2018 Rpod 180 review and sad farewell |
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gpokluda
Senior Member Joined: 11 Nov 2018 Location: NM Online Status: Offline Posts: 275 |
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Topic: 2018 Rpod 180 review and sad farewell Posted: 05 Sep 2022 at 2:38pm |
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We almost bought a 180 but decided on the 179. From the start, we noticed build quality issues but since we are both pretty handy, we just kept making repairs along the way. We would have already bought the 179 several times over if we had taken it back to the dealer for repairs out of warranty. Now, 6 years later, we have decided that it is time to move up from the Rpod and into something more sturdy as we begin to travel more frequently and longer. We ordered an Escape 5.0TA which should be ready in about a year. All we have to do is keep the 60K mile 179 road worthy for 12 more months which might be easier said than done.
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Gpokluda
2017 Rpod 179(sold 2023) 2022 Escape 5.0TA 2022 Ford F150 4X4 3.5EB Triumph T120 |
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lostagain
Senior Member Joined: 06 Sep 2016 Location: Quaker Hill, CT Online Status: Offline Posts: 2587 |
Post Options Quote Reply Posted: 05 Sep 2022 at 6:51am | |
I don't think the quality issue is one of regional differences, but rather one of corporate management and how workers are organized to build the product. Quality control is really a function of top down management. The workers do what's required to earn their paychecks. They follow the "tone from the top." If that means working really fast and sloppily because the management pushes high production, then the trailers will not turn out well. Management chooses the quality of materials and componets. If they build a trailer with garbage quality materials, the result will be obvious during the trailer's service life.
Another area chosen by management is the design and engineering that goes into their products. The original design concept of the R-Pod was for a small, economical, light weight travel trailer that could be towed by a mid-sized vehicle, thus a narrow body, super lightweight frame, and a light weight suspension. Our 172 was exactly that and gave us few problems. As other trailer companies began to enter the small lightweight trailer market, it seems that FR's R-Pod division decided to expand the length and width of their trailers and add slide outs to make them more roomy. Unfortunately, they apparently didn't re-engineer the chassis to accommodate the extra stress on the structure or the weight. Most of the serious problems with their current product lines relate to the lack structural support for the coach cabin. Now it has structural failures and leaks that are the the death knell of any wood based trailer cabin. It's impossible to know where the travel trailer business is going. If demand slumps we may see more competition on quality and maintainability. If the Covid related RV boom continues, there is little incentive for the RV industry to fix their quality deficiencies. If I were rich and wanted to be in RV business, I'd look at importing some travel trailers from Europe, where the build quality seems to be a bit better and the prices competitive with US products. This was the experience we had in the automotive world where imports pushed a lazy US manufacturing culture to build world class quality vehicles to compete with European and Japanese cars.
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Never leave footprints behind.
Fred & Maria Kearney Sonoma 167RB Our Pod 172 2019 Ford F-150 4x4 2.7 EcoBoost |
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DH
Newbie Joined: 04 Jul 2021 Online Status: Offline Posts: 6 |
Post Options Quote Reply Posted: 05 Sep 2022 at 12:30am | |
I agree completely. I also have a 180. The concept is great but everything in my trailer is so cheap and delicate. Zero effort to assemble it correctly. I have spent so much money fixing things that should work. Just this weekend I am replacing the useless refrigerator they installed. I was never able to use it once except for storing my shoes. It would have been cheaper to by an Airstream. I think we should file a class action lawsuit. The.company should not be able to treat customers this way. Cool concept but parts and finish are a joke.
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offgrid
Senior Member Joined: 23 Jul 2018 Online Status: Offline Posts: 5290 |
Post Options Quote Reply Posted: 14 Nov 2019 at 7:29am | |
Perhaps. Or it could simply be that more of them are produced in Indiana than in Oregon. Something like 80% of all RV's in the US are made in Northern Indiana. Anybody know the production rates at the two rPod production lines?
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1994 Chinook Concourse
1995 RV6A Experimental Aircraft 2015 Rpod 179 - sold |
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GlueGuy
Senior Member Joined: 15 May 2017 Location: N. California Online Status: Offline Posts: 2628 |
Post Options Quote Reply Posted: 13 Nov 2019 at 3:45pm | |
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bp
2017 R-Pod 179 Hood River 2015 Ford F150 SuperCrew 4WD 3.5L Ecoboost |
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offgrid
Senior Member Joined: 23 Jul 2018 Online Status: Offline Posts: 5290 |
Post Options Quote Reply Posted: 13 Nov 2019 at 2:20pm | |
It is my impression that lift and wheels/tires have been the only differences, and that the lift is now the same east and west. What other differences are there?
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1994 Chinook Concourse
1995 RV6A Experimental Aircraft 2015 Rpod 179 - sold |
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GlueGuy
Senior Member Joined: 15 May 2017 Location: N. California Online Status: Offline Posts: 2628 |
Post Options Quote Reply Posted: 13 Nov 2019 at 10:13am | |
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bp
2017 R-Pod 179 Hood River 2015 Ford F150 SuperCrew 4WD 3.5L Ecoboost |
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DavMar
Senior Member Joined: 04 Aug 2017 Location: Lexington, NC Online Status: Offline Posts: 592 |
Post Options Quote Reply Posted: 12 Nov 2019 at 8:54pm | |
Glue, your absolutely right, transportation to the east coast would be a major cost. My question, which I guess I didn't ask well, is why isn't the Hood River model also built in Indiana and sold on the east coast along with the standard models? Just seems to me there would be a big market on the east coast for this and dealers would love it because they can mark up the price because its a "Hood River" edition. I know for myself I would of thought long and hard and probably paid the extra markup for the option of buying the Hood River for the same model I bought from my dealer.
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Dave & Marlene J with Zoey the
wonder dog. 2017 Rpod 180 2016 Toyota Tacoma SR5 4x4 Lexington, NC |
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GlueGuy
Senior Member Joined: 15 May 2017 Location: N. California Online Status: Offline Posts: 2628 |
Post Options Quote Reply Posted: 12 Nov 2019 at 10:18am | |
I would also expect the cost of transportation over the Rocky Mountains to be a major issue. Distance and elevation.
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bp
2017 R-Pod 179 Hood River 2015 Ford F150 SuperCrew 4WD 3.5L Ecoboost |
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lostagain
Senior Member Joined: 06 Sep 2016 Location: Quaker Hill, CT Online Status: Offline Posts: 2587 |
Post Options Quote Reply Posted: 12 Nov 2019 at 8:42am | |
It may be a function of the cost of transportation. Western state prices on trailers built in the mid-west tend to be higher. Dragging a Hood River model to Ohio and trying to sell it there with a locally competitive price may not be very profitable. If one takes a look at the teaser ads for any given trailer built in the heartland, the prices tend to be several thousand dollars higher in the far west than they are within a few hundred miles of the factory. On the other hand, trailers built out this way can often be had for prices in the teaser ads one sees for mid-west constructed trailers. The closer to the point of manufacture, the better the pricing it seems.
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Never leave footprints behind.
Fred & Maria Kearney Sonoma 167RB Our Pod 172 2019 Ford F-150 4x4 2.7 EcoBoost |
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