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knoopr55 
Newbie 
Joined: 01 Dec 2014 Online Status: Offline Posts: 5 |
 Topic: New 2015 r-pod 178 hood riverPosted: 01 Dec 2014 at 1:57pm |
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My wife and I just purchased a new 2015 r-pod 178 hood river edition and we love it. However our first trip was a little shocking. We are pulling it with a 2014 Dodge Ram 1500 Hemi 4x4. For 1 year we pulled a huge Jayco popup trailer that weighed over 4000 lbs and got about 14 MPG then our first trip with new R-pod and boom 9 MPG, almost thought brakes were on but no. Any Ideas as to why such a drastic drop in mileage per gallon? It weighs much less, could it be the high profile? Any insight would be great.
Thanks Keith |
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Podster
Senior Member 
Joined: 16 Sep 2014 Location: San Antonio Online Status: Offline Posts: 1108 |
Posted: 01 Dec 2014 at 2:01pm |
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Howdy from San Antonio and congratulations on the 178 acquisition. Yes, most of us get between 10-12 mph and it's very likely the high profile AKA "frontal area" is the culprit. Not sure what speed you are pulling at but keeping it between 60-65 may help some.
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Cliff & Raelynn
Ranger 4.0/178 (1/2 ton 5,800lb tow capacity) |
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knoopr55
Newbie
Joined: 01 Dec 2014 Online Status: Offline Posts: 5 |
Posted: 01 Dec 2014 at 2:34pm |
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Really love it but gas consumption will be a concern. Yeah we drove 55 or 60 MPH the whole way. Even on down hills the drag would slow us. Maybe a shell on the truck will help. Thanks
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hogone
Senior Member
Joined: 09 Apr 2013 Location: St. Louis Online Status: Offline Posts: 1049 |
Posted: 01 Dec 2014 at 2:55pm |
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yep; pulling pods sucks gas for most our vehicles no matter what your using. i will fully admit that when i intially starting looking at them and even after purchase, i assumed they would be gas friendly to the tv; nope. they look like they would be (or at least to me, i'm not an aerodynamic engineer!!), but there not. oh well, pod on. hogone
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Jon & Pam
2013 RP177 2010 F150 2017 HD Streetglide 2009 HD Lowrider CHEESEHEAD |
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techntrek
Admin Group - pHp 
Joined: 29 Jul 2009 Location: MD Online Status: Offline Posts: 9062 |
Posted: 01 Dec 2014 at 3:32pm |
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Yup, frontal area has by far the biggest affect on mpg. Once you've graduated to a full-height camper like the pod, no matter how round, you'll hit the numbers mentioned above. The last 2 summers we drove our pod 5000 and 7000 miles and both times the trip average was around 9.5-9.7. We hit some big hills on both trips, especially this past summer which I expect kept us below 10. I recently upgraded to a 6000 pound camper and while I've only had 2 semi-local trips, the mpg didn't change much.
Here is a comparison for you. Our prior TV was a Sienna. Daily driving it got 23 mpg. With our Coleman popup, around 3500 pounds loaded up, it got 16. The pod was around 2700-2800 pounds loaded and it got 11-12.
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knoopr55
Newbie
Joined: 01 Dec 2014 Online Status: Offline Posts: 5 |
Posted: 01 Dec 2014 at 11:54pm |
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Thanks for all the input everyone, looks like it is just a fact of R-pod life. Duck hunting just got a little more expensive that's all.
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Larry158
Groupie 
Joined: 01 Oct 2014 Location: Old Forge NY Online Status: Offline Posts: 45 |
Posted: 02 Dec 2014 at 7:52am |
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ALL,
Has anyone had experience with a roof wind defletor on their tv. If so what were the results & what brand did you use? Larry158
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Outbound
podders Helping podders - pHp
Joined: 19 Nov 2009 Location: Oshawa, Ontario Online Status: Offline Posts: 767 |
Posted: 02 Dec 2014 at 8:27am |
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The r-pod has an aerodynamic-looking shape, but the reality is that it is far from aerodynamic.
Five years ago, when I bought my r-pod, I did some aerodynamic modelling of the r-pod in motion. The front of the r-pod is fine - air flows relatively smoothly over the vehicle and up, across the top of the r-pod. The problem is the rear half of the trailer. Instead of smoothly flowing down the back of the r-pod, the air continues out essentially horizontally toward the rear of the trailer. Then, it takes a sharp downward turn and hits the ground 3-5 feet behind the trailer, turning back in toward the trailer and creating a great big swirling low-pressure vortex. In a nutshell, the r-pod creates a low-pressure area right behind itself, sucking the trailer backward. I tried air deflectors in various positions to smooth out the airflow, but it was without significant improvement. Honestly, it is what it is. The best solution I've found: slower (55 mph) speeds are best for MPGs. |
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Craig :: 2009 RP171 towed by a 2017 F150
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hogone
Senior Member
Joined: 09 Apr 2013 Location: St. Louis Online Status: Offline Posts: 1049 |
Posted: 02 Dec 2014 at 8:30am |
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haven't used a wind defelector, however some of us (myself included) have noted a slight increase in mpg when we have a canoe/kayaks on top of the tv. i have a hard pod carrier that i plan on attaching to my tv someday to see if there is a difference. hogone
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Jon & Pam
2013 RP177 2010 F150 2017 HD Streetglide 2009 HD Lowrider CHEESEHEAD |
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hogone
Senior Member
Joined: 09 Apr 2013 Location: St. Louis Online Status: Offline Posts: 1049 |
Posted: 02 Dec 2014 at 8:32am |
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very interesting outbound. hogone
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Jon & Pam
2013 RP177 2010 F150 2017 HD Streetglide 2009 HD Lowrider CHEESEHEAD |
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New 2015 r-pod 178 hood river