Towing setup for new RP176

Originally posted by Leo B Our truck has the 5.5 foot bed and my Harley measures over 6 foot long so it wont fit well in the back if we took the cap off. So as we speak, we haven't come up with a good plan, yet.

Although we don't have motorcycles any more, you just gave me another reason why we got the 6.5' bed on ours.

Bottom line, if you tow beyond your vehicle or trailer's weight capacity and get into a wreck, you're going to be in a very complicated situation, possibly involving criminal charges if there is a serious injury or fatality.  Depending on your state's or province's insurance laws, you may find yourself in violation fo the terms of your insurance policy and may have forfeited your coverage, making the situation even more complex.  

Originally posted by Our pod I selected my trailer, then bought a truck that could tow twice that weight. Then I bought my r-pod.

We did it the other way around. We did need the truck for other purposes, but we tempered our TT selection with the capacity in mind. It's not a factor at all between the F-150 and the R-pod, and we really didn't want or need a bigger TT. Every situation is different of course. Those folks in the east where the "mountains" are 3,000-4,000 feet might have different considerations than those out west where the "mountains" are 6,000-10,000 feet. Where we live we call the 3,000-4,000 foot things "hills".

Originally posted by tsteckley A rating on a vehicle has a 1.5 to 2 times safety factor, which means a 3500 lbs rating could actually tow around 5000-7000 lbs. Keep in mind that would be too much in my opinion, but everything is over rated to allow these type of situations.

I don't know that that is true or not. If you've ever driven a vehicle that is towing something that is at 100% of its rated capacity, you might think differently. The proof in the pudding is towing at altitude; and I mean at 6,000 or 7,000 feet and above. Just amazing to me the difference in vehicles; even without a trailer.