To Toad or not to Toad.

Just got back from an 1,170 mile "weekend" trip to Virginia Beach with the class c hauling a full size '14 Explorer. Worked great, averaged 7.9 mpg going down and around 7 coming back due to generator running for A/C. This trip was for my son wrestling in the national duals tournament, so the toad was almost mandatory to shuttle from the KOA to the convention center, beach, etc. Next big trip is the end of June to Nashville, not sure we'll take the toad on that one as it shouldn't be needed as much. Either way, it's not a huge difference in driving with or without. With us, it would be a coin flip whether it goes or not, depending on the activities planned on the trip.

Visited AK in '08 with our 19' "B". Now in "B+", and towing Subaru Forester. Present arrangement would have allowed us to visit many more places than even our "B" could go - luckily made friends with another couple in AK so rode with them into Kennicott, Would NOT have done that with my rig, then or now! Pros and cons of both - no 1 answer! ST

you might want to consider a Roadmaster setup using their Invisibrake.

I tow honda cdv all the time. love it. I tow with Roadmaster with quick release hook up. and airfare one brake system. with quick release hitch I remove safety cables pull two pens lift hitch off of car disconnect elects for rear lights on town and disconnect air for brakes. takes less than 3 minutes

If you go into canada with a towd you have to have brake system with breakaway system on towd. airfare one system has anti brakaway system built into it. to hook up you only have a quick connector on air for brake and a lanyard which activates breakaway brakes on towd. very simple to use.

You will want protection on front of towd for gravel. there are many stretches of roads in canada and alaska with gravel on them. You will use about 1 gallon on your MPG. But it is worth it. I also Start engine and run through gears and let it ideal for 5 min. every 4 hours on road. I have not had any trouble with battery running down on Towd this way Follow instructions on Towing in Towd Manual very closely.

We pulled a 1999 Honda CRV 4x4 for years. The Honda is awesome for a number of reasons, not the least of which is that it can be towed 4 wheels down. I used the readybrake system on it and it worked fine. That includes surge braking and breakaway brakes. I sold the motorhome but, still have the CRV. It still has the tow bar on it and I still have all of the associated accoutrements. We only traveled without the toad a couple of times. For what we did having the car made it much more pleasant. But, if your going to be moving around a lot then a toad might be more trouble than it's worth. My wife's health isn't great so, we like to have the option to stay in one place for several days if we need too. In those situations not having a car to drive is a real pain.

Bumpyroad wrote:

Teacher's Pet wrote:
, I found the multiple tear downs and setups a pain on our Alaska trip.

that says it all
plus, you might lose your site if left empty?
bumpy

Never lost site as had a sign as "Site Occupied" which was actually a old painted over license plate with vinyl transfer letters I had laying around with furnace chain to hang from power pedestal. Could be a major problem if boondocking or without hookups, which we basically did twice, once on the "beach" at Homer and in Whistler PP outside Jasper AB. Both times we didn't leave after set up for the night.

Teacher's Pet wrote:
, I found the multiple tear downs and setups a pain on our Alaska trip.

that says it all
plus, you might lose your site if left empty?
bumpy

When we did Alaska we did it in our 21' B+, 79 days no toad. Saved money on ferry system om return by not taking our Class A and toad, which was about $4000 difference. However I now have a 2011 Miata setup to tow behind the B+ for longer trips now. I prefer to set up camp for several days and explore areas we visit, I found the multiple tear downs and setups a pain on our Alaska trip.

This is a subject I have followed here over the years. The basic theme I have seen is that the roads you can't take the rv on will be pretty rough. And many things are accessible from good roads. Going toadless on a long tour is so convenient, that is my plan.

I wouldn't tow a toad without a braking system.
bumpy