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malkbean2
Groupie
Joined: 31 Jan 2017
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Posts: 80
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Topic: Pod leaning to driver's side Posted: 17 Oct 2018 at 4:18am |
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rpod 178
Grand Caravan
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offgrid
Senior Member
Joined: 23 Jul 2018
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Posts: 5290
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Posted: 16 Oct 2018 at 3:55pm |
malkbean2, if I were you I think I'd try to load weight on the passenger side as much as possible, and just keep an eye on it. To me the biggest worry is overloading the driver's side, the "lean" is just an aesthetic issue as far as I'm concerned.
From the overload perspective there is no evidence that our axles or wheels fail catastrophically that I've ever heard of, somebody correct me if I'm wrong. So the biggest issue is going to be risk of tire failure. You can run load range D or E tires to mitigate that concern.
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1994 Chinook Concourse
1995 RV6A Experimental Aircraft
2015 Rpod 179 - sold
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malkbean2
Groupie
Joined: 31 Jan 2017
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Posts: 80
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Posted: 16 Oct 2018 at 11:28am |
To Offgrid
Thats good info. From the looks of the floor plan the 179 might be a little more balanced than the 178 side to side. That might account for a 1/4 inch difference. That you measure a natural list of 1/2 inch on the 179 adds a little more credibility to the technicians claims that it is due to the weight of the slide out. By the way my measurement was made at several locations with rpod empty on level surface and properly inflated tires and verified with a bubble level and eyeballing.
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rpod 178
Grand Caravan
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offgrid
Senior Member
Joined: 23 Jul 2018
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Posts: 5290
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Posted: 16 Oct 2018 at 11:18am |
Ha Ha, I grew up in Santa Cruz so I know the Mystery Spot well. Last time I went there I took out my iphone to check compass bearings and level and the guide made me put it away. No fun....I had a friend who lived just down the road from there and funny how he never had any problems at his house, or with his axle weight imbalance either :).
No, its not really that hard to measure a half inch side to side differential in axle deflection. Don't measure to the ground, measure to the hub. And when that measurement lines up with the spring rate you're seeing and the side to side weight difference you're expecting, you can be pretty confident that it all makes sense. You shouldn't see nearly that much imbalance in your 172 BTW.
Not that any of this is a big deal other than the heavy side is pushing the axle/wheel/tire weight limits on the heavier rPods.
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1994 Chinook Concourse
1995 RV6A Experimental Aircraft
2015 Rpod 179 - sold
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lostagain
Senior Member
Joined: 06 Sep 2016
Location: Quaker Hill, CT
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 2587
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Posted: 16 Oct 2018 at 10:31am |
Wow! Just think, 300 pounds of bacon to balance the trailer. That's some yummy breakfasts. And some delicious BLT sandwiches.
Again, on a serious note, measuring a 1" list has a lot of variables that make me wonder whether it is accurate. One must start with an exactly level parking place, have the tire inflation exactly even, have laser level capable of accuracy to within a fraction an inch or millimeter to measure the list. Simply putting the trailer on what appears to be a flat surface and eyeballing it leads to very substantial inaccuracies. Our eyes don't see things as we think. That's why the Mystery Spot near Santa Cruz makes so much money tricking our visual cues into thinking the world is not what it is.
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Never leave footprints behind.
Fred & Maria Kearney
Sonoma 167RB
Our Pod 172
2019 Ford F-150 4x4 2.7 EcoBoost
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offgrid
Senior Member
Joined: 23 Jul 2018
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Posts: 5290
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Posted: 16 Oct 2018 at 10:26am |
GlueGuy, for sure the side to side weight difference accounts for most of it.
I weigh 230 lbs and when I put my weight on my step that side of the trailer drops maybe 3/8 of an inch. We all have pretty much the same 3500 lb torsion axles on our trailers and torsion axles are supposed to have linear spring rates, meaning that the deflection is proportional to the weight imposed. So, roughly 1/2 inch defection for 300 lbs.
