New to rPod
Printed From: R-pod Owners Forum
Category: R-pod Discussion Forums
Forum Name: Introduce Yourself
Forum Discription: New Members - tell us about yourself and your r-pod
URL: http://www.rpod-owners.com/forum_posts.asp?TID=14358
Printed Date: 28 Apr 2024 at 11:03pm
Software Version: Web Wiz Forums 9.64 - http://www.webwizforums.com
Topic: New to rPod
Posted By: Ercoupe Flyer
Subject: New to rPod
Date Posted: 17 Jan 2021 at 6:19pm
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Bought an rPod 178 (2013) from a friend. Good condition, but I can't find info about the TV antenna on the roof... any info will help! ------------- First recreational vehicle, just trying to learn the 'ropes'! |
Replies:
Posted By: Pod People
Date Posted: 17 Jan 2021 at 8:12pm
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this is not specific to the 178, but MOST RPods have a small red push button located on the cover plate where the cable/antenna connection is located. This is the antenna booster switch and by pushing the button in, the light should come on and the antenna is now functional. Usually, one must then do a channel search on the tv to find which channels are available in that area. Note that the booster is powered by the 12volt power system and if left on it can draw down the battery if you are not connected to shore power. Turn it off when not in use if not on shore power. Use the "search" feature at the top of the page to see lots of discussion about the antenna and booster. Welcome to the Forum Vann ------------- Vann & Laura 2015 RPod 179 https://postimg.cc/0zwKrfB9"> 
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Posted By: offgrid
Date Posted: 18 Jan 2021 at 9:42am
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Welcome. Great to have more pilots on the forum. I like the ‘coupe, wish I could get a hangar somewhere nearby. 👍 ------------- 1994 Chinook Concourse 1995 RV6A Experimental Aircraft 2015 Rpod 179 - sold |
Posted By: Ercoupe Flyer
Date Posted: 18 Jan 2021 at 7:59pm
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Thanks, always grateful for help from fellow pilots! I'll look for that red button....
------------- First recreational vehicle, just trying to learn the 'ropes'! |
Posted By: Ercoupe Flyer
Date Posted: 18 Jan 2021 at 8:02pm
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Thanks... I hope to find the Red button tomorrow. 👌 ------------- First recreational vehicle, just trying to learn the 'ropes'! |
Posted By: offgrid
Date Posted: 19 Jan 2021 at 7:36am
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As a fellow pilot you might be interested in the work some of us have done on the weight and balance of our trailers. As rpods are very light trailers they can be pretty sensitive to getting out of their “w&b envelope”. You can use the forum advanced search function to find those posts if you’re interested.
Enjoy your rpod! ------------- 1994 Chinook Concourse 1995 RV6A Experimental Aircraft 2015 Rpod 179 - sold |
Posted By: Ercoupe Flyer
Date Posted: 19 Jan 2021 at 9:36am
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Great idea, thanks! I routinely do W&B calculations on a variety of aircraft..
Makes sense to do it on our 178. I am concerned that the prior owner added a heavy MEMORY FOAM mattress to the aft bed location.... adding the tank liquids appears to cause a dangerous aft CG! (I'm always been cautious in taildraggers). ------------- First recreational vehicle, just trying to learn the 'ropes'! |
Posted By: podwerkz
Date Posted: 19 Jan 2021 at 10:38am
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If your r-pod turns into a tail-dragger, and you do a ground loop on take-off or landing, you won't like it! Best to get the weight and balance where it needs to be before departure.... ------------- r･pod 171 gone but not forgotten! |
Posted By: offgrid
Date Posted: 19 Jan 2021 at 11:06am
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I once put two ladies in the rear seats of my Grumman tiger and it dropped on its tail before us larger front seaters could get in. That prompted me to recalc my w&b. We were in the cg envelope but not by a lot. The flight was uneventful so the math works.
