We haven't had a chance to name it just yet so apologies to any others with the same name...

Our 2010 R-Pod 152 arrived mid-December that we bought sight-unseen. We paid a bit less than $5500 and another sum to have it delivered. We have been lusting after a trailer for several years (since 2012) and have looked at many, but none met our needs quite as well.

We were VERY happy with the condition of the trailer. While not quite new, it was obviously well-taken care of. The only thing we have a complaint about are the decals on the front, but my understanding is that a little peeling is par for the course.

First mod: Removing the upper bunk and converting some of the space to a shelf. This was pretty straightforward as I essentially kept the shelf at the same height as the bunk. The point in doing this was to have a little more relaxing room. As part of this mod, I needed to replace the corner molding as the old piece cracked. I also needed a new piece to cover the edge of the shelf. Both of these pieces came from Home Depot and are really just vinyl-covered plastic but the color is an almost perfect match. This was a pretty simple process: Remove bed, cut to size, replace shelf, and attach trim. The reality was that even the bracing was the perfect size, so I really just had to make a couple of cuts.

Second mod: Tongue box. I picked up the smaller tongue box from Harbor Freight with the intention of being able to secure 2 batteries down the road. For now, the extra space will be used for wheel chocks and such. None of the holes lined up very well though so I did need to drill some holes and use some self-tapping screws to get it in place. While the position is perfect, the single LP tank is in the way, but there is plenty of space to move the position forward and add what is needed for a second bottle. This will be a future mod. It can't really be seen in the pictures, but I used the original straps that were holding down the plastic battery box as a hold down for the internal box. I doubled over the strap and heated up a large nail to poke a hole through the strap. I then used another screw and nut on each end of the straps with a fender washer to keep it from pulling out. I used the same buckle from the original strap.

Battery cut-off switch. This also came from Harbor Freight but did require some fabrication skills to get it looking right. I removed the black center cover to have access to the small hex nut holding the handle to the switch. I then used a 1” hole-saw to create an opening for the handle and then ¼” holes for the screws. I used a rubber gasket from Ace Hardware to keep things water tight. I secured everything with a couple of ¼” by 1” screws and washers. It’s a great fit and super helpful!

A couple of other inside mods: Naturally a paper-towel holder is helpful. This one we picked up from Wal-Mart and has a ratcheting feature that keeps the paper on the roll even when moving. A few command strip hooks for jackets and towels as well as another for a trash bag right next to the stove. We also found a command strip item that while designed for a broom, is perfect for securing a flashlight in a convenient location.

While not really modifications, so to speak, we also added a few necessities like a toolkit, water filter,  dump station items (clear elbow, hoses, poop-tubes), various water adapters (Y connector, 90 degree connector, pressure regulator) and all the stuff we usually carried while tent camping.

Future mods: Grills for the vents on the driver side, bed modification to better accommodate 2 people, possibly removing the DVD player/TV, storage options that may include raising the one remaining bed a bit. Some of these things will happen over the course over the next couple of months but many more will happen once we really get a chance to use the trailer.

Kitting Up

Since we tend to camp in places that are pretty out of the way, I decided I wanted to have a somewhat complete took kit. So here is my primary kit, and no: it doesn’t all fit into the toolbox.

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Some items are stored in one of the drawers for quick access: The duct tape, one of the super glue tubes, scissors, tape measure, and the orange screw driver set. The drill, along with the stabilizer socket and the charger are stored in the outside storage area or, if I feel the need for more security, in the truck. The box of screws, the terminal set, the silicone, the lithium grease, WD-40, and spray paint are in a bin together. The rest fit into the toolbox nicely.

The toolbox and the bin with the chemicals and other items are stored under the bed up front.

Not pictured is a basic socket set that I picked up from Home Depot:

This also goes in the above bin as well.

I also worked a bit on getting all of my water stuff in the same place. So i have those items here:

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The longer hose is stored loose, and the rest go into a bin together. Some parts are redundant (there are two pressure reducers shown) and I can't imagine needing the  water heater element wrench in the field, but better to have and not need than to need and not have!

I'm also working on a similar bin for my sewer bits and pieces, but I will wait for that another day.

Kitting Up, Continued

We were VERY tempted to take the Pod out this weekend. Temperatures were going to be in the upper 50’s and lower 60’s but schedules and wind dictated a few more mods.

So continuing from my last set of mods, I finished my sewer kit. Once again, this kit goes into a plastic bin that fits into the outside storage area. This one has a clear 45 degree adapter, a coupler, nitrile gloves, a sewer adapter (with the other end already attached to a sewer hose) and a sewer hose support. This last item does not fit into the bin, but it seems to travel pretty well as is. My pod came with 2 sewer hoses, and I put a Valterra EZ coupler sewer hose connection shortly after it arrived.

