Forum Discussion

LarryDel's avatar
LarryDel
Explorer II
Feb 18, 2020

toad versus no toad

My wife and I currently tow a 4 door jeep wrangler. We are planning a trip out west (from our home in Delaware). We plan to visit as many National Parks as possible. We have always towed a vehicle, but it is a nuisance to gas up in tight crowded gas staions, hook up and unhook, extra weight going up and down mountains, poor gas mileage, etc. We were thinking of going without a tow vehicle and rely on Uber or car rentals as needed. We thought we might save enough on improved gas mileage to pay for car rentals. But not sure Uber or car rentals will be available where we are going. Any thoughts or suggestions would be welcomed.

28 Replies

  • I have never unhooked and re-hooked the car when I fuel my motorhome. There are plenty of filling stations that I can get in and out of without any problem. I would feel lost without my car.
    I have been West Coast to East Coast and North Coast to South Coast and back again.
  • Thanks for all the comments. You have convinced me. We will bring the toad for sure.
  • Gas stations in the west part of the US are more open and as not as tightly packed as the eastern states where you live. I have always been able to fill my Class-C and toad without unhooking them.
  • Two Hands wrote:
    Take your toad. You will definitely regret it if you don’t.


    x2

    Refueling is the least thing to worry about. Use google maps in the satellite mode to view gas stations so you see where the easy in/out stations are.
    Sometimes when we depart a campground my wife will drive the toad and follow me to a gas station to fill the rv, then hook it up.

    Besides, its not cheap to set up a car to be towed. It makes no sense to plop down the money to set up a vehicle to NOT tow it.
  • Can't imagine paying Uber to haul you around someplace like Yellowstone it's huge, hundreds of miles, a good week or better to see it all, you could probably buy a car cheaper. ;)
  • I doubt you will save enough in gas to count, may be easier to get in and out of some stations. If you plan your stops should not be a problem. We’ve been place where there aren’t either rental agencies or Uber. You’ve got the perfect car to site see in the West especially if you’re the adventurous type and want to tour places like Monument Valley on you own.
  • cannot imagine renting a car could be cheaper than using your own, even with higher cost of towing. As far as Uber, doubt it would be readily available in non-urban or suburban areas. We live in a part of Va called the Northern Neck and there's nothing but one's own vehicle available to go anywhere. The wide open spaces of the West would seem to be even less likely to have ride share services. We have been RVing for almost 45 years and I cannot imagine NOT bringing our toad on a long trip, particularly one where our goal is to wander and see this great country! Thinking if you already are set to tow, why not do so? Once you get west of the East Coast, there are far fewer toll roads as well, so that expense of towing an extra vehicle would not exist. Just my thoughts.