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P-pod for dry camping? |
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podwerkz 
Senior Member 
Joined: 11 Mar 2019 Location: Texas Online Status: Offline Posts: 966 |
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 Topic: P-pod for dry camping?Posted: 10 Apr 2021 at 1:33pm |
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Ah, gwasshoppah, I referring to tractions and handling issues... yuur sellboat is nawt a twavel twailer.
 Ok, nuff of that! I am correct here...sooner or later, you will be spinning those lightly loaded front tires on slick pavement trying to drag your travel trailer up out of a low spot or up into a gas station or truck stop entrance, or maneuvering on wet grass or loose gravel at a scenic RV campground. It's funny to watch, but not funny from the driver's seat. Kinda like the shenanigans you often see at a boat ramp.  |
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r･pod 171 gone but not forgotten!
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MarkW
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Joined: 25 Jan 2021 Location: Michigan Online Status: Offline Posts: 54 |
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Posted: 10 Apr 2021 at 4:21pm |
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"I am correct here...sooner or later, you will be spinning those lightly loaded front tires on slick pavement trying to drag your travel trailer up out of a low spot"
That's funny -- the exact 'why this won't work' prediction on the sailboat forums was that we'd get stuck on steep boat ramps with FWD. Never happened -- and that despite the fact that our sailboat uses water ballast and weighs 1200# more when you're pulling it out of the water than when backing it in (temporarily making it much heavier than our travel trailer and on a steeper slope than we'll probably ever encounter). We do have a dingy inflator that could blow the ballast tank if we ran into a problem, but we've never used it. We just pull out the boat and let the 1200# of water drain out on the ramp. One reason FWD works OK on boat ramps is that the slick, green stuff is in the shallow water where the rear wheels are, not up where the front wheels are sitting. And in a large, FWD vehicle the front wheels aren't lightly loaded (up front is where the heavy engine and tranny are located -- it's also where the ~300# of us are sitting). |
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MarkW
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Joined: 25 Jan 2021 Location: Michigan Online Status: Offline Posts: 54 |
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Posted: 10 Apr 2021 at 4:39pm |
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Well, now that we're getting some actual spec numbers all we need is the real world weights to compare them to....
The sticker applied to the front of the trailer manual along with our serial # also lists the weight of the trailer leaving the factory as 2911# with two full propane tanks. In other words, they weighed the trailer as equipped. The only thing that didn't include was the battery which was added by the dealer, but at the same time, I've removed the bumper-mounted propane grill and bracket that we didn't want (and which weighed 35# making that a wash with the battery). I really don't feel the need to find scales to confirm what I already know (any more than I feel the need to double-check Toyota's numbers for the vehicle itself).
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Dirt Sifter
Senior Member
Joined: 30 Dec 2018 Location: Right side OR Online Status: Offline Posts: 170 |
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Posted: 10 Apr 2021 at 5:00pm |
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I am beginning to think that some old forum folks don't want to be shown up and have to admit defeat by a well read and meticulous young guy who has researched his vehicles and knows from experience what's what.
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Greg n Deb 2020 195 HRE
'07 Tundra 5.7L., '17 Tacoma 3.5L. Both with tow packages 1 Puggle, 1 Chihuahua support staff |
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podwerkz
Senior Member
Joined: 11 Mar 2019 Location: Texas Online Status: Offline Posts: 966 |
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Posted: 10 Apr 2021 at 7:32pm |
I never said it wont work. I said sooner or later your front tires will slip and lose traction. Until then it WILL work. If you are going to misquote me, you begin to lose credibility. But that is your repeating pattern here. You only see what you want to see. Hey if it works for you, then go for it.
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r･pod 171 gone but not forgotten!
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Olddawgsrule
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Joined: 20 Sep 2017 Location: New Hampshire Online Status: Offline Posts: 1014 |
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Posted: 11 Apr 2021 at 7:06am |
?? Personal opinion?? I'm researching a ProMaster with 'Tow Package', please do tell me why this is. Probably better to PM me than pollute the tread.