I did a little informal survey a couple years ago and found that there have been several reported rpod sway events right around or just below the traditional 10% minimum tongue weight limitation. Since then I keep my tongue weight at 11% or higher. You are right to be concerned about water tank weight, in the case of my 179 moving a fresh tank full of water (outbound) to a gray tankful (inbound) changes the tongue weight by 3%, so depending on your tow vehicle’s max tongue weight spec it can be challenging to keep everything “in the envelope”, especially if you boon dock and lug water around. ------------- 1994 Chinook Concourse 1995 RV6A Experimental Aircraft 2015 Rpod 179 - sold |
Posted By: GlueGuy
Date Posted: 19 Jan 2021 at 12:16pm
My Long-EZ would fall on its butt if you put the nose wheel down with no one sitting in it. A pilot needed to be > 110 lbs in order to stay inside the envelope. The most extreme case of w&b I'd ever seen was a cowboy flyer I met in Northway Alaska. He was flying an all-black Cessna 210. He'd flown into Northway with all the seats (except the pilot seat) removed and three 55 gallon barrels strapped in the back. He was picking up diesel fuel for his dude ranch somewhere south of Northway. His explanation to me was that he filled the barrels until the nose wheel started to lift off the ground. He'd throw something into the one remaining seat to bring it down. As far as he was concerned, it would be "in balance" when he got in to fly. ------------- bp 2017 R-Pod 179 Hood River 2015 Ford F150 SuperCrew 4WD 3.5L Ecoboost |
Posted By: jato
Date Posted: 19 Jan 2021 at 12:19pm
We found that out when we picked up our 177 in March 2011 we were in the midst of a blinding snowstorm, had to be a good 8" + snow on US-2 In the UP of Michigan. The TV was an '08 Explorer and the 4 hour trip was fortunately 'uneventful.' A couple months later with a full FW tank (located behind the axle) we found that once we hit 35-40 mph we nearly lost control as the sway was scary bad. At that point he headed home (10 miles away) a did our first mod - added a $50 Curt anti-sway bar, added a second 12v group size 24 deep cycle battery, and a second 20# propane cylinder on the a-frame) Took care of that problem and still using it 10 years and 36,000+ miles later with no incidents.
------------- 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." |
Posted By: Ercoupe Flyer
Date Posted: 19 Jan 2021 at 9:52pm
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W&B calculation indicates tat the tongue weight is too close to the 10% limit if FW tank has 250# on on onboard. Culprit seems to be the heavy memory foam mattress. Thanks for the alert! ------------- First recreational vehicle, just trying to learn the 'ropes'! |
Posted By: Ercoupe Flyer
Date Posted: 19 Jan 2021 at 9:57pm
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Never get complacent, listen to the Loadmaster! ------------- First recreational vehicle, just trying to learn the 'ropes'! |
Posted By: offgrid
Date Posted: 20 Jan 2021 at 8:01am
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+1.
As jato suggests, you can also consider adding an extra battery and or propane tank on the tongue, especially if you plan on boondocking. Might be a better solution than giving up the nice comfy mattress. You also have to take care not to overload the lightly designed rpod frame and axle. Rpods are not exactly designed to FAA normal category standards (+3.8g -1.5 g with a 50% safety factor). They are more like +2g -0g with no safety factor. It’s kinda difficult to get a trailer to experience negative g’s so that’s no problem, but the +2g’s is really marginal, there have been multiple failed axle incidents and one or two frame failures. Lots of posts here on those topics you can search for. ------------- 1994 Chinook Concourse 1995 RV6A Experimental Aircraft 2015 Rpod 179 - sold |
Posted By: offgrid
Date Posted: 20 Jan 2021 at 8:16am
Yeah i’ve heard that about EZ’s. And unlike a conventional aircraft falling on its butt is a static prop strike not just a scratch on the rear tiedown hook. Note to self: decline any offers to fly with cowboys in black Cessna 210’s. The black paint job would raise my eyebrows anyway. Not a great color choice to paint a civilian aircraft for legal usage IMHO. ------------- 1994 Chinook Concourse 1995 RV6A Experimental Aircraft 2015 Rpod 179 - sold |
Posted By: GlueGuy
Date Posted: 20 Jan 2021 at 12:51pm
He was a character. Wore a black cowboy hat, black jeans, and black T-shirt with an inverted "crown cut" on the sleeves. In his defense, the 210 was flat black. ------------- bp 2017 R-Pod 179 Hood River 2015 Ford F150 SuperCrew 4WD 3.5L Ecoboost |