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offgrid View Drop Down
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Joined: 23 Jul 2018
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Posts: 5290 		Direct Link To This Post Topic: Investigating RVing
    Posted: 15 Oct 2018 at 12:00pm
Personally, i would ignore the empty weight of the trailer, that's a totally dry weight with no battery on the tongue and no propane in the tank and is IMHO more for marketing purposes than anything else.

Instead look at the trailer gross vehicle weight.  Depending on how you camp (boondocking vs hookups) you could be close to that. And your tongue weight might end up as high as 15% of that figure if you fill your water tank and add either an extra battery or propane tank or both.  Mine is. 

Do also consider the use of a weight distribution hitch and anti sway system for towing an rPod with any relatively lightweight tow vehicle. I wouldn't tow my 179 with my Highlander (5000 lbs rating) without one. Not because of trailer weight but because of tongue weight. Results in too much weight on the rear axle and too light in front. With it I'm comfortable. Your receiver and TV also need to be rated for use with a WD hitch. 

Also take a look at the gross combined vehicle weight rating (GCVW) for any current or prospective tow vehicle you choose. A lot of the max tow ratings assume an empty tow vehicle, so it depends on how you plan to have the TV loaded. 
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Shane View Drop Down
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Joined: 09 Sep 2018
Location: Northern IL.
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Posts: 98 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 15 Oct 2018 at 9:30am
I believe a class III hitch is required for pulling a fully loaded R-Pod.
ENGINE 55,TRUCK 44,BATALLION 12
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abqdan View Drop Down
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Joined: 10 Oct 2018
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Posts: 3 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 11 Oct 2018 at 10:33pm
Thanks for all the replies! We figure we need to get a car with a higher towing capacity even if we MIGHT skate by with the 171, so that'll be our first decision. 
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GlueGuy View Drop Down
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Posts: 2628 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 11 Oct 2018 at 4:27pm
Yah. HappyTripping. The 171 is a lot lighter than our 179, or any of the 18x/19x models. You might be able to get by with a TV with 3500 lb rating. So I was speaking a bit too generically.
bp
2017 R-Pod 179 Hood River
2015 Ford F150 SuperCrew 4WD 3.5L Ecoboost
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Happy Tripping View Drop Down
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Posts: 473 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 11 Oct 2018 at 11:24am
Originally posted by GlueGuy

A 3500 lb tow rating is too low for an R-pod. 5000 lb would be better, and maybe enough if you don't have mountains are steep hill climbs. 6000 lb or higher would be better still ...

I agree with this, BUT, ... 

This is probably the #1 topic of this forum. We have a 171 and a 4500 lb tow vehicle that has gone across country once and up to the Yellowstone area twice, with no problems. Now, 

we didn't go thru the highest western mountain passes, 

the 171 is light, 

and we pack light, 

change any of these and the result might well be very different. 

?The bottom line? In my opinion, get the highest tow rating vehicle you can afford, at least 4500 pounds if any mountains are in your future, lower than that ONLY if you are going to be driving on a table top, and then only with the lighter r-pods, and then get out there and have fun!



 
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GlueGuy View Drop Down
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Posts: 2628 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 11 Oct 2018 at 10:52am
I agree with the others. A 3500 lb tow rating is too low for an R-pod. 5000 lb would be better, and maybe enough if you don't have mountains are steep hill climbs. 6000 lb or higher would be better still; especially if you think you're going to be pulling in the mountains or steep climbs.
bp
2017 R-Pod 179 Hood River
2015 Ford F150 SuperCrew 4WD 3.5L Ecoboost
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broncoman_2000 View Drop Down
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Posts: 7 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 11 Oct 2018 at 10:50am
I have an R-176 and I tow with a 2018 Jeep Wrangler Unlimited.  It has a 3.6L V6 and 33 inch tires.  The Pod pulls great with only a sway bar attachment.  The Santa Fe is close in size, but not in weight to the Wrangler.  I'd try pulling a couple trips to see how it tows.  If you feel it's not well balanced, you can upgrade the TV.

DWW
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crw8sr View Drop Down
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Posts: 328 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 10 Oct 2018 at 6:01pm
We're pulling ours with a 2017 Santa Fe; it's not enough and we're going to replace it.  We need more power and I think a longer wheel base will give a better ride.  It's just ok on the near by rolling hills but it'll never make it in the mountains.  
Chuck & Lyn
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TheBum View Drop Down
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Posts: 1407 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 10 Oct 2018 at 5:13pm
Just because you have a V6 doesn't necessarily mean it doesn't have enough oomph for towing an R-Pod. In addition to the number of cylinders, you need to look at displacement, horsepower, torque, and the transmission. Our 2012 Highlander has a 3.5L V6 rated to around 280 HP and it does an admirable job of towing our 179, even through mountains. It has a tow rating of 5000 lbs though; 3500 would probably suffice for some of the smaller model R-Pods, but I wouldn't want to risk it on the larger ones.
Alan
2022 R-Pod 196 "RaptoRPod"
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Leo B View Drop Down
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Joined: 13 Jan 2012
Location: Lyndonville, VT
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Posts: 4508 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 10 Oct 2018 at 4:36pm
Welcome to the group!
Leo & Melissa Bachand
2017 Ford F150
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