How long before buying a toad

Bought our 1st class A in 2000 was a 1996 Safari 31" gasser. Only used it for short trips because we were still working. Never had a toad always rented when we needed a car. Bought the 40" DS in 2004 and set up our 04 Odyssey and towed it from the start. Have now towed our 2 vehicles about 70000 miles & love having them w/ us. The only problem I'm having w/ the Explorer is my battery goes down each day and I have to recharge it daily. Can't figure out the problem since I do have a charge wire system installed on the Explorer. Best I can figure is the computer and the RVi break system must be eating a lot of juice during a 6-7 hr travel day.

I feel you are making a mistake not considering or trying to tow on a dolly, we have two front wheel cars that are updated every three years so a dolly was something we have tried and like its conveneinces, but to each his own, We think a toad of some kind is real important to shop or site see-Rich & Audrey
pauperspride.blogspot.com

Was going to do dolly route or find a 4 down towable suv that could fit 6 people which is not easy. Wife had a 2014 F150, dawned on me that the 16 would be under 5k weight and hold all of us plus gear. Super easy to put it in tow mode and made to do it. I do feel bad towing a brand new truck though...but man it's awesome.

Went on a few trips without a toad, bought the parts I needed when I found on Craigslist or other specials over a few weeks. Was going to rent for 3 days on a trip and for 250 bucks that was about 15% of my install costs.

Just be careful with some dealers as they overcharge a ton...they will mark up all parts and still charge you 115 an hour labor. 4K for a 4 down setup is too much. Got like new patriot blue ox for 475, new alpha tow bar 550, new plate for f150 350, and went with wireless light system for 250.

Went on f150 in about an hour and a half start to finish as no wiring saved a lot of time.

had mine ready for the first trip, can't get by without a toad.

kjburns wrote:
We did one trip, renting a car at the destination, and one trip with no car. That was it. After the second trip we got a 2001 Jeep Cherokee and haven't looked back. The toad eventually became a daily driver Grand Cherokee.

If you're staying more than a few days, a toad really is a necessity.

X2

We were in the same boat as you. After one trip we bought a dolly. It was cheaper than a new car.

Dolly immediately then 4 down within a year.

bobkatmsu wrote:

Y-Guy wrote:
We've had our Class A nearly 10 years, still no toad. We tend to stationary camp; used to ATV and we have a boat. Have Jeep Wrangler now and sometime in the next year I'll set it up to tow behind. We have taken it sometimes, but after doing the good ol' cost-benefit analysis it was cheaper to have my wife drive it then to buy everything to tow it. We just have higher priorities for our money right now.

How does your wife make you a sandwich driving down the road if she is another car?

If you do a cost analysis of owning an RV you would not have bought it in the first place. It is not about saving money, it is about having fun, making memories, and convenience. DW and I joke all the time about the MH belonging to the dog. The dog bought it so we could go on vacation with her. I can't imagine not have a toad along, but that's just my opinion.

I bought a tow car before my RV. So I was ready from day #1!

In our case, the toad came first, then the RV & tow dolly.