Towing an R-Pod 171 with a Subaru Outback

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   Please don't make your final determination because you have decided that you have enough horsepower to haul the trailer down the road. That was never in any serious doubt.
 Its all about weight. Go weigh the trailer, trailer tongue, tow vehicle and total combined weight as loaded for travel and compare those numbers to your specs. If you are under on all of them and you feel comfortable, fine. If you are over on any of them then you are not legal so please don't do it. 
If you do a search of my posts I explain how to do that at a public scale. Either free at you local transfer station or a modest fee and an hour or two and you will know for sure. Its easy and well worth the effort. 

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offgrid Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Senior Member Joined: 23 Jul 2018 Online Status: Offline Posts: 5290	Topic: Towing an R-Pod 171 with a Subaru Outback Posted: 04 Nov 2020 at 4:15pm
	Please don't make your final determination because you have decided that you have enough horsepower to haul the trailer down the road. That was never in any serious doubt. Its all about weight. Go weigh the trailer, trailer tongue, tow vehicle and total combined weight as loaded for travel and compare those numbers to your specs. If you are under on all of them and you feel comfortable, fine. If you are over on any of them then you are not legal so please don't do it. If you do a search of my posts I explain how to do that at a public scale. Either free at you local transfer station or a modest fee and an hour or two and you will know for sure. Its easy and well worth the effort.
	1994 Chinook Concourse 1995 RV6A Experimental Aircraft 2015 Rpod 179 - sold

Pod People Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Visit Members Homepage Add to Buddy List Senior Member Joined: 22 Sep 2011 Location: Chapel Hill,NC Online Status: Offline Posts: 1065	Posted: 04 Nov 2020 at 9:44pm
	Another aspect that hasn't been mentioned are the other important parts of the tow vehicle--the brakes and the transmission. We initially towed our 173 with a Chevy Astro van. It had the power, but the transmission was not up to the task. After we replaced the transmission. we bought a used tow vehicle that will do the job. Horsepower is only that-power, it doesn't always move you down the road, up the hills or stop you going down the hills. You need a transmission cooler and serious brakes at a minimum. the rear axle ratio is also important to keep the rpm's down and the transmission working long term. Be careful-your tail will wag the dog easier than you know at this point in your towing career. Vann
	Vann & Laura 2015 RPod 179

pnjbartlett Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Newbie Joined: 09 Oct 2020 Location: Indiana Online Status: Offline Posts: 4	Posted: 05 Nov 2020 at 6:18am
	Completely agree with what you are saying. There is more to it than just horsepower. After doing extensive research on the Subaru Onyx XT before buying the 171, Subaru at least did put a transmission cooler on those XT models. I really think Subaru did try to improve its towing ability from prior years and models. I just wish Subaru would have had prewired for brake controller and 7pin rather than just the 4pin. We ended up using the Curt Bluetooth brake controller. So far so good on that front.
	JB

mjlrpod Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Senior Member Joined: 27 Sep 2016 Location: Massachusetts Online Status: Offline Posts: 1214	Posted: 05 Nov 2020 at 8:06am
	I've camped in a several places that have dirt roads. Actually many do. You have front wheel drive, and several hundred pounds pushing down the rear, which pushes up the front. Even a small up hill climb is going to be a challenge. I've been in one or two places that I was a little nervous about the inclined dirt roads, and I have 4 wheel drive if needed. We are not telling you the subby can't do it at all, but it is not up to every challenge you will meet for certain. The other thing is possible legal trouble if you were to get into an accident. People want you to realize you are using a volkswagon bug to plow your street. One or two inches of snow, ya might get by. I pulled a popup with my crosstrek for a year (1 summer). I made it, but I had some challenges. As I said, good luck in the future
	2017.5 Rp-172 2020 R-pod 195 2015 Frontier sv 4.0L 6cyl I'll be rpodding

offgrid Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Senior Member Joined: 23 Jul 2018 Online Status: Offline Posts: 5290	Posted: 05 Nov 2020 at 9:03am
	No matter how you cut it, you will be borderline at best. So, weigh your fully loaded rig, check actual weights against all the specs, don't assume. I think you'll be surprised how heavy things can get. I was. mjlrpod, actually the old VW's did great in the snow. The light front end, flat body pan and rear weight over the drive wheels allowed the old bugs to ride up over big drifts without getting stuck. If a huge drift stopped them all you had to do was back up and hit it again till you pushed through. I had one living in Cambridge during the blizzard of '78 and I was driving all over Boston in it 'till the police stopped me to tell me they had shut down the city and I had to go home and park it.
	1994 Chinook Concourse 1995 RV6A Experimental Aircraft 2015 Rpod 179 - sold

StephenH Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List podders Helping podders - pHp Joined: 29 Nov 2015 Location: Wake Forest, NC Online Status: Offline Posts: 6285	Posted: 05 Nov 2020 at 10:41am
	Reminds me of the '63 Corvair that was my first car. I could go through some snow with that.
	StephenH Happy is the man that findeth wisdom,... ouR escaPOD mods Former RPod 179 Current Cherokee Grey Wolf 24 JS

offgrid Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Senior Member Joined: 23 Jul 2018 Online Status: Offline Posts: 5290	Posted: 05 Nov 2020 at 11:54am
	Corvair and VW were pretty much the same configuration, so that's not surprising. They also both had the same sometimes not so nice handling issues. I had a friend with a Corsa Turbo convertible, fun car but it liked to swap which end was in front once in awhile. So did my bug.
	1994 Chinook Concourse 1995 RV6A Experimental Aircraft 2015 Rpod 179 - sold

mjlrpod Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Senior Member Joined: 27 Sep 2016 Location: Massachusetts Online Status: Offline Posts: 1214	Posted: 05 Nov 2020 at 3:56pm
	My first car was a 68 bug. It went ok in the snow, but the lack of heat and needing to continuously scrape the INSIDE of the windshield made it not so fun. I must admit skipping it across a small pond was even more fun. The skid plate underneath made for a great ride over the water. Rev it up, get going like heck, then WEEEEEE
	2017.5 Rp-172 2020 R-pod 195 2015 Frontier sv 4.0L 6cyl I'll be rpodding

StephenH Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List podders Helping podders - pHp Joined: 29 Nov 2015 Location: Wake Forest, NC Online Status: Offline Posts: 6285	Posted: 05 Nov 2020 at 4:00pm
	I had it start "dancing" on my once. It scared me thoroughly. Chevy dropped the swing axle in '65, but by then it was too late to save the Corvair. It wasn't until later that I read Unsafe At Any Speed by Ralph Nader and understood what had happened.
	StephenH Happy is the man that findeth wisdom,... ouR escaPOD mods Former RPod 179 Current Cherokee Grey Wolf 24 JS

marwayne Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Senior Member Joined: 25 Oct 2011 Location: Edmonton AB Can Online Status: Offline Posts: 1002	Posted: 05 Nov 2020 at 4:51pm
	I had a 1965 Corvair Monza, I loved that car but Ralph Nader killed it
	If you want something done right, do it yourself. 2011 RP172, 2016 Tundra 5.7 Litre, Ltd.