Gravel road rated
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Forum Name: Miscellaneous / Off-topic
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URL: http://www.rpod-owners.com/forum_posts.asp?TID=15356
Printed Date: 19 May 2024 at 12:25pm
Software Version: Web Wiz Forums 9.64 - http://www.webwizforums.com
Topic: Gravel road rated
Posted By: poohbill
Subject: Gravel road rated
Date Posted: 01 Jul 2022 at 3:43pm
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We find ourselves on western Forest roads with the Gastropod, banging it up on waffleboarded and potholed gravelled surfaces. I agree with the manufacturer that R-Pods aren't designed or built for this. Has anyone found an alternative that is gravel road rated? Or, found their pod holding together better than expected? I sure would be willing to trade airconditioning and the microwave away for heavier connections, but am limited in my towing capacity to around 5,000lbs.
Bill
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Replies:
Posted By: offgrid
Date Posted: 02 Jul 2022 at 1:03pm
There are lots of companies offering off road trailers. But of course they are much more heavily constructed so to stay within your weight restriction you would need to get a much smaller trailer without all the amenities. Expensive too. Some are expandable to try to compensate. Take a look at opus camper for example.
And no rpods don't really hold up better than expected. There are lots of reports of bent axles, frames, sagging floors, and cabinets shaking loose, etc on this forum and elsewhere.
IMHO there ain't no free lunch. To paraphrase the old saying: light weight, robust construction, space, choose any two. So consider getting a heavier TV if you have the coin, or just travel VERY SLOWLY (like walking speed) when you get on rough roads. The latter is what I did. You get there eventually and without damage, just have to be patient.
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1994 Chinook Concourse
1995 RV6A Experimental Aircraft
2015 Rpod 179 - sold
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Posted By: RoverPod
Date Posted: 03 Jul 2022 at 6:48am
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I saw one of these on the Blue Ridge Parkway. The guy had a whole bunch of solar panels on the trailer and on his pickup truck.
https://www.blackseries.net/travel-trailers/
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2017 F150 XLT SuperCab
2020 rPod 180
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Posted By: offgrid
Date Posted: 03 Jul 2022 at 8:32am
Wow, the smallest one is over $70k and weighs 4400 lbs dry. You could buy a really nice heavy TV for that. Overkill for the Parkway for sure.
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1994 Chinook Concourse
1995 RV6A Experimental Aircraft
2015 Rpod 179 - sold
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Posted By: lostagain
Date Posted: 03 Jul 2022 at 11:46am
We have found that our trailer does reasonably well on bumpy and dirt roads, though I certainly wouldn't take it off road that some of the small heavy very high clearance trailers can manage. With no slide out, minimal overhang from the frame rails, high ground clearance with leaf springs, and I-beam frame rails, it seems to be plenty sturdy for managing some pretty bad roads, provided one drives slowly. The biggest limitation is the hitch clearance. The weight distribution torsion bars stick down a bit and limit crossing abrupt changes in ground clearance. If I take them off, then the back end of the TV drops a bit and the bottom of the E-2 hitch is about as low as the bottom of the torsion bars.
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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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Posted By: offgrid
Date Posted: 03 Jul 2022 at 4:36pm
But your Sonoma is not really towable by a 5000 lb rated TV like the OP has, right LA?
Possibly one of the NuCamp Tabs might work ok with care on FS roads. They are light enough for a 5000 lb TV and (I think) better constructed relative to FR products.
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1994 Chinook Concourse
1995 RV6A Experimental Aircraft
2015 Rpod 179 - sold
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Posted By: lostagain
Date Posted: 03 Jul 2022 at 6:53pm
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It all depends upon the margin over the weight of the trailer you want with your towing capacity.
The GVWR of our trailer is 4400 lbs., so it would give a tad better than a 10% margin with a 5000 lb. towing capacity. Poohbill may find it perfectly adequate, unless he is towing in very steep terrain at high altitudes with a naturally aspirated engine.
