Newbie
Printed From: R-pod Owners Forum
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=8898
Printed Date: 05 May 2024 at 2:09pm
Software Version: Web Wiz Forums 9.64 - http://www.webwizforums.com
Topic: Newbie
Posted By: Zeldapod
Subject: Newbie
Date Posted: 10 Oct 2016 at 10:09pm
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Hi everyone. Just bought a 2017 Rpod 179 and loving it. Downsized from a 29 foot. Rpod tows nicely. First camp trip next weekend at the Pinery. Can't wait to have some camping fun.
2017 Rpod 179 Zeldapod |
Replies:
Posted By: furpod
Date Posted: 10 Oct 2016 at 10:12pm
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Welcome.
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Posted By: M&M
Date Posted: 11 Oct 2016 at 10:14am
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Congratulations and welcome to the group! We've had our 2017 179 since August and we've been out a few times already! We love it. Happy Travels!
------------- 2017 179 "Big Sexy" 2012 Honda Pilot |
Posted By: dr2428
Date Posted: 11 Oct 2016 at 11:56am
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Welcome to the forum, I'm also a newbie, bought our 2017 179 late August and absolutely love it. Been out 4 times since on short weekends, 3 of those trips less than 40 miles round trip, 1 at 150 miles round trip. This forum is packed with people with trustworthy information, and the replies come quicker than on any other forum I've been on. I have answered nearly all my newbie questions here, hopefully soon I can contribute something useful. Curious, what are you towing with? If a light duty TV, how does it tow? I ask because I use a Hyundai Santa Fe with a 5000lb limit which does very well. The 179 is pretty light and easy to tow. I think there may be a lot of people looking for non-truck towing options, if you have one please share. Good luck with your 179 ------------- 2017 RPod 179 2018 Chevy Colorado Z71 4x4 |
Posted By: birderdiane526
Date Posted: 11 Oct 2016 at 4:37pm
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Congratulations! We love our 2016 179! Wishing you great adventures! ------------- Diane and Michael 2016 179 "PIP" (PODDING IN PARADISE) 2007 Toyota Tundra BLOG:Podding in Paradise, birderdiane526.blogspot.com |
Posted By: Leo B
Date Posted: 11 Oct 2016 at 5:50pm
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Welcome to the group! Congrats on your 179! ------------- Leo & Melissa Bachand 2017 Ford F150 2021 Vista Cruiser 19 csk Previously owned 2015 Rpod 179 2010 Rpod 171 |
Posted By: Hi-Line
Date Posted: 11 Oct 2016 at 8:26pm
| I have a 2016 179...great trailer. I've been out about 25 days in the last 2 months...towed over 2,000 miles. No problems towing, even in strong winds, but I have a 2016 Toyota Tundra with a big engine. Have fun with your r.pod! |
Posted By: StephenH
Date Posted: 12 Oct 2016 at 2:05pm
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Congratulations and welcome! We picked up our 179 last December and have about 10,000 miles of towing with it. Our first trip was from North Carolina to Nevada and Arizona. The second long trip was to Louisville, KY. The third was to western New York State. The fourth was to western NC (Cherokee and the "Unto These Hills" pagent), parts of the Blue Ridge Parkway, to New Jersey, Vermont, eastern New York, Pennsylvania, Maryland, and return. This also includes more limited trips such as a short trip to a nearby park or to the dealer for service. Our R-Pod is great! We tow it with a Ford Escape SE with 2L Ecoboost engine and factory tow package giving us a 3500 lb tow rating. We use an Equal-i-zer hitch. Even though we tow with a smaller vehicle, the turbo makes all the difference. I would not necessarily recommend our TV to anyone, but it is what we have and it works. I hope you enjoy your 179 as much as we are enjoying ours. ------------- 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: lisaandrick
Date Posted: 12 Oct 2016 at 10:35pm
| Hi there!! We pick up our new 2017 'blue' R-pod 179 tomorrow (!!) and we are towing with the Santa Fe XL (5000lb limit) as well. Going to get the E2 so hopefully that will provide enough weight distribution/sway control support... I will let you know tomorrow!! |
Posted By: birderdiane526
Date Posted: 13 Oct 2016 at 8:13am
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Congratulations and wishing you happy trails! ------------- Diane and Michael 2016 179 "PIP" (PODDING IN PARADISE) 2007 Toyota Tundra BLOG:Podding in Paradise, birderdiane526.blogspot.com |
Posted By: StephenH
Date Posted: 13 Oct 2016 at 10:04am
Congratulations and welcome! You will probably be fine with that setup. I have the Equal-i-zer, but the Fastway E2 is also a good choice and should be fine. Just take it easy until you get used to it. Also, check as the dealer's setup will not necessarily be correct after you get it loaded for actual use. I ended up having to adjust mine. ------------- 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: Blue Highways
Date Posted: 15 Oct 2016 at 10:16am
Stephen H... how was your experience on the Blue Ridge Parkway as far as towing, camping, etc? We just moved to NC, but surprisingly haven't yet run the WanderPod out on the parkway yet. We toured a portion of it last year while staying around Rollinsville but that was BP (before Pod). At that time, there were huge swarms of fast-approaching crotch-rocket motorcycles, leaning hard into the curves. Mom was along with us, so we'd bail off into a pull-out to occasionally let them by. But generally, I'd be curious about your experience Parkway Podding....
