Soon to be new Rpod Owners - R-pod Owners Forum

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HPY CMPR

Newbie

Joined: 02 Mar 2014
Location: Ottawa Ontario
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 8

Topic: Soon to be new Rpod Owners
Posted: 03 Mar 2014 at 11:59am

Thank you for this, I am somewhat still pulling my hair out. I have a Lab Retriever so I need to get leather which means all my choices are very expensive. Cant wait to make a decision and then move on to planning on where to go. Your post has been very helpful. I was just about to start looking up the Highlander. So far I have priced out the Santa Fe 3.3 V6..Ford Explore Ltd 4WD

Ottawa Ontario Canada

Camper Bob View Drop Down

podders Helping podders - pHp

Joined: 26 Sep 2011
Location: Portland Oregon
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 913

Posted: 03 Mar 2014 at 11:20am

I guess I'll throw in my two cents worth. Currently we tow with a 2005 Chev. Tahoe with a tow capacity of 6,800 lbs. Perfect except the age and mileage. I like the handling up hills and lots of stopping power. I recently received the Trailer Life guide to towing for 2014 listing all the vehicles and their towing capacity. After reading lots of posts, I've decided for us to look at vehicles with 4WD and a minimum towing capacity of 5K lbs. I find that at the 5K mark, all the vehicles provide AWD only. I like the Tahoe's 4WD selectivity but alas, it's is not available in the 5K range. So what to buy? After a lot of research, I have selected the Toyota Highlander with 5K towing capacity. Far better city mileage than our Tahoe but with adequate towing capacity for those big hills we seem to have here in Oregon. There are three versions of the Highlander depending on your wants and checkbook. Hope that helps. We are having a Roundup this September at Charleston, Oregon. Have reserved 40 full hookup spaces and after only a week have about 20 left. So far we have 12 Rpods registered. Marwayne, who I consider personally to be truly the master modder of Rpods, is joining us from Alberta. Being able to see his mod's is reason enough to come and join us. We are right on the beach and a great time should be had by all. Hopefully you can join us. All the details can be seen under the Camping Adventures forum. Safe Travels.

Camper Bob and Camper Sue
Gracie the Wonder Dog (12 LB. Mini Dachshund)
2013 Rpod 171HRE(ORPod)
2016 Lance 1685
2015 Nissan Pathfinder

Craneman

Senior Member

Joined: 12 May 2013
Location: Tokeland,wa
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 387

Posted: 03 Mar 2014 at 10:46am

We were driving a 2006 Chevy 1/2 ton with a 4.3 V/6 about 190 hp and We towed the 2010 174 and it did ok till you came to much of a hill and it would star shifting up and down. Also ok on the flats up to 50 mph then it struggled till we hit 60mph. Towing at about 10 miles per gallon.Soooo it forced me to upgrade to a 2011 ford F150 with a v/6 ecoboost it has 365 hp and no problem towing now and much better fuel economy . But mostly I was just looking for a reason to justify a new to us truck,at least that's what my wife thought.

Moe

Jo and Gary, 2010-174,2011 F150

Jo and Gary
2010 174
2011 Ford 150

CharlieM

Senior Member

Joined: 23 Nov 2012
Location: N. Colorado
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 1797

Posted: 03 Mar 2014 at 10:29am

Well, since you've selected the trailer you're half way there and used to the back and forth decision process Smile

. AWD is really full time 4WD under the control of the car's computer. It's fine for the majority of road conditions. The Pilot was really AWD under normal conditions, but can be locked up with a switch. I may be a control freak and an engineer, but I like to have some options. If you're stuck in sand or snow (think Canada Wink

) you want the option of firmly engaging all wheels and limiting all slip. For me, I've always had 4WD vehicles. I live in Florida but I call Colorado home. Lots of snow. Try buying a 4WD in Florida LOL

.

Selectable 4WD is an advantage if you can buy it. Good luck and keep us posted.

Charlie
Northern Colorado
OLD: 2013 RP-172, 2010 Honda Pilot 3.5L 4WD
PRESENT: 2014 Camplite 21RBS, 2013 Supercharged Tacoma 4L V6 4WD

HPY CMPR

Newbie

Joined: 02 Mar 2014
Location: Ottawa Ontario
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 8

Posted: 03 Mar 2014 at 10:10am

This is great information, thank you all so much for your quick replies. Selecting a vehicle has been quite the chore. One other quick question...what is better FWD or AWD. I should have also mentioned that I am from Ottawa Ontario Canada.

