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2018 Rpod 180 review and sad farewell

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offgrid View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Quote offgrid Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Topic: 2018 Rpod 180 review and sad farewell
    Posted: 13 Nov 2019 at 2:20pm
Originally posted by GlueGuy

. I have noticed over the time we have been on the list that there seems to be many differences between east and west R-pods.

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? 
1994 Chinook Concourse
1995 RV6A Experimental Aircraft
2015 Rpod 179 - sold
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GlueGuy View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Quote GlueGuy Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 13 Nov 2019 at 3:45pm
Originally posted by offgrid

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?  
It seems from my armchair that there are more quality-related issues for the east pods. May be my selective brain filter, but that's my impression.
bp
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offgrid View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Quote offgrid Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 14 Nov 2019 at 7:29am
Originally posted by GlueGuy

It seems from my armchair that there are more quality-related issues for the east pods. May be my selective brain filter, but that's my impression.

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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DH View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Quote DH Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post 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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Post Options Post Options   Quote lostagain Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post 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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Post Options Post Options   Quote gpokluda Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 05 Sep 2022 at 2:38pm
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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