Forgive me if this has been answered. We just bought a new 24 foot Solera diesel . What do you suggest we purchase as a toad? We have had several trailers but this is our first motorhome. Thanks for helping me out ..

Occasionally we take our bikes along. Ten years & 80,000 miles and never felt we needed a toad.

Well, were not terribly small in spite of what my DW thinks, but were not very large either. We have always towed Subarus. They have been our daily driver and require no special changes, etc to tow. Just put it in neutral, set the ignition to 2, and away we go.

CloudDriver wrote:Occasionally we take our bikes along. Ten years & 80,000 miles and never felt we needed a toad.I/we always take bikes along, but also never felt the need for a toad with our 22' or 24' Class C motor homes. Never ran into a problem with either one. Just about anywhere a crew cab long bed dually could go, they could go also. It only takes a couple of minutes to unhook the water and electric. I need about 3 lanes to make a U turn with the 24'er, but don't remember what the 22'er needed, but pretty sure it was about the same.I now also have a 32 1/2'er and that is a different animal. I've yet to get a toad and really don't want to. I need about 3 1/2 lanes to make a U turn and you have to plan ahead driving something that long. There are definitely places you can't go with that, which were doable with the shorter RVs

Most of the time, nothing. When I'm traveling and sightseeing, 30 foot C works fine for getting around. I don't RV in big cities, have no reason to visit suburbs, the only two environments hostile to RVs. Towing makes the rig so big and clumsy (no backing up) that it guarantees I MUST leave the RV somewhere and use towed vehicle to get around. When I take the RV out to one of the local lakes (15 - 40 miles from home) to leave it there for a week or two, but not stay out there 24/7, I tow my Ford Ranger (3400 pounds) so I can get back to town and take care of business. A few people kind of move out there with taking vacation, commute to town to work during the day.When the wife died, I gave away her Accord and got a Fit (2500 pounds) which I've set up to tow. It can carry four people, five in a pinch, but I'll still tow the truck (2 seats) if I need to carry dirty stuff on my errands or sometimes just because I know I'm carrying only me.

What do you pull behind small class c ? | Good Sam Community

ron_dittmer
Explorer II
Sep 26, 2013
taigarazz wrote:
I'm looking for 4x4 <5000
1st generation Jeep Liberty 2002-2007 4x4 with automatic trans weighs less than 4100 pounds. We own a 2006 4x4 auto and it tows well. Roadmaster sells a good tow bar bracket kit, fairly easy to install yourself if you are a fair shade tree mechanic. $400 for kit #521423-1. Installation instructions HERE.
EsoxLucius
Explorer
Sep 26, 2013
ron.dittmer wrote:

The 2014 Chevy Spark with a 1.2L engine seems interesting with a curb weight of 2270-manual 2370-automatic but not sure if either version is towable.
Only the manual Spark is flat towable. The manual Toyota Echos (2000-2005) can be basic toad transportation and weigh slightly over a ton.
taigarazz
Explorer
Sep 26, 2013
I'm looking for 4x4 <5000
L
tenbear
Explorer
Sep 26, 2013
The Subaru that I posted earlier is about 3200 pounds.
ron_dittmer
Explorer II
Sep 26, 2013
taigarazz wrote:
So for 4 wheel drive, 4 wheels down, 4 passenger capacity, and light weight, what fits the bill besides a Jeep Wrangler?
A Jeep Wrangler is not considered light weight. Nor is the Jeep Liberty that we tow. Our 2006 Liberty 4x4 automatic weighs 4100 pounds. I think the Wrangler 2 door weighs the same, the 4-door Wrangler weighs more.

If going light weight <2500 pounds, you need to be looking at a Miata, MR2, Fit, Smart, etc. but many are 2-seaters. If you can get <2000 pounds, I believe you could legally get by without secondary braking for the tow vehicle. But don't take my word on it. We towed a 2000 MR2 Spyder that weighed 2200 pounds and we had no brake kit. I'd say it was marginal relying on the E350 to do all the braking.

The 2014 Chevy Spark with a 1.2L engine seems interesting with a curb weight of 2270-manual 2370-automatic but not sure if either version is towable.
Mich_F
Explorer
Sep 26, 2013
taigarazz wrote:
So for 4 wheel drive, 4 wheels down, 4 passenger capacity, and light weight, what fits the bill besides a Jeep Wrangler?

Someone earlier made reference to this link. http://www.blueox.com/Uploads/Docs/2013DinghyGuide.pdf (starting on pg 16)
which should cover current year towables. Keep in mind that the a vehicle that is towable this year, might not have been towable in previous years. The opposite is true also.
taigarazz
Explorer
Sep 26, 2013
So for 4 wheel drive, 4 wheels down, 4 passenger capacity, and light weight, what fits the bill besides a Jeep Wrangler?
pnichols
Explorer II
Sep 26, 2013
Robocop wrote:
Breaking down on the road regardless of roadside insurance is a real PITA without an alternative transportation option.

Outstanding argument for ... not necessarily a towed vehicle ... but for, well, alternative transportation.

We bought a 24 foot no-slide no-towed Class C to intentionally keep our travel live's simple. I don't know if we could fulltime in it, but so far we have taken 10 week trips in it and could have kept right on going.

Now, with regards to alternative transportation being available for our small Class C ... here's a photo clipped from another thread showing alternative transportation that would carry the two of us. I'd love to conveniently bring one of these along on a rack mounted on the front of our Class C:
Robocop
Explorer
Sep 23, 2013
The original question posed is one or two of the most vexing questions I ever had to answer since buying my Sunseeker. The first being, why on Earth did I buy a Class C and not upgrade my truck and get a bigger TT? Dunno. Maybe because I just wanted to and the bank said okay. But could I 'survive' without a toad? Of course. I pack the MH with enough stuff to last weeks at a time. Many of my trips are with friends, so a gallon of milk or a ride to the diner for breakfast is no big deal either. However, I also camp a week at a time in the dead of winter when my friends are no longer in the mood for such folly and the likelihood of things going awry is more apparent. Also, there have been work related issues which I could not address personally without a toad. And finally, the observation of rockhillmanor. Breaking down on the road regardless of roadside insurance is a real PITA without an alternative transportation option. So, after 2 1/2 years, a Honda CR-V became one more vehicle in my driveway. Not the lightest toad but I have fun with it since it is a manual transmission. Yeah, now I have three vehicles which require insurance and maintenance and it is only me at home. But now I have options even when I am not camping.
pnichols
Explorer II
Sep 22, 2013
That Honda Fit really is a neat little package to tow. I wish it was four-wheel drive, though, so it could be used a bit on sandy off-roads.