Diamond Plate Success!

We picked up the RPod yesterday after repairs being completed.  It's been 3 weeks, but worth the wait.  If you read my earlier post from last week, we had an incident on our trip to Michigan last September.  Threw a rock at 65 mph and put it right through the front fiberglass wall of our RPod, in addition to a destroying the rear passenger-side truck tire.

After researching repair options, I concluded that attempting to repair the fiberglass would most likely be disappointing at best and probably never be "good as new."  Carol had the brilliant idea of diamond plate! Not only would it cover the damage but it would also help prevent a future, similar occurrence. Quite honestly, Forest River should be installing this stuff at the factory. That thin, little fiberglass wall is quite vulnerable and totally inadequate - as we proved.

We found that we could order a roll of the diamond plate online for a DIY solution for about $100.  I questioned how satisfactory a DIY job would actually be. I'm pretty handy, but I wanted this to be a genuine "fix" and not just some stop-gap attempt to cover the hole. I called around and found an RV dealer not far from us who agreed this sounded like a good solution that they could do the job. Estimated cost was about $500.

The result exceeded our expectations!  A completely professional installation and it honestly looks like it came this way from the factory. The service guy said, "not another RPod on the road with a diamond plate front!" Not only is it a satisfactory repair, it added some nice sporty bling to our little camper!  Looks amazing!  Thank you, Open Road RV in White, Georgia.

RPod 181G with diamond plate facelift!

Now that the repair is complete, it's time to start cleaning up the pod and getting it ready for sale. Since we anticipate delivery of our new Rockwood 2604 in late June or early July, it'd be nice if we could have the RPod sold by then so we don't face the issue of two travel trailers and only one storage spot.

Diamond Plate to the Rescue

I mentioned yesterday that we currently own a 2011 RPod 181G.  We took our little pod to Michigan last September.  I'd never been to Michigan before and images of Detroit's urban blight always came to mind when conjuring up images of Michigan. How unfair I had been to an entire state! Michigan is absolutely beautiful! We toured up the west coast of Lake Michigan and were "wowed" at every turn! More about Michigan perhaps later on. Back to the RPod.

Our 2010 F-150 & RPod at Traverse City, MI KOA (morning before the incident)

We left Traverse City one bright, beautiful morning.  Spent the day exploring beaches, lighthouses, and wineries.  Late that afternoon, about 20 miles south of Petoskey, Michigan, I hit a rock with the passenger side truck tire. BLOW OUT!  Fortunately, I safely steered to the side of the road. We were in a fairly remote area, but GEICO road service came to our rescue and got the flat replaced in about an hour and a half.

Blow out from hitting a large chunk of concrete in roadway

At first, I thought it was just the truck tire that had damage inflicted. Then Carol spotted the worst of it. The "rock" that I hit was actually a large chunk of concrete that was now lodged INSIDE the under bed storage of our RPod. Went right through the front fiberglass panel. We were not amused! Funny how a great day can suddenly go sour.

Damage to front fiberglass wall of RPod

Once we were back on the road, we immediately headed to the nearest Walmart and picked up a roll of Gorilla Tape.  This stuff is good!  Duct tape on steroids! We made it to the Petoskey KOA without further incident and taped up the damage with the Gorilla Tape.  The tape appeared to be on there to stay and we knew that at least the moisture was now sealed out until we made permanent repairs.

After getting home, the RPod went into storage for the winter - all covered and cozy with the Gorilla Tape sealing out the elements. Took it for repair and other general maintenance two weeks ago at Open Road RV in White, Georgia.  We had an electrical issue (fridge wouldn't run on the propane setting due to a short).  We also wanted the water lines flushed and the roof serviced.  Open Road called yesterday to say the Pod is ready!  We'll go Saturday to pick it.

We opted to install diamond plate across the front lower portion of the Pod to repair the hole and prevent a future incident.  These little trailers really should have diamond plate on them anyway. Something to consider if you have a trailer with a fiberglass front. Fiberglass fronts are no match for 70-mph projectiles! Anyway, the Service Consultant said the diamond plate looks "amazing" and that I'll be thrilled with the result.  I hope so!  I'll let you know on Saturday how it turns out.