Introduce Yourself: Picking up my 2021 RPod 192 this weekend!

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Picking up my 2021 RPod 192 this weekend!

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Category: R-pod Discussion Forums
Forum Name: Introduce Yourself
Forum Discription: New Members - tell us about yourself and your r-pod
URL: http://www.rpod-owners.com/forum_posts.asp?TID=16132
Printed Date: 16 Jun 2025 at 12:36pm
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Topic: Picking up my 2021 RPod 192 this weekend!

Posted By: Mystical_Mama
Subject: Picking up my 2021 RPod 192 this weekend!
Date Posted: 19 Feb 2025 at 6:55pm

I am introducing myself but mostly, I am wanting to know the best forum(s) to get help with towing and modifying my 192 for full-time RVing.

I am a solo female who will be travelling with 2 small dogs and a semi-feral cat (!!). I bought the trailer but it is located 400 miles away in Northern CA so this weekend, I am headed back up to hitch it up and tow it "home".

I am very nervous lol

I have zero experience towing anything other than a small utility trailer when I was like 20 years old!

So, my first set of questions will be about getting it home. Which forum would be best to ask questions about towing with a Tacoma?

Happy to be here!

I cant wait to get it home and get to the fun stuff - modifying it for full-time living!

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"And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same." - Marianne Williamson

Replies:

Posted By: gpokluda
Date Posted: 20 Feb 2025 at 8:38am

Congrats on your purchase! At first, towing can be scary but eventually, you will get the hang of it. Tell us a little more about the Rpod and your Tacoma. What year, motor and transmission are in the Taco? Does it have a break modulator/controller to take advantage of the electric brakes on the Rpod? What type of hitch will you be using? Do you know the condition of the Rpod? When were the bearings and brakes last serviced? What condition are the tires in? I know 400 miles does not seem very far, but 400 miles towing a trailer can be a long day.

FWIW, we towed our 179 with a 2016 Nissan Frontier for over 50K miles with no issues.

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Gpokluda
2017 Rpod 179(sold 2023)
2022 Escape 5.0TA
2022 Ford F150 4X4 3.5EB
Kawasaki KLR650

Posted By: GlueGuy
Date Posted: 20 Feb 2025 at 10:50am

We need more information. The 192 is a little on the heavier side, so your Tacoma will need to be set up to handle 400-500 pounds of tongue weight. Hopefully, it's a V6?

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bp
2017 R-Pod 179 Hood River
2015 Ford F150 SuperCrew 4WD 3.5L Ecoboost

Posted By: Mystical_Mama
Date Posted: 20 Feb 2025 at 11:15am

The RPod is in great condition - very lightly used. It comes with a WD hitch and anti-sway bars. My Tacoma is a 2017 SR5 4x4 with a mid-height Leer camper shell (after market and different color lol). I had the brake controller installed the same day as my shell, brake lights and dome light.

I am splitting up the 400 miles into 2-200 mile days.

I asked the used car lot owner about the bearings but not brakes. He didn't seem concerned about the bearings. I asked a mobile RV tech if I needed an inspection before I bought it and he was familiar with my RPod (he lives in the same town where the RPod is located) and he also said not to worry.

He did suggest after I get it home to hire someone to do some maintenance before I take it out on the road for a few months at a time.

I basically have to trust folks who have more experience than me! Including online experts!

The tires look great but they are Castle Rock brand which I've read are not desireable so I will be upgrading to a better tire that the tire shop in my town suggested but that will be after I get it home.

I love knowing folks tow RPods with SUVs!! I am trying to stay as conservative as possible with weight.

Since the trailer is basically empty, should I put any weight in it for the tow home? any water ( a few gallons) in the black tank or in the fresh water storage tank?

I will be sleeping in it Sat and Sunday night.

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"And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same." - Marianne Williamson

Posted By: Mystical_Mama
Date Posted: 20 Feb 2025 at 11:24am

I posted more info above and yes, my tow capacity is 6800 but I have not done the math yet for payload.

My Tacoma's GVWR is 5600lbs. My truck weighs 4060 according to the internet lol and the tongue weight of the RPod is 460 lbs. My passenger and I are around 320 lbs total and my Leer camper shell is (okay I cant get a straight answer but I am assuming it is at least 200 lbs) so total of 980 lbs with nothing else in my truck.

WOW - that adds up!

I will be possibly adding leaf springs at a later date - I have no actual idea if the suspension is related to the payload max but I am thinking there is a relationship.

Am I going to be ok??