CharlieM

Senior Member

Joined: 23 Nov 2012
Location: N. Colorado
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 1797

Posted: 03 Mar 2014 at 9:52am

This from my personal experience: I towed a 172 with a Honda Pilot 3.5L 4WD rated at #4500. My last trip was 5000+ miles including the Colorado mountains. The Pilot was adequate on the flat lands but struggled up the mountains. OK if you go slow; 10-20 MPH on some grades. Note the 4WD version of the Pilot includes the towing package with transmission oil cooler so it is rated #1000 higher than the 2WD model. My new Camplite trailer is about #1000 heavier than the Pod so I moved up to a 4.0L Tacoma. My preference was a small V8, but that was not available in a small pickup. Bottom line, a #3500 rated vehicle would be marginal even on flat terrain. Your 178 starts at #2500 plus some options. By the time you add people, battery(s), full propane tank(s) and "stuff" you'll easily exceed #3500.Since you have the luxury of selecting a new TV my suggestion would be at least a #5000 rated 4.0L vehicle.

Charlie
Northern Colorado
OLD: 2013 RP-172, 2010 Honda Pilot 3.5L 4WD
PRESENT: 2014 Camplite 21RBS, 2013 Supercharged Tacoma 4L V6 4WD

bodie55

Senior Member

Joined: 25 Mar 2013
Location: San Francisco
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 100

Posted: 03 Mar 2014 at 9:26am

In our person experience, we wouldn't pull the pod without a V8. The power necessary to perform emergency evasive maneuvers in traffic with poor drivers is important for us. We also tow over high mountain passes. We previously had a V6 Ford Escape when we began Pod shopping. Our research led to purchasing a bigger TV before buying the pod. One CAN town with a lower weighted vehicle. Think about where you drive, the weight you will be carrying, and what type of driving environment you are likely to be in. Yes, you will use more gas but safety and power have their advantages.

We love our 178 and hope you will too!

Bay Area Crew
2013 178 Beach Pod
F-150 SuperCrew
...sempre in viaggio sul mare...

kymooses

Senior Member

Joined: 01 Aug 2010
Location: Louisville, Ky
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 1807

Posted: 03 Mar 2014 at 7:03am

Originally posted by HPY CMPR

Hi, I just purchased a RPod 178 this weekend. Now looking to purchase a vehicle to tow it with. I am so confused as to what I should be getting. I don't really want to buy a large SUV or Truck. I was told by the dealer that I bought the trailer from that all that is required is a TV that can handle 3500 lbs. Reading all the forums, I am getting nervous that I will have to buy a larger vehicle. Any insight on this would be appreciated. I am not picking my unit up until May so I do have some time to get a vehicle.
Thanks

If I were getting a TV for the Pod I would not get something with only 3500#, I'd go for something that can do 5000#.

Most anything will pull a Pod around, and "MOST" folks can still stay under a proper loaded vehicle weight, although I don't doubt for an instant that a lot of owners are overweight when towing.

Just mentioning because there have been a LOT of people over the years start off with a 3500# TV and eventually move to something larger. This is not to say you have to or that they couldn't tow their Pods they way they, only that for how they liked to tow and how it felt for them that they are now happier in something bigger. Presented with the choice of TV ahead of you a personal opinion would be to tow with 5000#. However that opinion varies widely amongst all members of these forums, and it does have a lot to do with where you tow, how far you tow, how often you tow, and quite honestly how much stuff you try to drag along with you. Passengers and and all the stuff you bring with you will count against your limits and towing experience.

Congrats on the 178 though, it is a wonderfully popular model and has a lot of nice space to it!

RPod Rallies
RPod Owner Map

HavaPod

Groupie

Joined: 19 Dec 2012
Location: Tacoma, WA
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 59

Posted: 02 Mar 2014 at 11:29pm

To: Happy Camper

We have one of the smaller vehicles out there, but so far we've run into no difficulties in the five trips we took our first year. We haven't though done any substantially high mountain passes though. Although we will likely get a bigger rig before doing a cross country type trip, we have felt comfortable so far for shorter, not terribly mountainous trips. We have though done a few thousand feet in elevation gains on several trips so far an as I said, we've had no problems.

Steve and Peggy Thorndill
HavaPod
2013 R-Pod 177
Tacoma, WA

HPY CMPR

Newbie

Joined: 02 Mar 2014
Location: Ottawa Ontario
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 8

Posted: 02 Mar 2014 at 10:43pm

Hi, I just purchased a RPod 178 this weekend. Now looking to purchase a vehicle to tow it with. I am so confused as to what I should be getting. I don't really want to buy a large SUV or Truck. I was told by the dealer that I bought the trailer from that all that is required is a TV that can handle 3500 lbs. Reading all the forums, I am getting nervous that I will have to buy a larger vehicle. Any insight on this would be appreciated. I am not picking my unit up until May so I do have some time to get a vehicle.
Thanks