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P-pod for dry camping? |
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Dirt Sifter 
Senior Member 
Joined: 30 Dec 2018 Location: Right side OR Online Status: Offline Posts: 170 |
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 Topic: P-pod for dry camping?Posted: 10 Apr 2021 at 5:00pm |
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I am beginning to think that some old forum folks don't want to be shown up and have to admit defeat by a well read and meticulous young guy who has researched his vehicles and knows from experience what's what.
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Greg n Deb 2020 195 HRE
'07 Tundra 5.7L., '17 Tacoma 3.5L. Both with tow packages 1 Puggle, 1 Chihuahua support staff |
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MarkW
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Joined: 25 Jan 2021 Location: Michigan Online Status: Offline Posts: 54 |
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Posted: 10 Apr 2021 at 4:39pm |
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Well, now that we're getting some actual spec numbers all we need is the real world weights to compare them to....
The sticker applied to the front of the trailer manual along with our serial # also lists the weight of the trailer leaving the factory as 2911# with two full propane tanks. In other words, they weighed the trailer as equipped. The only thing that didn't include was the battery which was added by the dealer, but at the same time, I've removed the bumper-mounted propane grill and bracket that we didn't want (and which weighed 35# making that a wash with the battery). I really don't feel the need to find scales to confirm what I already know (any more than I feel the need to double-check Toyota's numbers for the vehicle itself).
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MarkW
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Joined: 25 Jan 2021 Location: Michigan Online Status: Offline Posts: 54 |
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Posted: 10 Apr 2021 at 4:21pm |
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"I am correct here...sooner or later, you will be spinning those lightly loaded front tires on slick pavement trying to drag your travel trailer up out of a low spot"
That's funny -- the exact 'why this won't work' prediction on the sailboat forums was that we'd get stuck on steep boat ramps with FWD. Never happened -- and that despite the fact that our sailboat uses water ballast and weighs 1200# more when you're pulling it out of the water than when backing it in (temporarily making it much heavier than our travel trailer and on a steeper slope than we'll probably ever encounter). We do have a dingy inflator that could blow the ballast tank if we ran into a problem, but we've never used it. We just pull out the boat and let the 1200# of water drain out on the ramp. One reason FWD works OK on boat ramps is that the slick, green stuff is in the shallow water where the rear wheels are, not up where the front wheels are sitting. And in a large, FWD vehicle the front wheels aren't lightly loaded (up front is where the heavy engine and tranny are located -- it's also where the ~300# of us are sitting). |
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podwerkz
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Joined: 11 Mar 2019 Location: Texas Online Status: Offline Posts: 966 |
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Posted: 10 Apr 2021 at 1:33pm |
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Ah, gwasshoppah, I referring to tractions and handling issues... yuur sellboat is nawt a twavel twailer.
 Ok, nuff of that! I am correct here...sooner or later, you will be spinning those lightly loaded front tires on slick pavement trying to drag your travel trailer up out of a low spot or up into a gas station or truck stop entrance, or maneuvering on wet grass or loose gravel at a scenic RV campground. It's funny to watch, but not funny from the driver's seat. Kinda like the shenanigans you often see at a boat ramp.  |
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r･pod 171 gone but not forgotten!
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MarkW
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Joined: 25 Jan 2021 Location: Michigan Online Status: Offline Posts: 54 |
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Posted: 10 Apr 2021 at 12:27pm |
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FWD vehicles are not really designed to be tow vehicles. Sooner or later, this will become obvious.
We bought our 26' sailboat (unknown exact weight but likely pushing 3000# fully loadeded) in 1997 and towed it with FWD minivans ever since (a '97 Chrysler, followed by an '04 Toyota for 14 years, and now our '18 Toyota). We dumped the '04 '18 because the various deferred repairs finally exceeded what the van was worth BUT the engine and transmission had no issues at all (nor did the Chrysler for that matter). For many years, we went for a week to sail in the North Channel / Georgian Bay of Lake Huron, which meant an 8-hour drive each way to Northern Ontario: https://photos.app.goo.gl/4Nedwp2PjWGes88f7 So I'm really not worried about durability when towing with the van (although perhaps it will please you to know that there were also folks on the trailerable sailboat forums who were just as skeptical). But maybe we've just gotten lucky for almost 25 years. |
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podwerkz
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Joined: 11 Mar 2019 Location: Texas Online Status: Offline Posts: 966 |
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Posted: 10 Apr 2021 at 9:42am |
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FWD vehicles are not really designed to be tow vehicles. Sooner or later, this will become obvious.
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r･pod 171 gone but not forgotten!
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offgrid
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Joined: 23 Jul 2018 Online Status: Offline Posts: 5290 |
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Posted: 10 Apr 2021 at 8:17am |
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Well, now that we're getting some actual spec numbers all we need is the real world weights to compare them to....
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1994 Chinook Concourse
1995 RV6A Experimental Aircraft 2015 Rpod 179 - sold |
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MarkW
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Joined: 25 Jan 2021 Location: Michigan Online Status: Offline Posts: 54 |
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Posted: 09 Apr 2021 at 2:41pm |
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Load 'another' 800lbs?? Even as a joke that statement says something of how you are looking at this.. Remember the axle capacity... Hell think frame capacity.. skip the axle.. Now I'm very curious what kind of trailer weight you're towing?
Oy. That was a comment about the possibility of upgrading from the van (with a 3500# tow rating) to a unibody crossover (with a 5000# rating). The point was that if I upgraded, I still definitely *wouldn't* add all that extra weight (even though it would be be within the max trailer rating of 3950#) and the tow rating of the hypothetical new TV (5000#). As it is, I plan to be towing a (nearly empty) trailer at 3000-3100# with at tongue weight of around 325-330# (depending on how it feels, not sure we'll have to turn it all the way up to 11 percent). But, as an aside, because the van is designed to handle 7-8 passengers, the GVWR is a high 5995# (or 1500# more than the curb weight) and the CVWR is 8900# (or, again, about 1500# greater than the combined dry weights of the TV and trailer). Meaning it's easy -- with only two passengers -- to carry all the gear we need in the TV and not in the trailer. Lastly the axle ratings are 3100# each, which again is not close to problematic for the rear axle (given that there's no part of the power train in the rear and we're not going to load any people or luggage way in the back).
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Olddawgsrule
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Joined: 20 Sep 2017 Location: New Hampshire Online Status: Offline Posts: 1014 |
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Posted: 09 Apr 2021 at 1:59pm |
Load 'another' 800lbs?? Even as a joke that statement says something of how you are looking at this.. Remember the axle capacity... Hell think frame capacity.. skip the axle.. Now I'm very curious what kind of trailer weight you're towing?
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MarkW
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Joined: 25 Jan 2021 Location: Michigan Online Status: Offline Posts: 54 |
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Posted: 09 Apr 2021 at 11:09am |
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You stated that you wanted to increase your tongue weight by about 200 lbs above it's current value of around 280 IIRC. That you can't do. I can.
If I did, I misspoke. When I measured tongue weight with the new scale after we got home, it came in around 290#. Part of the reason is that a week of running the furnace overnight almost emptied one of the two propane tanks. A refill of that should get it to ~305 and then a little more weight in the 'bow' will take it up to however close to 350 (330-5 is about 11% -- not that 11% is necessarily the magic number). One full suitcase on the bed up against the front wall would probably do it.
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