Podmods, Maintenance, Tips and Tricks: New Tow Vehicle Recomendations?

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New Tow Vehicle Recomendations?

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Forum Name: Podmods, Maintenance, Tips and Tricks
Forum Discription: Ask maintenance questions, share your podmods (modifications) and helpful tips
URL: http://www.rpod-owners.com/forum_posts.asp?TID=8975
Printed Date: 24 May 2025 at 3:39pm
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Topic: New Tow Vehicle Recomendations?

Posted By: craigwood
Subject: New Tow Vehicle Recomendations?
Date Posted: 01 Nov 2016 at 9:17am

Newby here. Longtime browser of this fantastic forum. We love our 2015 model 179 and have used a '92 F250 diesel PU for our tow vehicle and am looking for suggestions on a replacement full size PU. The new Ford F-150 with the 3.5L ecoboost V6 engine sounds good but living in the mountains of Idaho I wonder about all the steep mountain passes I have to negotiate to go anywhere. I'm afraid the little V6 will be running in turbo mode full time - how could that be good? Does a V8 make more sense? I like the Chevy & GMC 1500 models equally as well with the larger engines. My '92 F250 had plenty of pulling power but still struggled pulling the R-pod at sustained speeds up big hills. Any thoughts or suggestions from the wonderful contributors of this forum? When spending around $50k for a new tow vehicle I want to be sure it will adequately do the job for me. Thanks!

Replies:

Posted By: craigwood
Date Posted: 01 Nov 2016 at 9:31am

I will try to re-post the above in someplace other than 'calendar events' - my mistake.

Posted By: StephenH
Date Posted: 01 Nov 2016 at 9:44am

Some of the newer Diesel engines would be great. I don't know if the '92 diesel was turbocharged. The newer models are and would perform better. I understand that Ford will be coming out with a Diesel powered F150 for the 2018 model year if you can wait. Other options are the Jeep Grand Cherokee, the Chevy Colorado, the Dodge Ram 1500, the Nissan Titan XD, or (if VW gets the permission to sell them again) the VW Tuareg. There may be others as well.

The 3.5L Ecoboost V6 would probably be up to the task. I am towing with a Ford Escape with the 2L Ecoboost 4 cylinder. It has sufficient power to tow our 179. We have probably towed about 10,000 miles with it so far. The down side is that you will need to use premium fuel when towing. The cost of premium in most places is significantly higher than regular and in most places we have been is significantly higher than Diesel fuel as well. Another thing to consider is that a turbocharged Diesel will outperform a turbocharged gasoline engine and both will outperform a naturally aspirated engine at higher altitudes.

Air resistance also comes into play. At higher speeds, the pod acts like a big drag chute. Limiting your speeds to 60 mph helps. I use an AeroPlus by PurpleLine wind deflector to help also. Both of these have contributed to me getting significantly better mileage than when I was trying to hit higher speeds without the wind deflector. It also helps with head and cross winds.

Hopefully, this has been useful.

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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: Ten16
Date Posted: 01 Nov 2016 at 11:15am

I can speak to the F-150 Supercrew V8 5.0. You can pull the Pod with very few worries. I can hardly tell it's even there. It's way more than you'll ever need for the pod, but I kind of like having the horses in reserve. I have to govern myself even on major inclines because my speed can creep up higher than it should for pulling without taxing the V8 at all. I test drove the V6 EB but not with a trailer, so I can't really speak to your question on that, but I know I felt the difference in the two.

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Steve
2016 R-Pod 180
2011 F-150 FX4 Supercrew V8
Middle Tennessee

Posted By: ToolmanJohn
Date Posted: 01 Nov 2016 at 5:58pm

Volkswagen will likely never sell another TDI product in North America.

Even though they are great daily drivers and great tow vehicles for anything under 7700 pounds, I wouldn't buy a Touareg TDI right now.

The gasoline version is still for sale. It also has the exact same tow capability as the diesel TDI version. But the diesel version tows nicer and with much better fuel economy.

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2017 ATC 7X20 Custom Toy Hauler
2013 R-Pod 177 (SOLD)
2013 VW Touareg TDI

Posted By: craigwood
Date Posted: 02 Nov 2016 at 1:03pm

Thanks all for the quick answers. My original post should have mentioned I need a full size PU for firewood collection, building our home, and other such needs. A full size PU is the perfect width for towing our pod - don't even need towing mirrors to see behind. Probably a gas V8 over anything smaller will be my best choice to replace the '92 F250 diesel (not turbo). Past experiences with Nissan and Dodge negate those options, and the Toyota Tundra is a beautiful truck in need of updates - like improved fuel economy. Just my opinion. All of our towing to date has been in MT, ID, OR & WA, with trips to the desert SW in the spring and CO in the fall - lots of mountain passes so I think I need plenty of power. Again, thanks!

Posted By: NoDak
Date Posted: 02 Nov 2016 at 8:45pm

Don't discount the Ford V6 Eco-boost engines. Lots of towing power, and somewhat better gas mileage.

Posted By: Bboudens
Date Posted: 03 Nov 2016 at 9:55am

Hey There Craigwood, I'm using a Chevy 1500 as tow vehicle and living in the Canadian Rockies I can soundly vouch for it's towing prowess. Mine has a rating for 10,000 lbs. An can pull along the mountain passes like the trailer is not even there. Plus the cylinder deactivation when you are not towing is a great feature too. I average about 740 Km to a tank and not much less when towing.

However, The eco-boots with those superchargers will prob. preform just as well due to its performance at altitude is not affected.

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Keep your stick on the ice
2016 178HRE
2011 Silverado 1500