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G-Force View Drop Down
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Joined: 02 Oct 2013
Location: Bozeman, MT
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Posts: 10 		Direct Link To This Post Topic: Questions from G-Force
    Posted: 16 Oct 2013 at 5:42pm
Next week I'll be driving to pick up my new 2014 178 from a dealer in Idaho.  I live in Montana, and expect to do a lot of mountain driving pulling my rpod with a 2005 Toyota Tacoma w/towing package.

This'll be my first experience pulling a trailer and I'm wondering what I need to do for a reasonably safe ride.  I've ordered and will install a Tekonsha Prodigy P3 brake controller, and have read how applying trailer brakes with the controller can eliminate sway on a downhill run.  Do I really need to be concerned about sway?  I read the story in the forum about the TN wreck.  Given that my Toyota weighs about 4000 lbs and the 178 under 3000, is a sway bar and or weight distribution device really needed?  And what's the benefit of inflating TV and trailer tires to their maximum sidewall capacity? 

On an unrelated note, what do you all do when camping in temperatures that likely could drop below freezing at night?  Play it safe and dry camp with a winterized system, or roll the dice?

Thanks for any advice you can offer.  This forum has already been a great help to me.
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techntrek View Drop Down
Admin Group - pHp
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Joined: 29 Jul 2009
Location: MD
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Posts: 9062 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 16 Oct 2013 at 8:23pm
I moved this from the maintenance manual thread.
Doug ~ '10 171 (2009-2015) ~ 2008 Salem ~ Pod instruction manual
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SNO4ME View Drop Down
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Joined: 28 Sep 2013
Location: NW Wis
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Posts: 122 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 16 Oct 2013 at 8:36pm
Originally posted by G-Force

Next week I'll be driving to pick up my new 2014 178 from a dealer in Idaho.  I live in Montana, and expect to do a lot of mountain driving pulling my rpod with a 2005 Toyota Tacoma w/towing package.

This'll be my first experience pulling a trailer and I'm wondering what I need to do for a reasonably safe ride.  I've ordered and will install a Tekonsha Prodigy P3 brake controller, and have read how applying trailer brakes with the controller can eliminate sway on a downhill run.  Do I really need to be concerned about sway?  I read the story in the forum about the TN wreck.  Given that my Toyota weighs about 4000 lbs and the 178 under 3000, is a sway bar and or weight distribution device really needed?  And what's the benefit of inflating TV and trailer tires to their maximum sidewall capacity? 

On an unrelated note, what do you all do when camping in temperatures that likely could drop below freezing at night?  Play it safe and dry camp with a winterized system, or roll the dice?

Thanks for any advice you can offer.  This forum has already been a great help to me.


That's a question that we have also. We like traveling in the fall which out west in the mountains could be a problem.
(We also need an emoticon of the guy eagerly waiting while eating popcorn)
Bruce & Donna in the Sno Pod
(and Brewer too)
2011 RP 177
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Kickstart View Drop Down
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Joined: 20 Sep 2010
Location: Ocean Shores, W
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Posts: 267 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 16 Oct 2013 at 11:57pm
G-Force, We towed our RP175 (3400-3700 lbs wet) for a couple years with a 2006 4.0 Taco w/tow package. It did a good job in the passes, foothills, and rollers here in the Cascades of WA state. I always towed  tow/haul which locks out 5th in the Tacoma. The truck would drop down to 3rd in the toughest pulls, but would do fine keeping up with traffic. I haven't towed the Cont. Divide in quite some time, that kinda elevation will sap some of the Tacoma's power. We never towed above 6000 ft.
 
I towed with the Tacoma both with and w/o a WDH. If you load and set up the Tacoma/Pod correctly, you can tow w/o the WDH. But there are some caveats. A WDH and sway will expand your safety measures. Also, unless equipped with the factory installed TSB 4 leaf rear spring, Tacomas are a little lightly sprung. Less chance of developing white knuckles with a WDH/sway.
 
The Tacoma would get between 10 and 12 mpg towing for us, as opposed to 17-22 in daily use. I would have replaced the Tacoma with another, but we got a great deal on our Tundra.
'10 RP 175-Replaced by 2014 Kodiak 173 QBSL
'12 Toyota Tundra
'05 Sportster (half a Harley)
Retired-We're on Beach Time!
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