Hello!

My husband and I are considering an RPOD after having a pop up camper back in the 80's. We haven't been camping since the early 90's but will be retiring soon and will have more time to travel. We love the look of the 179, and think it's the perfect floor plan and size for us. We need to buy a new vehicle first, as I can't tow with my V6 town& country van. We towed our old pop up with a V8 Aerostar Van. I'm  looking for imput on what to buy, knowing we plan to travel a lot in the Rocky Mountains. We camped mainly in the national parks and sate parks, but plan to boondock too in blm and national forests. We'd like a 4 wheel drive vehicle and plan to get axle risers after reading posts here concerning clearance issues. Also will get solar panels. Anything else we need to consider?

Originally posted by Fuel4Humans Hi Mary and Dan! I just bought the 179 - waiting for delivery and I can't tow with my Mazda - So i've been doing TONS of research on what TV to buy -  I don't want a truck - I want an SUV... and I was planning on getting a Nissan XTerra (tow rating 5000lbs) - but one of the Poders with a 179 and an Xterra said his mileage goes down to 13 or less - and it slows hi down quite a bit... - so now i'm looking at TV rated 6000lbs minimum... the best tow ratings unfortunately seem to be the Luxury suvs like the BMW X5, the Audi the mercedes - either that or the US made monster SUVs like the escalade, yukon etc... there are a few Jeep grand cherokees (with the right engine) that are rated 7K and some pathfinders too check out this link http://www.trailerlife.com/trailer-towing-guides/ for all the towing rates for all models all years! somebody make an app for this please?!?! Smiles and happy Podding!! Renata

If you're looking to get a vehicle that will deliver more than 13 mpg towing your R-pod, you're likely to be very disappointed.  Most of us are happy to get 13 mpg.  It's not unusual to get 10 or 11.  Once in a while, someone reports getting 14 or 15 mpg, but that's the exception, not the rule. 

Sorry to break the news to you! 

If I keep it under 60 I get about 15 with my F150 with the heavy duty tow package including the largest available V8 in 2010.  When I run 70 or higher it goes well below 10.