Looking at a new POD

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   I have been looking for a small camping trailer for a while. The Rpod has really caught my eye. Over the years I have done plenty of camping in tents, rvs, etc. But, I want an easy way to take my young son out camping. So the trailer seems to be the easiest way to go for the 3 of us. 
I'm looking for something like the 171 rpod. What else did people cross shop it with and why besides style did you choose the rpod. Reading the forum Im still not clear of what people think the quality of this trailer is compared to other manufactures? 
Another question would be, how does it tow compared to more of the traditional square shape design trailer vs the teardrop rpod shape? Does the shape really make it any better to tow or for mpg reasons or did you just buy it for the style?
Great forum 
and my TV is a 2011 Xterra 

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akwagon Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Newbie Joined: 21 Jul 2011 Location: Alaska Online Status: Offline Posts: 2	Topic: Looking at a new POD Posted: 21 Jul 2011 at 8:00pm
	I have been looking for a small camping trailer for a while. The Rpod has really caught my eye. Over the years I have done plenty of camping in tents, rvs, etc. But, I want an easy way to take my young son out camping. So the trailer seems to be the easiest way to go for the 3 of us. I'm looking for something like the 171 rpod. What else did people cross shop it with and why besides style did you choose the rpod. Reading the forum Im still not clear of what people think the quality of this trailer is compared to other manufactures? Another question would be, how does it tow compared to more of the traditional square shape design trailer vs the teardrop rpod shape? Does the shape really make it any better to tow or for mpg reasons or did you just buy it for the style? Great forum and my TV is a 2011 Xterra

kymooses Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Senior Member Joined: 01 Aug 2010 Location: Louisville, Ky Online Status: Offline Posts: 1807	Posted: 21 Jul 2011 at 9:11pm
	We bought for style, the Rpod has a character about it that just can't be beat in our own opinion. Granted we shopped for 3 years before buying anything, we started off thinking we'd be pUp owners and looked at those for an entire season. Nothing wrong with pop-ups but the wife and I eventually made the decision that we wanted a unit with a more permanent bathroom and that the pUp might be more setup and takedown than we wanted to deal with. We moved up from 14 years of tent camping so we wanted something easy and quick to set up. We spent a second season lurking on the Rpod forums and having dismissed pUp's we started looking at comparable size and weighted hybrid campers. The only one I can recall off hand was the Kodiak Cub that we got really attached to. It had some character to it and looked nice but just didn't feel right to us in the end. A third season arose and more and more reasearch on this and the other Rpod forum really made us stop considering the Rpod and made us start playing with them instead. We visited several dealers, made numerous trips and played around in as many models of Rpod we could find. We poked, we prodded and we pushed. And then this year Forest River came out with a model that was made for us, the 181g. Not sure about how you're shopping currently or what your guidelines are but my wife and I had spent quite a while thinking bigger was better. We thought of all the times friends and family would camp with us and that we needed something bigger. Smart decision on our part though, is that we didn't need anything bigger, this Pod was made for us and again, it has a huge amount of character and for me at least, it looks nicer in my driveway than a boxier unit. Does the shape help with towing? I couldn't wager to guess, but I'll make a noticeable comment, that I have noticed with our own Rpod and tow vehicle. While many will say their mileage drops down sometimes as near as half and most might comment around 12mpg. My pod is pulling along and we're averaging 15mpg still, that's down from my Jeep's normal mpg of around 19.4mpg. Ours came factory with the rear light assembly and spoiler on it. Does that make the difference? Again I can't say but I remain pleased with my mpg and how it tows with my vehicle. I'm glad to be out of a tent, and I've not found anything about my unit that wouldn't make me buy it over and over again. Some might mention that with all the modding and things that need tightening or fixing when you first buy it makes it bad. I dunno, thats not how I see it at least, it's something I plan to have for what I hope is years and years and years to come. Everything needs some TLC to keep it running at it's best, the amount of waterproofing and cleaning I had to do to our old tent to make it last as many years as it did is proof of concept. I think you'll enjoy hearing how much many of us like our units and get some of the cons that others might have experienced. Good luck!
	RPod Rallies RPod Owner Map

Damour Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Senior Member Joined: 07 Jul 2011 Location: Quebec Online Status: Offline Posts: 162	Posted: 21 Jul 2011 at 9:13pm
	Hi , I own a 171 and we choose that for the weight we can pull. And I love the look . A good choice for us.
	rp 171 , from Québec with not a good english writing lol

FISHTAIL Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List podders Helping podders - pHp Joined: 08 Jun 2011 Location: La Plata, MD Online Status: Offline Posts: 130	Posted: 21 Jul 2011 at 9:23pm
	Other things to compare it with in the same tow class: MPG ( pretty much an identical knock-off, although slightly larger) Gulf Stream Visa Trailmanor Elkridge? This is a nice trailer, but they are expensive compared to the pod. I personally liked the pod the best for the money, weight, and charm. I wanted bunks, and I didn't like the bunk floor plan of the Visa, didn't like the lack of forum support for the MPG, and didn't want to spend the money on the trail manor. I'm towing with a 2011 Explorer.

