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Topic ClosedR Pod for a Family of Six?
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offgrid View Drop Down
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Posts: 5290 		Direct Link To This Post Topic: R Pod for a Family of Six?
    Posted: 16 Oct 2018 at 5:35am
Just to reinforce what seems to be the consensus here:

R-Pods are nice 2 person trailers for campground and light boondocking use. Going to seem crowded with a couple kids in them, it's hard for me to imagine 6 people in one at for any length of time, say on a cold rainy day when no one wants to be stuck out in the tent. 

They are built light for towing using mid sized vehicles. Axles and frames for example don't have a lot of excess margin built into them, if any. And the HRE version has the same axle and frame as all the other R-Pods.  I take ours on graded forest service roads and through some occasional small to moderate potholes, very slowly. 

Looking at the No Boundaries trailers, while being marketed for off road usage, I would suspect similar design and construction standards, so if rough road usage is a key part of your mission I would do some careful research. 
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Posts: 6128 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 16 Oct 2018 at 8:38am
I would have no issue sleeping older kids in the dome.

The Pods are not any kind of off road rig, and truthfully, the NoBo's are having some pretty serious teething problems right now.. give them another year..

If off grid and off ground is your goal, I might suggest a ruggedized cargo trailer of some sort, to haul a larger heavier multi room family tent, and cots. Portable shower gear, extra H2O supplies, and a composting toilet. Heck you can even get cot bunk beds for the younger ones..



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Posts: 6 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 16 Oct 2018 at 9:19am
Sorry for potentially steering this thread off topic, I bought an older RP180HRE and one of the upcoming 2019 trip is the Top of the World Highway to Alaska, I have never been but I understand that it is about 150 mi of bumpy pothole filled unpaved highway from Dawson City Yukon to Tok Alaska. I assume the HRE should be able to handle the marginal Alaska highways.
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Posts: 1447 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 16 Oct 2018 at 9:39am
I don't know the road so others may have comments.  I think we have had some members take that trip.  There is a current thread about a road in Baja that bent an axle on a pod.  They are made for fairly smooth roads.
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GlueGuy View Drop Down
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Posts: 2627 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 16 Oct 2018 at 9:55am
Originally posted by Spacecadet

Sorry for potentially steering this thread off topic, I bought an older RP180HRE and one of the upcoming 2019 trip is the Top of the World Highway to Alaska, I have never been but I understand that it is about 150 mi of bumpy pothole filled unpaved highway from Dawson City Yukon to Tok Alaska. I assume the HRE should be able to handle the marginal Alaska highways.
We have not been up that way in quite a while. The first time we visited Alaska, the Al-Can highway was mostly gravel, and the stories were legendary. Some amazing rigs/methods to "protect" or attempt to protect the front of RVs and other vehicles. Since that time most, or nearly all of that highway has been paved. That said, the extreme weather is hard on the road, and probably needs almost constant maintenance. The roads we saw in Alaska had pretty much constant repairs going on in various sections.
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Posts: 10 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 16 Oct 2018 at 10:07am
For the issue of the R Pod or No Bo being cramped for six people during inclement weather, it would still be a step up from my current setup which is just a 6 person dome tent.  I'm mostly wanting a trailer for the full bathroom and shower, and a cozy place for the wife and I to sleep.  At one point I had looked at either buying or building a rugged utility style trailer with built in tent, but having a dry bath is a requirement of the wife, which limits me to one of the mainstream models.

From what I'm hearing, the biggest issue with taking a Pod off-road is that the frame and axle aren't built to take any kind of abuse so they tend to twist apart?  I'm going to go look at a couple of NoBo's today to see what the fit/finish is like and if they would be towable to the places I'm thinking of going.
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offgrid View Drop Down
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Posts: 5290 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 16 Oct 2018 at 10:51am
The axle problem is that these light trailers use a 3500 lb rated torsion axle and they get loaded close to that especially when boondocking which is sounds like you'll be doing.  Then add in the potholes and bumps and you can have issues.  Check to see what axle they have in the NOBO's. There is a label on it and a load rating. 
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Posts: 10 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 16 Oct 2018 at 11:02am
The dealer I'm going to has a NoBo 16.8 (nearly identical to an RP180 floorplan) and a 19.5 which is like a stretched RP180. I'll report back on the axle rating and frame quality.
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Posts: 5290 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 16 Oct 2018 at 11:23am
Frame on the rPods is 4 inch x 2 inch steel box tube. IIRC the tube wall thickness is 0.1 inch but I'd have to verify. 
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Posts: 142 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 16 Oct 2018 at 1:08pm
Just got back from the Alaskan Highway.  Left Anchorage and picked the ALCAN highway at TOK.  I must say, most of the road was in excellent condition.  However there are a few places where the road is being repaired and man is it ROUGH!  Having said that, you will be following an escort truck thru these areas and they attempt to keep you out of the worst of it, but still it is extremely brutal!  They DO keep you at a slow pace, so I dont think you will break anything.

Ensure your brakes are in good working order.  Not so much for the grades, although there are a few, but for the wildlife on the road.  Buffalo, Antelope, goats and moose etc.

Nicest thing about this trip, no one is in a hurry and are very courteous on one another.........Fantastic trip,  take it if you can!!!!
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