Is a R Pod 176T to Small to Start with?

[nojourny2small]

We are retiring this month and planning on putting house on the market. we have been Camping for all our lives and have owned  TT and Pickup campers.

we now have a R Pod 176T with and Ram promaster Van that I have converted to a Camper. plan on doing travel throughout the US. Is this to small. we see alot of large Motor Homes and 5th wheels full timing and don't want to be the odd duck in the pond. will Small Work?  Thanks

[2gypsies]

It just depends on you and what your requirements are.  Many full-timers are in small RVs.  Keep in mind that you always won't be in good weather so you will be confined to a small space.  Also, if you travel with a dog(s) that could make a difference.  Also, think about storage space for everything you'll take along.  Full-timers take a lot more than vacationers.  It's your home.  You could always start off the small and if you find it doesn't work then go bigger.  Again, it's a matter of preference.  Some people do very well in small spaces.  Good luck!

[Kirk W]

When we were fulltime we lived in a 36' class A motorhome with no slides which was considered pretty small for two people by most. We were out almost 12 years and today we travel with a 20' travel trailer and have stayed in that for as long as 5 months, but could never do fulltime in it due to so little storage. When we bought our present trailer we looked closely at an R-Pod and even negotiated some but then realized that the wet bath arrangement was something that we would never be happy with. 

[nojourny2small]

Thanks. At 64 we both still enjoy the camping experience and not having a shower every day doesn't mean we don't wash. will enjoy campgrounds most of the time with only shorts stays. we should have enough storage we think with the van. What kind of things did you lack storage room for, We call it our 42' articulated 2 bedroom bath and a half. (lug a loo in the Van)

[Kirk W]

When on the road fulltime we had far more clothing, all of our hobbies, and literally everything that we owned. Our present travel trailer has more storage than the R-pod that we looked at, but not enough for our clothing if we took more than one season with us. We tow with a truck that has a shell or we couldn't manage a full summer as we sometimes still do. Even with the truck we are pretty limited in the hobby department. Our motorhome had a sewing machine, surger, folding cutting table, and lots of craft supplies as well as 12 months of clothing. In the storage bays under the floor were my scroll saw, power tools, and assorted other woodworking tools and some electrical & mechanical tools. It exceeds both the storage space in our current trailer and the weight capacity. If I remember correctly, the R-pod has a very low carrying weight capacity.

That is not to say that you can't do it, only that we would not have been happy in it. 

 

[nojourny2small]

Thanks Kirk. When at Excaper Rallies and gatherings did you see many in small campers?

[Kirk W]

8 minutes ago, nojourny2small said:

When at Excaper Rallies and gatherings did you see many in small campers?

Not being part of the younger crowd (I'm 75 🙄) I really can't say about their gatherings but we have been on staff for Escapades for several years and most in the X-scaper section are families with pretty large RVs but not all. We are just 1 week away from the start of the next Escapade so I'll soon know about this one but I believe that last year there were 2 class B vans and at least 1 smaller travel trailer. In the general parking areas of Escapade, you can usually find some of pretty much every type, size, and age of RV. Our 20' travel trailer is one of the smaller ones but is never the smallest one there. One of the main features of the Escapees is that if you are a person who enjoys RV travels in pretty much anything, you are welcome and included. 

[2gypsies]

Xscapers are gear for younger folks - even younger than you!   Here is their web site which shows some pictures. Many of them work from the road and some travel with young children so I would think they have bigger RVs.

Escapees (Escapades) rallies have attendance by all size rigs as many will be using a smaller seasonal traveling RV while their larger one is stationary at a home RV park, such as what Kirk does.

https://www.xscapers.com/

I looked at the Escapee web site to see if I could find some pictures taken at rallies but couldn't find any.  Here is the web sites for the Escapee home parks which might have some photos of RVs parked there:

https://www.escapees.com/benefits/rv-parking/escapees-rainbow-parks/

One thing to take into consideration is that with a small RV your holding tank will be very small which may not work if you plan to do a lot of dry camping for days on end.

