Hello from Texas
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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=8503
Printed Date: 24 May 2025 at 6:03am
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Topic: Hello from Texas
Posted By: Mojave1
Subject: Hello from Texas
Date Posted: 02 Aug 2016 at 8:27pm
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Just bought a 179 last week and intend a shake down trip this weekend. This is our second small travel trailer. The prior travel trailer weighed about the same but was square on front, therefore it was like pulling a sail boat. The 179 pulls so much better at highway speed. I've a 1994 Chevy K1500 with a 350. I'm the original owner, and as you might notice I've a hard time parting with it. I retired to California from the Army, but after the housing market crashed we headed for greener pastures (Texas). When I bought my first trailer, the one with the sail on front (LOL), it was summer so we headed for the mountains. Cooler air at 6,500 feet. On Highway 18, headed for Big Bear, and above Lucerne Valley there are a set of switch backs. Maximum grade I think is about 11%. Almost at the top, going around the last hard curve there was a pull out. I took it and let the cars pass. In L1, floored it, and the truck went backwards! You should have seen the look on my wife's face. Scared! I hit the brakes, went to Low 4 wheel drive and crawled on over the hill. A beautiful weekend in the mountains! L2 and on down the hill. Last straight away, brakes over heated and went to the floor board. Truck took off down the mountain. You should have seen the look on my wife's face! So, this must have happened before. There was this super long pull over. At the end of it we stopped. Brake smell everywhere! Welp, that's how I learned everything. Rebuilt the engine and added a torque cam. Much better! Also, I try not to use the brakes going down any more than I have to. L1 works on that mountain so much better. Anybody else have any crazy experiences with grades or wind?
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Replies:
Posted By: Leo B
Date Posted: 02 Aug 2016 at 8:40pm
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Welcome to the group! Congrats on your 179!! Sounds like you been having some fun!
------------- Leo & Melissa Bachand 2017 Ford F150 2021 Vista Cruiser 19 csk Previously owned 2015 Rpod 179 2010 Rpod 171 |
Posted By: techntrek
Date Posted: 02 Aug 2016 at 8:41pm
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Welcome. Its amazing how slow a take-off can be even with a modern engine at 8000 feet and 90+ F with 6000 pounds behind you! Never had to drop to low but maybe with another 100K on the engine I'll have to! I've been teaching my wife to downshift on the big downhills to save the brakes. Not many of them around our house but she does all of the sightseeing driving after we unhitch on trips. ------------- Doug ~ '10 171 (2009-2015) ~ 2008 Salem ~ http://www.rpod-owners.com/forum_posts.asp?TID=1723 - Pod instruction manual 
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Posted By: Podster
Date Posted: 03 Aug 2016 at 6:55am
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Hello and congratulations on the new 179! ------------- Cliff & Raelynn Ranger 4.0/178 (1/2 ton 5,800lb tow capacity) |
Posted By: bjk
Date Posted: 04 Aug 2016 at 10:14pm
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My F-150 is a V6 automatic and I learned that it has a smart mind of its own when the grade exceeds 6% going down. Automatically down shifted to second gear and wouldn't let go until the grade leveled out. freaked me out the first time it did it as I thought something went wrong and nothing I tried would pop it out with the RPMs much higher than I liked. Talked with a few afterwards and said it was a feature. It must have a sensor to determine the grade as the return trip, it did it only when the down grade exceeded about 6% and faithfully as soon as it leveled out did it upshift. ------------- 2016 HRE R-179 "CapPODccino" 2011 F-150 SLX |
Posted By: StephenH
Date Posted: 05 Aug 2016 at 9:23am
