Front bike rack and tounge weight - R-pod Owners Forum

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The Pod Squad View Drop Down

Newbie

Joined: 23 Nov 2011
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Posts: 16

Topic: Front bike rack and tounge weight
Posted: 14 Nov 2012 at 11:19am

Hi there, I couldn't find the manual but I did find the work order from when we purchased it and this is what it says.

Arvika "A" Frame All Adjustable #7000-AF

Arvika - 2 Bike Base Black #7002-26-C

If you need any other information just let us know.

Take care,

Tania

MTB Pod

Newbie

Joined: 30 Aug 2011
Location: Sacramento, CA
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 9

Posted: 18 Jun 2013 at 10:49am

After seeing the posts on the Avrika tongue mount bike rack on this site this last year, I forwarded it to my dad who does welding to see if he could fabricate something for us. He was able to make a bracket that would accept two Yakima bike holders that are part of an extension for a four-bike hitch mount rack. I didn't want it to be permanently welded to the frame, so he was able to make solid brackets that bolt it on to the frame. This way, if we need the four-bike hitch rack, we can pull the two holders from the Pod and reattach them to our hitch rack. We finally had a chance to use it this past weekend, and it worked great. It is extremely solid and does not move or flex independently of the trailer frame.

The added bonus is that because 99% of our camping is dry camping, we usually fill our fresh water tank prior to leaving the house. With the 177, the fresh tank is located behind the axle (which has been my only complaint with the Pod so far). Despite the fact that we tow with an F-150, we would still get sway with a full water tank. The extra weight of the rack loaded with bikes had exactly the effect I was hoping for, in that we had zero sway with a full fresh water tank, and that was with fairly strong winds headed out through the Columbia River Gorge.

Pete & Marila
Sacramento, CA
2012 RPod 177
2001 Ford F-150 Crew Cab

techntrek

Admin Group - pHp

Joined: 29 Jul 2009
Location: MD
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Posts: 9062

Posted: 18 Jun 2013 at 1:07pm

Very nice, and good use of the empty space above the tongue.

Doug ~ '10 171 (2009-2015) ~ 2008 Salem ~ Pod instruction manual

betsypgarmy@yahoo.co View Drop Down

Newbie

Joined: 02 Jun 2012
Location: Nebraska
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Posts: 19

Posted: 25 Jun 2013 at 10:56pm

Is it possible to carry a 10 speed bike inside an RPod 177?

Paige

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podders Helping podders - pHp

Joined: 23 Jul 2012
Location: Upstate NY
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 216

Posted: 26 Jun 2013 at 8:24am

Yes it is! We have a 177 and we carry two bikes. The first bike we put in goes toward the back. It fits just fine. The second bike fits alongside the table. Our table is able to be slid over right up against the bench on the door side as we have two holes in the bench and we slide the two table legs into the bench area, giving us more room on the other side of the table. We have been RV'ers for a while and always had our bikes mounted on the outside. When we bought the rPod, we discussed trying to figure out a bike rack, but decided to put them inside for the time being. Eventually we might add a bike rack to our tow vehicle,,but we usually have kayaks up there. The nice thing is that the bikes are protected from the weather and the road grime. The not so nice thing is that if you want quick access to the rPod while on the road, you have to take the bikes out. We added some heavy duty hooks inside the rPod and bungee the bikes so they don't rock and roll while we are on the road.

Paige and Pete
2010 177 - RPug
2012 Rav (six cylinder)
New York & Florida residents