Soon to be 196 owners - Hello !
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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=13909
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Topic: Soon to be 196 owners - Hello !
Posted By: Xegavas
Subject: Soon to be 196 owners - Hello !
Date Posted: 15 Aug 2020 at 1:26pm
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Hello all ! First time poster  Found these forums and ended up spending a couple hours reading through posts last night - a ton of good info here ! I hope to be able to add to it soon.As the title states, my wife and I will soon be 196 owners. We will have to miss out on the rest of the 2020 season as our trailer won't be here until October  . On the upside - it will be a 2021.5 and will have the updated colours and entry door.I do have a couple questions for other 196/195 (even 192/193) owners. What are you towing it with and how does it handle ? I found a couple responses in other threads - there must be more of us  . We have a 2019 GMC Canyon Duramax (7600lbs tow rating - bought specifically to tow a small travel trailer and to still fit into our condo parking spot) and will be using a Blue Ox SwayPro hitch. Originally we were only looking at trailers that were 3000lbs dry, but finding one (including the smaller RPODs) with a larger fridge/freeze has proven difficult. The quality just doesn't seem to be there when looking for a unit with a larger fridge/freeze with other brands, unless of course you take a large price jump. We looked at some of the 'higher end' brands but would end up hauling around a heavier trailer with features we don't want or need (*cough* range *cough*). We came back to the 196 because it checked all the boxes - despite being 600lbs heavier than we wanted and every unit we looked at seemed to be built better than other brands. I figure we will be about 4500-4600lbs loaded and axle weights should be ok with good cargo management. I have spent a bunch of time on the Coloradofans forum and there is a large number of folks hauling bigger and heavier units with "no issue" (don't know if they are legal or not) with the Canyon/Colorado.Another question would be to the 195/196 owners - any issues I should look out for specific to these models that may not appear on the smaller PODs ? Thanks, Adrian
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Replies:
Posted By: podwerkz
Date Posted: 15 Aug 2020 at 2:07pm
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It's really refreshing to see a newbie come along who has done their homework, and it looks like the Canyon with Duramax has an integrated exhaust brake...hallelujah! Holy heck.... GMC 'gets it' when it comes to this light truck as a towing platform. Good for you. I look forward to your reports.
------------- r･pod 171 gone but not forgotten! |
Posted By: offgrid
Date Posted: 15 Aug 2020 at 2:36pm
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+1 and welcome. Great to see a new owner who is not trying to tow a big ‘ole 196 with a 5000 lb rated tow vehicle. You’ll be fine as long as you don’t try to carry around a bunch of rocks in the GMC... ------------- 1994 Chinook Concourse 1995 RV6A Experimental Aircraft 2015 Rpod 179 - sold |
Posted By: mcarter
Date Posted: 15 Aug 2020 at 5:13pm
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I towed my 178 for a couple years with a 2016 Colorado V6. No WDH, did fine, I did add a friction sway bar, but other than that, was good. Have they added an integrated brake system to them yet? I moved on to a full size Silverado, because I had a covered shell, which is convenient to me. ------------- Mike Carter 2015 178 " I had the right to remain silent, I just didn't have the ability." |
Posted By: Xegavas
Date Posted: 15 Aug 2020 at 5:56pm
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Thanks for the welcome !!!
The Canyons/Colorado are now shipped with a built in break controller which was another selling point for me. The diesel exhaust break works really well too. We rented a little Apex 19 footer for a week and were pretty happy with it for towing. I am hoping that the more aerodynamic front of the pod helps offset the extra weight. |
Posted By: GlueGuy
Date Posted: 15 Aug 2020 at 6:07pm
I kind of doubt that the "aerodynamic front" makes much different WRT aerodynamic drag. I believe studies have found that the really big drag appears to be the big vacuum bubble at the rear. That goes for almost any trailer. Not meaning to rain on your parade. Congratulations in any case. It sounds like you have a great combo, and I agree that it looks like you've done your homework. ------------- bp 2017 R-Pod 179 Hood River 2015 Ford F150 SuperCrew 4WD 3.5L Ecoboost |
Posted By: mcarter
Date Posted: 15 Aug 2020 at 6:33pm
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Aerodynamic - buy a Ferrari and stay at the Hilton. ------------- Mike Carter 2015 178 " I had the right to remain silent, I just didn't have the ability." |
Posted By: offgrid
Date Posted: 15 Aug 2020 at 7:05pm
Performance cars aren't very aerodynamic because they need all those air inlets to get rid of excess engine and brake heat. The best Ferrari only has a Cd of around 0.3, your average passenger sedan is better. The Prius and the Tesla 3 are down around 0.23. If you want something aero to tow you could get one of these if you have an extra quarter mil laying around. https://bowlusroadchief.com/ - https://bowlusroadchief.com/ ------------- 1994 Chinook Concourse 1995 RV6A Experimental Aircraft 2015 Rpod 179 - sold |
Posted By: Xegavas
Date Posted: 15 Aug 2020 at 7:38pm
Hehe - looks like I should read about aerodynamics and drag a little more 
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Posted By: mjlrpod
Date Posted: 17 Aug 2020 at 2:52pm
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I tow my 195 with a Nissan Frontier, rated for 6100 pounds, and have little trouble. My worst problem is sometimes on steep climbs I can get up to 4000 r.p.m. to maintain 60 - 65 m.p.h. I could go a little slower and keep the r.p.m.'s lower, but it's my choice. I don't think 4,000 is causing any damage. I think your vehicle will out perform mine, so I would say don't worry. ------------- 2017.5 Rp-172 2020 R-pod 195 2015 Frontier sv 4.0L 6cyl I'll be rpodding |