New from West Virginia without an r-pod

Good evening, all.

I am coming to you from The Mountain State with no r-pod to my name. Working on changing the "no r-pod" part.

We are a family of four that is considering a move from our Fleetwood Westlake pop up to something with hard sides and less set up time. We (I, really) have done a great deal of research on a great many trailers in this quest. I have looked at Aliners (family of four? Only if you're a family of Smurfs) and TrailManors. I have perused with much interest the fiberglass "egg" trailers (love them, love how you can customize, but they are simply more money than I wish to invest). Standard travel trailers hold little appeal for a variety of reasons. Hybrids were in the running but we want away from as much canvas (Sunbrella) as is humanly possible.

I like the r-pod because of its retro look and the variety of workable floorplans to choose from. DD (8) likes it because it can be had with bunk beds. Wife is not as keen as DD and I. I know the antennae is part of the problem. Her animosity for the antennae is somewhat frightening. I saw on the Forest River website that the antennae is a standard feature. On a whim I contacted a couple of dealerships and was advised by both that it could actually be ordered without the antennae. Groovy. Point in my favor.

If I can convince DW to give the r-pod an honest look we may have one by the time spring rolls around. Sooner would be nice but with DW and the kids now back in school our camping times are pretty limited so it's probably best to just give it a few more months.

We will be towing with a Honda Ridgeline. Not the best for a TV, but there are worse rigs. I prefer the 178 but given the power limitations of the Ridgeline combined with West Virginia hills I think the best floorplan for us is the 172. Regardless of which model is chosen the wind resistance will be the same but I can at least keep the weight as low as possible.

I'm sorry for the long post.

I wish you all well, and look forward to (hopefully) becoming a podder.   

Welcome.  I agree that the 178 is on the heavy side if you have a 3500 pound tow limit.  It is one of the heavier pods.  You might get away with it if you keep all of the tanks empty (except the propane) and pack light.  Personally I wouldn't do it w/o a 5000+ tow limit vehicle.

RPods can and are being towed by Hondas. We tow our 172 with a 2010 4WD Pilot, the same power train as the Ridgeline. The Hondas have an advantage with their 4.375 differential. So far it works very well in the mountains of Florida and Alabama , but next month will be the test. Weight was the prime factor in our selection of the 172 since we will spend a lot of time in Colorado. Mountain passes are rough on tow vehicles, but altitude saps an engine's performance. Most of WV is below 3000 feet; all except one point is below 4500 feet. So if you plan to spend most of your time in the East you should be fine with the 172. On flat roads you can't even tell the Pod is back there unless you look at the gas gauge . The 178 is bigger and roomier, but also heavier, so consider where you will drive and camp. Regardless of which model you chose you should include a weight distributing hitch (WDH) and a ScanGauge to monitor transmission temperature.

Hope to hear soon that you have joined us in Podding,

It isn't the altitude its the grade.  We were just in WV a few weeks ago including Spruce Knob at 4863 feet.  We were over 7000 feet in Albuquerque but the grade wasn't too bad.  It was in the East in KY and WV where we hit spots of over 10% grade which were grinds to get up.  That's where the horsepower and torque are needed.  Granted, there are some big grades in the Rockies too, but there are some in the Appalachians too. 

I have to agree with Techntrek.  Minimum of 5 K towing capacity.  I know many pull with less capacity but for me a much larger concern is safety in maneuvering and stopping.  But thats's me.  I ordered ours with out and antenna.  Happy camping and Safe Travels.