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TheDogHouse View Drop Down
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Direct Link To This Post Topic: Gas Mileage
    Posted: 02 Sep 2010 at 11:09pm

We purchased our 173T just a few weeks ago, I have very little data to add to this forum. Having said that we are venturing out this week for our first camping trip in this camper and hope to have some comparable information to share with other F150 owners not having the spoiler on the back of their camper. The only MPG data thus far is from when we picked up the camper at Couch's, camper completely empty, as was the bed of truck. We managed 15 MPG on the drive home, about 65% of the road was highway and I averaged about 62 MPH. My average MPG not towing is between 18 and 21 MPG, truck being a standard cab, 8' bed with the 4.6 liter v-8. This TV is severely anemic without a camper behind it, not much change with the camper behind it. After our 300 mile trek this weekend I'll report back with the loaded camper/truck scenario.

Happy camping,
 
Steve
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: 02 Sep 2010 at 3:04pm
    Could it be possible that the downward curve of the back of the R-Pod could create more of a vacum and drag, than if it were square? I have read that some identicle TV's will get better MPG towing a larger heavier trailer as the Gulfsream Visa than they would towing the R-Pod. Perhaps it is Fuzzy math as our past president had used that term.      David
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: 02 Sep 2010 at 11:15am
I went from having the popup for 10 years to a 30' Bunk house Trailer back down to the R-pod.  It does not get the best gas milage but I like the features fo the rpod right now.  If I could talk my wife into it I would get a True Teardrop Camper.  A 5X10 Trailer with a queen bed in the from and the Gallery in the back.  I have also switched my tow vehicles a few times in the last year and half.  We started with a Jeep Liberty that my Wife totalled, then a Chevy Trailblazer which has a problem with the cooling system and keeps popping an circuit to the cooling fan, now looking at Full size Trucks or Dodge Dakatos.  I have also pulled the camper with my Ford Ranger short distances but would not want to do that very far.
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: 01 Sep 2010 at 4:36pm

We like the layout of the 24 (original) more, which is partly why we didn't go look at the 26 they had in stock.  The dealer confirmed the 26 weighed about 3400 with options, vs. 3000 with options for the 24.  Once you add in clothes, food, fuel, stuff, the 26 would definitely be too heavy.

I don't like the price - double what our 'pod cost.  I've always loved the look of the 'pod compared to everything else out there, and the Elkmont is just like everything else.  I don't like the smaller holding tanks.  And I'm very happy with the length of the 'pod for towing and parking, just long enough for a double parking spot.  But that walk-around queen and full-sized shower is appealing! 
Doug ~ '98 Coleman ('05-'09) ~ '10 171 ('09-'15) ~ 2008 Salem ('14-'23) ~ 2019 Keystone ('23-now) ~
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: 01 Sep 2010 at 3:00pm
Originally posted by techntrek

Yup, about the same for all of us.  Our Sienna gets 23 with daily driving, got 16-17 pulling our popup (over 3000 pounds), and gets 12 pulling the 'pod.

BTW, we almost went to a dealership to look at the Elkmont last weekend Embarrassed, but they only had the 26 and we were enjoying an afternoon nap at the campground.  Don't tell anyone!
 
Oh, wait.
The 26' is a tandem axle and may be a bit heavy for your Sienna.  They now have a 26', a 24' original, a 24' bunkhouse, and for 2011, they have a 22' that weighs in at 2850 lbs. dry, nicely equipped.
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: 01 Sep 2010 at 1:44pm

Yup, about the same for all of us.  Our Sienna gets 23 with daily driving, got 16-17 pulling our popup (over 3000 pounds), and gets 12 pulling the 'pod.

BTW, we almost went to a dealership to look at the Elkmont last weekend Embarrassed, but they only had the 26 and we were enjoying an afternoon nap at the campground.  Don't tell anyone!
 
