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Joined: 10 Jun 2009
Location: Owosso MI
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Posts: 704 		Direct Link To This Post Topic: Gas Mileage
    Posted: 21 Sep 2010 at 8:11am
Originally posted by TIDALWAVE

I was told that originally R-Pods came with the A/C built into the interior of the Pod.
 
I think you were misled. Our 2009 model is identical to the new ones except for the thermostat.
.: Mark & Beth :: Silverado 5.3L :: 2018 rPod 180 :.
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Posts: 11 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 21 Sep 2010 at 9:00am
Is Airstream design the best shape for a travel trailer? But who wants to spend $45k on a 22 foot travel trailer. At the Dallas RV show all I heard was how expensive they air for the size.

All TT have ACs on the roof so all of them have some airflow disruption.

I wonder if the Heartland MPG suffers this problem. If it does then it's name will have to be changed.

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TIDALWAVE View Drop Down
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Posts: 315 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 21 Sep 2010 at 9:19am
The airflow simulation software is for 2-dimensional flow only.  I also wondered how the airflow may be different in the real world from the fact that the roof A/C only covers about 30% of the roof.
As several of the members mentioned...the simulations are only as good as the data put in.
3-D simulations would take a lot more computing power.  As this discussion started last Fall,
we ran these simulations just to try to get a feeling on how airflow might move over our Pods.
If a member-owner works for an aircraft design firm, it would be great to see a 3-D simulation.
TIDALWAVE
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Posts: 235 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 21 Sep 2010 at 12:32pm
Originally posted by KJR


I'm looking for a tow vehicle. I'm pricing out pre-owned Toyota 4Runner V8, Trailblazer, Explorers but hadn't given a thought to a Santa Fe.
 
KJR-
 
KJR- our TV is the sister vehicle to the Toyota 4Runner (Lexus GX470) and it is a workhorse- we only have a 5-6 mpg drop while towing the rpod....about 11-12 mpg while driving around the hills of the Catskills and Adirondacks. It has a "spoiler" above the rear door, but I think it is more for looks than any functional purpose. But the 4Runner has my unqualified recommendation for whatever that's worth.
John and Linda
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Joined: 20 Sep 2010
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Posts: 267 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 21 Sep 2010 at 7:19pm
Hey, as my first post, I can give you a little info about towing an RPod without an air conditioner and with two different v/6 engines. We bought our RP175 about 3 months ago. It did not come with air, and we're saving up to have one installed--not a Dometic from all the feedback I've read. We live in western Washington state, and except for the I-5 corridor, you pretty much have to tow either foothills or passes to get anywhere around here.
 
The Rpod is our 5th trailer. All have been between 17 and 22 feet long. We've towed with v/6es and v/8s, with and without sway and WDH. We're towing the RPod without either sway or WDH, and it follows nicely. Our last trailer was an 18' Chalet (folding slab side). It weighed a few hundred pounds less than the 175 at 2700 lbs. with a 300 lb. hitch weight. We towed it with an F150 v/8 (13mpg.) and a Dodge Dakota v/6 (tow pack with auto, 3.92 rear end and a 4800 lb. tow capacity). The Dakota got about 13 to 14 mpg towing the Chalet.
 
We thought the Dakota was a good fit for the RPod. We were very wrong. The added wind drag from the RPod really blitzed the mileage and accentuated the fact that the 3.7 v/6 in the Dakota really didn't have enough hp and torque to tow well  in the situations we would have to nearly always drive in around here.
The mileage dropped to between 9 and 11 mpg. and the 3.7 really labored on hills. The fact that the Dakota had a 4 speed auto with 4th locked out in tow/haul really caused some severe reving of the engine to maintain speed. Traveling on the flat was fine, but still only 11 mpg.
 
We have plans to replicate a trip we took about 20 years ago--towing  I 90 from here to South Dakota. So much neat stuff to see! It would have been pretty tedious towing the 175 with the Dodge Dakota, so it was either get another full size truck or a v/6 with more suds. For various reasons, I zeroed in on either a used Nissan or Toyota p/u.
 
We found a nice 06 Toyota Tacoma with the tow pack (6500 lbs. tow capacity). We did the exact same trip with the Tacoma that garnered us 9 mpg with the Dakota. We got 12 mpg, never went below 3rd gear and accelerated well enough to catch a couple diesel pushers on some hills.
 
