Today’s RV review is of the 2023 r-Pod 201 travel trailer. In the overall scheme of things this is a smaller trailer but as far as r-Pod trailers go, this is their largest. Well, for the most part. Before we bought our Rockwood Mini Lite 2205S we seriously considered this model for a variety of reasons, principal among those being that there is no slide room.

No slide room?

The r-Pod 201 is one of the brand’s few trailers that doesn’t have a slide room. It’s really tough to find anything that doesn’t have a slide room any longer. But, for us, being fans of vintage trailers none of those had slide rooms and everybody was just fine.

While I recognize the added interior space that a slide room provides, I also recognize the complexity and weight of these systems. Further, in many RVs with slide rooms you can’t access things like the kitchen and bathroom when they’re not deployed. So mid-journey potty or snack stops are not going to happen.

Anyhow, we really liked this trailer enough to consider buying one but there were none to be had.

Where did they go?

During the height of the Covid 19 pandemic RV production could best be described as weird. With so many other options gone, people turned to RVs like mad. As such, RV manufacturers were doing everything they could to build all the RVs that they could.

But the various glitches in our world brought about by the pandemic caused parts shortages. So while RV companies would have loved to have built more RVs than they did, parts and supply chain issues meant that a lot of what they wanted to build couldn’t be built.

Further, since they could sell anything that rolled off the end of the assembly line, the companies also focused on models with more profit. That’s just good business. So some of the niche models, including the r-Pod 201, were essentially unavailable. That seems to have changed.

Changes

When the r-Pod 201 was originally announced it was an unusual floor plan in a number of ways. One of those unusual aspects of it was the seating. In the back there was a “Euro recliner” chair and then a bench along the road side. Apparently that Euro recliner got its passport revoked as it’s now gone. Instead there’s a single-seat bench turning the back of the trailer into a dinette.

Unfortunately that means that there’s a table there and the choice r-Pod made was to mount that table on two knee-knocker poles. Like in yesterday’s Coachmen Apex Nano 231RDS, you can change this table to a freestanding model that’s height adjustable with the table legs I shared.

This would make the table better in every possible way - you could raise the height to counter height and also move it around to accommodate differently sized campers. Win.

Moving to a camp-side fixed seat does offer the benefit of additional storage inside this camper and I don’t think any RVer has ever complained about having too much storage. However you can easily have too much weight!

Storage

Since we’re looking at storage, that’s something this smaller trailer also excels at. There are two larger cubbies with a net in front of them right at the entry door. This would be a great place for shoes or gloves, that sort of thing.

There’s also a pantry just inside on the camp side. There’s also a wee bit of storage under the kitchen sink, but there are no drawers in the main section of the trailer. That’s a bummer.

Still, there are cabinets overhead and a decent amount, but one stinking drawer would be nice in the kitchen area.

There are a couple of drawers in the bathroom, though as well as a rather decent cabinet. Maybe you could keep your utensils in the bathroom. Ew.

Bathroom

Since we’re all in here together, let’s look around. The bathroom in this model directly bisects the trailer completely. There are pocket doors on the front and back of the bathroom.

The plus side of this is that you can completely close-off the bedroom from the main living space. This is great if you and your partner have very different sleep schedules as you’ll have a bathroom and two doors to keep the sound and light apart. Plus having the bathroom across the width of the whole trailer also means that it’s a nice size.

Peggy and I really like this idea, but I also know there are some readers who absolutely do not like this idea whatsoever.

I also like that this trailer has a soft shower curtain rather than a glass one. The curtain in this model is attached to a track on both the upper and lower end. There’s lots of space around the toilet as well owing to the fact that the bathroom stretches the full width of the trailer.

But I do recognize that you absolutely have to walk through the bathroom to get into the bedroom. That’s where we lose some of you on this idea.

One other thing while we’re here, this bathroom sports what is called a Shower Miser system. Essentially this system allows you to divert the water to the shower back into the fresh water tank while you wait for that water to get hot. This is a fantastic feature as it saves water so you can stay out longer if boondocking is your thing.

There’s also a high-performance vent fan in the bathroom as well. This trailer does check off a lot of must haves that happen to be on my own list.

More details

Back out in the kitchen, know that it is a bit minimalistic. There’s a two-burner propane stove top, round sink and a convection microwave. I guess I really shouldn’t say minimalistic because that’s really all you need. I honestly prefer the convection microwave to the smaller 17” oven, as many of you already know.

One thing that may shock all of you who have followed my RV reviews, I really like the front windshield on this trailer. I hope you weren’t driving while reading this - I may have caused an accident.

Seriously, this is a polycarbonate windshield (aka plastic) that can flip up to add air flow into the camper. There is a blackout shade inside that pulls up from the bottom to block light but also a screen that pulls down from the top to block bugs. This is one of the few cases where a windshield makes sense and I like it.

The bed under the windshield is a bit small at 60" X 74” which is another deal breaker for some.

One of the hallmark features of r-Pod trailers has been the installed vacuum system which lets you sweep things to a port and vacuum them right in. There’s also available hoses to use it as a vacuum. That’s pretty cool.

I also like that the company has switched to 12 volt TVs. These make so much sense in RVs.

Other features that are very useful are the included tire pressure monitoring system. Those tires are mounted to a torsion axle suspension, too. I really like that type of set-up.

Boondocking and travel access

Since there is no slide, there’s no concern that a slide blocks access to anything. So there’s another reason I like RVs without slide rooms.

The thing that brings many RVers back from boondocking is either filling the holding tanks or running out of water. The gray and black tanks in this RV are 30 gallons but the fresh water tank is the same size. That’s not as large as some others which is a bummer.

My thoughts

Forest River’s r-Pod division is one of the many that have such a strong following that there are models produced in Indiana and ones produced in Oregon. There are some minor differences between the two and availability is based on where you’ll be picking yours up.

I like a lot of the little details in this trailer including magnetic hold-backs on the baggage doors in front. This might seem like a minor details but it’s all these little things that either are conveniences over time, or annoyances. That’s the whole point of these articles, in fact, is to help you learn about those and avoid the bad and focus on the good.

Also know that I am seeing RV dealers start to really offer substantial discounts as of this writing. With inventories picking up and some shoppers hesitating about buying due to rising interest rates, sales have absolutely taken a dive. In fact shipments of towable RVs are down by about half. Wow.

Overall I like this trailer quite a bit but I also know the lack of slides, the shortie queen bed and the fact that the bathroom bisects the trailer might be deal breakers for some readers. I’m always curious about your thoughts, which you an leave in the comments section below.

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