Finally decided on a travel trailer: 2021 R-Pod 192

Here's another upgrade that I'm really glad we did. ~2" factor lift, 16" wheels, and 31" E-ply tires. The Cooper HT3 running at ~60psi (per manufacturer weight table) rides SO much better on the highway at 70mph and on gravel roads out in the wild. Being a single-axel trailer, I didn't want to mess around with crappy rubber.

 

Those look great! Yes....very wise to not cheap out on the rubber! I guess I would be inclined to do a couple of light shake out trips in the factory tires (just to get some satisfaction that there was a little bit of use on them), then swap then out. Did the 31's raise you even further than the "off road" tires that came with the trailer?

Again....as you said earlier, getting this trailer vice the more expensive one definitely leaves $$ space for quality upgrades.

 

It looks inside and out just like the Coachmen Nano 187 I rented for a couple weeks in June. It was a little bigger than I liked for the Tacoma. Not my first rodeo. We had just sold our last one, in between finding the next and wanted to head to the mountains. I’ve towed much bigger with bigger trucks.

 

why not put a receiver hitch on the back of the camper and a bike carrier? that looks like a PITA to deal with

 

So far pretty well. We spend a couple of days doubling up the pantry shelve thicknesses as they seemed wimpy. The dinete chairsis beginning to flex a little and will need to be rebuilt/braced from the inside. Pounding down highway 210 in l.a. county the yaw sensor came out of adjustment and we lost cruise control, stability control and auto braking. I-10 Toyota took good care of us and got back on the road in a day. Got to pay attention keeping the torque converter locked up on the hills and such...

 

Studied on it, but lots of isuues, tongue weight gets light, trailer warranty, would need additional set of tail lights, etc.

 

that is nice!

 

What is the maximum front axle load rating on your truck ? My 2016 TRD DCSB is 2910lbs.

 

We did our first trip (1.5 hour drive) with the 28" OEM tires on 15" wheels, which were max 65 psi, and supposed to be run at 65 psi. 65 mph was okay, and I really didn't like how they ran at 70 mph.

The HT3s are about 1/2" wider and (obviously) taller. Max rated for 112 mph and 80 psi, which means a much nicer ride when set to 60 psi and running 70 mph on the Texas highways. My lady even commented on how much smoother the ride was when towing. I also like that the sewer dump is over a foot from the ground.

 

Out of curiosity, how much weight does that put on the tailgate? It’s sprung of course so no hard hits, I’m just thinking about all those creases in tailgates from people forgetting and leaving them down when turning.

 

Not much, I'd guess 40lbs. Quite a bit of tension going forward above the CG from the tie downs. Not to mention I pretty much have it standing on it's nose.

 

Back home in Summer Wa after 3400 miles. Lots of fun and a few little problems. Rehung the head door and one of the ceiling speakers, did minor rebuilt and bracing on forward seat of the dinete, filled open screw hole in the shower. Need to fix the murphy bed latch's that's about to pull free. Still love the trailer. Plan on doing a lift and tire upgrade as mentioned above for improved towing and sewer clearance.

 

31" E-ply tires at ~60 psi really improve the towing experience.

 

We made another beach camping trip last weekend and had an opportunity to test out the newly installed cell phone booster. I wanted something that provided measurable improvements (I have some cellular test kit), could run off the 12v system, and was a passive booster with no monthly recurring charges. Decided on a Reboot Reach kit from Signal Booster. I was able to mount the external antenna to the ladder and route the cable through the same path and hole used for the TV antenna.

Where we were camping, I had one (maybe two) bar of service outside the trailer. Inside or next to the trailer, connected to the booster, signal went to 4-5 bars and we were able to easily support video streaming.

 

Nice work on the mount, looks good. We had good phone and music service, but struggled with streaming. I will look into that booster.
Next trip is a couple of months out so we had to winterize the plumbing. Went ok, took me longer than it should have. I winged it first time through the draining process, then worried, then found the proper sequence here on TW and drained it all again.

 

We went from AGM's to lithium iron phosphate batteries in our little sailboat. Approximately same usable amp hours and saved 200lbs.

 

What about charging? I'm told my trailer's WFCO charge controller doesn't supply enough voltage to adequately charge up a LiPo battery. What do you do?

 

On our boat the Balmar alternator has a remote regulator that is programable so not an issue. 120 volt LiFePO4 battery chargers are available. Don't know about charging while driving down the road yet...