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Snowbound
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Joined: 17 Apr 2011
Location: Edmonton, AB
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Posts: 270
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Topic: Shopping for new TV ~ need advice Posted: 08 Jun 2011 at 6:28pm |
Well, it will get a workout this weekend as we have an antique show in Lacombe, Alberta (small town south of Edmonton). It will be intersting to see how much stock we can pack between the tow and trailer. Our next working trip will be to Ontario in July and we want to carry enough stock to make it worth while plus we do some buying enroute.
B
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Tom and Bette
in our 177 "The Gastropod"
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techntrek
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Posted: 08 Jun 2011 at 8:21pm |
Snowbound, a good choice. If you got an extended wheelbase model you basically have a fully-enclosed pickup, with the wheelbase good for towing. I'll be interested in your experience towing as I weigh my choices.
Hodge - dang, nice TV! I just checked out some used models and that is definitely doable for me. It will have to be my daily driver for a while and I've been considering Merc/BMW already for a commuter car. Just not for towing, until now. Only thing in the specs I would prefer is... longer wheelbase. And a bit higher mpg for the commute.
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Hodge-PODge
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Location: Calhoun, GA
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Posted: 08 Jun 2011 at 9:00pm |
Tech, I agree with you about the MPG (that was the one major drawback) for commuting, but it is still better than most trucks.
However towing mileage seems comparable to everyone else here in the forum. It went down to about 8 or 9 MPG pulling the long haul up the mountain on Memorial day -- it was a STEEP climb, but on the way back home I got 13 MPG.
I traded in my used MB GL450 on it ( it had 3 rows of seats and longer wheelbase of course, MPG a little lower than the ML350). Mainly, I traded for another MB because when I tried to trade the 450 in on something with better mileage, every non-Mercedes dealer treated me like I was crazy for trying to trade in such a nice car. I think they thought something must have been wrong with it, and none of them would give me a reasonable trade price. In the end I got frustrated and went with another MB after all, but one slightly smaller.
But it does drive beautifully, and it tows very smoothly, too. I believe you might like the GL450, but you might be dissuaded by the MPG. However, it is still better than most trucks, too.
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2011 RP 177, the Hodge-PODge
2011 Mercedes ML350
"A man travels the world over in search of what he needs, and returns home to find it."
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Guests
Guest Group
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Posted: 09 Jun 2011 at 4:40pm |
Originally posted by Snowbound
We found a new tow vehicle! We are going to be towing with a 2005 Dodge Durango 4.7 V8. It has a hitch and the 7-pin connector for the lights but they are installing a brake control today before we pick it up tonight.
Since we got a good deal on an older unit, we have decided to keep our Grand Caravan for driving around town.
The Durango is taller and I mentioned that I did not want to be jumping into a truck but I can manage this one with the help of running boards and the roof handle.
Thanks Outbound for your help as it got me started looking in the right direction. I spent a week immersed in car culture which I am now going to delete from memory! ![LOL LOL](http://www.rpod-owners.com/smileys/smiley36.gif) I will say though that searching the internet made the hunt easier and gave us some bargaining power at the dealership.
B |
Congratulations on your new tow vehicle. I hope it works out well for you. ![Smile Smile](http://www.rpod-owners.com/smileys/smiley1.gif)
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Snowbound
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Posted: 09 Jun 2011 at 6:15pm |
Thanks David.
I took the Durango out for my first drive today -just to the grocery store-and everything went well until I accidentally hit the panic button when locking the doors. Starting up did not stop it, moving it and parking again did not stop it, but finally I hit the right combination and it finally shut up. ![Embarrassed Embarrassed](http://www.rpod-owners.com/smileys/smiley9.gif) Of course I'm not sure what stopped it but you can bet I will look carefully when I hit the lock key! And I will be checking the manual.
I guess you can tell Tom does most of the driving!
B
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Tom and Bette
in our 177 "The Gastropod"
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Hodge-PODge
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Posted: 09 Jun 2011 at 8:49pm |
Bette, that's hilarious! ![LOL LOL](http://www.rpod-owners.com/smileys/smiley36.gif) But at least it drove just fine.
Diane
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2011 RP 177, the Hodge-PODge
2011 Mercedes ML350
"A man travels the world over in search of what he needs, and returns home to find it."
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Snowbound
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Posted: 10 Jun 2011 at 10:53am |
Only hilarious if you weren't there Hodge! It was pretty embarrassing and I was so flustered I forgot two of the items I went to the store for. Poor Sally. my canine sidekick , was not impressed with the amount of noise emerging from her ride!
B
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Tom and Bette
in our 177 "The Gastropod"
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Snowbound
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Location: Edmonton, AB
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Posted: 13 Jun 2011 at 11:39am |
We're back from our antique show and the Durango handled the drive very well. Tom was pleased that the rpms stayed around 1600 except for a couple of hills where we hit around 2000.
Thursday night while we were hitching up we suddenly realized our hitch was not going to work. Why did we not realize that the Caravan's hitch was only 11" from the ground while the Durango's was 24"??? So it was after 7 p.m. and we HAD to leave for the show the next day. After calling around, we finally found a service fellow willing to stay at our dealership until we got there. It was only a couple minutes work for him to change the ball to the other side of the hitch which actually fit when we got home. Tom is planning to buy a new hitch bar (the thing the ball sits on) which will lower the pod a touch more as it was just a little nose up rather than level.
The show turned out well for us, we had several nice walks around their lovely town lake (part of the Trans Canada Trail) and Sally dog was happy to snooze in the Pod while we worked. The only drawback to the entire weekend was the gas but I guess we will get used to it.
Oh yes, we used the shower for the first time ![LOL LOL](http://www.rpod-owners.com/smileys/smiley36.gif) It does work....
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Tom and Bette
in our 177 "The Gastropod"
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Hodge-PODge
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Posted: 13 Jun 2011 at 12:42pm |
Bette, sounds like everything went pretty well and you're getting the rest of the bugs worked out. Good for you!
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2011 RP 177, the Hodge-PODge
2011 Mercedes ML350
"A man travels the world over in search of what he needs, and returns home to find it."
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techntrek
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Posted: 13 Jun 2011 at 12:48pm |
Good to hear. How was the ride comfort? Did you get some mpg readings? You know you can't talk about TVs around here without mentioning what mpg you got! ![LOL LOL](http://www.rpod-owners.com/smileys/smiley36.gif)
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