We've taken it on US Forest Service roads with no issues. Again, going slow and avoiding very abrupt grade changes where the hitch could hit. If we had a set of those fancy air shocks to raise the back of the truck to get more ground clearance, hitch clearance would be no problem.
The NuCamp Tab is a really nice trailer, but for some, it's a little on the cramped side. We've spent as long as 6 weeks in our Sonoma and never felt cramped. It's kind of nice to have the bed and dinette separate along with a full bath, a galley with a 3 burner stove and oven, and a 6 cu.ft. refrigerator with a big freezer. Also, we found that the insulated and enclosed floor on the chassis side has been effective in keeping things from freezing in some very cold temps, that I've posted about before.
Everyone has his or her preferences, as governed by the capacity to pay for what ever one may wish to buy. We paid about half of what a NuCamp Tab 320 costs. Add another $13K and you can get a 400. Even with the smaller camp sites in older campgrounds that we've been noting in New England's limited national forests and state campgrounds, our trailer fits into the small sites just fine. We couldn't be happier with the trailer we have, but that's our personal preference.
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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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Posted By: poohbill
Date Posted: 03 Jul 2022 at 7:45pm
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We bought the 20’ Gastropod 179 in 2016, then the Ridgeline the following year. They are a beautiful pair and match our needs perfectly. My garage limits my truck size and my truck size in turn limits the trailer. We have several favorite lakes in Montana and Wyoming we have traveled up to with the pair, learning not to stow heavy items in the trailer and how to make minor cabinet repairs when we did. After the first year of destruction, I slowed down significantly and left much earlier in the day. What I am seeing now isn't too bad all in all - it is a big box swaying much more than a structure of that volume should without internal bracing.
So, I'm looking toward the day when still constrained by my older, smaller, garage bays, the Gastropod serves up its last meal. It is our first trailer and I feel comfortable now towing something that size. Honestly, it tows so easy with my 2017 RTL that Coachman's Catalina Expedition (2’ longer and a half-ton heavier) seems doable.
We really like those high mountain lakes for the two months every year they are reachable. Unless the Forest is burning.
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Posted By: lostagain
Date Posted: 04 Jul 2022 at 5:33am
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Ufff, the forest burning. That's one of the reasons we moved from Dayton, NV. We couldn't go camping for most of last summer due to fires and closed campgrounds and were trapped in smoke even when we were home. I hope the fires are fewer and less destructive this year. It is truly heartbreaking.
The Catalina Expedition looks like a very nice trailer. Its GVWR appears to be right at the weight limit of the Ridge Line, so there isn't much of a margin of error. It's about the same length as our trailer and about 4" wider. The layout is practically identical to the bunkhouse version of the Sonoma, but it looks, from the spec list, to have some upgrades. I can't believe how much the prices of trailers have gone since we bought our Pod replacement, especially the single axle small trailers.
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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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Posted By: offgrid
Date Posted: 04 Jul 2022 at 5:49am
Originally posted by lostagain
The GVWR of our trailer is 4400 lbs., so it would give a tad better than a 10% margin with a 5000 lb. towing capacity.
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10% margin on towing capacity but not on GCWR. With a realistic 800 lbs of people, supplies, gear and a wdh in the Rigdeline, it is at 97% of gross combined vehicle rating. Still legal but marginal.
You have to remember that tow ratings do not assume a fully loaded tow vehicle. You'd have to check the tongue weight and rear axle load as well, tongue weight is very likely over. And a wdh does not give give you any weight increases.
I'm sure your Sonoma is a great trailer when towed behind an F150 which is significantly more capable than a Ridgeline or the Highlander I have. But it's too much trailer for that TV, especially considering the rough/steep road use case.
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1994 Chinook Concourse
1995 RV6A Experimental Aircraft
2015 Rpod 179 - sold
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Posted By: lostagain
Date Posted: 04 Jul 2022 at 6:37am
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It's really up to poohbill to determine what fits his needs best. I am sure he is perfectly capable of calculating his weight situation, especially if he uses one of the trailer weight apps. The problem is getting the data from the manufacturers to make the calculation. Some are a little vague about the CVGWR.