[sandsys]

People full time in anything. Technomadia started out in a T@B trailer and we full timed in a Class B for 4 months before we admitted it really was too small for us so went to a 24' motor home with one slide. It mostly depends on what you can talk yourself into getting rid of.  Personally, if I was going to buy an R Pod I would buy the 179 because I would find it too irritating to try to prepare meals in any of the other galleys. Yet I would also find it irritating to have a bed where one of us has to crawl over the other to get in and out of it. Life is a trade off, right?

Linda Sand

[kb0zke]

We know some people who are full-timing in a 1973 Dodge conversion van. They are definitely minimalists, but they still set up a screen tent outside for their lawn chairs, a table, and a small micro/fridge. We bought a Heartland mpg 181 for our learner, knowing that it was really too small for full-time use, but it was towable with the car we had and if we could live in it for a couple of weeks or so without killing each other we could get along in a larger coach for longer. The wet bath was more of an emergency thing for us. Now, with our Foretravel, we only use our bathroom.

My suggestion would be to try what you have for a while and see how it works. That will give you a better idea of what you will need. If you can do so, you may want to hold off on selling your place for a bit. Arrange for someone to take care of your place while you are gone, and go off for 2-3 weeks or so. See what works and what doesn't. If you find it works for you, fine. If not, you have a fall-back place to go to as you shop for whatever you need.

[RoadtripsAndCampfires]

We are going small, 7'' x 16' converted cargo trailer with ramp door.  I just posted about it.  I've been feeling like you no Journey 2, about would I feel less worthy parked among the class A's and such.  Then I thought back to 50 years of camping and couldn't recall ever being made to feel unworthy camping by any camper.

We are not doing the storage thing because we don't want to be tied to something across states.  It is getting close to truth time - figuring out what we've set aside to take and looking at the room it requires and what it weighs.  A table is in the bedroom that represents the back of the pickup.  It's pretty loaded.  The trailer is neater.  Like I said, I won't know until we are packed so that's what we are doing now, even before the cupboards are finished.  A trial run even if it's a dry one.  Has to be - I don't have the water tank yet!

Small is fun.  We've always done small.  I lived for years in a 600 sq. foot guest house but boy I could pack it in neatly.  Difference is weight doesn't matter in a house.

Let's keep notes.  I had to laugh.  Today I found the 2-1/2" high x 2" wide "flowers in vase" I gave Wayne when he was in the hospital along with a stuffed animal about the same size.  We were in our down sizing mode so that's what he got post surgery.

[Captain Happy]

I hate to say this but, there's solo's and couples out there Full-timing in 17 foot Casita trailers. It like everything else on the planet, it's not for everyone. As a solo RV'er, I travel in my 17 foot Casita trailer. It has just about everything you need, except an oven. And the thing is I can go anywhere the big boy's go, and a lot of place they can't. I use to have a 30 foot Motor Home, but I down sized. And as far as age, I'm 73.

Some people can't find enough space in a 40 foot motor home.

[packnrat]

and here i am looking at -40ft-- units. length pending model.

but thinking 35-38 fifth wheels best.

but that is my needs. i have livind in a 25 ft fifth. for me not fun having to slide out of bed.  but then i loke "elbow" room.

others love small cramped quaters.

[sandsys]

1 hour ago, packnrat said:

others love small cramped quaters.

Your cramped is my convenient. Attitude counts.

Linda

 

[FL-JOE]

Everyone has their own needs, wants, requirements.  We have enjoyed full timing in a large fiver and now a MH.  The DW had to have knee replacement after we began our full time adventure in the fiver.  Being in our 60's it was something we did not really plan for.  But it was the perfect rig for her to come home to and recover, actually better than if we would have been in the sticknbrick.  Look at all the possibilities of what life will be throwing your way and decide what will work for you.

[packnrat]

bad choice of word for me. 

sorry to have irked you.

i have bad stiff joints. bad back, even had my head reattached. but always need a bit of elbow room.

 

[NoDirectionHome]

I'll make this short and ... "it's been raining cats and dogs for 2-3 days"   That's all.