2026 r·pod RP-171

The r·pod RP-171 is the lightest floorplan in the line and one of the easiest-towing real travel trailers on the market. The interior runs front to back as a front dinette, an off-door-side kitchen counter with a sink, a convection microwave, a cooktop and a refrigerator, a door-side entry, a wet bathroom, and a rear queen bed with a door-side TV. The front dinette folds down for a child or an extra guest, so nominal capacity is three — a couples’ coach that can sleep a small family in a pinch.

At 2,529 pounds unloaded and 19 feet, the RP-171 is the rare modern trailer a mid-size SUV or even a small crossover can pull comfortably, and its 1,500 pounds of cargo capacity is generous against that light unloaded weight. The factory derives a 4,029-pound GVWR (unloaded weight plus cargo capacity), and the same figure is printed on the plan’s detail page. Standard equipment is the mandatory R-Pod Camp-Ready package: a 12V black-glass refrigerator, an air-fryer convection microwave, a 15,000-BTU air conditioner, an on-demand tankless water heater, a large roof-mounted solar panel with a 30-amp controller and inverter prep, a power tongue jack, a central vacuum and a sealed, heated underbelly. The 30/30/30-gallon tanks are unusually balanced for a trailer this small.

Construction is the r·pod laminate recipe — a smooth fiberglass exterior over Azdel composite panels, a block-foam insulation core and an all-aluminum frame, finished with a curved dual-pane acrylic front window — a clear tier above the metal-sided stick-and-tin value lines, and the reason an ultra-light this small still feels solid and weathers well. For a couple who wants the lowest possible tow weight without dropping to a teardrop, the RP-171 is the entry point to the line.

Forest River’s r·pod is the iconic ultra-light, aerodynamic travel trailer marketed as “affordable luxury at the lowest tow weight in its class.” The RP-171 on this page is highlighted; the other profiled plans link to their own pages. Profiled here are breadth-spanning floorplans — from the sub-2,600-pound rear-queen lightweight to the 25-foot front-queen flagship with a theater-seat slide — with the rest of the roster catalogued on the line hub and profiled in demand order. Every r·pod ships with the mandatory Camp-Ready package: a 12V fridge, a 15,000-BTU air conditioner, a tankless water heater, a roof solar panel and a sealed, heated underbelly.