How do you see the sights without a toad?

I have 26ft with no slides. I don't find it much of a burden to hook and unhook for excursions. I have two different set up patterns based on whether I will be settled in or expect to be making excursions. Often I don't hook up the water for the latter case. I just use the onboard water. I always plan carefully to make supply/grocery stops on the way to and from. As others have mentioned there is most often some extra walking involved in parking. I have rented a car at times. I can rent a lot of cars for what it would cost me to buy, set up, and maintain a toad. Also I travel alone so the logistics of managing a toad on the road would be that much more difficult for me.

Whilst many wouldn't dream of doing what we do admittedly I share with you our most recent trip and size of our rig just so you know anything is possible if you wish to do it. We've been driving our 37ft+ Gas MH around toadless for almost 13 years and it's never stopped us from doing or going anywhere we want (44 states, 8 provinces, 2 territories and counting)..

If a destination stop, has a parking lot that appears a little tight we'll drive a little further on and walk back a wee bit. In all that time we have rented a local vehicle twice for a few days. Once in Las Vegas, Nevada at $9/day to go explore Hoover dam and out to Pahrump (we could have just as easily unhooked from the Oasis Las Vegas CG and done the same in the Moho), and once in Anaheim when we wanted to cover a lot of ground in 3 days around Hollywood, Bev' Hills, Malibu, Santa Monica, Theme Park etc.

We don't full-time but we do go for many trips of several weeks at a time. In fact we are just back from a 6 week trip to Waterton NP, Glacier NP, Idaho Panhandle, Couer D'Alene, Spokane, Seattle (stayed in an RV Park O/N using bus into Seattle), Olympic NP including up to the Hoh Rainforest in Washington, Oregon Coast and many inland towns like Grants Pass, Bend, took the waterfall route to Crater Lake, and back to Crescent City, we even drove all the way up to the Caves National Park and all their hairpin bends, also through the Redwoods, down the North California coast before working easterly to Santa Rosa through the Sonoma Valley, Palm Springs, onto Yuma, Lake Havasu London Bridge area and stayed 2 nights at the back of Ballys/Paris Hotels from the Las Vegas Strip.

As a side note out of 43 nights on the road, we only stayed in organized CGs for 3 nights in the two national parks and 1 night outside of Seattle. We realized after the fact that we could have easily parked in Seattle with the beast but based on what we'd read and heard from many opted to stay at a CG and catch the bus this time. A few years ago we even drove through NYC as well in the beast but that was purely by mistake and not planned when heading from NJ to Long Island

YMMV, and To Each Their Own but .......... Whether to take a toad or not is purely a matter of personal preference and one's individual comfort level - YES there are others that are like us (TravelwithKevinandRuth come to mind) but we are far from the norm in going toadless to some of the places we go to. Purely sharing this with you to explain that it is possible and there are some folks doing it without issue utilizing push bikes or walking. It's not hard to organize ourselves to pick up groceries enroute, so that's no issue, and we just stop and start at what we want to see/do as we travel around.

Will we likely end up over the next two or three years with a toad, it's quite possible as we start FT RVing in around 14 months time. However, initially we won't because we haven't had any issues with the way we travel thus far, but we are cognizant maybe that will change as may our thoughts, mindsets and even mobility when the RV becomes our permanent and only home 365.

Just re-read your OP. Based on YOUR last comment about "hook ups are a priority", if you are planning on staying in one location for a few days, you could find it a pain in the proverbial connecting and unconnecting day after day unless you are within biking/walking distance of attractions or public transportation

Find a shopping center with Bus service or train service.
Park RV FOR THE DAY go to town.

I have 25'. Generally it means I walk a little farther from parking to the goal. Usually not bad but sometimes a block or two instead of right there. In suburbia usually the parking lots are big enough-empty spots at back of lot that I can pull through. In small towns usually park back a block or two from the main street and walk to the spot. In big cities I've done taxi, bicycle, uber, mass transit, or consider a car rental as posted above.

I look at the little bit of extra walking as beneficial.

easy get small scooters or a 3 wheel motorcycle. Just make sure that the lift or whatever you decide to use is able to support the weight. The can-am spiders are easy for 2 to use. Personally we bought a towed and its just so much easier than trying to catch rides or going to use rentals in areas where you would have to rent in one area and drive to wherever to use.

To each their own I guess. Places like hot springs ark and some others you can get into town but then are faced with NO RV parking signs!

In my quite limited experience...I find a parking place for the RV and go where I was intending to go. In suburbia or rural areas, this hasn't been much of a problem (with a 32' class C); I need two parking spaces nose to nose, or several in a row sideways, and that hasn't been too difficult to find. In a big city downtown, I would rent a car or walk or take public transportation—not just because of parking, but also because of the joys of maneuvering a big, wide vehicle through sometimes narrow streets and tight corners. Even with a car, walking or public transit is often a lot easier.

Bicycles would sometimes also be a reasonable option.

One of the reasons that we got a small class C was to eliminate the need for a toad. We've yet to go any place where it didn't fit, and when we are staying for long periods of time in a campground, we call Enterprise.

We get their small car special, and it's usually about a hundred dollars a week, and they come and get us.

We've been the toad route, and it was way more trouble and expense than it was ever worth.... buying the gear, buying the toad, the extra insurance, not being able to back up, the extra maintenance, etc.

We had looked at a class B (Phoenix Cruiser 2552) so we wouldn't need a toad, but it didn't have enough storage. We were worried that going up to a class C would force us to get a toad, but it's been fine.

It all depends on how and where you travel, and if you want to put up with the extra hassle and expense of a toad.

Happy and safe camping!

We went from a Class B to a Class C and quickly decided we needed a toad. So, it was a great excuse for my wife to get a Cherokee Trailhawk.....and we love it.

We tend to stay in one spot for several days, sometimes boondocking for a couple of weeks at a time. It is just too inconvenient for us to put in the slide, secure our campsite so it looks occupied and take off in our C. And, a lot of places we want to go it is just pretty impractical to drive a motorhome. SO, a toad works well for us on longer trips. For shorter trips of just a few days when we are just getting away to a forest or state park, we normally don't tow because we are not going to leave the campground. We like to hike and that takes up our days.

There will come a time in a few years when we will probably go back to a Class B and tour more than camp. No toad at that point in our lives.

Paul

In places that have vehicle length restrictions like Glacier National Parks "Going to the Sun Road", we rent a car. Another example for renting a car is when driving through a city like Seattle or Los Angeles.

Manor advantage to staying small is our 26' Class C Spinter in a regular parking space that has 4-5' of rear overhang space.Rarely have a problem in that regard.