MattBW
Here to help
Super Poster
Lifetime VIP Member
We took delivery of the Slidepod some time ago but were yet to use it in the field (or a field). At the weekend we had a star gazing night booked at Carding Mill Valley and a camping weekend with some good friends. After a real camping weekend of use I thought I would share some experiences and thoughts as I know other beach owners will be interested.
Storage
We were really worried we would lose a lot of storage, but most of the pod with hindsight is storage. All of our kitchen equipment, any non chilled food, plus lots of extras were eaten by the cupboard in the pod. V was pretty excited about how much she managed to put inside and how organised it could be (I know, a weird thing to be excited about).
Water and Sink
The fresh water tank we opted to put behind the 3 seat bench, this did mean losing a little space in the cab but with hindsight we gained more hidden space to store things in between the pod and the seat. We kind of wondered why we didn't think of it even without a pod. It took us a while to realise we had water on tap but once we got used to it was great. The tap gave good pressure, I'm guessing the pumps have advanced since my t25
. The waste water tank is integrated into the pod but is smaller than than the fresh water,.
I was a little uncertain about the mechanism for the waste tank drain worked and whether it was off or on, I need to get in touch with Slidepods to confirm which is locked and which is open so I don't make a mistake. We also didn't wash up in the sink as the site had a good setup.
The cooker
Because we had planned to film for Campervan cookout, V had volunteered us to cook for 6 or 7. This was daunting, and we didnt think that two rings would be enough. To my surprise it was sufficient and we cooked more than enough for the 6 who ate and probably had enough chilli and rice to feed another 3 people left at the end. The pod has a double gas connector which I think may be the cadac setup, converting two small HP cans to LP. These worked well but I have no idea how long the gas will last. We found cans in our local place that were the same price as Cadac gas but twice the volume. They fitted fine and should last much longer. We are much preferring this to our 4.5kg gas bottle for our cadac. We may even get the HP converter for the cadac so we can carry one kind of can only for both setups.
The extras
We had the shower attachment, this provides cold water only but again gives surprisingly good pressure. The weekend was very muddy and we used it sunday to clean our boots. Certainly seems to kick out more pressure than the Cali SE factory shower for those who want to compare.
LED lighting, this is great in the dark, lights the floor under the pod and inside the cupboard, as well as the cutlery holder on the right side. The light bar across the back of the smev is incredibly bright. This is designed to work with the dark glass lids of the smev open so that enough light spills through the dark glass to be able to see cook etc. It works well. With the glass down the light is a bit too bright for me. I will probably get something to downlight on the tailgate inside. This was the only improvement I could think of on the pod, perhaps a separate switch for the top light and one for all the others for when you want to work with the counter down. Alternatively a small hood to go over the top to direct the light across the pod without shining up into your eyes could be an option too. As I say a very minor thing but I was trying to find balance in my thoughts.
Table addon
Works a charm and creates lovely extra space for spreading out. It does obviously reduce standing space at the front but we found we could still access the stove from the ends.
USBs and 12v.
Worked great, not much I can say really. We used a usb lamp from ikea at one point plugged in here and powered a usb bluetooth speaker from here too. This will also a handy place to plug in an awning light perhaps if we get a tailgate awning.
Weather
It rained on Saturday, a lot. This I know is the main thing people ask when they hear about the pod. What if the weather is bad? Well true this isn't going to be something you want to use in a blizzard or when very cold. However we discovered much to our surprise that you can cook in the rain and stay dry although be careful when you close the tailgate or you may get a surprise cold shower
Perhaps the fact the cooker was outside meant we weren't trapsing mud and water into the van every time we wanted a coffee or tea. It was weirdly clean at the end of the weekend and our club carpet set was still looking very nice.
There were a couple of times I was cold perhaps late at night but hey it's early april in the UK. I will also admit on a cold Sunday morning I wasn't massively keen to go outside and make that first cup of tea. I just made one inside
Final thoughts.
I know these pods won't be for everyone, and they are suited to a certain kind of holidays, mostly fair weather. Summer and good weather use is something I am now really really looking forward to. Cooking outside is what we love and with the beach table and chairs as well as the spare table I can see us having some good times cooking here. That said the Cali tailgate means you can cook in the rain but if its chilly obviously it will let the cold air in.
It holds a lot of stuff and you don't lose as much storage as you would perhaps think as most of the pod is storage. At the end of the holiday we can remove the whole pod and leave kitchen essentials inside ready to go next time. The build quality looks superb and is very nicely finished.
The water tank behind the seat loses you a little cab space but you could put the tank on the rear shelf if you wanted to get that cab space back but we preferred the storage it created and didnt really notice the difference.
It didn't seem to affect my MPG noticeably, I got 42mpg on the drive home although that was mostly around 65-66mph due to traffic.
The final day was where we also saw a benefit, parked up at the national trust we saved ourselves a few quid by making our own coffee and bacon butties for our friends and I. I can see days out working well and it being a handy base to return to when kayaking or walking.
My good lady Vanessa absolutely loves it, she kept asking me why didn't I get one a year ago? She spent a ridiculous amount of time organising it and seemed to get a lot of joy from that. Each to their own
We now want a tailgate awning of some kind and a roof box too just for storing all that outside stuff.
