Just finished an interesting discussion with my neighbor and his friend who just came up from Florida with his 4 year old 34 foot Class A motorhome(name of motorhome is not given to protect the guilty).  He proceeded to tell me all the 'issues' he has had with his $ 400,000 investment, from leaks to electrical problems, plumbing problems, leaky tanks and issues with their GM 455 HP diesel engine.  He has had it in for repairs more than he has been able to enjoy. 

So . . . . . . I was asked about all the issues I have had with my 8+ year old 177.  I had to think long and hard because there haven't been any serious ones, a few small problems like having to add a lift kit last year because I was toasting to many rear risers.  Just last week we had our first big expense ever on the pod, and that was to repair the furnace at a price of $ 350  but other than that, it has been amazingly trouble-free.

My point is that I hear a lot about all the problems r-pods have but so do the big guys who spend more money on their Class A's than my home is worth.  As we have heard on this forum "when you travel with your home behind you at 60mph on roads that are anywhere from nice to bumpy enough to make your dentures fall out, things are going to happen.

I see these youtube videos with RVs that are plagued with problems. Yeah my r-pod has had a couple of minor issues but nothing worth even bothering the dealer with.

You can buy simple inexpensive class A's that won't cost arm and a leg. I had an old 24 ft 1975 Revcon, had about the same stuff in it as an Rpod and was about the same size inside. Pretty cheap to keep up. The drivetrain was indeed a GM 455 (cubic inches not hp and a gasser not a diesel) straight out of the Olds Toronado. Plenty of power too!

We have a friend with a fairly fancy class A. I think he spent north of $700,000. It does have some extras though.

Greetings:

I've owned 2 Pods, a 171 and now a 179,  a 2010 and a 2015.  I've had few problems.  I'm camping right now in Blue Mound State Park by Laverne  MN.  I saw a class A try to park in a site last night.  Most SPs are not designed for large class A's.  I don't know if he got it parked at all.  

I know and have met many folks with class A's.  Every one has had major problems.  If I were to go larger, I would buy a TT or 5th wheel.  I have a limited budget and just glad to have what I got.    

Crankster78  R-179

I got between 9 and 11 with mine, but it was a small class A. Folks that remove the 4bbl carb and install throttle body fuel injection pick up about another mpg. I'm sure it would be up in the 11 to 13 range with a modern engine/tranny combo. 

The other 70's RV that used the same drivetrain is the GMC. Probably the most efficient class A was the Vixen, made in the 80's, 21 feet long, 7 ft wide with a tilt top, so really quite a low drag design.  It would fit in a standard garage bay. Had a RWD turbodiesel from BMW, fuel economy was up in the mid to high 20's.  I considered buying one once but with only 115 hp it was badly under powered even for me, coming from VW buses. Very interesting vehicle though. 

The Revcons were much lower than the new class A's . The Toronado FWD drivetrain and axle less rear suspension allowed a flat floor and low c of g. Revcon was the creation of Wally Byam's (Airstream) stepson and was built like an Airstream, all aluminum shell, high quality interior, nice fit and finish. 

Here's a picture of mine. I could get it into pretty much anywhere I can get the rPod. The two big drawbacks to class A's for me and why I sold it were that we had to take our house with us everywhere we went, and I had to maintain an additional drivetrain rather than get dual use out of one of my daily drivers. 

That's the main reason even simple class A's cost so much more than trailers to maintain, they have a drivetrain in 'em. 

I would love to have an EM50, there was a fully restored and near perfect one at our winter camp last year, sitting next to an Earth Roamer that's there every year.. I meant to get a picture of the two side by side.. maybe they will be close again this year..

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EM50, the first true transformer vehicle ever to hit the big screen (not counting Jame's Bond's sports cars anyway). One good thing about the big block Chevy based RV's from the 70's, the drive trains are well supported and parts are plentiful, and will be for a long time to come. 
 

So the $400,000 motorhome in the original post has a GAS engine?

Dang, there is a sucker born every minute.

This is why I assumed we were talking about a diesel engine, I did not even consider a motorhome at that price level with a gasoline engine.

I agree with Crankster-- we also have had 2 R Pods with virtually no major issues.

We initially bought a used 2009 173 in 2011 and used it for about 5 years.  We traveled the country north to south and east to west( Florida to Michigan and NC to California). We never had major problems other than a bearing burn out  and a couple of flat tires. We sold it to a friend and he still uses it without issues.

We bought a used 2015 179 in 2017 and have used it a lot.  again, we have had zero issues that I could not fix or repair myself easily except a refrigerator replacement due to bad control boards.

I would not hesitate to buy another RPod nor would I hesitate to encourage a friend or family member to buy one.

Vann

This couple is from Maine.. about 15 years ago, they decided winter sucked. So every year since, they take a 5 month trip down the east coast, then across I-10 (more or less) to southern California, and back..

They have had their ER XV (F550, smallest one they make now) for about a dozen years, it seems to have been mostly trouble free. The biggest issue they have run into is the fact that they are low production, hand built, pretty much each one is a "one off".. And.. their problem lies in the fact that no one who built their rig.. still works there. So any mods or issues, just have to be ciphered out.. He is very mechanical, so it hasn't been a huge problem, but worse then it should be. They were just over 200K miles last year when we camped with them.