R-Pod’s 10th Anniversary Edition
At the last Open House, Jeff and Cody Shade met at the 2019 R-Pod edition from Forest River. Cody tells why the 2019 is ‘high-flying’!
One new cool feature is the new outside kitchen with two burner cooktop and sink. AND, if you want, you can pick the outside kitchen up and move to keep that storage area.
There are 10 floor plans now. The new one has two twin beds in a unit that is only about 20 feet long. Some other 10th year anniversary features are the new sink, floor treatment, color upgrades and more. With 10 floor plans, you’re sure to find one that meets your needs.
Of course, one of the main features of the R-Pod is the ability to be pulled with most vehicles! Check out the new R-Pod in this show and learn more about it here! Every once in a while, an RV comes along that seems to set a new standard in the industry. Its cosmetic good looks, features, and functionality all add up to a vehicle that becomes very popular.
Well, the R-Pod trailer from Forest River has been around for a few years now, but it’s still flyin’ off the dealers’ lots. The R-Pod cosmetics make it really easy to identify and part of what has made it so popular today. The colors are great. The graphics are minimal.
Part of what makes it really great to tow is its overall shape. That rounded configuration makes it very aerodynamic. The front helps cut through the wind, regardless of what kind of tow vehicle you have on. In this particular floor plan the kitchen is on the back, so they brought the back end down straight, and that allows a little bit better cabinet space in the back for the kitchen.
One of the things that you also see on the trailer is the fact that it has the fenders and the tires on the outside of the trailer, so the trailer is a little bit narrower than a standard one that lets you put the tires and fenders on the outside, and that means you don’t have wheel wells on the inside of the trailer to have to build cabinets and such around, and that’s kind of a convenient thing for the designers.
There’s a few other features on the outside here that are worth talking about, as well, so let’s take a closer look. Now, this particular floor plan of this trailer has only one exterior storage compartment. They use this really nice, new, high-tech magnetic latches, which are really handy, and this compartment runs all the way across the trailer on the front.
Slide-out rooms makes small trailers like the R-Pod very popular. This trailer is approximately 17 feet long in the body, but it’s got a 9 foot slide-out, which is darn near a full wall in something like this.
But let’s take a look on the inside. These little R-Pods have been pretty well known for having a tremendous amount of space and functionality on the inside. This one happens to be the R-Pod 179. It’s got the rear kitchen, side dinette in the slide-out and a forward bed.
This rear kitchen arrangement is really great for cooks because, if you happen to have cooking as an emphasis for your RVing, this is a nice setup because it covers wall to wall in the rig. You’ve got a lot of open counter space. And over on the other side is your generic, two-burner stove, which does the trick. I mean, we’re not gonna be doing any big Thanksgiving dinners in a small trailer like this, so the two-burner works great for making morning coffee and such.
You’ve got quite a variety of storage spaces, some drawers, and another handy cabinet. This is the back end of the slide-out, and, here you have your frig and nice size microwave oven which we find really handy.
And this is all very conveniently accessible to the kitchen. This version of the R-Pod, the 179, has a full-wall slide that includes the refrigerator, the microwave, and this dinette, which is, for a little-bitty trailer, pretty darn big. The table is portable, so in addition to positioning it inside where you find the best use for it, you could also take it outside, for example, and use it in your campsite, and it also adjusts for level,
The dinette also turns into an additional sleeping space, which would be kind of snug unless it just happens to be a couple of little kids.
This floor plan includes a wet bath. It’s got a toilet, kind of a built-in shower, and a really small sink in the corner. It is functional, and it’ll do what it has to do, but it’s not exactly what you call one with stretch-out room.
Another one of the R-Pod floor plans, on the other hand, has a bath that goes across the back of the vehicle with a separate shower, so it kind of depends on what’s important to you. If you like–if you really want a good quality, a good-sized shower, you’d probably pick that other floor plan.
This one also has a full-size bed up front. Because of the small overall size of the trailer– it’s like the trailer is about 6 foot 6, wall to wall, on the outside–the bed space is about 6 foot 3 inches, approximately, from wall to wall, so for the average-size person, they’re gonna fit it just fine.
The television is on a mount, so you could swing it around, and you can watch it from the dinette area or move it back and be able to keep watching it from the bed area, and this, of course, is also adjacent to the stereo, which is really close to everything.
The R-Pod was a good match-up for Jeff’s Nissan Frontier pickup, and would, likewise, tow well with other small vehicles.
The R-Pod just keeps getting better and better. It’s certainly worth a look if you’re interested in a lightweight trailer. Click here more information about the R-Pod trailer.
RV Purchasing Mistakes
Purchasing a recreation vehicle is the second-largest purchase lots of people make in their lifetime. When you make the decision to spend that kind of money, it’s important you make wise buying decisions. Mark has witnessed many poor buying decisions during his time in this industry, and on this segment, he gives us some pointers on how you can avoid some RV-buying pitfalls.
1. Making a hasty buying decision. What this means is purchasing an RV without doing an research. Hasty buying decisions are common in high-pressure selling environments and it’s easy to see why. You get caught up in the moment, especially when a salesperson tells you, “These prices are only good for today,” or “Once this model’s gone, we can’t get another one on the lot like it.” Lots of people buy RVs at shows where there’s a lot of excitement, only to discover it is the wrong type, too big, too small, or too expensive.
2. Buy the right size. When Mark sold RVs, it was common for folks to be a little bit intimidated by the size of RVs. Just the thought of towing a 30-foot trailer makes you nervous, so you decide on a 22-foot model. Mark always tries to explain to people, when you tow a trailer, you don’t really notice a difference between a 26-foot or a 30-foot trailer. Sure, it’s a little heavier, but with the proper tow vehicle and hitch components, the length of the trailer should not be a factor to base the RV-buying decision on. This is true with motor homes too.
3. Buying the right type of RV. There are many different types of RVs to choose from, and you need to make sure you purchase a type that is best suited for you and your needs. It’s important you consider how you plan to use the RV. If you like to explore the back roads or camp in state parks, a 40-foot motor home is a bad choice. In this situation a pop-up or truck camper makes much more sense. On the other hand, if you plan to travel cross-country in the RV, a fifth-wheel trailer or a motor home would work great. Think about how you plan to use the RV, how many people will be staying in it, and what your budget is prior to selecting the type of RV suited for your needs.
4. Your budget – you want enough left over each month so you can go out and enjoy the RV. Before you purchase your RV, factor in the monthly payment, insurance, and upkeep to decide how much you can afford to pay without getting in a bind, and still enjoy the RV.
5. Having the right tow vehicle – if you purchase a travel trailer or fifth-wheel trailer, it is extremely important the tow vehicle can safely handle the weight of the trailer. Mark always tells people to find the trailer you want first, and then buy the tow vehicle capable of handling the weight. If you already have a vehicle, you need to base the size and weight of the trailer on that vehicle. A quick and easy method I suggest for matching a tow vehicle and trailer is to find a trailer with a “gross vehicle weight rating” or “GVWR,” less than or equal to the vehicle’s two rating. In this case, even if the trailer is fully loaded to the maximum gross vehicle weight rating, the tow vehicle is still rated to handle the weight.
For more information on buying an RV, check out our “Insider’s Guide to Buying an RV” e-book course at www.rvonlinetraining.com.
These stories and more on this week’s Rollin On TV!