This is true.  Travis Mattingly posted it on the FB site a few days ago.  Doesn't flip my switch, that is for sure.  Also the dry weight is pushing 5000 lbs, so much for towing that unless you have a pickup or a beefy SUV.  Thinking out loud, that is over twice the weight of my 177.

What!??

My Highlander has a max tow weight of 5000 lbs so how come I can't tow a trailer that only weighs 5000 lbs? And why can't I load my Harley on the tongue?

The Highlander has 7 seats if you include the jump seats so how come I can't also take the whole family and carry our 7 kayaks on the roof?

I like to boondock and my 5 teenage daughters all take 15 minute showers twice a day, so i want to fill an extra 1000 gallon water bladder and bring it along, plus 6 full propane bottles because they like HOT showers. Plus 7 golf cart batteries because they watch a lot of TV and chat wit all their friends after their showers.  If I'm using my weight distribution hitch won't it automatically shift the weight to balance out all the axles exactly equally? 

I read somewhere on the internet that somebody did i already and it was fine so what's the problem?

You guys on the rPod owner's site are all Debbie Downers....

You guys on the rPod owner's site are all Debbie Downers....

Yeppir, amazing that some people actually think that way.  Thanks offgrid for the parody

+1 

My wife and I like the layout. However, it is not something we will run out and get. I just finished some major mods to our 179 (LiFePO4 battery, solar panel, and DC to DC charger among them), and we have not had a chance to test them yet. While our Frontier would likely be able to tow it without problems, I think I still would want something with a bit more torque and horsepower to do so.

Here is the link for the new rpod.  

You have to go through the bath to get to the bed!  

Very strange designed floorplan that can't feel very spacious inside the kitchen/living room compartment that they created, since the bath and bedroom are in line and separate compartments.    I am not impressed.  

There must be a market out there for a bigger Rpod or they wouldn't be doing it.  

Not a tow problem for me since I pull with a F250 Super duty, but I'm not buying one even if they make a thirty footer.  Love our 177 HRE.  

Their R&D department is looking at some strange demographics out there, I think.  Wish one of the RV mags would do an interview with them. 

https://www.facebook.com/rpodRV/photos/a.692211287513330/2956478944419875/?type=3&theater

I think FR is now milking the rPod brand as much as possible for short term profit. What they are doing by making  rPods that are indistinguishable from other TT's will destroy any brand differentiation and result in the demise of the rPod brand. Next couple of years we'll probably see 40 ft 5th wheel "rPods" if they think they can sell those as step up rigs.  

As volatile as the RV market is that probably makes sense for FR, developing a brand to enhance its distinctiveness is not a mindset that most of the RV industry has, any more than quality is. Other than Airstream and a handful of other smaller companies no one attempts it. 

Is there a floorplan or info available for those of us that are not on Facebook?? I would like to see this new model.

Thank you

Vann

I may have misread it. I certainly don't feel that someone else's choice affects mine. I'm a relatively new comer to Rpods, I got my first in 2016. I love seeing all the various models available, and yet, I feel like I still know it. It's a pod!! 

As for brand names, for many people brands are important and they develop a feeling of loyalty to them.  For others, like me, it's all a matter of the best quality, value, function, and durability for the money.  I don't care what the brand name is, though I do try to stay away from companies with a reputation for poor quality and service.  

When we decided to get a little bit bigger trailer, I didn't feel the bigger rPods had anything to differentiate them from other trailers.  What was important was finding a slightly bigger trailer with a full bath that I could navigate in the night, a walk around bed, a comfortable seating area, and a functional galley, all of which was in a relatively light weight package.  I also wanted to get away from the outboard wheels as they take up a lot more road space but really don't make much of an improvement in the interior space.  I also have to confess that I got spooked by so many rPodders having bent axle problems, so I got a trailer with an I-beam frame and a short distance between the frame and the wheels.  It turned out to be another FR product and was of "average and merchantable" quality, just like pretty much anything in the travel trailer market place.

For many, it isn't the name on the trailer but its features and function that are the deciding factors.  The r-Pod had a little nitch in the market and developed some brand loyalty, a little like the old VW beetle, but now that so many knockoffs are out there, the brand name alone will not sustain loyalty in the market.

Your personal choices as a consumer don't have much if any impact on others', but a corporation's brand management decisions can have a huge impact. Look at low many once great vehicle brands have been destroyed by bad marketing decisions. Seen any new Oldsmobiles, Pontiacs, Plymouths, Mercurys, or Saturns lately? 

He's a co-founder of the giving pledge and has pledged to give away 99% of his wealth to philanthropy. That only leaves him a measly 700 mil. He and Berkshire Hathaway have had significantly fewer scandals surrounding them than most enterprises of that scale and longevity. So, overall as good a record as you could ever expect from a super rich guy. 

His CA house wasn't a mansion either. He bought it for $150K back in 71. Sold it for $7.5M in 18. Don't be fooled by the price, that's just the crazy coastal CA real estate market.  It's only 3500 square feet. 

Next time you're sippin' brews with 'ol Warren remind him of that giving pledge. A think a nice stimulus package to help out rPod owners who are suffering from depreciation on our unused trailers during Covid would be a great long term investment for him in promoting brand loyalty. Doesn't need to be cash, a share each of BRK.A would be fine. Or, an in kind donation of the new rPod 400 series triple axle 5'er would be OK too. Not sure what I'd do with mine but I'd figure something out.  

Brand names really don't mean much in the travel trailer market.  It's really a question of whether a given trailer meets the expectations and desires of the purchaser and is affordable.  There are certainly some brands that are worse than others, but they all have serious quality control issues.  Brand loyalty in RV's is generally a false hope.

Sounds like FR is one of those companies, which explains why their product lines overlap so much. In a volatile business like the mainstream RV industry it probably doesn't make much sense to try to invest too much in individual brand consistency and identity, too many boom/bust cycles and too much buyer decision making based on whatever the latest fad is. Just let sales drive things and sell what you can when you can. None of this bodes well for the longevity of any given brand, including the rPod brand, which was my point. 

I didn't see the Forest River link in the thread:

https://forestriverinc.com/rvs/travel-trailers/r-pod/RP-202/5489 - https://forestriverinc.com/rvs/travel-trailers/r-pod/RP-202/5489