In a nutshell we love it and am glad we bought it. It's going to be a fun year!
Storage
We were really worried we would lose a lot of storage, but most of the pod with hindsight is storage. All of our kitchen equipment, any non chilled food, plus lots of extras were eaten by the cupboard in the pod. V was pretty excited about how much she managed to put inside and how organised it could be (I know, a weird thing to be excited about).
Water and Sink
The fresh water tank we opted to put behind the 3 seat bench, this did mean losing a little space in the cab but with hindsight we gained more hidden space to store things in between the pod and the seat. We kind of wondered why we didn't think of it even without a pod. It took us a while to realise we had water on tap but once we got used to it was great. The tap gave good pressure, I'm guessing the pumps have advanced since my t25
. The waste water tank is integrated into the pod but is smaller than than the fresh water,.I was a little uncertain about the mechanism for the waste tank drain worked and whether it was off or on, I need to get in touch with Slidepods to confirm which is locked and which is open so I don't make a mistake. We also didn't wash up in the sink as the site had a good setup.
The cooker
Because we had planned to film for Campervan cookout, V had volunteered us to cook for 6 or 7. This was daunting, and we didnt think that two rings would be enough. To my surprise it was sufficient and we cooked more than enough for the 6 who ate and probably had enough chilli and rice to feed another 3 people left at the end. The pod has a double gas connector which I think may be the cadac setup, converting two small HP cans to LP. These worked well but I have no idea how long the gas will last. We found cans in our local place that were the same price as Cadac gas but twice the volume. They fitted fine and should last much longer. We are much preferring this to our 4.5kg gas bottle for our cadac. We may even get the HP converter for the cadac so we can carry one kind of can only for both setups.
The extras
We had the shower attachment, this provides cold water only but again gives surprisingly good pressure. The weekend was very muddy and we used it sunday to clean our boots. Certainly seems to kick out more pressure than the Cali SE factory shower for those who want to compare.
LED lighting, this is great in the dark, lights the floor under the pod and inside the cupboard, as well as the cutlery holder on the right side. The light bar across the back of the smev is incredibly bright. This is designed to work with the dark glass lids of the smev open so that enough light spills through the dark glass to be able to see cook etc. It works well. With the glass down the light is a bit too bright for me. I will probably get something to downlight on the tailgate inside. This was the only improvement I could think of on the pod, perhaps a separate switch for the top light and one for all the others for when you want to work with the counter down. Alternatively a small hood to go over the top to direct the light across the pod without shining up into your eyes could be an option too. As I say a very minor thing but I was trying to find balance in my thoughts.
Table addon
Works a charm and creates lovely extra space for spreading out. It does obviously reduce standing space at the front but we found we could still access the stove from the ends.
USBs and 12v.
Worked great, not much I can say really. We used a usb lamp from ikea at one point plugged in here and powered a usb bluetooth speaker from here too. This will also a handy place to plug in an awning light perhaps if we get a tailgate awning.
Weather
It rained on Saturday, a lot. This I know is the main thing people ask when they hear about the pod. What if the weather is bad? Well true this isn't going to be something you want to use in a blizzard or when very cold. However we discovered much to our surprise that you can cook in the rain and stay dry although be careful when you close the tailgate or you may get a surprise cold shower
Perhaps the fact the cooker was outside meant we weren't trapsing mud and water into the van every time we wanted a coffee or tea. It was weirdly clean at the end of the weekend and our club carpet set was still looking very nice.
There were a couple of times I was cold perhaps late at night but hey it's early april in the UK. I will also admit on a cold Sunday morning I wasn't massively keen to go outside and make that first cup of tea. I just made one inside
Final thoughts.
I know these pods won't be for everyone, and they are suited to a certain kind of holidays, mostly fair weather. Summer and good weather use is something I am now really really looking forward to. Cooking outside is what we love and with the beach table and chairs as well as the spare table I can see us having some good times cooking here. That said the Cali tailgate means you can cook in the rain but if its chilly obviously it will let the cold air in.
It holds a lot of stuff and you don't lose as much storage as you would perhaps think as most of the pod is storage. At the end of the holiday we can remove the whole pod and leave kitchen essentials inside ready to go next time. The build quality looks superb and is very nicely finished.
The water tank behind the seat loses you a little cab space but you could put the tank on the rear shelf if you wanted to get that cab space back but we preferred the storage it created and didnt really notice the difference.
It didn't seem to affect my MPG noticeably, I got 42mpg on the drive home although that was mostly around 65-66mph due to traffic.
The final day was where we also saw a benefit, parked up at the national trust we saved ourselves a few quid by making our own coffee and bacon butties for our friends and I. I can see days out working well and it being a handy base to return to when kayaking or walking.
My good lady Vanessa absolutely loves it, she kept asking me why didn't I get one a year ago? She spent a ridiculous amount of time organising it and seemed to get a lot of joy from that. Each to their own
We now want a tailgate awning of some kind and a roof box too just for storing all that outside stuff.
In a nutshell we love it and am glad we bought it. It's going to be a fun year!
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