Maiden voyage for 2023 R-pod 196 w/Beastmode behin

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As the title says this is the first time out with our 2023 R-pod 196 w/Beastmode behind our 2023 Honda Ridgeline HPD. I used an Anderson WDH and everything pulled flat and secure. It was windy today and could feel it in the truck but not bad, the Beastmode suspension means a taller trailer overall so more in the wind. I was able to get a CAT weight on the truck and trailer as follows:

-front axle 2860

-rear axle 2920

-trailer axle 4080

That puts everything below my maximums with a fully loaded vehicle and trailer. I carried a lot of the gear in bins in the bed but that still means my tongue weight is higher than I anticipated. I will probably need to dial up the Anderson as I set it less than in the instructions. I plan to measure the tongue weight next trip to be sure. We left most of our stuff in the trailer but did take out what turned out to be way too much food. Good to know for future (longer) outings we can load it up.

Round trip was about 110 miles including back roads, hills and highway. The truck gave me 13.6 MPG round trip, not bad considering our trailer weight is probably 4600+. Truck did very well at about 60 to 63 highway speeds.

I will try to get some pictures up soon.

I am very pleased.

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wlfclf2000 Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Newbie Joined: 30 Aug 2023 Location: MANCHESTER MD Online Status: Offline Posts: 1	Post Options Post Reply Quote wlfclf2000 Report Post Quote Reply Topic: Maiden voyage for 2023 R-pod 196 w/Beastmode behin Posted: 16 Sep 2023 at 12:57pm
	As the title says this is the first time out with our 2023 R-pod 196 w/Beastmode behind our 2023 Honda Ridgeline HPD. I used an Anderson WDH and everything pulled flat and secure. It was windy today and could feel it in the truck but not bad, the Beastmode suspension means a taller trailer overall so more in the wind. I was able to get a CAT weight on the truck and trailer as follows: -front axle 2860 -rear axle 2920 -trailer axle 4080 That puts everything below my maximums with a fully loaded vehicle and trailer. I carried a lot of the gear in bins in the bed but that still means my tongue weight is higher than I anticipated. I will probably need to dial up the Anderson as I set it less than in the instructions. I plan to measure the tongue weight next trip to be sure. We left most of our stuff in the trailer but did take out what turned out to be way too much food. Good to know for future (longer) outings we can load it up. Round trip was about 110 miles including back roads, hills and highway. The truck gave me 13.6 MPG round trip, not bad considering our trailer weight is probably 4600+. Truck did very well at about 60 to 63 highway speeds. I will try to get some pictures up soon. I am very pleased.
	2023 Honda Ridgeline 2023 R-Pod 196

jato Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Senior Member Joined: 23 Feb 2012 Location: Kewadin, MI Online Status: Offline Posts: 3224	Post Options Post Reply Quote jato Report Post Quote Reply Posted: 16 Sep 2023 at 7:44pm
	Welcome to this forum and your 24/7 owners manual. Good to hear you had a great experience with your 196 and Ridgeline combination. Tongue weight will take a lot of guess work out of having a good towing experience. Our 177 fully loaded for a one month trip and 36 gallons of water (tank behind axle) weighs in at 2940 lbs. To eliminate/reduce sway you need 11% or more of the loaded r-pod weight on the tongue, so take 2940 x .11 = 323 lbs. We carry a pair of 12v batteries and also a pair of 20# propane tanks on the tongue. Using a Shurline tongue weight scale the tongue weighs in at 340 lbs. For 12+ years we have only utilized a $40 Curt friction bar, tow vehicles include 2wd Ford Explorers and a couple different F-150's, the one used now is a '17 F-150. Weather conditions encountered so far have been snow (including blizzard conditions), sleet, hail, heavy rain, even creeping on back roads at 1-3 mph when roads had water 10" deep (glad we installed the riser kit!), and cross-winds in excess of 20 mph. No issues or problems have been encountered thus far, we are very satisfied with the simple friction bar set-up. Hope you have many more memories to be made with your set-up and can get out some more this fall; enjoy those fantastic autumn colors!
	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."