In my last post I introduced you to Hope, an RPOD 177 and our first travel trailer. As we were in the thick of elder care, our ability to travel was limited but we did make trips as our schedule allowed – mostly to state parks within a 3-4 hour drive from home. We were complete newbies but with each trip we became a little more comfortable with the process of towing, setting up, etc. Backing the camper? Not so much. Backing a travel trailer into a camp site is a test for even the strongest of marriages. (I’m only sort of joking.)

We knew going in that Hope would not be our “forever” camper. We knew that as we age and get to travel more and for longer periods of time that we would want to upgrade to something a little larger. So, we used our time with Hope to determine what changes/improvements we would like to have on our next travel trailer.

First on the list was more storage. It’s a given that storage in a small travel trailer is going to be at a premium. But, all travel trailers are not created equal. It’s worth taking the time to check out models made by different manufacturers before making your final selection. Hope had a full pass-through on the exterior for storage of chocks, chairs, etc. but interior storage was pretty much non-existent. Trips more than 2-3 days in length required a lot of creativity and more than a little frustration for the storage of food and clothing.

Second was a dry bath. The wet bath on a 177 is tiny and there is a pretty healthy step up/down to get in and out. My husband was already starting to have problems with his knees so we knew there was a good chance that that step was going to cause problems over time. Yes, most campgrounds have bath houses but if you are boondocking where there are no facilities (or if the campground facilities are just nasty) a decent bath is nice to have.

In late 2016 my husband said that he thought we should check out the RPOD 180 – it was slightly larger and had a dry bath. So, we made the trek to one of our local dealers to do a walk-through and it was basically love at first sight. The 180 was a couple of feet longer than our 177 and had more storage for both food and clothes. It also had a three piece dry bath (vanity/sink, toilet, and an actual shower). So, we put the 180 on our wish list. Several months later when the price dropped prior to the release of the 2018 models we took the plunge. My only regret is that we decided to trade-in our 177 instead of selling it outright. Yes, the trade-in was a lot less hassle but we would have gotten much more for it had we sold it. Ah, hindsight!

Meet our RPOD 180, eventually named Gypsy. (It was a lot harder to name this one.)

In addition to the increased storage and dry bath, there were a few other improvements as well. The interior colors of our 180 were much lighter than those on our 177. Entering the 177 was like entering a cave. The walls, floors, and upholstery were all varying shades of brown. Even with all of the blinds open and lights on it was just dark. Gypsy also had awning as opposed to the “rdome” that came with Hope. A lot of Podders love the rdome because it adds a screened-in room to the exterior of the pod. However, the set-up/tear-down process is not for the faint of heart. The push-button awning is more our style. I was also excited about the blue exterior on Gypsy. (The older models were green, which is my least favorite color.)

The 180 was a couple of feet longer than our 177 and weighed about 400 pounds more which meant we could no longer tow with our Toyota Highlander. Fortunately, my husband had replaced his clunker truck with a 2006 Toyota Tacoma which had more than enough power to tow the 180.

Of course, our adventures don’t end there. Stay tuned for Part 3!