RP-189 VS RP-191 Towing with Jeep Wrangler Unlimited

[JasonMI]

It's been 9 years since we've owned our last travel trailer. We've been looking at trailers weighing less than 3500# since we will be towing with a Jeep Wrangler. Of all the brands we seem to keep coming back to the R-Pod. Looking at the floor plans we like the RP-189 and the RP-191. We like the twin bed option on the 191 but the storage is lacking (we don't take a lot with us, so that shouldn't be an issue). The 189 has the sofa in the back which seems like it would be good for just the two of us. We also don't have any experience with a wet bath, but my thought is that it gives more living space in the trailer. I understand the wet bath is small, but we are just looking for the pros and cons vs the dry bath. I've read a lot of mixed reviews on the R-Pods (Most people only take the time to report negative issues) so just looking to get some feed back from current and past owners. Thanks for your help.

[67L48]

When we went from a Pop up to a trailer, I thought the shower option was stupid. We don't typically camp for more than 3 nights at a time and usually camp at a state park with coin operated showers for longer trips. Shower not needed.

Now that I own the trailer, I absolutely love my shower. I love hopping in there for a quick military shower. We also use the bathroom for a bathroom, brushing teeth, changing, etc. Having to stand in the shower tub for toilet use isn't appealing to me ... particularly if the shower is used and, therefore, some dampness persists.

So, a wet bath would be an absolute deal killer for me.

[RedLdr1]

We recently down sized from a Class C to a 2019 RP-180 10th Anniversary Edition. We looked at the 191 but the additional storage space, and larger bathroom, in the 180 won. The "wet bath" was a show stopper so that did limit our model choices a little bit.

I don't have a lot of negative comments on the R-Pod. When we did our Pre-Delivery Inspection (PDI) the list of issues was very short and most were addressed on the spot. We had Sunseeker motor homes that had pages of issues so someone at R-Pod is doing it right!

The one concern I had was the cheap tires, or "China Bombs", FR ships their trailers with... I'm picky about tires so I had the OEM tires replaced with Goodyear Endurance tires. I also had a Dill brand internal Tire Pressure Monitoring System (TPMS) installed at the same time. See Here Other than those two things there was nothing I felt that needed replaced, or upgraded, on Day One.

That's not to say we didn't do a few upgrades based on our past experience. We added a Dometic 310 ceramic toilet, a MaxxFan 7500K roof fan, with a MaxxShade Plus shade. None of those are really necessary but we like having them.

With a 3,500 pound tow rating a loaded R-Pod is going to be close the Jeep's maximum. You'll need to travel light. Also is your Jeep a 2 or 4 door? Many years ago I briefly towed a large Coleman "pop up" with a Jeep TJ, with a short wheelbase, and it was a handful. The Jeep's short wheelbase resulted in the "tail wagging the dog" way to often for comfort.

[bikendan]

The 191 would be the better choice, based on its lower dry tongue weight since your Jeep's max is 350lbs.
Remember that website/brochure numbers are fantasy numbers since they are based on a stripped-down version of the trailer.
The real world tongue weight will be much heavier, when you add the weights of batteries, options, water and cargo. And it being a single axle, that will leverage more weight on the ball.

[GeoPro-in-NV]

You might want to also consider the GeoPro. Our 2020 19FB weighed in at ~2900 lbs (dry), and we tow it with a SUV (Lexus GX).

The murphy bed / couch is a terrific space & weight saver. Like others have said, a wet bath was a no-go. We picked it up 3 weeks ago, are taking our first trip in a few days. So far, the quality and finish has exceeded our expectations.

We had a 32' pusher with 2 slides for several years (wrangler toad), so the limited space vs. ease of handling is still being evaluated!

[JasonMI]

Thanks for the help!

We do travel light since it's just the two of us. We've never carried a bunch of extras with us. I am hoping the weight will be fine for the Jeep. We don't travel fast and have never hauled with the tanks full, opting to fill once we arrive.

After doing more research, I have it narrowed down to the 191 or 189. I like the twin beds of the 191 and the dry bath of the 189.

The local dealership will need to order either one. Opting to deal locally rather than have to deal with warranty issues from a dealership thats so far away.

[Motor7]

You may already know this, but you need 3.73 gears or better to tow any Rpod model. Our 2015 JKU only has a 3.42 rear end, so no dice. Bought an Avalanche just for our 176T.

[JasonMI]

Originally Posted by Motor7

You may already know this, but you need 3.73 gears or better to tow any Rpod model. Our 2015 JKU only has a 3.42 rear end, so no dice. Bought an Avalanche just for our 176T.

I have 3:45 Axle gear ratio with a 3rd Generation Dana 44 HD rear axle, factory tow package.

I need to change the gears in order to two the Rpod?

[Motor7]

Originally Posted by JasonMI

I have 3:45 Axle gear ratio with a 3rd Generation Dana 44 HD rear axle, factory tow package.

I need to change the gears in order to two the Rpod?

Confirm what rear end gears you have by your Vin. I stated 3.42 above, but it's actually 3.21 on most stock package Jeeps like mine. There are two tow packages, and only one upgrades the axles to 3.73 or better. The other tow package is just wiring and hitch.

3.21 is 2,000 lbs max trailer weight
3.73 or better is 3,500 lbs max

This thread explains more:

https://www.wranglerforum.com/f202/t...169.html?amp=1

I bought a used Avalanche for towing my Pod. Just drove from TN to Manitoba Canada. The avalanche has 3,73 gears, a 5,3 L v8 and outweighs the pod 2 to one. Over 50% of the time I had to be in 3rd gear. No way would I want to make this trip with my JKU even if it had the right gears.

Pods still have a large frontal area. The egg shape seems like it would be more aerodynamic, but at least with my set up it's not.