How do you see the sights without a toad?

ron.dittmer wrote:

SweetWaterSurprise wrote:
I don't think any would carry a tow vehicle the way I do, but I prefer to keep my cars enclosed. Just the easiest way to see sights is to unload the Jeep and go.

I love it.

That looks familiar.

E450 and 4x4?

Yes sir. 4x4 by QuadVan.

Matt_Colie wrote:
Richy,

This is so very dependent on how you travel, that there is no one good answer. We have a 23ft Class A. We had a towed. I just sold it. We have the bicycles that fold up and live under our dinette and they are almost as good for most things. If you are going to park a week in one place, that may be a reason for a towed. We don't.

We used it and dragged it and is was all set up for use in every state. We didn't take it to Yellowstone because it was such a long run. We didn't miss it. I took me a while to figure out why people were getting out of their cars to see things. We could see just fine. If you are sight seeing in the west, the view is better than it is from a car. OK, the fuel will cost more, but you also don't have the chance to leave anything like the camera or binoculars or sun hat back at camp.

If you are going to travel in a megopolis, either drag the towed or rent one there. This is very true on the East and West coasts. When you get within 100 miles of salt water, the whole place becomes anti-RV and it doesn't matter what kind of RV. Just make sure that your own insurance covers rental cars and don't pay for theirs.

Matt

When we went to Yellowstone the toad was invaluable. We put 100 miles on it in one day there and went places the RV could not go. Like you said, there is no one good answer.

I do not believe that I would ever go any place and not take the towed. Have you ever been to Cedar Key in Florida... a very long road that if something broke, and you are without a tow, it is a long walk to get help and cellphone service is not good. Ever been to Helen GA, and at one of the two campgrounds no taxi rides, buses, or car rentals.

I agree. Go camping like you think you would WITHOUT another car. Spend the week and see how it goes... but do this in different locations 4 or 5 times. Then you will know.

One thing to consider: Almost all public transport (subways, busses, ferries, national park trams) lets you bring bicycles onboard. So the range of a bike is a lot larger than it may seem!

F1bNorm wrote:

BTW - I really wanted a motorcycle, but Mama said no way was she going to ride on the back!

Norm

Then buy two motorcycles!

It depends on your touring/camping habits and likes. We have a 27 foot class C with rear bedroom, can't use overhead bed with arthritis, We have always never had a problem without a towed vehicle. My advice, buy a 27 footer with rear bedroom, don't buy a towing package and a vehicle to tow until you get some camping/touring experience. If you decided that you really need a toad, have towing package installed and start towing. To us, towing something behind a motorhome and parking, stopping for gas, etc., on the way to somewhere is more bother than it is worth.

Richy,

This is so very dependent on how you travel, that there is no one good answer. We have a 23ft Class A. We had a towed. I just sold it. We have the bicycles that fold up and live under our dinette and they are almost as good for most things. If you are going to park a week in one place, that may be a reason for a towed. We don't.

We used it and dragged it and is was all set up for use in every state. We didn't take it to Yellowstone because it was such a long run. We didn't miss it. I took me a while to figure out why people were getting out of their cars to see things. We could see just fine. If you are sight seeing in the west, the view is better than it is from a car. OK, the fuel will cost more, but you also don't have the chance to leave anything like the camera or binoculars or sun hat back at camp.

If you are going to travel in a megopolis, either drag the towed or rent one there. This is very true on the East and West coasts. When you get within 100 miles of salt water, the whole place becomes anti-RV and it doesn't matter what kind of RV. Just make sure that your own insurance covers rental cars and don't pay for theirs.

Matt

SweetWaterSurprise wrote:
I don't think any would carry a tow vehicle the way I do, but I prefer to keep my cars enclosed. Just the easiest way to see sights is to unload the Jeep and go.

I love it.

That looks familiar.

E450 and 4x4?

I don't think any would carry a tow vehicle the way I do, but I prefer to keep my cars enclosed. Just the easiest way to see sights is to unload the Jeep and go.

F1bNorm wrote:
We have a 24' and a CRV toad. Both with and without have advantages and disadvantages

With toad you can drive around and sight see using the MH as a base. You might even make up the gas milage you lose towing (for us, about a mile per gallon). You can go to places the MH won't fit, metro downtowns for one example.

The downside, while towing, you might not be able to stop at the little cafe, or the quilt store DW just spotted. Gas stations take some planning to get in and out. You bought the 24 footer because it was easy to handle, now you're driving a 34 footer.

Here's the test we did before getting the toad. We picked a fav campground a few hours from home. My wife followed in our regular car. We liked it so we went ahead with the hitching up. Luckily, we already had the CRV.

The one thing about having a toad is you have the option of taking or leaving it and thats how we roll.

Norm

Great comments Norm!

I like Norm's little experiment in driving the toad separately to a nearby destination. With both parked at your camp site, I challenge you to leave the tow vehicle there and drive around in your motor home. That should eliminate all doubt.

I did want to add that when we are "In Process" of towing, we are on the road where towing is well accommodating. We are always able to get to where we want to eat and buy gas. We are choosey about gas station accessibility and plan it out in my head before committing, but when there is just one gas station to work with that is questionable, we manage regardless.

I do want to say that it happens about once during each of our 3-4 week trips, where I will get into a pickle which requires unhooking the tow vehicle. Given that my wife and I always work together in the hook/unhook process, we operate efficiently and can separate the tow and drive off in 45 seconds. We meet up down the street where we can comfortably re-hook which takes about 5 minutes. It is a lot about making sure it's all dressed good and safe to take off.