Podsible Dream Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List podders Helping podders - pHp Joined: 03 Dec 2010 Location: Hightstown, NJ Online Status: Offline Posts: 571	Posted: 21 Jul 2011 at 9:40pm
	We were looking for a small camping trailer to get ourselves up off the ground after many years of tent camping. After visiting a RV show with several brands of lite and ultra lite weight trailers that all weighed 3000 lbs or more, we took our search to the Internet and discovered the RPods. We priced them on the net and decided to look at used ones. We found a 171 only used for 3 weeks and fell in love on first sight. We found the quality to be better than or equal to those we saw at the show. More importantly it had all the amenities we needed, and was the right size for our vehicle. Other than some loose screws on the cabinet door hinges, we have not seen any problems. I have found that most forums tend to highlight the good and de-emphasize the not so good. But for our money this little pod was a great value, good quality, and comfortable.
	Chris and Walt '10 RP-171 'Free Spirit' '13 Dodge Durango Crew 5.7 L Hemi V8

profmagickb Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Visit Members Homepage Add to Buddy List podders Helping podders - pHp Joined: 15 Oct 2010 Location: New Iberia, LA Online Status: Offline Posts: 37	Posted: 21 Jul 2011 at 9:49pm
	All about weight and style for me, then I got it and bought a truck so the weight issue dropped off, as for the style I cant seem to find anything like it without building it myself, or buying it from the 50's.
	I can't even begin to describe it.... you would just have to see for yourself....

techntrek Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Admin Group - pHp Joined: 29 Jul 2009 Location: MD Online Status: Offline Posts: 9059	Posted: 21 Jul 2011 at 9:55pm
	Welcome. We looked at about 20 different lightweight campers online before we narrowed our search down. We saw the 'pod first and kept coming back to it. Probably would have gotten a 177 but they didn't announce the slide-out models until the week we picked up our 171. Still like it, and its way better than setting up a popup. It tows better than any trailer I've used in 25 years, I didn't even use a sway control for 1 1/2 years, although I now have a weight distribution hitch (with sway control) and it tows even better now. I'd say the shape doesn't help with mpg. Our van gets 23-24 mpg unloaded, it got 16 fully loaded and pulling our popup, and gets 12 pulling the 'pod. Even though the 'pod is easily 750 pounds lighter than the popup. I even got 8 mpg during one trip with a heavy head wind.
	Doug ~ '10 171 (2009-2015) ~ 2008 Salem ~ Pod instruction manual

Snowbound Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Senior Member Joined: 17 Apr 2011 Location: Edmonton, AB Online Status: Offline Posts: 270	Posted: 21 Jul 2011 at 10:54pm
	We bought our 177 after driving past the dealership and seeing it in the yard. I did some internet research and could not find anything we liked better. We've tent camped for fifty years and this is our first trailer. We would have liked better mileage but in general we are very happy with our choice. We found it nice and cosy on cold evenings and in the rain and we don't need anything bigger for two of us and a big dog. It still feels luxurious to us. Oh yes, we lurked on the forum for a bit too so we could find out what the other folk thought of their R-Pod. B
	Tom and Bette in our 177 "The Gastropod"

akwagon Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Newbie Joined: 21 Jul 2011 Location: Alaska Online Status: Offline Posts: 2	Posted: 22 Jul 2011 at 12:18am
	Great feedback so far. Curious what people have paid for new rpods. In AK its a little tough for me to shop different dealers (there is only one. I feel like the dealer is wanting a hefty premium for the new one.

Hodge-PODge Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Senior Member Joined: 11 Apr 2011 Location: Calhoun, GA Online Status: Offline Posts: 539	Posted: 22 Jul 2011 at 12:41am
	I bought my RPod 177 for 3 reasons: 1) I needed to downsize to something smaller and simpler to tow. 2) In downsizing I didn't want to have to set up and take down a pop-up trailer or a tent. 3) I wanted the same conveniences of my 5th wheel trailer (the RPod has a 36 gallon black water tank, a 36 gallon gray water tank, and a 30 gallon fresh water tank -- comparable to the big trailers, hot water, toilet, shower, and kitchen). Pros: The RPod is well made, and well insulated. It's easy to hook up and tow. Cons: MPG on the tow vehicle is not great, and the length of the bed and the height of the bathroom may be a challenge for anyone over six feet tall. I'm short so it doesn't matter. But overall, I LOVE my pod! Diane
	2011 RP 177, the Hodge-PODge 2011 Mercedes ML350 "A man travels the world over in search of what he needs, and returns home to find it."