hello and questions

GluyGuy got me thinking how subjective "off road" can be, so I Googled a bit and found this:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Scale_of_River_Difficulty  Credit where credit is due, but here's the gist without having to click on the link:

Warning: All rating is subjective. Never go on a trail alone and never be afraid to turn around if it gets to difficult. Trail ratings can change as a result of a simple rain storm, heavy winter, or a big gnarly trail rig with 42” tires tearing it up on a wet day. Conditions change daily. Trailsoffroad is not responsible for the accuracy of the ratings listed here on this site and are only considered approximations.

1. Easy

   Graded dirt road. Dry, or less than 3" water crossing depth. Gentle grades. 2WD under all conditions except snow. No width problems, two vehicles wide.

2. Easy

   Dirt road. Dry, or less than 3" water crossing depth. Some ruts. Slight grades, up to 10 degrees. 2WD under most conditions. Rain or snow may make 4WD necessary. Usually one and a half to two vehicles wide.

3. Easy

   Dirt road. Rutted, washes, or gulches. Water crossings up to 6" depth. Passable mud. Grades up to 10 degrees. Small rocks or holes. 4WD recommended but 2WD possible under good conditions and with adequate ground clearance and skill. No width problems for any normal vehicle. Vehicle passing spots frequently available if less than two vehicles wide.

4. Easy

   Rutted and/or rocky road. No shelves but rocks to 9". Water crossings usually less than hub deep. Passable mud. Grades moderate, up to 15 degrees. Side hill moderate up to 15 degrees. 4WD under most conditions. No width problems, vehicle passing spots frequently available if less than two vehicles wide.

5. Moderate

   Rutted and/or rocky road. No shelves. Rocks up to 12" and water crossings up to 12" with possible currents. Passable mud. Moderate grades to 15 degrees. 6" holes. Side hill to 20 degrees. 4WD required. No width problems.

6. Moderate

   Quite rocky or deep ruts. Rocks to 12" and frequent. Water crossings may exceed hub depth with strong currents. Shelves to 6". Mud may require checking before proceeding. Moderate grades to 20 degrees. Sidehill may approach 30 degrees. 4WD necessary and second attempts may be required with stock vehicles. Caution may be required with wider vehicles.

7. Moderate

   Rocks frequent and large, 12" and may exceed hub height. Holes frequent or deep (12"). Shelves to 9". Mud 8" deep and may be present on uphill sections. Grades to 25 degrees and sidehill to 30 degrees. Water crossings to 18" and may have strong currents. 1-1/2 vehicles wide. 4WD required. Driver experience helpful.

8. Difficult

   Heavy rock and/or severe ruts. Rocks exceeding hub height frequent. Shelves to 12". Deep mud or uphill mud sections. Steep grades to 25 degrees and can be loose or rocky. Water crossings may exceed 30" in depth. Side hill to 30 degrees. One vehicle wide. Body damage possible. Experience needed. Vehicle Modifications helpful.

9. Difficult

   Severe rock over 15". Frequent deep holes over 15". Shelves over 15". Mud bog conditions (long, deep, no form bottom). Over 30" water crossings with strong currents. Steep grades over 30 degrees. Sidehill over 30 degrees. May not be passable by stock vehicles. Experience essential. Body damage, mechanical breakdown, rollover probable. Extreme caution required.

10. Extreme

    Severe conditions. Extreme caution recommended. Impassable by stock vehicles. Winching required. Trail building necessary. May be impassable. Impassable under anything but ideal conditions. Vehicle damage probable. Personal injury possible. Extreme caution necessary.

  For what it's worth....

TT

Originally posted by codycountry The higher clearance Hood River editions are much preferred here, and really the eastern editions are made for the highway and ours can go a bit further.

Originally posted by codycountry Tars, Give it up.  It's not worth the fight.  No one wins in this current discussion that you have decided to intrude into.  I see lots of eastern Rpods here in Cody Wy on their way to Yellowstone, and they are mostly "low riders" from back east.  I would not own one of that eastern model here in the Rocky Mountain west.  The higher clearance Hood River editions are much preferred here, and really the eastern editions are made for the highway and ours can go a bit further.  Simple as that.  Get over it, and I can't figure out why it is an argument other than the fact that you like to argue.  You live in the east and have no business telling folks out west how it ought to be.   Or anybody else for that matter.  Steve

Well.  That's a little too offensive for a public reply.  I'll respond by PM.

TT

Originally posted by chiman Tars, No trailer like the pod or such others are meant for really hard core "off-road" trails and I think I have tried to make that point and even changed the wording I used to "off the main path"  Despite having changed the wording and trying to be polite, I have to say that you and Keith-N-Dar seem to have some axe to grind with whether or not a HRE should ever see anything but pavement.  Perhaps you and him are from areas where an HRE pod is not available so both have not had a real chance to test them.

  No axe, but apparently a very different concept of "off-road",  How much higher off the ground is the HRE than the regular Ohio version of a Pod with axle risers?  Inches are important off road, but the difference between 14" tires and 15" tires is, arguably I'm sure, more cosmetic than substantial.

I know you've more or less modified yoiur claim from the HRE being an off road trailer to "off the main path".  As Glueguy said, all this is subjective without some set of standards to go by.  I know when I think of "off road" it's not a place for any kind of R*Pod, but there are plenty of places we (you or I) can go that are off the main path.  I'm not sure that given equal levels of common sense and sanity there are many places you would go with your HRE that I wouldn't go with my 176 with axle risers.  Maybe.  It's not just ground clearance though.  A lot of off roading, in my mind, involves fitting between trees or boulders or driving over them.  Here are some things that match my idea of an off-road ready trailer: https://www.pinterest.com/grade8garage/off-road-trailers/

The important thing is that we're happy with our trailers...

TT

So this thread is kind of morphed into what is and isn't off road and now single malt spirits. It kind of wondered away from the original question of is there some "lift kit" for the Pods that are not HRE? Does the factory sell this option ti improve lift and possibly the suspension?