Quick note to say hi and to introduce myself.

I just purchased an older used 176. It's in decent shape overall but previously sustained some exterior damage and was priced accordingly. It has had some repair done to it, but needs more work and I like projects as fixing things is a great way to learn.

And after having a quick look around the trailer and this site, I have a fair bit of learning to do.

I would guess that I'm probably following a well trod path. I'm a backpacker/backcountry camper from way back and in the last couple of years have started camping in campgrounds to make it more enjoyable for family reasons. I figured I would ease into world of travel trailers and like the concept of the Rpod.

I did a quick trip to pick up the Rpod and did some overnighting for a few nights to do a first test of it. I had to laugh at myself as the whole idea with backcountry camping is to keep things minimal and leave most things behind. Now I have to deal with batteries, electrical, propane, fridges, stoves, showers, etc. I have some basic knowledge of some of these areas, but certainly not in depth. Good thing I like to learn and figure that learning about these concepts will only be more valuable as a person gets more and more in rv'ing.

So far I've been dry camping and using the Rpod primarily for sleeping which seemed like sheer luxury when compared to snow camping in a tent. It's been fine down to about ~20F in my winter sleeping bag, but I intend on using it for a couple of ski trips this winter so at a minimum want to get a reasonable heating system figured out.

I have been reading the site and looking for commonly asked questions so will post some questions there but initially I am looking to test out some of the systems to see how things work. The lack of an owners manual is a bit of a drawback but initially I've pulled the batteries to attempt a recharge and see if they have any life left in them. 

From there, I am a bit fuzzy on how it all fits together and the order of operation, i.e. how is it set up to draw from shore power when plugged in, do the batteries recharge from the shore power and is there a switch or is is automatic, is there a main breaker panel with fuses, etc.

I have some basic questions on the propane side as well, assume that is somewhat straighforward but want to understand how to test main systems such as furnace and stove.

The rest of the things like water and waste tanks I can pick away at and won't be put in use until spring so not a priority. I this point I'm probably more focused on getting either the batteries charged and the electrical figured out when on shore power so I can run a small cube heater or if the propane furnace is simple and reliable enough, I'd be interested in getting that set up.

Some pretty broad based and general questions but any recommended reading or suggestions definitely appreciated.

 

Welcome and congratulations on your "new to you" RPod.

To answer some of your questions, I'll try to take them in the same order.

First, the system is set up to charge the batteries. I don't have one of that model, but each RPod does have a power panel. If yours is like mine, it is a brown colored rectangular unit. If you press the top, the front will open and reveal the breakers and fuses. If all the breakers are on and the fuses are intact, then it is automatic. There is a breaker that will turn the converter (converts 120V to 12V for charging and also supplies 12V power to the trailer if a battery is not present). One caution is to make sure you get the polarity correct when reinstalling your battery. If you connect it backward, it will blow the two 40A fuses that are in the panel to protect the unit from a reverse polarity situation.

As for propane, it is, as you say, straight forward. Connect that tank, turn it on, and then turn the stove on and try to light it. It will take a minute to purge the air from the system and for propane to reach the burner. Once that is burning steady, then it is time to move on to other items. I don't know what year the 176 is. You should be able to set the thermostat for heat. There is no pilot (at least on ours). It is a direct spark ignition furnace. It will start the fan and run for a few seconds before allowing gas to flow. If the system is purged, it should not take long for it to light and to start generating heat.

You can run a small cube ceramic heater. I have done so. If it is extremely cold, it will likely not be sufficient though. The propane will work, but will burn a lot if you turn the thermostat up to keep it like your house. The RPods are insulated, just not as much as a house. However, the furnace will keep you from freezing inside. The trade-off is that it is noisy. Running a small fan to provide a steady cover noise helps.

I think that will help you get started.

Congratulations on your purchase.  Like you, when we purchased our 177 back in March 2011 it was a giant leap forward from basic camping.  Battery maintenance is critical to longevity and you will want to make sure your battery or batteries are up to the task, especially if you boondock, like we usually do.  If you have a voltmeter great, if not you can purchase an inexpensive one at Harbor Freight for $ 3 to $5 depending on whether or not you can get a coupon for it.  A fully charged 12v battery should read 12.72v at rest after being charged.  If you go with 2 6v golf cart batteries divide these numbers by half. When we boondock we run the battery until it reads 12.2v or 60% S.O.C., running below that will shorten the longevity of the battery.  At that point we change it out to the other battery.  Your converter will charge the battery as you travel with it hooked up to your tow vehicle.  Yes, when hooked up to shore power your converter will keep your battery (s) charged as well.  We expect 3 days per battery when camping with temps in the mid 40's or less.  It would probably be less if temps are below 32, don't have figures for that as we don't camp when we have to think about getting stuck in snow when boondocking.  Important to keep battery and posts clean with a solution of baking soda and water then rinse off a few times every year.  Keep an eye on electrolyte levels using distilled water.  When charging, slow is best, we use a 2 amp trickle charger.  Our two batteries are 12v Interstate group size 24 deep cycle that will be 10 years old this coming March.  They are real workhorses and have faithfully served us well.

