4-cyl towing thoughts?

 I just want to toss out that we already ARE towing, we HAVE towed over the Rockies and the Sierras, and the vehicle feels quite comfortable doing that. In CA, the highway speed limit for trailers is 55, and we tend to not exceed 60 anywhere. We don’t see the point in trying to go any faster - less control and higher fuel consumption. We aren’t in any hurry.  We don’t feel that it’s unsafe, and we bought the four-cylinder at the same time we bought the A-frame for that specific purpose. We bought the trailer at Camping World and they were aware of what we were considering for towing. You may or may not like Camping World - I certainly have my issues with them – but their shop didn’t think it would be a problem. Perhaps we’re shortening the engine life, but it only has 20,000 miles on it so far, so I think it has a ways to go.  We only do this a few weeks year. 

Getting a new TV is not an option. It’s a matter of towing or not towing an R Pod with what we have. Our current A-frame, a FR Flagstaff T12RB, is 2014 pounds according to ForestRiver. We have no add-ons and even have a subtraction: we use the dinette as a full-time second bed, so we took out the heavy particleboard table and replaced it with a much lighter sheet of plywood.  And we have very little in it. There are no cabinets to speak of, so we don’t carry anything. The small area under the sink holds less than 10 pounds of backpacking pots and pans, and the small drawer under the microwave holds our owners manual and registration.  We’ve never carried water ever. I do my dishes out at the camp spigot. 

In the outside hatches, we have plastic chocks and levelers, two folding lawnchairs and the electrical cord - that came with it.  And a small welcome mat to wipe our feet. We are not overloaded. 

Years ago, driving through Montana, we came across a poor dumb yuck who had been towing an overloaded travel trailer with a pickup. He must’ve been moving because it was loaded to the gills. And the reason I know it was loaded to the gills is because all his belongings were spread across the highway and down the embankment. He had spun, the trailer torqued onto its side, slid to the edge and had burst open. It was a mess and we felt sorry for him, but as soon as I ascertained that he wasn’t hurt, that he had a cell phone and had called for help, we drove around him and headed on. There was nothing we could do for him. But that stays in our mind and we have no intention of being like that poor guy. 

If we can’t do an R Pod, maybe we’ll just stick with the A-frame and I’ll keep suffering through going outside to pee at 3 AM at 35°.  We are in our 70s and I don’t think we have that much traveling left in us. I just thought I’d like to be a little more comfortable for our last year or two on the road.  I looked at a Scamp on Craigslist, but my 6’2” husband had to tip his head to the side to stand up. :(  If this doesn’t work, my next option might be to look at a VW Rialta. Fully self-contained and they still get something like 20 mpg.

One more question. The older RPods are several hundred pounds lighter than the new ones. If we strip off the roof AC, might that help? (I understand it wouldn’t do anything about the wind loading, just the weight and top heaviness).  Or once an AC is put on, is it possible to even close up that hole? (And in any used one, any TV/video would be tossed. We have our Kindles and iPad.)  But maybe the wind loading is the big stumbling block anyway and everything else is moot...  

Thank you so much for all of your answers, suggestions, and thoughts! 

Trish

The factory Outback hitch is 1-1/4" however I have seen Outbacks with a 2" hitch from after market suppliers.