My 179 sits about 1/2 inch lower on the slide side (slide in). I can easily believe a side to side difference of 300 lbs on the 179 which has the fridge (100 lbs empty), microwave (45 lb), full water heater (80 lbs), furnace (30 lbs) and the slide all on that side, and only the plastic bathroom on the other side to balance it.
The 178 is similar, probably a little worse. But 3/4 inch (450 lbs) difference is stretching it a bit. malkbean2, do you carry a bunch of heavy supplies in the kitchen cabinets? If so, can you move those to the passenger side as much as possible? That's what I do, although I know that would be harder in a 178.
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1994 Chinook Concourse
1995 RV6A Experimental Aircraft
2015 Rpod 179 - sold
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lostagain
Senior Member
Joined: 06 Sep 2016
Location: Quaker Hill, CT
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 2587
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Posted: 16 Oct 2018 at 10:16am |
It's that darn gravity. She pulls stuff to the center of the mass and she doesn't respect our sense of balance and aesthetics.
Seriously though, one inch of list is likely, as GlueGuy suggests, to be from weight differential due to the location of heavier stuff on one side as opposed the other. Remember, the axle manufacturers build axles with equal torsion for both wheels, thus if something weighs more, like a slide out, on one side as compared to the other, it will make the trailer list a little.
If you wan't to have the trailer balanced such that both sides are equal, put some jugs of water in the higher side to the point that the weight balances the trailer. The advantage, is that you'll have some extra water along, which is always useful.
It is not likely that one of the torsion springs in your axle is failing, though anything is possible. These torsion springs, if I understand this type of axle correctly, are rubber rods that twist with the ups and downs experienced by each wheel. They would likely deteriorate over time pretty much evenly. Of course, it is always possible that some contaminant got into the rubber during manufacturing that went unnoticed and is causing one rod to be a little more flexible than another.
Since your Pod will spend most of it's life on uneven roads and slanted parking places in camp sites, a 1" list is not going to result in any harm to the trailer.
As I flail away on the keyboard drinking my morning coffee and hoping that they don't close for the winter the campground I'm heading to tomorrow, the thought occurs to me that maybe the best thing to do to balance this deviation is to put a small ice chest on the high side and load it with bacon until the weight balances out.
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Never leave footprints behind.
Fred & Maria Kearney
Sonoma 167RB
Our Pod 172
2019 Ford F-150 4x4 2.7 EcoBoost
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GlueGuy
Senior Member
Joined: 15 May 2017
Location: N. California
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Posts: 2630
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Posted: 16 Oct 2018 at 9:10am |
Originally posted by malkbean2
FYI
I called Forest River. They said up to 1 inch lean is ok. I still dont like it though - it probably means the torsion spring suspension is going on the fritz. I just wonder if we are the only rpodders that have noticed this problem. |
That is just an acknowledgement that the slide side weighs more. If the suspension is identical right & left, then the heavy side is going to "list" for lack of a better term. Just like a car or truck with just a 200 lb driver is going to lean a little bit toward the driver's side. It is a fact of life.
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bp
2017 R-Pod 179 Hood River
2015 Ford F150 SuperCrew 4WD 3.5L Ecoboost
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malkbean2
Groupie
Joined: 31 Jan 2017
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Posts: 80
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Posted: 16 Oct 2018 at 6:59am |
FYI
I called Forest River. They said up to 1 inch lean is ok. I still dont like it though - it probably means the torsion spring suspension is going on the fritz. I just wonder if we are the only rpodders that have noticed this problem.
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rpod 178
Grand Caravan
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MPRpod
Newbie
Joined: 11 Apr 2015
Location: Golden, CO
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 10
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Posted: 15 Oct 2018 at 2:01pm |
Nice to get on this forum again. Sadly, we sold our beloved RPod last year but enjoy many fond memories as we see them roll by from time to time.
In reference to your question, we didn't do anything about it. After talking to the dealer and doing a bunch of online research, we concluded that it was normal and within reason. I recall there was a height difference from one side to the other of about 1-2 inches but can't remember exactly (perhaps it's in the original post). In any case, I could detect no adverse consequence to the "listing" other than offending my insatiable need for symmetry.
Sorry I can't be more insightful but I wish you happy trails!
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