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We just did the southern and northern ends of the Blue Ridge Parkway, bypassing most of it by moving over to I81. On some of the uphill climbs, the OBDII indicated climbing engine and transmission temps. These reached a point where the dash chimed and flashed a message that engine power was being reduced to help keep the engine from overheating. On the climb up to the northern end of the BRP, it did likewise but also on one stretch warned me to stop as the engine was overheating. I stopped briefly and finally remembered to turn off the AC. Starting on the uphill grade was interesting, but we did not roll backwards. After turning off the AC, the temps stayed in a safe range. I will have the engine oil and transmission fluid replaced after this trip. The BRP was the most challenging terrain I have towed our RP179 on so far. We are towing with a Ford Escape SE with 2L Ecoboost engine. I do have to remember to cut the AC before the climb starts in the future instead of waiting until I get the warning. Otherwise, the Escape performed excellently while towing. ------------- 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: bjk
Date Posted: 05 Aug 2016 at 8:39pm
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My truck did well, although I didn't have anywhere near the distance to deal with. It was only a nasty slow, windy up/down stretch I took between Plummer, ID and St. Maries, ID (only a single nerve wracking hour). I was surprised that following the St. Joe River to Avery wasn't that bad, even though it is skirting through the foot hills of the Rockies. Although I should visit some friends and try the Lewiston grade (WA) as a warm up to taking on the Rockies (has at least 3, if not 4 runaway ramps on it. It was just me and my R-pod with a just a couple things in the bed. But it has gotten me to thinking how I'll route a trip I want to take from home (Oregon) to Denver and back. Hearing your story, techtrek's and other's stories have me wonder how I'll tackle it. Upgrading my truck isn't in the immediate financial future. ------------- 2016 HRE R-179 "CapPODccino" 2011 F-150 SLX |
Posted By: techntrek
Date Posted: 06 Aug 2016 at 6:39pm
GM does the same when tow/haul mode is on. The amount of downshift depends on grade and amount of braking. It also does it when cruise control is set and the speed increases on downgrades. The auto-downshift is disabled when manual mode is selected (shifting from D to M so you can manually downshift) so when I would prefer to disable it I shift to M. Useful on some downgrades where I would rather gain a little extra speed for free, like the steep rolling hills in Missouri. ------------- Doug ~ '10 171 (2009-2015) ~ 2008 Salem ~ http://www.rpod-owners.com/forum_posts.asp?TID=1723 - Pod instruction manual
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Posted By: bjk
Date Posted: 06 Aug 2016 at 9:20pm
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Thanks for that tip! I'll have to remember that. I did try the manual mode on the hill (most of the time it does better than I would, so I just never mucked with that mode. ------------- 2016 HRE R-179 "CapPODccino" 2011 F-150 SLX |
Posted By: birderdiane526
Date Posted: 06 Aug 2016 at 10:48pm
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Welcome and congratulations on your new 179 POD! We are so happy with ours. We full-time but are domiciled in Livingston TX. Where in Texas are you from? ------------- Diane and Michael 2016 179 "PIP" (PODDING IN PARADISE) 2007 Toyota Tundra BLOG:Podding in Paradise, birderdiane526.blogspot.com |
Posted By: Mojave1
Date Posted: 07 Aug 2016 at 5:33pm
We're in the DFW area... Wow, full timing in a Rpod? If all else fails, the Rpod is our backup plan (LOL). Maybe one day, we'll full time in a 5ver. Retirement is about 10 years off yet. This area is growing so fast and property taxes are through the roof. I imagine they'll run me off. Part of the plan is to pay for the Rpod by downsizing. We we're at Lake Murray Oklahoma this weekend. Very hot late afternoons each day. AC was cranking and we stayed comfortable. Since this was the shake out cruise, we expected some problems, but all went well. We're very pleased! Aerodynamics. As mentioned earlier. We previously had a trailer of about the same weight but with a square front end. The 1994 Chevy K1500 5.7 got about 6 mpg with that. The Rpod is a relaxed pull at highway speeds. We averaged 9 mpg on 2 lane country roads. Rolling hills, meandering road, AC blasting, and stop signs. We we going between 55-65 mph. The Rpod is a great design. I think the Chevy would get about 15 mpg by itself on that route.
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