2017 Forest river R-Pod reviews

This might be the perfect trailer for us. Super lightweight, can tow easily with my Toyota Highlander - I've been on 9% grades in the Rockies with no complaints. Surprisingly well appointed with AC, furnace, wet bath, solar prep, outdoor outlets and propane port. What I really love is the floor plan. Despite the small size and easy pull, once we get to camp the fold out bed in the back gives us a nearly king size bed and retains the two bunks up front. We mainly park and explore but if we're stuck inside the trailer for some reason, the big bed folds up into a dinnete with plenty of game or eating space for four. Mechanically it's been great, I was expecting a ton of maintainence and repair but the only issue I have ever had was needing to replace the watter pump last year. It's been well maintained but feels like its got more than a decade of life left after our 8 years with it so far. Show less

Very dissatisfied falling apart very poor craftsmen ship I have had to do many things with this trailer since I have had it paid alot of money totally not worth it they do not make sure there product is put out properly period...I bought a platinum warranty an DC they have every excuse in the world to not warranty shit!!! I am about ready to sue there asses Show less

Positively: - The unit is light and very easy to pull. - It is aesthetically pleasing and good to look at. - For a small trailer, this model of kitchen is quite adequate. Less positively: - The sink in the bathroom is so small, it simply cannot be used. - I cannot believe I spent this much money and they did not include an electric igniter in the stove. Really? - The panel underneath the refrigerator covering all of the wires has come off. It has been poorly and cheaply installed with metal staples. - The plastic box holding the two batteries has been installed too close to the outside roof. It is next to impossible to remove the cover of the box and replace it. All they had to do was have the box another inch further away from the roof. - The end cushions for the table are way too soft, and when a person sits on them, they sink so far down that the table height is up to a person’s chest! - The back cushion is held to the wall with some Velcro, but not enough of them, and the Velcro strips do not stick to the backing of the cushion. - The clothes closet is ridiculously too narrow. - The kitchen table is an awkward design and difficult to get around. - The overall main problem with the unit is a lack of storage. In conclusion, the product is very poorly designed and made with shoddy workmanship and inferior materials. I traded a 9 foot camper with a slide, for this r-pod and I regret doing it. I had more space and far more storage in my camper than I do in this trailer. I very much regret buying this product and would not recommend it to anyone. In short, it is a piece of junk. Show less

We purchased this unit used (barely), and have lived it full-time for 7 months. Pros: Lightweight, easy to tow, 3 way fridge, convection microwave, aluminum wheels, decent tires. Cons: Very poor construction. The side wall separated from the front wall due to design and assembly defects. Forest River agreed to pay for the repair even though we are the second owner, which is to their credit, but I had to do the repair myself due to our location. Numerous leaks and loose screws that have required repair. The lights look like they were installed without any use of a ruler or jig to ensure that they line up. There is very little inside storage (2 small drawers, 1 under-sink cabinet, 1 overhead cabinet in the slide out kitchen); the external storage is okay, with a pass-through in the rear and side access in the front. There is under-dinette storage, but it is not easy to access. The east-west bed is in the rear, and difficult to exit from the back end when someone is sleeping on the inside. We have done numerous mods to improve the unit due to the lack of factory features, including adding 12v and USB ports, fresh tank heater, shelves and a larger table (we removed the head end of the U shaped dinette and added drawers on either side). RPods are cute due to the teardrop shape, which is good for aerodynamics, but with no overhead cabinets in the front or rear, it's not worth the trade off versus a more conventional design. The RP-179 is a much better floor plan if you really want an RPod, but, if you want a quality unit, choose another brand. Show less

We've had this 1.5 years now and have towed it all over the western US with a Nissan Frontier. We do enjoy the layout, but not the quality of materials or the craftmanship! I like the 'off-roadiness' but don't like the fact that the wheel width is super wide for dirt roads! We tend to get out about once every 3 months for a week or so and continually have to fix something; seats, wiring, plugs, water system (that freezes way too easily), Jensen stereo that's been warrantied and still seems to have issues among other items. I really wish it was made just a bit better! As noted in other reviews, be careful when filling the water tank to full capacity as it can change the towing dynamics! We've also changed to 2 6v deep cycle batteries as we camp mostly off grid in remote areas. This said, there are things I like, the slide out (but watch the seal to make sure it doesn't leak!), the bed is nice, and the size and weight are good. Yet it would be nice to have additional inside storage instead of a microwave, and a lower overall weight and lower height by having no air conditioner or exterior TV antennae. We have never used these item nor will use them. It seemed that every R-Pod on the lot had these items installed, but yet listed them as optional. Frustrating! Oh yes, the graphics...how many can you really put on a trailer!?! We have taken off most of them and have ran across many other owners who have done the same. It's a bit too many stuck all over! So when all's said and done, we paid for a lot of items we don't like or use that are evidently 'standard options' and the quality is lower than we would like. That said, we do like the trailer as it's a great size for the 2 of us and the layout, and slider are really nice! Show less

Pro: Hood River addition looks rugged Con: virtually everything else. Sets a new standard for LOW quality materials, poor workmanship, and safety. Assembled with pine and staples. Most of the staples missed resulting in poor connection and is falling apart. Exterior lense covers are falling off, currently missing 3. Air conditioner is so loud we can barely talk while it is working. The refrigerator is built like a cheep plastic toy. I believe the safety issue us very serious. The fresh water tank is at the back of the trailer and is 36 gallons. If you fill it before hitting the road you are adding 300 pounds behind the axle and will cause the trailer to sway out of control. We are very disappointed and never purchase a forest river product again. Show less

Pro: Hood River addition looks rugged Con: virtually everything else. Sets a new standard for LOW quality materials, poor workmanship, and safety. Assembled with pine and staples. Most of the staples missed resulting in poor connection and is falling apart. Exterior lense covers are falling off, currently missing 3. Air conditioner is so loud we can barely talk while it is working. The refrigerator is built like a cheep plastic toy. I believe the safety issue us very serious. The fresh water tank is at the back of the trailer and is 36 gallons. If you fill it before hitting the road you are adding 300 pounds behind the axle and will cause the trailer to sway out of control. We are very disappointed and never purchase a forest river product again. Show less

I was traveling around 55 on interstate 5 in the trucking lane just outside of Roseburg, Or. I had been driving for over 100 miles with no problem when all of a sudden the trailer fishtailed, threw my Subaru backward and against the guard rail. The rPod tipped over totaling my car. I don't think they are safe. Show less

I was traveling around 55 on interstate 5 in the trucking lane just outside of Roseburg, Or. I had been driving for over 100 miles with no problem when all of a sudden the trailer fishtailed, threw my Subaru backward and against the guard rail. The rPod tipped over totaling my car. I don't think they are safe. Show less

We bought our rpod new from Bretz in Missoula, MT. The rpods are cute looking travel trailers from the outside, but the inside is very cheaply put together. We have camped in it only twice and have had to fix the bed and the seating area. And we are very small people. The seating area was only put together with 3 staples on the top end so easily came apart once being used. There is goo on the bathroom wall that we are working to try to get off and everytime we pull it there ends up with lots of wood shavings on the floor that obviously whomever tried to put it together didn't clean up. The water under the sink leaked initially but hopefully that is fixed. There is one outside storage area door that is very hard to open and then get closed. I do like the lay out of the rpod and the towability is good. With all the campers to choose from out there I would not buy an rpod again or recommend buying one to any of my friends or family. Look around. There will be campers out there that are built well on the inside and the outside. The rpod is not one of them. Show less