171 vs 177

And how many of those 20 year periods ago was that.....?...

 

We are retired, but wish to become newbies to camping. We think we will be invigorated by adding a new element to our life-style. Most of our trips would be within 300 to 400 miles of central Indiana. We are looking to the possible purchase of either a 171 or a 177. I'm very concerned about GVWR of the trailer as our TV will be our existing 2009 Town & Country 4.0L V-6. We have the factory tow package and a class III receiver. I would install a brake controller and probably a WDH. My goal is to tow no more than 80% of our maximum allowable tow weight which would be just under 3100 lbs. GVW for the trailer. While we will be in control of what goes into the Pod and therefore its GVW I'm still curious as to the GVWR difference between the two with the 177 being 551 lbs. higher than the 171. The 171 has a Dry Ship Weight of 2121 lbs., while the 177 has a DSW of 2285 lbs., a surprising difference of only 164 lbs. given the slide. However the 177 has a cargo capacity of 387 lbs more than the 171. Is there a structural difference between the two to account for this difference in cargo capacity, or is my lack of experience causing me to miss something obvious. We would like the extra room of the 177 and I think could travel lite enough to stay close to a 3100lbs. limit, but I a little nervous with the extra weight.

I've learned a great deal from all of you already and feel regardless of which Pod we eventually purchase, we will be joining a group of very friendly, knowledgeable and welcoming folks.

Greetings and welcome. We pull our 2010 RP172 with our 2006 Dodge Caravan, which is, for all intents and purposes, essentially a 2006 Town and Country. If I'm not mistaken, you have the newer design, and apparently a slightly larger V6 (We have the largest for our year model at 3.8L). Although we didn't have the factory installed tow package, we had the dealership we bought from install an aftermarket hitch with which we are pleased. I've also installed some suspension helpers on the rear leaves to keep the rear in the air when towing. I think it also adds some stability, as it stiffens the suspension. I also considered adding an additional transmission cooler, but haven't done it yet.

We did go with the 177.  Although the amount of room does not sound like much, it was the thing that made us pick the 177.  We have two small to medium dogs and it really would have been too tight in the 171. I also did not like the fridge next to the bed in the 171, not for noise just that if someone was still asleep and you wanted to get in the fridge you might disturb them.  Also made the bed seem more closed in. 

I agree that the fridge really isn't an issue, either for noise or light.  And yes, the furnace is like a jet engine taking off, the only thing worse for noise is the A/C.  Which is why we leave the A/C fan on all night.