R-pod Owners Forum Homepage

This site is free to use.
Donations benefit a non-profit Girls Softball organization

Forum Home Forum Home > Non-pod Discussion Forums > General non-pod discussion
  New Posts New Posts RSS Feed: Towing an R-Pod 171 with a Subaru Outback
  FAQ FAQ  Forum Search   Calendar   Register Register  Login Login

Topic ClosedTowing an R-Pod 171 with a Subaru Outback

 Post Reply Post Reply Page  <123
Author
Message
offgrid View Drop Down
Senior Member
Senior Member


Joined: 23 Jul 2018
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 5290
Direct Link To This Post Topic: Towing an R-Pod 171 with a Subaru Outback
    Posted: 05 Nov 2020 at 4:58pm
Originally posted by mjlrpod

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 

Yep, the VW heater was ineffectual, I used to scrape the inside windshield too. It was close to your face so at least it was easy to reach.   I had  56, 59, 68, and 72 bugs. With studded snow tires I didn't have any problems in them with snow as long as I could see where I was going. Never tried the pond skimming, that does sound like fun. LOL

If you think the bugs were bad the buses were worse. I drove a 40HP 60 bus across on the trans Canada highway from Vancouver in January. Got as far as Winnipeg and gave up, headed south. That was an early Westphalia camper, my first RV. Wish I had that now, it would be worth a small fortune. Boy was it cold, and slow. 

But those things were hard to stop and easy to fix so for a poor student they were great. I recall clutch disks costing a whole six bucks and taking 30 minutes to change, start to finish. The good old days when cars with easy to fix and we were crazy.... 

I personally kinda think the whole unsafe at any speed thing was a bit over the top. Lots of cars were dangerous back then besides the Corvair and the VW swing axle designs. In some ways I liked 'ol Ralph but sometimes I think he went overboard a bit. 
1994 Chinook Concourse
1995 RV6A Experimental Aircraft
2015 Rpod 179 - sold
Back to Top
StephenH View Drop Down
podders Helping podders - pHp
podders Helping podders - pHp
Avatar

Joined: 29 Nov 2015
Location: Wake Forest, NC
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 6283
Direct Link To This Post Posted: 05 Nov 2020 at 9:03pm
Even though the design changed to eliminate the problem of the swing axle, it was too late to save the Corvair. It had other problems. I had the automatic with the little lever on the dash for shifting. It had reverse, neutral, drive, and low. There was no park except for the parking brake. I learned early to turn the wheels into the curb if there was one and I was on a hill as the parking brake was also not that effective. I also was driving home and it was a freezing rain. I got of the more main road onto a road that was not so well maintained and started fishtailing. I tried to correct and it kept getting worse. I ended up doing one or two spins (I don't remember how many), and went off the side of the road into a snowbank. It was like I parallel parked half-way between two telephone poles. When I went into the snow, it knocked the throttle connection loose so I could not move. My dad came and figured out the problem so we reconnected the linkage and we got the Corvair moving again.

It was also slow to get moving. The worse was that the engine leaked oil, so I had to keep a window open so I could let the smog out. The defroster did sort of work as did the heat, but the smoke coming in with the heat was not very nice. It could not have been good to breathe either.

I got a brand-new Pinto to replace it. I am just glad I did not get a Vega.
StephenH
Happy is the man that findeth wisdom,...

ouR escaPOD mods
Former RPod 179
Current Cherokee Grey Wolf 24 JS
Back to Top
offgrid View Drop Down
Senior Member
Senior Member


Joined: 23 Jul 2018
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 5290
Direct Link To This Post Posted: 05 Nov 2020 at 10:51pm
Originally posted by StephenH



I got a brand-new Pinto to replace it. I am just glad I did not get a Vega.

Talk about out of the frying pan into the (literal) fire. 'Ol Ralph went after the Pinto even more than he did the Corvair. I recall trying to fix the brakes on my girl friend's Pinto, ended up replacing everything in the whole system and it still wouldn't stop right. At least it didn't have an aluminum block. Or you could have bought a Gremlin. Very unfortunate name choice....

