehicle maintenance, minus changing oil. If you consider, not much you own that doesn't require maintenance, especially if it goes on a road.
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Mike Carter
2015 178 " I had the right to remain silent, I just didn't have the ability." |
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StephenH
podders Helping podders - pHp Joined: 29 Nov 2015 Location: Wake Forest, NC Online Status: Offline Posts: 6326 |
Posted: 26 Oct 2018 at 3:36pm |
The braking system works like this: 1. When you press the brake pedal, a signal is sent to the brake controller. 2. The brake controller uses an inertial sensor to determine how much force to apply. The harder you press the brake pedal means that the sensor detects more change. 3. The brake controller sends current to the brakes on the trailer in proportion to braking force being applied to the tow vehicle. 4. When the tow vehicle is slowed down, the inertial force is less and the controller applies less power to the brakes. On mine, I will see a 0 displayed while sitting at a stop light. 5. When the brake pedal is no longer being pressed, the signal cuts off and the controller stops sending power to the brakes. Things that need to be done regularly are similar to the things you should be doing for your truck. Checking tire pressure and checking the lug nuts to ensure they are tight is important. Some models have different items that will need to be checked. On our 179, the black water drain suspension has been problematic, coming loose twice. There won't be a third time as I made my own custom suspension bracket. Making sure water and drain connections inside are tight (remember, you are bouncing down the road and things can become loose) is important. Forest River specifies maintaining seals every 90 days. This is simply using something like ProtectAll rubber seal treatment to keep the rubger seals in good shape and silicone lubricant to keep the slide-out mechanism lubed and ready to work. Every year the brakes and bearings should be checked. At this time, the bearings should be re-packed. FR recommends replacing the grease seals when the wheels are removed also. Winterizing before freezing weather and getting the water system ready to go in the spring (flush the RV antifreeze and sanitize the water system) is not hard to do. These are the most frequent ones. As for repairs, it depends on the particular R-Pod. Some people will have things go wrong. Some have things happen that make repairs necessary (such as our accident). Some changes are because I wanted to do them, not because they were needed. The R-Pod lends itself to tinkering but does not require a lot of tinkering to use it and to enjoy traveling with it.
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StephenH
Happy is the man that findeth wisdom,... ouR escaPOD mods Former RPod 179 Current Cherokee Grey Wolf 24 JS |
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Royal1585
Newbie Joined: 24 Oct 2018 Location: TX Online Status: Offline Posts: 26 |
Posted: 26 Oct 2018 at 3:44pm |
Living in SE Texas, I will not need to worry about winterizing in the same way as those up North do. It will be put in storage when not in use, so I'm sure there are things I will need to make sure I do...i.e. protecting from pests, etc. My concern is electrical and plumbing issues. When searching for a storage facility, what are the key things I should be looking for?
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Go Royals!
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Richand Cindy
Senior Member Joined: 16 Apr 2016 Location: New Jersey Online Status: Offline Posts: 328 |
Posted: 26 Oct 2018 at 3:45pm |
We were NOT campers. We actually do not like to camp. But we love to travel to see the country and hate flying and hotels. So an RV was the way to go. We bought the RPOD because it felt ok and our Jeep could tow it. We traveled around in summer of 2017 and realized we love the RV experience but the RPOD was too small for us. Climb over partner to get out of bed, college student size refrigerator so had to food shop every other day, no place to sit and read and watch TV exept on bed, no space to prepare meals. So we sold it and bought a larger RV and a new tow vehicle. Now we are happy travelers and summer 2018 travels were great. A ram with tow package has clip for attaching a third party brake controller, takes five minutes. Dealer wanted $250 to install in dash unit. Not necessary do it yourself is simple. Agree with others RENT RENT RENT. You may not even like RVing or you may want a different size RV, or even a class B or C instead of a TT. The RPOD is the best camping trailer hands down but it was too small for the two of us to take on two week trips. Also for any RV there are repairs and we are not handy so we spend $450 year for storage, $125 to winterize $100 to install battery cutoff switch, $150 to install Progressive industries electrical protection. We had to replace water heater and WFCO board but at no cost but need to be close to a dealer/service center to get warranty work. RVing is a different life. It is not a cheaper form of vacation travel
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OLD 2017.5 RPOD 180 + 2015 Jeep Cherokee Trailhawk
NEW: 2018 Passport Elite 23RB + 2017 Ram 1500 Diesel |
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TheBum
Senior Member Joined: 26 Feb 2016 Location: Texas Online Status: Offline Posts: 1407 |
Posted: 26 Oct 2018 at 3:54pm |
At a minimum, I'd look for covered storage to protect it from hail. We keep ours in completely enclosed storage and the only pests we really have to deal with are crickets, sometimes several hundred. We just put down some diatomaceous earth and they're all dead in short order. |
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Alan
2022 R-Pod 196 "RaptoRPod" 2022 Ram 1500 Lone Star 4x4 Three cats |
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StephenH
podders Helping podders - pHp Joined: 29 Nov 2015 Location: Wake Forest, NC Online Status: Offline Posts: 6326 |
Posted: 26 Oct 2018 at 4:21pm |
If the storage facility has available power to keep the 'Pod plugged in, you should not have to worry about the battery. If not, then a battery cut-off switch (or simply disconnecting the negative terminal) will protect the battery from being drained by the devices that can't be shut off like the LP/CO detector. Removing the battery and taking it home with you and using a trickle charger also works. I know Texas freezes. I lived in Copperas Cove and West Fort Hood for a couple of years and traveled through Texas in the winter. You can get freezes of sufficient duration to make winterizing a good idea. You don't want to come back to broken toilet valves and a broken water pump because you did not winterize. If the storage facility is heated, it is a moot point but if not, winterizing is something you should do.
