My husband and I have been contemplating buying a camper for years.  Growing up, his family had a camper on a permanent lot.  Most of his memories were made "at camp".  We have always looked at the R-Pod, but were not sure we were going to buy new.  We have decided that we work hard and are planning to keep a camper a long time, so maybe we can buy new.  We looked at the 171 a few days ago, and wanted to look at a 177, but the one on the lot was sold so we were only allowed to look from the door as it was already being prepped in the garage for pick up.  

One of the reasons for the R-Pod, other than we are artsy and love the look, the floor plan, and the "certified Grean", is that it is weighs less than most.  We are a Jeep family.  We have a 2006 Jeep Wrangler Unlimited 6cylinder inline 6 engine 4.0 and a 2000 Jeep Cherokee exactly the same engine.  We do not want to buy a new vehicle.  Most people that have Jeeps understand "It's a Jeep Thing".  I'm sure the same can be said for the R-Pod.  My husband and I are waiting for the 177 to come in this week so that we can see it in person.  After that, we are ready to buy.  

2 questions:

1.  Will our Jeeps pull the R-Pod?

2.  What is the preference between the 171 and 177?  We are a couple with no kids at this time, but we picked these two floor plans for the full time bed and dinette.  

Thank you for any advice.  I've been doing a lot of reading on here and decided to ask for help.  My husband and I are both teachers so we realize the best people to ask advice of are the ones that have the most wisdom......the owners

We welcome more responses and will keep you updated after we check out the 177 this week.

 

Also a Jeep family here, we pull our 181g with a 2004 Cherokee with the exact same engine as what you folks have.  We're a bit slow on large hills but a lot of people are.  That being said my wife does want a new TV but she just gets scared on hills and things like that.  I think we tow just fine, I'd perhaps be more fearful of true "mountainous" traveling, but we've even dabbled near and around some of that and again although slow at times no big issues.

 

And since you mentioned it... 

 

First the 4.0 jeep engine has all the power needed to pull any Rpod up to about 3,000Lb. The issues are all about the gearing and the vehicle size and frame strength.

If your Cherokee is a 4X4 it will have lower gears than a 2 wheel drive model.  That is good.  You didnt say if it was a stick or auto although both are really great transmissions.  A 2 wheel drive model generally has higher gears unless it came with a factory tow package.  An after market hitch is not the same low gearing as a factory tow package. 

 

You need to check your vehicles rated tow capacaty. Which can be obtained by contacting Chrysler jeep or if you have an owners manual.  Online search may get the answers also.  you can get a "build sheet" on your jeeps by calling Chrysler jeep and asking for it.  If your gears are 4.10 ratio you are better off than if they are 3.73 ir 3.21 etc. (The higher the final ratio the lower the gears).  You need to tow at least 500lbs under the max rating.

 

As for the Wrangler unlimited.  Again the manufacturers rated tow capacaty is everyting.  If your unlimited is a Rubicon it will have lower gears which is good.  In the Wranglers case a stick is better than an auto.

 

A simple test that I did was to rent a uhaul enclosed utility trailer of approximately the same size.  In my case I found one that weighed 2000Lb and I added weight inside to match the 2500lb of the Rpod I was going to buy.  I spent a day towing it all over. 

 

 I found that I was ok on flat roads at up to about 60mph but it was really hard on my auto transmission above that or into a strong wind or on hills.  My jeeps have less power in the engines and more importantly less torque than yours as the newer models came out with an enemic 3.8L put put engine.  Also my jeeps are rated at 3500lb towing.

 

If you rent a trailer and do the tow test you will know the answer. 

 

By the way, I am currently in the mountains of Colorado and had a nightmare getting my pod over the high passes.  In one case I was going 10mph in first gear before clearing the top.  But again my jeep issues are different than yours.  Jus try to test tow under the same conditions you will travel. 

 

By the way each Rpod has a yellow sticker on it with its actual tested weight, certified, on it.  check it out before buying.

 

Good luck

The big thing is to just drive at a speed you are comfortable with and let people pass. We have found driving between 50-55 we get the best mileage. Don't think you could go wrong with either model.