Once I get on the road in June, I was planning on using my truck for some storage and it will also have my small dogs and cat plus crates.

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"And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same." - Marianne Williamson

Posted By: gpokluda
Date Posted: 20 Feb 2025 at 1:21pm

Sounds like you are off to a good start and have done your homework. My gut tells me you are going to be okay, simply because you have been able to answer our questions and you are breaking the trip into two segments; good move. I'm sure there will be advice from others, but my advise is to take your time. Keep your speed to 60-65mph and don't rush yourself. Trust your gut. If you sense something is not right, take the time to check it out.

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Gpokluda
2017 Rpod 179(sold 2023)
2022 Escape 5.0TA
2022 Ford F150 4X4 3.5EB
Kawasaki KLR650

Posted By: jato
Date Posted: 20 Feb 2025 at 3:50pm

Congratulations, you are off to a great start! Appears you have done a lot of homework on this endeavor. Bravo !! An easy thing to overlook when getting tires - be sure to replace your spare as well. We have been extremely pleased with the Carlisle Radial Trail HD load range "D". Equal quality and performance as goodyear endurance for a lot less $$$ and comes with a warranty that is 2X longer. Something to consider.

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God's pod
'11 model 177
'17 Ford F-150 4WD 3.5 Ecoboost
Jim and Diane by beautiful Torch Lake
"...and you will know the Truth and the Truth will set you free."

Posted By: Mystical_Mama
Date Posted: 20 Feb 2025 at 4:19pm

Thanks for the recc on tires. My tire guy has had bad luck with GY Endurance so he told me to stay away from them. I will definitely mention the Carlisle Radial trail HD!

Yes, I have been doing my homework since 2017! I bought my first TT that year (Northwoods Snow River) and planned to buy a big truck but instead was offered to live in it on 5 acres for free so I did that and never towed it a single mile!

Then, I bought a house in 2019 and did the homeowner thing for 6 years. That got old and expensive. I bought my Tacoma 3 years ago, not realizing how limiting it would be to pull a trailer but alas, I like my Taco a lot and I do delivery for a living (extra money on top of my pension) so having a V8 doesn't make sense.

I have loved the RPod since I first saw them and now here I am - 8 years later, ready to realize my dream of traveling with the weather and visiting family and friends up and down the West Coast!

I will be renting out my house for traveling nurses while I RV and I will come back to my house a few months out of the year.

Is there a specific forum I should join about modifying my 192? And RVing fulltime?

I am about to drop 3.5K on a Thousand Trails membership so Id love to hear real world experience on things like that as well as technical help.

Thanks for the encouragement! I NEED IT lol

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"And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same." - Marianne Williamson

Posted By: StephenH
Date Posted: 20 Feb 2025 at 4:59pm

Consider adding SumoSprings to your Tacoma. When we had the Frontier, I added them and it made a HUGE difference. Since the Tacoma and the Frontier are both mid-sized pickups, I would expect SumoSprings would make a great difference for you as well.

http://superspringsinternational.com/sumosprings/ - http://superspringsinternational.com/sumosprings/

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StephenH
Happy is the man that findeth wisdom,...

http://www.rpod-owners.com/forum_posts.asp?TID=7712 - ouR escaPOD mods
Former RPod 179
Current Cherokee Grey Wolf 24 JS

Posted By: GlueGuy
Date Posted: 21 Feb 2025 at 11:14am

I think you may not need the extra springs, as the WDH should handle the load balancing. You will probably need to adjust the settings on the WDH because every truck/trailer combo is different.

We have towed our RP179 with our Tacoma (2010 SR5, crew cab, long box, V6), and it does fine except in the mountains where it struggles. The WDH works, but we've got it set for our F150, which pulls the RP179 with its eyes closed (and is our much preferred towing vehicle).

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bp
2017 R-Pod 179 Hood River
2015 Ford F150 SuperCrew 4WD 3.5L Ecoboost

Posted By: StephenH
Date Posted: 21 Feb 2025 at 12:51pm

SumoSprings may not strictly be needed, but I found that they improved the ride greatly, both when the trailer was connected and when it was not. The springs in the Frontier we had were really too weak to work well when there was any sort of load in the truck bed. The Tacoma may be better, but that does not mean that the ride can't be improved.

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StephenH
Happy is the man that findeth wisdom,...

http://www.rpod-owners.com/forum_posts.asp?TID=7712 - ouR escaPOD mods
Former RPod 179
Current Cherokee Grey Wolf 24 JS