r-Dome Revisited

I forgot to mention that last weekend my daughter had a friend join us and they slept in the r-dome. We put a tarp down and they slept on air mattresses. Nice! Next season....indoor/outdoor carpeting!

Hello Sam. Just read your review of the R-dome and I wanted to 2nd most of what you say but with one exception. I really do believe that the Dome is quite simple to set up. We've had our 2014 - 177 since mid summer and camped 3 weekends (3-4 days each) and after the 1st time set up and nervous excitement experience, it has become a "snap". Our weather was mixed. We weathered a couple of thunder storms but not gale force winds to date. Everything remained dry and in place. We are so impressed with the ease of set up, the amazing extra space it adds and its stability/durability capacity that we were thinking about writing and complimenting Dometic on its design. We've had some difficult experience with a Dometic add on with our last pop up and there is no comparison (yes for tracks, boo for zippers and clamps on the main structure).

I've noticed that some people attach the side of the Dome to the side of the Pod instead of both ends. I don't know if this is unique to the 177 but it seems obvious that it is designed for the ends. If not, you block entrance to the storage compartment and don't get as good a seal. We also have had no problems with the suction cups to date. Maybe it's our good old Quebecois spit that works well.

Your photo is beautiful. Of course we mean in the eyes of the beholders (ours!). Some eyes find this wierd overgrown contraption a bit Martian when first seen. I always invite the curious in to see the space we have and the Pod in general and I'm sure people leave with really positive feelings about the alien invader. I think many of us deserve sales commissions from Forest River for the free ads we provide. Yes, they took some cheap shortcuts and there are missing possibilities (12v plug, storage under 2nd bench, battery shut off etc.) but as others have mentioned, its a ploy to leave a few mods to occupy us DIY types during the time we can't camp.

Happy future doming, podding and camping in general.

Paul & Francine

We've used our dome quite a few times. Three weeks ago we had it up while in the mountains, and it survived a 2" hail storm followed by two hours of heavy rain. Everything stayed dry. We were impressed. We are still working on ways to better bug-proof - the pesky things have a couple of entrance routes. Only draw back is that some commercial campgrounds are too narrow to set it up. We purchased a visor back in March, and we also get good use out of it, especially for short stays or narrow campsites. We think the investment was well worth it for both items.

We don't own a r-dome yet but are really wanting one after reading all the rave reviews. This is my first post and have really enjoyed reading all the posts. Especially ideas and tips. We have owned our 171 R-Pod for a year now and just love it. What I am wondering is how much the dome costs in the U.S. Here in Canada my dealer quoted me $1,000. This sounds incredibly expensive to me and pretty much unattainable at this point. Our last camping trip out we asked a young couple who had one set up and they said theirs was included with the pod so had no idea and it was their first time out and loved it as well.
I right on the border so I could get one in the U.S. if it is more affordable.

Welcome.  Even accounting for the usual price jump north of the border, 1 grand is excessive.