Axle Risers |
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jato
Senior Member Joined: 26 Jun 2011 Location: Kewadin, MI Status: Offline Points: 209 |
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Posted: 18 Dec 2011 at 8:59pm |
Now that my '11 model 177 is safely nestled into our horse barn for the winter and after nearly tearing out my rear jacks because of operator error (me) and low uneven ground clearance I was wondering if anyone has personally installed 1" or larger risers to their pods. How long did it take you? How difficult of a job was it? OR if you had a dealer do it what was the cost there? Thanks and merry CHRISTmas to all fellow podders. Still waiting for 'significant' snow in Northern Michigan. Only 1" on the turf, can still play golf as long as the wind doesn't get too ugly.
'11 model 177 '08 Ford Explorer |
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God's Pod
'11 model 177 '13 Ford Explorer Jim & Diane by beautiful Torch Lake |
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kymooses
Moderator Group Joined: 27 Jul 2010 Location: Louisville, Ky Status: Offline Points: 1048 |
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Don't have much information to personally share on this topic as our Pod came with the 4" risers already installed.
Only thing I can personally offer is we are glad we have them and we've never scraped a stabilizer jack on any low points at campgrounds or driveways or anything. I know there are some older posts, a few this season of people who have bought and installed the risers themselves. As well as several who had them done at their respective dealers. If no one else chimes in I'll look around for some of those posts! Happy Holidays to you!
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Heidi
Senior Member Joined: 16 Jul 2009 Location: Cicero NY Status: Offline Points: 285 |
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My husband installed the risers I ordered from Forest river with no help from me except to tell him he wasn't following the directions, which he then informed me were less than adequate (not his exact words). He had them installed in no time with no injuries to me or himself. I thinks there are several threads with explanations on how to do it.
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we R-pod people
175 ,2 peeps and one small horse |
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tsunami
Senior Member Joined: 05 Oct 2009 Location: MINNESOTA Status: Offline Points: 426 |
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I installed the 4" risers myself in about 1/2 hour. You will need: wheel chocks, a hydraulic jack with enough capacity to lift one side of the Pod, a jack stand (to safely hold up the Pod chassis once you have unbolted the axle from the frame), and a correctly sized box wrench. Most members who bought the risers stated that the cost was slightly less than $100. A dealer will probably charge a full hour for installation (usually $100 or more).
Don't forget that the tongue attachment angle will change...the receiver hitch should be slightly lower than the Pod's tongue when set horizontal. The Pod should be slightly nose down. If your tow vehicle is fairly high you may need to purchase a receiver hitch that has a drop-down. |
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tsunami
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Portapod
Newbie Joined: 09 Nov 2011 Status: Offline Points: 13 |
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I just installed them. They were $75 plus shipping direct from Forest River. Including shipping it was $88 for where I'm located in NM. With the help of an impact wrench, a breaker bar, a floor jack, and some jack stands it took less than 30 minutes to install them in my driveway, and I'm not a mechanic. I am now able to enter and exit my driveway without scraping the back jacks, and drivability is improved on the streets around here. That combined with a caster wheel are my two favorite improvements.
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jato
Senior Member Joined: 26 Jun 2011 Location: Kewadin, MI Status: Offline Points: 209 |
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Thank you all for your replies Looking outside and seeing temps in the low 30's I think it can wait until spring when the temps will be more suitable. Looks to be a fairly straightforward endeavor to accomplish. Nice that our unit is less than a year old so nothing underneath is rusty or anything. It is a definite thing I will do. Cannot figure out why FR didn't install these in the first place; what was their reason outside of saving a couple bucks on the selling price?
Say Portapod, the castor wheel sounds like a winner to me. Where did you puchase it and how much did it cost? Thanks! '11 model 177 '08 Ford Explorer
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God's Pod
'11 model 177 '13 Ford Explorer Jim & Diane by beautiful Torch Lake |
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tpierce220
Senior Member Joined: 16 Jan 2011 Location: Oswego, IL Status: Offline Points: 249 |
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We just ordered them from the dealer and will have them install it while it's in storage over the winter. When we were at the dealer, there was a gentleman who was looking at trailers as I was in a 2012 182G measuring the rough openings of the nets so that my nephew can make me some doors for them. He began to ask me about the Pods and steered him towards the 177. One of the things that I told him was to install the risers.
The funny thing was that I was doing a better job of selling the Pod than the saleswoman who tried to help the man out. He told the her that I should get a discount on those risers for answering his questions.
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Adventures with ¡Podtástic!--Life in a Forest River RPod 182G with Tim and Louis and our two cats, Desi and Lucy. Check our website at http://podtastic.info for information on our journeys.
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Ratdog
Moderator Group Joined: 11 Mar 2010 Location: Central Florida Status: Offline Points: 1175 |
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I'm surprised that dealers don't mention the availability of the axle risers when folks order their Rpods. Most people wouldn't know to ask about them at the time of purchase. I had already read about the axle risers before we ordered our Rpod and ordered them at the time I ordered our Rpod. When you do that, they just put them on at the factory when they build the trailer so there's no additional labor cost involved.
-- Steve
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Steve, Anne, and Paige the Rat Terrier 2013 Lexus RX 450h Hybrid AWD 2011 RP-177 (aka: The Circus Wagon) |
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jato
Senior Member Joined: 26 Jun 2011 Location: Kewadin, MI Status: Offline Points: 209 |
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Tpierce
Wouldn't it be great if we got some sort of kick-back from FR every time we 'advertise' or pods by giving demos and tours when others ask to see them as we camp throughout this great country or when, as in your case, you help a customer to make a wise descision because you have the answers they need, and the salesperson doesn't. Bravo for you! Maybe we should write a letter to FR and see what they say. I am doubtful if we even would get a reply seeing how long they have dragged their feet on the lighting issue for some of the older r-pods. Fortunately, we ordered ours in January 2011, took delivery in March and it came complete with the lights on the fenders and led's/spoiler at no extra charge. '11 model 177 '08 Ford Explorer
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God's Pod
'11 model 177 '13 Ford Explorer Jim & Diane by beautiful Torch Lake |
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sfish
Groupie Joined: 26 Sep 2011 Location: bloomington mn. Status: Offline Points: 73 |
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Is the caster wheel the wheel that attaches to the front jack?
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sjf
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