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Naturally, since I have 2 hoses, I checked to see if they would both fit in the smallish sewer hose holder and they would not. I wish I had checked that before I had put the tongue box on a few weeks ago as I had to take the box off to attach the second holder. It tucks in nicely behind the box and between the Pod. I shifted it a bit to the driver side since that’s where it would be used the most.

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Continuing in the water vein, I swapped out the standard shower head with the Oxygenics Shower head. This was a pretty straightforward process where I removed the old hose and bracket and replaced it with the new one. The new one also came with a water cutoff switch that makes it easier to take a navy shower. My hope is that the hose will straighten out once I get some hot water running through it.

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I also went ahead and swapped out the light bulbs in the Pod for LED lamps. Also a very easy process and took all of 5 minutes to complete. I kept the old bulbs and put them into my hardware box I discussed a few posts up.

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A few small items were also added: A mirror (a must have for my wife), a cup-holder so that I have a spot for a water bottle at night when the dinette is turned into a bed, and a few strategic command-strip hooks.

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Continuing the thread I started for the modifications for the R-Pod 152 my wife and I bought in November…

No pictures for this mod, but you can use your imagination. The dinette area in the 152 is even smaller than just about any other. Since I’m not a small guy (6’3” and 200 pounds) and there are times we will have three in the pod, I needed to make a bit more room. On the refrigerator side, there was a small nightstand (for lack of a better term). I removed this entirely as it had limited usefulness. I cut a bit of birch plywood I had lying around to allow me to move the table forward to give a little more bed. I also re-located the small receiver for the pin on the underside of the table to secure the table when down in the new, further forward position. The side rails also needed extending to add stability.

I had a cushion made to fill the space at the back of the pod when the existing cushions are moved forward, making for a bed that is about 10-12 inches wider for 2/3 of the length. When the bed is in its extended mode, the drawers (particularly the middle drawer) are difficult to open, but that’s a small cost for a bigger sleep space.

After a shake-down weekend we discovered that the existing cushions were tortuous to sleep on. To remedy this, I ordered a 4” memory foam topper. Although I could have likely made replacement foam with a queen-size version, the king size was actually cheaper and I figured I could possibly use the extra bits in another project. The topper cut easily with an electric knife and now the converted bed is much more comfortable.

Also on our shake-down weekend we decided that a couple of other mods were necessary. One of them was getting a flush-mount stove kit for the existing stove. We bring a coffee maker when we have power and the countertop is likely the smallest of the r-pods, so extra counter space was a must. Remember, it you are working with the propane system, do NOT have a tank hooked to the system. Removing the existing stove was easy enough: Remove the two visible thumbscrews, un-do the brass nut that connects the propane supply line. Then remove the plastic grommet at the back of the “pan” of the stove and then slip the line out after removing the three screws holding the stove in place.

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I taped up the countertop to protect it and placed the recessed-mount chassis onto the tape to find the spot I liked. This can be a little fiddley as you also have to make sure that there is nothing underneath that you are hitting when you saw. Having found my spot, I traced the outline of the kit onto the tape and then shifted the kit to trace a cut line about 3/8” inside the outline. This required moving the kit several times. Once I was set, I also taped up the bottom of my jig-saw to make sure I wouldn’t scratch things up. I also had to move a few electrical bits out of the way to make sure that they were clear. This was perhaps the hardest part.

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I’ve been in the construction business for 11 years so I’m not afraid of cutting things up. I can understand where some might be though. Just take your time and measure twice before cutting once. Once the opening was cut the rest was pretty straightforward. I did have to add a couple of blocks to make sure I could hit something solid with the screws to secure the kit. Then I reversed the steps to remove the stove and the project was finished!

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Another thing we found was that we really needed more storage. In most R-Pods, you can add a shelf pretty easily over the bed. In the 152, this simply wouldn’t work if you wanted to use the space as a dinette from time to time. There just isn’t the room. That said, there is a touch of space just behind the cabinets that was crying out for a shelf. Making the shelf was pretty easy: Again, leftover birch plywood. The shelf is about 12”x17” and took some tweaking to get it right.

I used Minwax cherry stain to get the color. It took 3 passes and I let the stain sit for about 30 minutes each time. I then used some lacquer to give it a more durable finish. I secured it using 3 molly bolts for the side wall and a couple of screws to the side of the cabinet. Doing this required removing a small piece of trim which I them nailed back up using brads.

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