Rpod vs. ALiner vs. T@G A decision has to be made
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Topic: Rpod vs. ALiner vs. T@G A decision has to be made
Posted By: Ninjamini
Subject: Rpod vs. ALiner vs. T@G A decision has to be made
Date Posted: 24 Jan 2015 at 1:59pm
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I went to the RV show to compare teardrops
and ultralight trailers. At the show there was so much to like so instead of
making a decision we found more choices and there are pluses and minuses to all. There are two class of campers I was looking at. Standee and teardrop (Very small and just a bed and some have a small kitchen area.) Standee: R-Pod - This is a
great option with lots of room and lots of storage. Full bathroom, not that I
think we would use it. It is also a standee which at 6'4" I can stand in
and it has a queen bed and a table that becomes a full bed for the 2 kids.
Without this they sleep in a tent. Did I also mention it has a slide so it
feels spacious. Downsides to this are price and the high cost of gas due to
poor aerodynamics. This is the only one that does not fit in the garage. So
there is an extra storage cost. $18,500 + increased gas +storage monthly. ALiner -
Did not think I would like this as much as I did. It has a lot of headroom so I
can stand and can not even touch the top of the ceiling unless I stretch. Has a
queen bed and a table that becomes a full size bed for the kids. It also folds
so that it is not as big to pull and that will save on gas. This is the only
one that is a standee and fits in the garage. However this does not offer a lot
of storage space like the Rpod since it folds up. I was really surprised I
liked this because it is ugly. It's an A-frame for goodness sake. Can that be
fun to own? $16-17,000
Teardrop: T@G 5x10- We
love it but it is a bed on wheels with a little bit of storage and it is not
comfortable to sit up in, at least not without more pillows than we will have
room for. $12,000 We are going camping for two weeks this summer so we need to make a decision. |
Replies:
Posted By: techntrek
Date Posted: 24 Jan 2015 at 3:00pm
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Figure on getting 1/3 off of MSRP with good negotiation, so keep that in mind when pricing. ------------- Doug ~ '10 171 (2009-2015) ~ 2008 Salem ~ http://www.rpod-owners.com/forum_posts.asp?TID=1723 - Pod instruction manual 
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Posted By: Ninjamini
Date Posted: 24 Jan 2015 at 4:15pm
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Really? What is MSRP for a 179? Like $20,000? So $14,000? That much margin? That much off?
My family calls me ninja negotiator. |
Posted By: Podster
Date Posted: 24 Jan 2015 at 4:54pm
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My 2ยข Wow, I'm to surprised to hear how easily you dismissed the value of a private bathroom and shower in the POD! If I felt the same way the A-Liner would be my choice because of aerodynamics (frontal area) and storage. ------------- Cliff & Raelynn Ranger 4.0/178 (1/2 ton 5,800lb tow capacity) |
Posted By: Ninjamini
Date Posted: 24 Jan 2015 at 5:06pm
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Many are surprised that I don't want a bathroom. I camp and am used. To the bathhouse.
But the real reason is that I am 6'4" and well I'm a big guy. While I can get myself into the bath I can not move in there to do the things that would need to do in a bathroom. Plus I don't ever seeing myself going somewhere that does not have a bathhouse. Plus remember. I started looking at small teardrops. So no bath there either. I still want to camp. But want a bed and ac. |
Posted By: johnmaci
Date Posted: 24 Jan 2015 at 5:55pm
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If you are looking to fit it in the garage, and not pay storage fees it seems your choices are but a few. We started looking last year with garage storage in mind, but was not happy with the Aliner, Chalet, or any A Frame. Unless you plan on towing very long distances, your gas consumption (due to weight) will be very similar, and thought the price was a bit high for what you got. It is still just as wide and long when folded down. We rented a Aliner Ranger from Beckleys RV last year, and I was also feeling very confined when the weather was bad and had to stay "indoors". I find it a very basic shelter with a high price tag. If you go with anything else, you will need a tow vehicle rated at least 5,000 lbs with WDH and anti-sway to be safe. So again, you may again be limited to the T@b and smaller Aliner (Ranger), if you are towing with a car. Truth be told, if my HOA would allow us to park a pickup truck in our driveway (they are considered work vehicles), I would have probably gone with a truckbed camper :P Easy storage in the garage, and when loaded an a capable 4x4, can go anywhere! More food for thought :) |
Posted By: Ninjamini
Date Posted: 24 Jan 2015 at 6:15pm
| Lets not get off track as I'm buying a new car in a few months anyway. Anyone with comparisons of. These campers. |
Posted By: podvader
Date Posted: 24 Jan 2015 at 7:06pm
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I looked very hard at the A-liners before moving on to the r-pods. At the end of the day there could be times you really appreciate the bathroom even if it is not a part of daily camping life. The Aliners also involve setup and takedown which I was fine with but what about stopping and wanting to grab something out of it while traveling? You need to crawl. At the end of the day the r-dome dismissed any thoughts I had on any other camper. I am a lifelong tent camper until a few years ago and the r-dome gives me a tent-like option to hang out in that no other camper replicates.
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Posted By: Podster
Date Posted: 24 Jan 2015 at 8:18pm
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When I was shopping A-Liners hard, I did run across a few good deals on used ones, almost bought one. I think the A-liner is your ticket. I have towed pop-ups and a home built custom, both had minimal drag and I didn't even notice a drop in millage although I'm sure there was. Nonetheless, its nothing like towing a POD. I disagree that your gas mileage will be anything like towing the POD. When towing a POD you can expect to get about 1/2 of what you normally get.