A cube or ceramic heater will be the way to go if shore power is available, they will not work however if you boondock and only have a battery as a power source.  As StephenH points out the propane furnace will drink up a fair amount of propane and is rather noisy.  Then again, noise and warm pod trumps being cold and quiet IMHO.

The previous postings are right on the electrical system. If you are considering boon docking for more than a couple of days in cold conditions you might also want to consider yet another piece of gear: a small generator to keep the batteries charged. For summer conditions (assuming no air conditioning needed) a solar kit does the job for many folks. 

Noticing that your trailer has had exterior repairs done, one thing you should do if you haven't yet done so is inspect carefully for water intrusion, especially into the floor, which is a plywood and foam "sandwich". Everything is built up from the floor so if the floor gets damaged its hard to fix. This is pretty much the only issue folks on this forum have reported which can render a trailer non-repairable. so it it key to fix any leaks as soon as possible. Look particularly for damage where the exterior walls meet the floor, under to spoiler in the rear roof area, and in the slide area. 

Thanks for the note, much appreciated.

1. Power panel - good to know approximate location. I'll pop off the cover and check breaker and fuses. Will make sure to connect battery properly.

One question I have in regards to batteries. I topped off with distilled water, currently seeing if they will hold a charge. There are two 12v batteries which were disconnected in the plastic battery boxes. What is the common practice for Rpods with dual batteries, hook them up in parallel so you have more battery reserve and automatic recharging? Or do people treat them independently and switch the connection back and forth to drawdown and recharge?

 2. Stove - will try, good reminder about the duration of the air purge.

3. Furnace - will try, good to know about the direct spark, that was one of my questions as to start up, there are a number of small questions that can be figured out, but as there is no manual, it's guesswork and trial and error otherwise.

Temperature - I'll have to try out the furnace vs. the ceramic cube heater. I do have a 1500W ceramic cube heater already, but it is on the larger size so might be a bit big. The furnace kicking on and off night be enough to keep me awake if I go that direction, so I like the idea of a noise offsetting fan.

Thanks for the reply, it's always good to know that others have come from the same background!

1. Voltmeter - I have an old voltmeter around somewhere, haven't ever used it enough to truly get it figured out but looks like now's the time:). I'll use it to test the batteries after I have tried to charge them. The target voltage of 12.72v gives me a good benchmark.

Question: 60% SOC? What does SOC stand for?

2. Charging- thanks for confirming the converter will charge during driving from TV and when hooked up to shore power. These comments are very useful to get a better understanding of the entire electrical system and how everything interacts.

3. Batteries - good advice on maintaining them and some estimates of how many days a person can expect the battery to hold a charge. I'll report back what the batteries read after colder nights and days.

For my next trip, I'll probably do a couple of nights of shore power and a couple of nights on battery power with heat from the furnace. There are some campground open in winter, although my experience so far has been that there was only one other rv in the entire campground.

Question, as I'm planning on using the furnace, I'd like to make sure the CO/Propane detector is working. I'll check the expiration date and make sure it within 5 years old. Do you just order off Amazon and replace? Any other safety issues like that which should be looked at? I assume there is a smoke fire detector somewhere but not sure of the life of those.

Thanks for the post and the well wishes.

1. Generator is a good idea. It can get a tad cold some nights (-5F last night) so it'd be good to be able to top up the batteries if needed. I can toss in in the back of the truck so have the room. 

Solar kit for summer would likely be enough for the vast majority of time as not a great need for AC as nights are usually cooler at altitude. There might be the odd day spent in really hot climates but not that often (for now).

2. Inspection - thanks for the suggestion. Will be paying close attention to those common ingress points and make sure to inspect regularly. That is one area where I may also get an RV specialist to consult as I don't want to leave cracks for water leakage. It did come with a cover, so I'll have to put that one to keep some of the winter exposure minimized.

S.O.C = State Of Charge.

Battery connection:

6V batteries (3 cells each): Connect them in Series so you will have 12V.

12V batteries (6 cells each): Connect them in Parallel so you will have 12V.

Some people use a battery disconnect switch for when the RPod isn't being used. Some of those have the ability to be a battery A and battery B switch also. With those, people can use one battery or the other. I used to have two 6V batteries (wired in series), which worked well. When I had them, I could get multiple days/nights of use from them. The number depends on the temperature. Running the furnace takes more power so you won't get as many nights. I now have an LiFePO4 battery which should give me about the same usable power as the two 6V batteries did. You do want to keep the S.O.C above 50% for longest battery life.

As for the CO/Propane detector, if it is not making noise, it is likely still good. Smoke detectors are usually good for about 10 years.

Distilled water is the correct thing to add. Never add more acid. Top them off and charge. If they are already out, you can take them to an auto parts store and they will test them for you. Wallmarts and Sam's Clubs can do this also. I think Costco can too.