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MarkW
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Joined: 25 Jan 2021 Location: Michigan Online Status: Offline Posts: 54 |
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Posted: 11 Apr 2021 at 7:43am |
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I said sooner or later your front tires will slip and lose traction. Until then it WILL work. Obviously there are situations you could get into where a tow vehicle lacks the traction to move the trailer -- that's true of both 2WD and AWD vehicles, though of course it's harder to get an AWD vehicle stuck. We once nearly couldn't get out of a wet grassy field driving a rented Fiat motorhome in Iceland where there was almost no slope at all, but the tires also had almost no tread (go to Iceland for jaw-dropping scenery but definitely not for the RV rental bargains). That said, I don't think the limiting factor for where we can get the TT will be traction as much as general road conditions and ground clearance (I worry particularly about some of the crossings of dry washes on dirt roads out west). I thought about a lift kit, but instead picked up a set of 'savajack' brackets which I haven't yet installed. They seem like such an obvious idea, that I'm not sure why they're not more popular. But we've already scouted a lot of the places we'd like to get back to someday with the TT through years of flying and tent camping, and we've talked about where we could and maybe couldn't take the trailer. To our favorite back-country campsite in Big Bend at the start of the thread? Not sure. To the place off a rough gravel road in Death Valley below? Probably OK. But most places we'd like to hit again would be just fine. When we do take a long trip westward, we'll probably switch to our Subaru Outback (also with a 3500# rating), just to enable more exploring during the days when the trailer is not connected, but that can be it's own 'why that's a really bad idea' thread sometime later.  |
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offgrid
Senior Member
Joined: 23 Jul 2018 Online Status: Offline Posts: 5290 |
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Posted: 11 Apr 2021 at 8:06am |
Nope in my case. It's the careful homework that's missing that I'm looking for. That includes getting actual weights when one has a marginal rig. Not sure if it's overconfidence, intransigence, or just not wanting to get up off the couch and away from the keyboard but Mark can of course do whatever he wants, it's his decision. It's just not going to be convincing to me and others here who have found that their real world weights are not necessarily what they expected. Irt's pretty obvious that no amount of further data free discussion is going to change anyone's mind at this point. So I do agree that it's time to move on. |
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1994 Chinook Concourse
1995 RV6A Experimental Aircraft 2015 Rpod 179 - sold |
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lostagain
Senior Member
Joined: 06 Sep 2016 Location: Quaker Hill, CT Online Status: Offline Posts: 2587 |
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Posted: 11 Apr 2021 at 8:52am |
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I don't understand what the problem is in taking the TV and TT to fully loaded to a scale and weighing it, then plugging the numbers into a TV/TT weight and balance calculator to see if it is in the "green zone." Yes one can be stupendously meticulous in reading the data plates, labels, and owner's manuals, but that does not give you a real world answer. Trailer towing experience does count, but there are things going on that are not readily visible, such as metal fatigue or a transmission on the brink of failure, that work "until they don't."
MarkW's comment that his data plate sticker on his trailer includes two "full" propane tanks seems inconsistent with other trailer data plates. Most data plates on newer trailers, at least if they are to comply with Canadian standards, calculate the "dry weight" as the base trailer with no battery, empty propane tanks, and a full fresh water tank. I'm not saying he's not correct in his observation, but it's odd and doesn't seem to be consistent with other FR data plates. Given the apparent inconsistency with industry practice, mitigates in favor of loading the trailer and TV with what would normally be taken on a trip and weighing it. Here are some handy terms when discussing weight: Terms & Definitions
If, after weighing the fully loaded trailer and TV, one is safely within the "Max Towing Capacity" limits of the TV, then go for it. But that being said, don't whine if you "push the limits" of your TV and stuff starts to go wrong even if you are just inside the theoretical Max Towing Capacity. |
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Never leave footprints behind.
Fred & Maria Kearney Sonoma 167RB Our Pod 172 2019 Ford F-150 4x4 2.7 EcoBoost |
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MarkW
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Joined: 25 Jan 2021 Location: Michigan Online Status: Offline Posts: 54 |
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Posted: 11 Apr 2021 at 9:08am |
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Not sure if it's overconfidence, intransigence, or just not wanting to get up off the couch and away from the keyboard
It's just not wanting or needing to go through the hassle when I already have perfectly good data to start with. The only concern is what is loaded into the TV and trailer and that will vary somewhat from trip to trip. But I can track and (if necessary weigh) added gear and supplies without going out to find truck scales and I'm certainly not going to hit the truck scales before every trip (though I will check the tongue weights). I have the weight of the TT as it left the factory down to the lb. I can work from that baseline.
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