------------- Cliff & Raelynn Ranger 4.0/178 (1/2 ton 5,800lb tow capacity) |
Posted By: shroomer
Date Posted: 24 Jan 2015 at 8:37pm
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Have you tried the bed in the r-pod? At 6'4" it could be very tight fit. ------------- Larry and Debbie w/Rosie the mutt. Old: '13 177, '06 Silverado V6 New: '15 Whitehawk 20MRB '14 Silverado V8 |
Posted By: Tars Tarkas
Date Posted: 24 Jan 2015 at 8:37pm
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If you can really exclude the desire for a full bath, I'm not sure you should consider paying for one. I'm not a little guy. Not as tall as you, but I agree the bathroom isn't exactly roomy, but it works for me. For me the ability to take a hot shower anywhere is fantastic after many years of tent camping mostly in the Smokies, but also in other state and national parks often without shower houses, usually even without hookups. We tend to avoid commercial campgrounds. I've been known to jump in icy rivers after 2 or 3 days without a shower so the pod is absolutely wonderful. Getting up to pee in the middle of the night with the bathroom right there is also nicer than you might imagine. Being able to pull over, rain or shine, for lunch or just a quick driving break at a rest stop or any little pull-off is great too. Again, the bathroom is a significant convenience, and access to a full kitchen and dining room with no set up/ take down or crawling is really nice. The pod is the only camping trailer I've ever pulled so I don't know how it compares to the others regarding gas mileage. Until I retire, the trips I take involve one or two, maybe 2 and a half days of driving and 4 to 6 or 8 days of "being there". For the travel days, my gas bill doubles, but those aren't most days. Probably even on an extended month or 2-month long trip after I retire, most days won't involve towing, so MPGs aren't all that significant to me anyway. Convenience and creature-comforts are more important to me. TT ------------- 2010 176 FJ Cruiser |
Posted By: Kokopod
Date Posted: 25 Jan 2015 at 11:52am
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Sold our 25 ft. Shasta - wanted to downsize (just two of us now). We bought and owned a Little Guy 5-Wide for about two years. It had a 10 x 10 tent that attached at one of the doors. It was a real conversation piece but wasn't practical (although it had the most comfortable bed we've had in a camper because of length). We went from Little Guy to Aliner for two years. Loved it. Storage was tight, but creativity helped. Went from 22 mpg to 16 pulling with a Jeep Cherokee. Bed was very tight for a tall guy and no bathroom (some day you'll care). Owned Rpod 177 for a year. Mileage went from 22 to 10, but that didn't matter because we had so much more room. The bed was still a real problem because of my 6'3" height and climbing over spouse. All of these campers were of very good quality. Now have a camper that has a queen bed with isles but still only 19 ft. but 9 ft. wide and only cost a couple thousand dollars more than the Pod. We get 10-11 mpg. "Cute" had dragged us into all the other purchases, but in the end we lost lots of money on all the trade-ins as we played around with a practical choice. Be careful with your decision! ------------- 2017 Jayco Melbourne 24k 2013 Premier 19FBPR Formerly-2013 R-pod 177HRE 2011 Dodge Durango Love a good road trip |
Posted By: J&Jcf
Date Posted: 25 Jan 2015 at 2:26pm
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At 6'4 inches tall I would check on bed size fit. The RV bed sizing is smaller. The queen size bed length is 74 inches . I am 72 inches tall and with pillow just fit stretched out. But ,I am constantly rattling the metal blinds which will be changed out. If you sleep in the fetal position all the time you will not have a problem. ------------- J. - 2011 rpod 171 |
Posted By: Ninjamini
Date Posted: 25 Jan 2015 at 8:41pm
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Wow Kogopod you went through a lot of trailers. The T@G is also a LG and is a lot like the 5 wide only with a taller ceiling. It also works with the attached 10x10 tent. Questions:
You are right about one thing the T@G and Rpod we think are cute and the Aliner is kinda ugly. But we want something we can use for 10-12 years. I have a dream that when the kids are out we sell the house and I live and work from a fifth wheel that we drag around the country. I do sleep in the fetal position so I am not as worried about the fact that I am about as tall as the sleeping space.
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Posted By: Kokopod
Date Posted: 25 Jan 2015 at 11:28pm
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While we still owned the Aliner, we went to an RV show with the idea of trading it in and purchasing another Aliner with the wet bath (yes, the bathroom was the main issue). The larger Aliner with toilet actually had less room than our smaller one. We also found out that it was a dump toilet. Just when we had decided to just keep what we had, we went into an Rpod and loved it. The price was the same, it had a bathroom, much much more storage, and although the Aliner was easy to put up and take down, we had to put it up and take it down! We traded in the Aliner and bought it. The difference in the two isn't even comparable. We still love R-pods to this day. That's why we still browse around this forum. Just to let you know, even though we no longer have the Pod, it's still in the family - our son bought it from us, and his young family loves it. Towing the Aliner was easy, but towing the Rpod is too. ------------- 2017 Jayco Melbourne 24k 2013 Premier 19FBPR Formerly-2013 R-pod 177HRE 2011 Dodge Durango Love a good road trip |