You don't want to find out that your furnace quits in the middle of a cold night because your batteries went dead. If you find your existing batteries need to be replaced then most folks here would suggest two 6V golf cart batteries as replacements if you want to boon dock, unless you want to spring for the changes needed to convert to Lithium batteries.  Battery case size GC2. These are the largest batteries that will fit in the rPod battery rack. GC2 golf cart batteries are pretty inexpensive (often around 110-120$) and provide good service for RV applications. They are heavy though so be careful re your tow vehicle hitch weight capacity.

Here is a link to the Suburban furnace manual:

https://manuals.heartlandowners.org/manuals/Heating-Cooling/Furnace/Suburban/Suburban%20FURNACE_Service-and-Training-Manual-11-05-2015.pdf - https://manuals.heartlandowners.org/manuals/Heating-Cooling/Furnace/Suburban/Suburban%20FURNACE_Service-and-Training-Manual-11-05-2015.pdf

I run my 12v batteries separately mainly because when I purchased the 177, the existing battery had a date of 12/10 on it and when I purchased an additional battery the date on that was 3/11.  Probably could have wired them together, many do, but I was chicken about doing that since the dates were a few months off and had no idea if the battery that came with the pod had been used at all or not.  Nevertheless, for these past 10 years I simply disconnect the wires off one battery and hook them up to the other, takes less than 2 minutes which is no big deal to me.

Yes the CO/propane detector I replaced with one I found on EBay which is always free shipping.  I am one that doesn't support Amazon, but we won't discuss that here.

Smoke/fire detector croaked on me on the 8th year of ownership.  The simple 'push the button' to test and listen for the beep, didn't work anymore even with a fresh battery installed.  Simple replacement - go to your local hardware, Home Depot or Lowes, or EBay.  Easy to find replacement and install.

Thanks again.

1. Batteries - as a quick initial test to see if they would hold any charge, after topping up with distilled water, I charged one and then the other to full charge as indicated on the battery charger. I picked up a multimeter (as I of course couldn't find the cables for my old one) and tested the battery just off charge, which showed ~12.79v. 

The other one, which had been off charge for a couple of hours in 15F temps showed ~12.60v, so I put it back on charge to see what it actually would be when fully charged and to see if it drops much with no load on it. I'll look at both in the morning to see how they fare overnight. I'm curious to see how much overnight exposure in cool temps affects them.

Thanks for the comments and the link to the furnace manual. 

As mentioned in the above post, I'm still trying to see if the old ones have any life left in them and if not, then will read up on the golf cart battery solution you suggest. Mot sure I would invest in a lithium solution just yet until I do enough trips to better estimate winter and summer usage patterns.

Thanks for the feedback and the description of single battery usage. I think I'll go that direction initially, I'm fine to switch leads since it's easy and quick.

I have a spare smoke and CO detector for my house that I just recently bought at Costco so I'm fine to have that additional CO detector function in the trailer. Is it suitable though? For some reason my initial reaction would be that the detectors (propane/CO and smoke detector) both run off 12v power?

Battery testing just off a charger is not the most accurate. That is surface charge. The one where it sat for an hour or two before you tested is the more accurate test. https://www.autozone.com/diy/battery/how-to-test-a-car-battery-with-a-multimeter - https://www.autozone.com/diy/battery/how-to-test-a-car-battery-with-a-multimeter

The 12.6V reading indicates a good battery. However, it still would not hurt to take it to an auto place and have them put a load tester on it. That will be much more accurate than just a multimeter.

Overnight with cool temps some slight reduction in both (12.56 and 12.65) but will take them in for proper testing. 

Thanks, that helps clarify. I was assuming that both were on the 12v system, but good to know at least on your model only the propane/CO detector is. I'll check mine but assume the same.

Agree, the smoke detector runs off a 9v battery whereas the CO detector is hardwired to the 12v as JR stated above.

Just checked my two 12v batteries that are currently sitting on the concrete floor in an unheated garage where it is currently -8 C.  They have sat in that location for 6 weeks since getting their last 2 amp trickle charge on October 30 and November 1.  Readings are 12.59v and 12.71v.  The 12.59v battery has a purchase date of December 2010 and the 12.71v battery was purchased March 2011 so it looks pretty good so far for a couple of 'seasoned' batteries.

I had pretty low expectations for batteries sitting in my case, but I was probably biased as most of my experience for seasonally used battteries was based on 6v motorcycle batteries and they have a pretty short life if not managed closely.

Side question, but I note that my shore power cord has a 20amp plug on the shore end. I would have guessed that it would be 30amp plug just like on the rv end but maybe in the early 2010's they came with a 20amp? Anyways, it easier for plugging in at home but I assume that a 30 amp adapter would be useful for campground usage. 

There is indeed a three pin connector on one end of the cable, which was somewhat surprising as mentioned. May have been more common back then or an option if some people thought they would plugged into standard outlets at home or at the lake most often? I have no idea though, just guessing.