As for our Sonoma, the tongue weight is within the capacity of the R.L., with 40 pounds to spare, at least according to the manufacturer's trailer specs. Glad to see we agree on rough and steep roads.
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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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Posted By: David and Danette
Date Posted: 04 Jul 2022 at 8:07am
Nash RV and Outdoor RV build good off road RV's but the smallest would be heavier than a r-pod. They have shock absorbers on their axles to help soften the ride on bumpy roads and they have a stronger frame they are built for off road. The lightest I think is about 4,000 LBs. A few years back you could find used ones for a lot less money than they are now but that is true with about all RV's.
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2018 Vista Cruiser 19BFD (2018-
2012 Vibe 6503 (2014-2019)
2009 r-pod 171 (2009-2014)
Middle Tn
2014 Ram 1500 Quad cab
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Posted By: offgrid
Date Posted: 04 Jul 2022 at 8:44am
I too thought my 179 and Highlander (pretty much the same specs as the Ridgeline) combo were very well matched. We could carry everything I needed to and nothing else.
Here is a good towing calculator. All the specs for the TVs are quite readily available, including for the Ridgeline.
The main issue is to know your actual TV and trailer weights. No good way to really know that without going to a public scale, so it's best to do that with the TV, people and gear and just use the trailer max weight if you don't own the trailer yet.
I've yet to see an actual trailer tongue weight that is in line with published numbers. That is especially true when boondocking and carrying water, propane batteries, etc.
If your tongue weight is really the listed 400lbs on a 4400 lb trailer then it's too low at only 9%. You need a high tongue weight to counteract sway tendency, so the heavier the trailer the higher the tongue weight needs to be. I would just assume 13-14% of the max trailer weight for a trailer I couldn't weigh. This allows for weight to move further aft depending on how you load and still stay above the 10% number considered to be the bare minimum. My 179 ranged for 11 to 14 percent tongue weight depending on which tank(s) had water in them.
https://www.ajdesigner.com/apptrailertow/weightdistributionhitch.php - towing calculator
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1994 Chinook Concourse
1995 RV6A Experimental Aircraft
2015 Rpod 179 - sold
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Posted By: lostagain
Date Posted: 04 Jul 2022 at 9:26am
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I don't think anyone disagrees that one should not tow beyond the capacity of the TV, or even right at its limits. Weight is a variable issue, depending on the loading of the TV and trailer. As long as people keep within the limits of towing capacity, tongue limits, and CGVWR, things should be alright, assuming prudent driving while towing. Manufactures who mislead on weight issues expose themselves to liability for misrepresentation and that can be very costly if something awful happens. But, as in all things in life, we can count on manufacturers and sellers to push the limits, and sometimes beyond.
The person towing has a responsibility to do his/her homework and properly calculate towing weights. That certainly includes getting a baseline weight by actual measurement. If it turns out that the seller or manufacturer's figures are really off, there are remedies, but they can be costly to utilize.
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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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Posted By: offgrid
Date Posted: 05 Jul 2022 at 5:10pm
It would be very difficult to get recourse with a trailer manufacturer for stating too low a tongue weight.
The listed tongue weight is typically an unloaded trailer figure. That is because the DOT sets the gross trailer weight rating to be equal to the axle rating plus the lowest listed tongue weight. If the manufacturer were to state a higher tongue weight it would have to reduce the axle rating to avoid having tóo high a GTW.
In practice what that means is that while the manufacturer is responsible for stating an appropriate axle and GTW the user is responsible for keeping the tongue weight in range. After all the manufacturer can't control how he or she loads the trailer.
As for whether it's ok to load right up to the manufacturers limits, it's certainly legal to do so. But most folks with experience towing wouldn't do it, at least not for more than a short trip in good conditions. There is no reserve capacity left to maintain control for the weather, traffic or the other fun on the road surprises we have all experienced.
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1994 Chinook Concourse
1995 RV6A Experimental Aircraft
2015 Rpod 179 - sold
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