My first new car purchase was also in that timeframe, a first gen Honda Civic.  Very nice, efficient, and reliable little car. 

1994 Chinook Concourse
1995 RV6A Experimental Aircraft
2015 Rpod 179 - sold
Back to Top
marwayne View Drop Down
Senior Member
Senior Member
Avatar

Joined: 25 Oct 2011
Location: Edmonton AB Can
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 1002
Direct Link To This Post Posted: 05 Nov 2020 at 10:56pm
I had a Pinto station wagon, it was yellow like a lemon, which it was.
If you want something done right, do it yourself.
2011 RP172, 2016 Tundra 5.7 Litre, Ltd.


Back to Top
jato View Drop Down
Senior Member
Senior Member
Avatar

Joined: 23 Feb 2012
Location: Kewadin, MI
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 3215
Direct Link To This Post Posted: 06 Nov 2020 at 6:32am
I got a brand-new Pinto to replace it. I am just glad I did not get a Vega.
Stephen H

During my college years at Michigan State I was forced to sell my '69 Corvette as I was putting my own way through school w/o any outside help.  I replaced it with a 74 Gremlin, still remember the numbers, sold the Vette with the optional hardtop for $ 4000  and purchased the Gremlin off the lot for $ 2902 total price!  Wish I had the Vette now, worth quite a bit.

College was affordable then, 4 years set me back $ 11,000 - not bad for a 4 year degree.  Nowdays that only pays for 1/2 year.  And yes the Gremlin . . . . even though it wasn't a eye turner like the Vette, it was more dependable as I was always fussin' with the Vette.  Had the Gremlin for 8 years, 125,000 miles and not 1 issue the whole time.  Sold it for $ 800 so the price/year of Gremlin ownership was only $ 262.50.  Even abused the Gremlin as I would get 9 of us in that thing going to church 3 each in the front and back seats and 3 in the rear with legs hanging out with the hatch window up.  Pretty funny sight!  Should have put air shocks on as it would hang pretty low in the back. 

God's pod
'11 model 177
'17 Ford F-150 4WD 3.5 Ecoboost
Jim and Diane by beautiful Torch Lake
"...and you will know the Truth and the Truth will set you free."
Back to Top
GlueGuy View Drop Down
Senior Member
Senior Member
Avatar

Joined: 15 May 2017
Location: N. California
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 2624
Direct Link To This Post Posted: 06 Nov 2020 at 9:26am
The first "new" car I ever got was a Vega GT. The GT had the super-sized radiator, and did not have the problems that happened with the teeny radiator versions. We kept that car about 5 years, when I got a Honda Accord. The Vega was a good starter car, but the Accord was better.

Neither were suitable for towing.
bp
2017 R-Pod 179 Hood River
2015 Ford F150 SuperCrew 4WD 3.5L Ecoboost
Back to Top
StephenH View Drop Down
podders Helping podders - pHp
podders Helping podders - pHp
Avatar

Joined: 29 Nov 2015
Location: Wake Forest, NC
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 6283
Direct Link To This Post Posted: 06 Nov 2020 at 11:20am
After we had an accident (on our honeymoon) in the Pinto, I drove a Falcon for a while and then bought a Honda Civic CVCC wagon. That was a good car, but it did have some problems as well. Then a Dodge Omni followed by a Chevy Lumina APV. When we came back from Hawaii we got an (out of) Focus. Then a 2009 Escape, a 2016 Escape. After the incident on ice, we got the Frontier I now drive.
StephenH
Happy is the man that findeth wisdom,...

ouR escaPOD mods
Former RPod 179
Current Cherokee Grey Wolf 24 JS
Back to Top
 Post Reply Post Reply Page  <123

Forum Jump Forum Permissions View Drop Down

Bulletin Board Software by Web Wiz Forums® version 9.64
Copyright ©2001-2009 Web Wiz