Hi everyone! We're from Texas, and new to travel trailers & R-Pods. We purchased our R-Pod 176 5 weeks ago, and have taken it on three full-weekend trips:
- San Luis Pass Beach, Texas (boondocking with Honda EN2500 generator)
- Brazoria County Beach, Texas (boondocking with Predator 3500 generator)
- Baton Rouge KOA, Louisiana (full hookups)
My wife is a city gal, so camping wasn’t her bag. I eased her into the outdoors by building our trucks (4Runner & FJ Cruiser) to handle long days at the beach, and long drives up & down it… We’d been doing beach runs for about 4 years so on July 3rd, I took her & the kids to Matagorda beach for some tent camping. We spent the night getting blown around in the tent, and considered getting a sturdier rooftop tent, but after some serious consideration ($5-7k) I told my wife we should consider a travel trailer.
We did some research, and found that R-Pods were well-equipped, well-priced, and have many loyal owners & a large fanbase. We looked at a 2020 10th Anniversary 176, and left a deposit the same day, as we were impressed by the features and space for the price.
I have a few decades of experience working on my own vehicles with all of my builds done in my driveway with hand & electric tools. My projects have covered everything from engine swaps, to offload armor, custom cargo solutions, and extensive recovery modifications.
A lot of this translates to the R-Pod, so I find most of the maintenance, and modifications fairly easy. Here's what I've done so far:
- Created documentation including pre/post trip inspection.
- Took photos of all appliances/wiring behind panels, and created spreadsheets to identify everything.
- Cut access panels under dinette "seats" for the rear storage area, so I can access all tools from the comfort of my air conditioned Pod.
- Purchased a Predator 3500 inverter generator, runs the entire pod without issue.
- Mounted D-rings on bottom bunk slat to secure our wagon, ice chest, & grill for transport.
- Dual Interstate Marine Deep Cycle Group 24 12V batteries in boxes.
- Easy start capacitor for the Dometic AC unit.
- Mounted SimpleHuman paper towel holder (removed microwave to use stainless nut & bolt
- Fixed a totally BENT stud that was so cross threaded it ate up 5/8” of threads on both lug & stud.
- Hand-packed grease on the fairly dry hubs.
- Converted Coleman Roadtrip grille to use low-pressure propane from the Pod.
- Installed Mac Mini in the entertainment stack with Logitech backlit keyboard/touchpad.
- Replaced 100 screws with #10x1” stainless steel screws, 100 #10x1.25” screws are en route to replace all the longer screws. Made sure to dip each screw in silicone adhesive.
- Added brad nails to underbunk trim & dinette trim
- Added above-dinette shelf
- Added battery-powered tap lights to storage & cabinet areas
- Deleted dinette, in prep to convert the area to an RV Queen.
Mods planned for this weekend:
- Fill dinette area with 28”x34”x1/2” plywood filler.
- Install 6” memory foam queen RV mattress in dinette area
- Add spring clips to the storage door to mount manual jack, awning, & slide handles
- Mount 3-D LED Maglite to wall using OEM clips
- Add 12V LED strip lights underneath Pod for camp lighting
Within 3 months:
- 5lb fire extinguisher in the coach, 5-10lb unit on the tongue
- Stromberg Carlson generator mount for Predator 3500
- dual 20lb LP tank mount with hard cover & regulator
- Convert dinette underbed area into a dog kennel with a rustic barn door
- delete wet bath sink
Future (<1Y):
- widen shower track & use a full-length shower curtain
- Propane conversion for Predator 3500
- faux wood flooring
- wallpaper
- paint cabinets
We, or I, am enjoying the 176 a whole bunch. Our kids love having a trailer, even when it’s docked in our back yard, and they’re just playing while I’m modifying. I find myself making excuses to tow it out of the yard, and hit the road.
We will be traveling, and our camping will be 50/50 boondocking/full hookups. I also use it as my home office twice a week so I can get some peace while I work, it's nice being able to have a huge yard, and full hookups so I never have to leave my Pod unattended.
I'm eager to learn more, and to modify this thing to last us a long time. Let us know what work you've done, and what mods were absolutely worth it to you.
Brazoria County Beach:
2010 4Runner Limited AWD/4WD with a few small mods:
Access panels cut & tap lights installed:
Stainless screws:
Dealership says it came from Forest River this way, they also said they greased the bearings. One of those things was a lie:
San Luis Pass - boondocking our first weekend of ownership:
Adding a SimpleHuman paper towel dispenser, matches the one in the 4Runner:
Dealer-installed dual battery system, need to clean up the wiring:
Docked in our backyard with full hookups: