New Design: Rpod 195 |
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Kup-Pod
Senior Member Joined: 08 Jun 2017 Location: Guelph, Ontario Online Status: Offline Posts: 153 |
Topic: New Design: Rpod 195 Posted: 19 Jan 2019 at 3:43pm |
Just came back from the Toronto RV show and they had the 10th anniversary 191 and 179. Looking at them up close, I will say that (in my opinion) the real life versions look better than the photo's but I still find the "all grey" colour very bland. It doesnt seem to have the same striking appearance that the 2015 & 2017 colour schemes had. The insides were well appointed, the colours were very light, so I can see why someone may want to dim down the LED lights (somewhere else on the forum). The pull out kitchen from the front storage bin was a nice touch, but would also limit the amount of functional storage space.
All in all, the RPod's still showed well. We toured a lot of units like Airstreams, Alto's, NOBO, Rockwood's, etc and in the end we are still very happy we bought our RPod. The functionality is still superb and for the space you get, the weight is unbeatable! The Airstreams are beautiful TT's! but when the price is 3-4x the RPod, it is difficult to get your mind wrapped around that. It was a fun day, now we can't wait for spring to arrive... especially when you drive home in the snow and ice :-)
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2017 RP-178
2021 F150 5.0l "Lead me on a level path" |
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offgrid
Senior Member Joined: 23 Jul 2018 Online Status: Offline Posts: 5290 |
Posted: 19 Jan 2019 at 11:24am |
Longer, wider, and by no doubt heavier but still with a curved roofline. Hmm. sounds like an Evo with an rPod decal on it. Nothing wrong with that if you're Ok to tow that around. It will be interesting to see what axle(s) they put under it.
We'll see.
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1994 Chinook Concourse
1995 RV6A Experimental Aircraft 2015 Rpod 179 - sold |
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StephenH
podders Helping podders - pHp Joined: 29 Nov 2015 Location: Wake Forest, NC Online Status: Offline Posts: 6289 |
Posted: 19 Jan 2019 at 10:38am |
Thanks for the update. My speculation was wrong. I'm looking forward to seeing the photos and specs.
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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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kymooses
Senior Member Joined: 01 Aug 2010 Location: Louisville, Ky Online Status: Offline Posts: 1807 |
Posted: 19 Jan 2019 at 9:36am |
It will be longer, and wider. Forest River should be giving me the first photos and specs maybe in less than a month to release to you all.
Appreciate your patience
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StephenH
podders Helping podders - pHp Joined: 29 Nov 2015 Location: Wake Forest, NC Online Status: Offline Posts: 6289 |
Posted: 19 Jan 2019 at 9:08am |
There comes a time when a combination of creaky and increasingly stiff joints makes the climb-over more difficult. That is one of the reasons I did my dinette modification. If it came down to it, I wanted a more comfortable place to sleep if it came to the point of not being able to do the crawl-over. I would really like to see the 195. It is possible that if a full-sized bed were used instead of a queen (54" wide instead of 60) it would give enough foot room to maneuver(about 10-1/2" on each side), but then it would be not quite as nice as the queen. To increase the width of the RPod would require a brand new frame as well. I don't see any way of increasing the width which would make the outboard part of the axle even larger and subject it to even more stress unless the frame rails were also repositioned. The other alternative would be to modify the body to allow the wheels to be recessed. That would mean somehow having a wheel well in the RPod. Given the placement of the dry bath, I don't think this is possible even if a wheel well under the dinette might be worked in somehow. Somehow, I don't really think that the width will be increased. As it is, it looks like the dinette may be shrunk to allow room for the bed. That does not bother me as it is not likely that we would be having overnight guests if we were to go for the 195.
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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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offgrid
Senior Member Joined: 23 Jul 2018 Online Status: Offline Posts: 5290 |
Posted: 19 Jan 2019 at 7:00am |
That math is right. What's the minimum acceptable walking area around a bed? Gotta have somewhere to put your feet when you get up. Unless you're a Chinese empress with tiny feet maybe 12 inches?
60+12+12=84+2x1.5 inches for 2 wall thicknesses = 87 inches. There are any number of TT's available with a 8' width (96 inches, only 9 inches wider) to choose from.
The way FR could perhaps get around this is to extend the dinette slide forward to include part of the bed, but I'm not sure the slide could catch enough of the length of the bed before the roof curve comes down too far. And big slides are heavy because they weaken the trailer structure so it requires more framing to compensate. Any way they do it this would be a really big, heavy rPod. It would almost certainly need a heavier axle (or two axles) and likely a heavier frame. More weight. Its a vicious circle. But there are lots of folks towing rPods now with TV's that are much heavier than needed for the application, so I'm sure there will be customers for it. I just won't be one of them. My wife and I will continue to climb over each other, after awhile you get it down to a science. |
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1994 Chinook Concourse
1995 RV6A Experimental Aircraft 2015 Rpod 179 - sold |
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StephenH
podders Helping podders - pHp Joined: 29 Nov 2015 Location: Wake Forest, NC Online Status: Offline Posts: 6289 |
Posted: 18 Jan 2019 at 7:38pm |
My thoughts also. That is why I would really like some more information.
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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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PilotPodder
Senior Member Joined: 04 May 2016 Location: Portage, MI Online Status: Offline Posts: 305 |
Posted: 18 Jan 2019 at 7:32pm |
Food for thought...So the current width of the pods with a 74" bed would mean the 195 would only have 7" each side of the walk-around queen bed (60"x74") if I have my measurements correct. If not, we may be seeing a wider body model? I also would like to see a twin model 195. The 191 twin has the wet bath, where this would have the full bath and looks to be able to accommodate twins with the room for the walk-around queen. Not seeing how this could all be accommodated without pushing out the width and maybe even the length a bit. So then weight may have to increase. Lots of questions. JM
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Portage, MI — 2017 RPod 179 - sold / 2017 Toyota Tundra — My RPod YouTube Videos
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StephenH
podders Helping podders - pHp Joined: 29 Nov 2015 Location: Wake Forest, NC Online Status: Offline Posts: 6289 |
Posted: 18 Jan 2019 at 10:21am |
The problem is that the 196 is a user's idea of what would be a great floor plan. It is not a Forest River floor plan. I would like at least some drawings of what the 195 would look like at this point. There have to be some sketches at least that FR could release showing the concept with the understanding that the final product may not match entirely the concept. I'm not talking about blueprints, just artist sketches.
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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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cwmoser
Newbie Joined: 28 Mar 2017 Location: Advance, NC Online Status: Offline Posts: 8 |
Posted: 15 Nov 2018 at 6:08am |
I would highly prefer the proposed 196 with couch instead of dinette.
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