 It would be nice to get a little better mileage, but any time you tow a rig that pushes wind, your mileage is not gonna be good. The same F150 that got 13 mpg for me towing the folding Chalet would get as low as 8 mpg when we had the 22 foot slabside.  
 
 
 
 
 
 
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tdrace View Drop Down
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Posts: 133 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 21 Sep 2010 at 9:10pm
2009 Hyundai Santa Fe with the bigger motor. Already had a bigger cooler, added hitch and E-2 equalizer hitch rpms between 1500 to 3500 max. I usually drive 60-65 on the interstate. I have never  felt like the engine was working to hard,most of the time I forget it is behind me. I get between 10.9 to 12 mpg. Very pleased with the TV. Hope this helps.
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Posts: 49 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 22 Sep 2010 at 9:20am
We tried to pull our 171 with a Toyota RAV4 but decided that we needed at least a 4 liter V6.

We found a Frontier on Craigs List and have been very happy with its capabilities.  It is a V6 4x2 that comes with the standard factory towing package.  We will be adding anti-sway before our next trip.

Towing the barn door requires more capacity than FR wants you to believe.
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Posts: 14 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 22 Sep 2010 at 9:36am
Originally posted by popgoesweasel

We tried to pull our 171 with a Toyota RAV4 but decided that we needed at least a 4 liter V6.

We found a Frontier on Craigs List and have been very happy with its capabilities.  It is a V6 4x2 that comes with the standard factory towing package.  We will be adding anti-sway before our next trip.

Towing the barn door requires more capacity than FR wants you to believe.
I can't help but jump back into the fray with your last statement.   I agree with your statement, I can't help but wonder though if our discussions and other forum contributors efforts are having any impact with FR.  Since we don't hear from them here, we do not even know if they are getting the message.  Are they on this forum? Should this thread be sent to all possible contacts a FR?
I think the discussion is starting to sllightly repeat itself and it should now shift gears, as we often have to do when towing our R-Pods.  I am suggesting therefor that we open the topic to ways of getting the message to FR, bring them on board to work with owners toward finding a mutuallay agreeable solution to a problem that will not go away on its own.
Any thoughts? 
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TIDALWAVE View Drop Down
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Posts: 315 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 22 Sep 2010 at 3:51pm
At this point, I am not sure that I would consider the Pod as having a 'mileage problem'...
Pulling a 8 or 9 ft tall TT means a lot of wind resistance.  It appears that it takes a certain
amount of fuel to pull the Pod along at 55mph, and no real way to get around it.  My 30 ft RV
has only a little more frontal area than the Pod has and gets about 9-12mpg while cruising
down the highway.  As one member in this forum stated "on a flat road at highway speeds, it's not
the weight which takes the fuel but the pulling of  a barn door through the air".
If you want better mileage you need to go to a 'pop-up' TT of whatever design.
It would be great to have better mileage with the Pod, but I don't think that there is going to
be a real 'fix' from Forest River for the Pod design.
At least, these discussions will help potential Pod owners to decide whether to buy or not.
TIDALWAVE
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psaman View Drop Down
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Posts: 231 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 22 Sep 2010 at 4:06pm
Originally posted by TIDALWAVE

At this point, I am not sure that I would consider the Pod as having a 'mileage problem'...
Pulling a 8 or 9 ft tall TT means a lot of wind resistance.  It appears that it takes a certain
amount of fuel to pull the Pod along at 55mph, and no real way to get around it.  My 30 ft RV
has only a little more frontal area than the Pod has and gets about 9-12mpg while cruising
down the highway.  As one member in this forum stated "on a flat road at highway speeds, it's not
the weight which takes the fuel but the pulling of  a barn door through the air".
If you want better mileage you need to go to a 'pop-up' TT of whatever design.
It would be great to have better mileage with the Pod, but I don't think that there is going to
be a real 'fix' from Forest River for the Pod design.
At least, these discussions will help potential Pod owners to decide whether to buy or not.


Well said. We knew approximately when we bought our 177 what our gas mileage would be, from previous posts and discussions. Frankly, I am happy that our actual gas mileage was in the ballpark and not worse. As someone else on the forum I believe stated, life is about more than gas mileage.  Should we continue to discuss gas mileage, of course; open discussion is what the forum is all about and sharing our camping experiences and knowledge.
2011 R-177 "Sponge-Pod"
2011 F-150 XLT "Texas Edition"
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