Any other 4x4 Frontier Pickup Tow Vehicles?

Hello to the group. We just bought our Rpod 192 last fall and haven't had a chance to use it yet but I was wondering how many other owners out there are towing with a Nissan Frontier? I have a 2017 Pro-4X Crew Cab, Century Topper, 4x4 and 4.0L V-6 and automatic with O/D. I know that the listed tow capacity is 6300# per the manual but realistically what does that mean from an actual use standpoint? I usually go for overkill but I wonder what others have had from a practical towing standpoint? We live in and camp mostly in Western Colorado and Eastern Utah (like Moab) so there is a de-rate to a certain extent due to altitude and mountainous terrain. I know its not going to haul down I-70 at 80 MPH which I wouldn't want to do anyhow. But what should I be able to expect? We used to have a Minnie Winnie with a V-10 and it never felt comfortable over 65 MPH due to side winds and truckers passing. So I would expect this is pretty much the same drill? We bought a WDH for the camp trailer so that should be a big help and I have an electric brake controller I use with my Haulmark 6x10. So any comments, suggestions or critiques would be greatly appreciated. Nice to join the club. Tracy A.R.S. K0VQ

BTW, any other hams out there? And any of you put rigs in your Rpod's?

Hello owners.  About a year ago we purchased a 2020 Frontier with the 3.8 .l and 9 speed transmission to pull a 192.  The 9 speed works very well and the 310 HP 3.8 works good also. To bad the tires on the pod have a speed rating of 75 MPH.  One of the first mods i did was to replace the factory shocks with Bilstein and installed the Firestone air springs on the rear axle. I tried the sumo springs and they were to bouncy and with the air springs you can adjust the height of the bed to factory finder arc height. Next mod it to replace the factory out side morrow with tow mirrors.  I wish they were heated.

Hi Stephen, glad to meet you. That's a cool callsign you have! I looked up the sumo springs and they are on backorder so its all academic at this point. I guess I'll do a short trip somewhere close by and evaluate what the issues are and then maybe get some adders like you mention. I run a KW TS-50 with a MFJ travel tuner and G5RV Jr. They work alright. I used to have a flagpole buddy for the Minnie where I used the push up mast for the center of the G5RV below the flag. Maybe I can use the same set up on the 192? Not sure where I will snake the RG-8X in like I had on the Minnie Winnie. That one was a nice little hole in the outside entertainment port where the radio and speakers are which was adjacent to the kitchen table. I guess I could just run it through the sliding window temporarily until I find a place.

The cabinets are so lightly constructed in the 192 that the guy who delivered the camper from KC, KS last fall had several of them falling off the wall when he drug it along I-70 for almost 700 miles! The screws pulled out! I had to back butter them with carpenters glue and longer screws. I bought a brad nailer to fix the trim work around the bed that was falling off. But I guess if you're going to get that weight down 3379# dry, you have to cut some corners somewhere.

There are certainly a lot of nooks and crannies that are hidden from view that could be used for storage but have been intentionally made off limits due to the weight loading I guess? For example, the cabinet under the water heater in the bathroom has a huge void where something could be stored. The same is true next to both sides of the murphy bed. I found the secrets while trying to locate the water pump when I was winterizing last fall. Bingo!

So now all we've got to wait for is getting the snow to melt. Maybe a trip to Moab for the Easter Jeep Safari (https://www.rr4w.com/events.cfm)?

Hope to work you on the air someday soon Stephen. Now I'm looking into alternative power supplies for boondocking. So if anyone has any ideas, jump in and share them. I was thinking of something like a jackery solar generator (or knockoff) with some suitcase panels. I need to run a ventilator and oxygen generator for my CPOD and CO2 retention. Especially at higher elevations. So would love to chat with people in similar boats. I have a small yamaha 1000 watt genset/inverter but I'm sure I would not be very popular with my neighbors running it all night even though it's barely audible.

73 Tracy

Thanks Stephen, I think you're right. The double female looks to be the best option. And I like the dust cover idea. Inside you can leave the rig and jumper hooked up and just plug in the outside coax to the jack and off to the antenna you go, no matter what it is. Maybe I will find an inconspicuous place somewhere to drill the hole and back butter it with silicone caulk for weather proofing. Perfect solution! 73 Tracy