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Posted By: StephenH
Date Posted: 15 Oct 2016 at 11:02am
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We started at the southern end and drove until the 2nd exit. Then we got off and went over to I81 where we stayed for most of the distance. The left I81 at the last exit before the northern end of the BRP. The climb up to it was very challenging for our Escape. It was not for lack of power, but at the low speed of the climb, heat was a problem, even with a transmission cooler. Once I remembered to shut off the AC and open windows instead, the engine and transmission temps dropped and we made it the rest of the way to the entrance. We then drove to the northern end. We did pull off a couple of times, but there did not seem to be as many motorcycles the days we were on the BRP. We did not camp at any of the campgrounds this time. We had a shortage of available time and my wife wanted to see Monticello. I had originally planned on staying at Big Meadow or Loft Mountain, but that will have to wait until another trip.We did enjoy our stay in the http://www.cherokeesmokies.com/camp/ - Cherokee campground while we were in western NC. ------------- 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: Blue Highways
Date Posted: 15 Oct 2016 at 11:27am
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Wow, thanks Stephen.... Yep, understand the whole concern about steep inclines. Low speed lugging doesn't often push enough cooling air thru the radiator. There's a manual trans setting on our TV, so I can select just 1st or second gear and keep that fan blade spinning a little faster, (below redline of course!). Forgot about those occasional steep access ramps up to join the BRP. LOVED the link to Cherokee CG, that was primo... thank you so much. Keep it safe out there. ------------- There are no unimportant jobs, no unimportant people, no unimportant acts of kindness. ( And as always, happiness is an inside job.) |
Posted By: StephenH
Date Posted: 15 Oct 2016 at 11:33am
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With front-wheel drive cars like our Escape, the radiator fan is electric, so the engine speed is irrelevant. The transmission on our Escape has an "S" mode and the shift lever has manual select buttons. For the most part, I put the Escape in S, which is supposed to be Sport. However, it could also stand for Schlepp. It locks out the top gear and changes the shift points. I have not tried controlling the gear with the manual option as the "S" mode seems to work well. ------------- 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: Blue Highways
Date Posted: 16 Oct 2016 at 10:44am
| Our daughter who lives north of Tampa has an Escape as her company vehicle. (Employees have a certain model choice range, and this is her second one.) We enjoyed and drove that vehicle for a week while they were on vacation. LOL on the "schlepp". But for our week, I felt the Escape has decent enough power. The Sport mode makes sense because that would change the shift points for more power, which would be the right choice for towing something. Forgot about the electric fan... I guess fans haven't been driven by accessory belts for years. Anyway, we are thinking about something similar for my wife... kinda leaning toward the 14+ Nissan Rogue at this point with the standard rear view camera and not overly complex techy dash, plus nice ride composure for somewhat reasonable price. New to living NW North Carolina...where we got married. Let me know sometime if you recommend AWD or if you figure we'd be just be fine on ice & snow with FWD, (being easy on the throttle and running good winter tires...) |
Posted By: StephenH
Date Posted: 16 Oct 2016 at 3:37pm
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I've not had AWD/4WD vehicles except for those I drove while I was in the Army. With the exception of my first and third cars (Chevy Corvair and Ford Falcon), all have been FWD. I have driven on snow and ice a number of times. FWD can be adequate and AWD/4WD tends to make some people a little overconfident. On ice, it does not much matter. Both types will get into trouble. A lot depends on what you want to do with it. I don't have any experience with the Nissan Rogues. Reviews in auto publications and Consumer Reports can provide better information than I can. ------------- 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 |