Oh, wait.
Doug ~ '98 Coleman ('05-'09) ~ '10 171 ('09-'15) ~ 2008 Salem ('14-'23) ~ 2019 Keystone ('23-now) ~
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: 01 Sep 2010 at 9:34am
Some more empirical data for you guys.  I owned an R-Pod 175 for about a year.  I sold it in June for other reasons, but when I bought it, I expected good gas mileage, due to what I thought was an aerodynamic design.  Yet, typical gas mileage was 10 - 11 mpg.  The TV is a Buick Enclave with a 3.6L V6, which, when not towing, gets around 20 - 23 MPG highway and 17 mpg combined highway / city driving.
 
My replacement TT is a Trailmanor Elkmont 24' trailer.  It weighs about 400 - 500 lbs. more, and is almost 6 feet longer.  It's a traditional box shaped TT.  Towing it with the Buick, I'm averaging 12 - 13.5 mpg, fully 2 mpg better than the R-Pod - an unexpected side benefit.
 
Who wouldda thought that? Ouch
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: 31 Aug 2010 at 9:06pm

I didn’t mean to push, just prod all of us. I agree with your decision not to move too quickly, I just wanted the discussion to continue so that possibilities such as the kayak loaded in a V might popup again or someone who shelled out the cash to try an air deflector on their car found a solution. Only through discussion will we ever hear these possibilities.

My overall goal for this thread was to see how others are doing relative to mpg and if we were all in the same boat, try to get Forest River to help find something to improve our mileage and their sales. I am sure if they are even discussing this they will have to evaluate if they find something it may help the mileage of people towing other brands of campers too. I do think, however, there is a competitive advantage for Forest River to help solve the problem. This forum and R.Pod Nation are a lot of folks who mostly have already purchased an R.Pod. There are also lots of folks on both forums who are trying to decide between the Pod, MPG, Scamp, KZ Sportsman Classic. If Forest River were to find or help find the solution to this problem, that new buyers and old owners of the Pod could benefit from, I am sure it would increase customer loyalty to their brand.

I never test towed the R.Pod before I bought. I’ll bet a very large percent of us drove off the dealers lot with a great deal of excitement about the great standard equipment, options and the feeling it is so light, it will be fairly easy on gas only to hit 50 to 55 and feel the gas pedal turn to mush and the mileage drop from 22 not towing to 11 mpg or so.

Dave
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: 31 Aug 2010 at 5:06pm
Its only been a week so I wasn't going to prod FR yet.  I kept the email in my inbox as a reminder, I'll wait another week and try again.
 
rpodcamper - will you have an upcoming trip where you can load the kayaks cockpit-inward and see if that helps (sound and mpg)?
Doug ~ '98 Coleman ('05-'09) ~ '10 171 ('09-'15) ~ 2008 Salem ('14-'23) ~ 2019 Keystone ('23-now) ~
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: 31 Aug 2010 at 4:14pm
I hope this forum has not run out of gas.  I realize that it is a lot more fun to discuss the modifications and other fun things that we all do with our R.Pods, but I was hoping that through the contact from Forest River that responded to us all through Techntrek, that we might be able to get some live research on the pod to see if there is any chance of improving gas mileage we get.  At gas below 3 dollars / gallon stateside it is hard to keep the discussion going, but I'll bet that when we go to 4.00 per gallon again that there will be a lot of campers that will look to park their units at one campground, sell their units etc.  I think what people have said is that they would purchase a proven after market wind diflector or spoiler if made avaliable and if affordable.  So far, other than the kayaks that were mistakenly loaded in a V that appeared to improve mileage we have heard nothing other than we are pulling a barn door or a brick.  Though it is a brick and seems to push a lot of wind, it is a pretty light unit and the fact that V8s have difficulty show that the problem is wind. 
 
Any more news on whether the kayak loading really improved mileage or if it was a one time spike.
Anyone who has a 173 with the spoiler and some mileage results.
Has the Forest River rep said any more. 
 
It will be a lot more fun to discuss the different parks we have visited when gas goes up than how to preserve our tires because it is always parked.
 
Help Forest River
Dave
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