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StephenH
Happy is the man that findeth wisdom,... ouR escaPOD mods Former RPod 179 Current Cherokee Grey Wolf 24 JS |
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mcarter
podders Helping podders - pHp Joined: 07 Apr 2016 Location: Greenbrier, TN Online Status: Offline Posts: 3419 |
Posted: 26 Oct 2018 at 6:19pm |
Royal1585,
Here is link to a trailer maintenance guide: https://www.etrailer.com/faq-trailer-maintenance-schedule.aspx?utm_source=iContact&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=etrailer&utm_content=180928-T-RV-SR-V-MaintSched-edu |
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Mike Carter
2015 178 " I had the right to remain silent, I just didn't have the ability." |
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GlueGuy
Senior Member Joined: 15 May 2017 Location: N. California Online Status: Offline Posts: 2653 |
Posted: 26 Oct 2018 at 9:04pm |
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bp
2017 R-Pod 179 Hood River 2015 Ford F150 SuperCrew 4WD 3.5L Ecoboost |
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Live2Camp
Senior Member Joined: 17 Apr 2017 Location: No. California Online Status: Offline Posts: 240 |
Posted: 26 Oct 2018 at 10:02pm |
I'm a life-long camper who, well, lives to camp. And to do other things too, but camping has always been one of my top priorities and I've always accomodated it with everything from backpacking to sleeping on a tarp on the ground to pickup-truck-bed sleeping to tent camping to now having an RPod. Which I wouldn't have chosen (having a trailer) but my guy came up with the idea, he did all the research, I trust his instincts & skills, we looked at and bought a 179 and we're having a blast with it. We also still do The Other Kinds of Camping (plus when I solo camp I don't take our trailer, it's just me and my truck) and we will until we can't. By which point we'll already be so spoiled by our Pod that there won't be any adjustment to make And that said, because I am such an experienced camper (stay with me here, there's a logical path), I also know that like many things in life, it's not for everyone. And that is very understandable. So my suggestion - based on your concerns about trailering and what-not - is that you not only rent, but that you rent an RV instead of a trailer. You are certainly quite capable of driving a Class B or Class C. And you think your wife won't be interested in camping as such; so if you have a comfortable rental vehicle for those times when she's into it, I'm guessing the opportunity for fun will be really high. And we all want you and your wife to have a lot of fun with this! A Class B or C allows you to just drive something a bit larger, use the systems that you don't own or have to service and see how it goes. It will remove the stress of any concern about [edited from breaks to brakes], WDH, how often you can use it, etc. etc. And who knows - maybe you and your wife will have so much fun in a rental a few times, that you will decide to buy one. I hope this helps, and that you will keep us posted and let us know what you decide.
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2017 R-Pod 179 HRE (the green one)
His:Ford F150 double cab 4WD; Hers/mine:Tacoma V6 double cab 4WD Still love rugged, diggin' comfy too |
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Royal1585
Newbie Joined: 24 Oct 2018 Location: TX Online Status: Offline Posts: 26 |
Posted: 28 Oct 2018 at 4:28pm |
Checked out a couple of KOA campgrounds with the wife over the weekend just so she could get a look at one and she was very agreeable! Showed her the Rpod (in pictures) and she liked it...particularly the option of the screened tent attachment. If I rent, I think I would like to actually rent a travel trailer...I want to see how much work is involved in hitching it up...pulling it and what that feels like...hooking it up at a campground...leveling...etc, etc. After I go through all that, I may decide it ain't work the hassle! We went to a college football game this past weekend and saw a couple of RV units tailgating and that is something we both think would be fun. We talked about looking to rent something over the Thanksgiving or X-mas holidays. We are in SE Texas, so weather is likely to not be much of an issue in terms of low temps, snow, etc.
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Go Royals!
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