ouR escaPOD mods

That is a great idea and nice craftsmanship to complete it. Plus you were able to salvage and reuse existing materials for a better solution.

The problem is that you still only have 1/2 of the window area available for ventilation because of the side sliding operation of the emergency escape window. Even with it fully open, there is still half of the area covered in glass.

We solved the same problem differently. 

We opted to open the complete window and also be able to do it in the rain.

We used mosquito netting and cut it to exactly the size of the interior window frame and then Laura sewed a border around the netting and sewed the velcro hooks side onto the edge.  We glued the other velcro loop side to the window trim. So, with the velcroed netting  installed, it covers the entire window on the inside of the pod. Just open both emergency escape window latches and push the entire window out. the new mosquito netting stays on the inside , velcroed to the window interior trim. We have 3 different pvc sticks of varying lengths that we can use to prop the entire emergency escape window open for full ventilation. By keeping the window slider closed, it will keep out the rain and still provide full ventilation .

Vann

Here are a couple of detail shots that will help make clear how I did this. One is of the self-adhesive rubber bumpers/feet used to pad the side of the RPod and hold the end of the awning support rod in place. The other is of the rod hinge that supports the outer edge of the awning. The two are fabricated from pieces of Shark Bite white PEX tubing. The inside of this is just a little bigger than the fiberglass driveway marker poles I used. One end was heated with a heat gun and then flattened. I drilled a hole in the end to fit the fiberglass rod that is on the outer edge of the awning. Since the awning is about 5 feet long, I used one full and one part of a pole and used a piece of copper tubing as a ferrule to hold the two pieces together. These were glued in place with Lexel. The plastic hinges were inserted through slots cut in the awning (heat sealed so they won't unravel) and the outer edge rod was inserted through the holes. These work great for the awning and should be visible enough to keep me from walking into them. A section of parachute cord is inserted through a grommet on each end and then a bungee cord is used to hold the cord and with it the awning down. The tension placed on the awning causes it to have a little upward bow which really helps it to shed water. We had a heavy downpour last night and the awning functioned remarkably well. I use a tautline hitch on the parachute cord so I can adjust the tension depending on where I hook the bungee cord.

Simple. I used  part of the keder rail that came with the slide-out cover. I attached it with the screws that came with it and used Lexar sealant. The Lexar should provide a good part of the holding power since the screws did not seem to contact the frame as I had hoped.

Now we have between us all the pieces to create an rpod structural upgrade kit. It would consist of

There is another high stress area for the frame members, around the area where the tongue ends and the box begins, that one bending the frame down rather than up as in the area of the axle. Since that is also where batteries generally are located as well as the downforce generated by a wdh, it would be a good area to reinforce as well. I think just another length of 2x4 box tube under the existing ones and either welded or TEK screwed with gusset plates would work well for both areas. In the axle area it would just replace the lift kit. Somewhere in a post I estimated the lengths of frame that should be reinforced, IIRC it was several feet in both areas.