What "toad" to buy

jplante4 wrote:
We are snowbirding all winter on the road with no toad. I'm giving the "no toad" life an honest try to determine if I really need to tow something. We rent a car when we need it (turning out to be weekly) and next spring when we get home, we'll have an honest discussion about the cost and hassle of renting vs. towing something.

I'm anticipating that we'll decide to tow next time, so I'm taking an unofficial poll of what people are towing as I drive down the road and walk the RV parks I'm in. By far, the majority of toads I've seen are either a Jeep of some ilk or the CRV.

The coolest rig I've seen is this one.

Click

Before we started towing, I had a lot of arguments against it, but since then, we seldom go anywhere without it. It's so easy for doing so and only uses about 1/2 gallon per mile in fuel, so why not, if you already own it, as your everyday driver. In fact, that's the key to the whole thing and should be asking yourself if it's your pick or at least will do, for an everyday driver and not just for a toad, per say.

We bought our 2006 Jeep Liberty 4WD two years old with 20,000 miles in 2008. It now has 160,000+ miles and has been a GREAT toad. Easy and quick to hook up, no restrictions on towing, and has been an all around great vehicle both on road and off road. I have never had one regret about going with a Jeep Liberty.

Rather than tell you what vehicles is best to tow, I'll tell you how we got our last toad. During one of our trips we heard that Enterprise rentals was selling some of their vehicles that were "hail" damaged. We picked up a Chevy HHR, with minor hail damage that can't be seen from 10 feet away. It had less than 10,000 miles, came with a full factory warranty, and cost us less than 1/3 of the MSRP. Obviously this vehicle was maintained and detailed after each rental and it was spotless when we purchased it. That was 50,000 miles ago, not counting the miles that we have towed it.
In any case, the point is that if you do not have to have a spotlessly clean brand new vehicle, you can save a lot of money and pick up a vehicle that will suit your purposes, by checking with the rental companies.

We are snowbirding all winter on the road with no toad. I'm giving the "no toad" life an honest try to determine if I really need to tow something. We rent a car when we need it (turning out to be weekly) and next spring when we get home, we'll have an honest discussion about the cost and hassle of renting vs. towing something.

I'm anticipating that we'll decide to tow next time, so I'm taking an unofficial poll of what people are towing as I drive down the road and walk the RV parks I'm in. By far, the majority of toads I've seen are either a Jeep of some ilk or the CRV.

The coolest rig I've seen is this one.

Click

ncrowley wrote:
We tow a Honda Fit and a Jeep Wrangler and love both of them. Unfortunately, the new Fits cannot be flat towed.

The new Fits with the CVT cannot be flat towed. The new ones with a manual transmission still can be.

I have a Fit as my normal car (though I don't tow anything behind my motorhome). It's a great little car, remarkably adaptable to hauling all sorts of things.

kfp673 wrote:
What about any of the small pickup trucks? I did not check the links in earlier posts, but does anyone tow the GMC, Chevy, or Toyota small PU? The issue we keep running into with our consideration is that we would like to have a PU for daily use as well as hauling our 4 kayaks but full size are typically over 5k dry weight

There are some small light duty trucks available somewhere and whether a 4 x 4 or not, I'm most sure, but before taking this any further, what is your preference in a transmission for having auto or manual and should probably include that when seeking answers.
If you've already said and I might have missed it, then please disregard.

kfp673 wrote:
What about any of the small pickup trucks? I did not check the links in earlier posts, but does anyone tow the GMC, Chevy, or Toyota small PU? The issue we keep running into with our consideration is that we would like to have a PU for daily use as well as hauling our 4 kayaks but full size are typically over 5k dry weight

I tow a Dodge Dakota. It's actually a midsize and fairly heavy, but makes a good toad because like you I needed a truck too for other things. Although I loved my Wrangler, it wasn't a pickup.

Not all small trucks are towable four-down. I haven't checked recent models, but the Dakota and the small truck Chev and GMC make are towable four-down if they are 4wd. I looked at a Toyota 4wd and in their manual they say don't tow it four down. A salesman at the dealership assured me that was just Toyota being too cautious and it was towable. You just put the transfer case in neutral and the tranny in park and you were good to go. So I told him I'd buy the truck if the dealership would write out an addendum to the contract putting in writing that they say it can be towed four-down behind a motorhome and that the dealership would be responsible for any damages if they were not correct. They would not put in it in writing. So that tells you something right there.

Good thread.
I'll have to check out the Chevy HHR.

kfp673 wrote:
What about any of the small pickup trucks? I did not check the links in earlier posts, but does anyone tow the GMC, Chevy, or Toyota small PU? The issue we keep running into with our consideration is that we would like to have a PU for daily use as well as hauling our 4 kayaks but full size are typically over 5k dry weight

I used to tow a little Ford Ranger and I loved that little truck (except) that only two people could sit in it. But other then that it was great for hauling my Quad for hunting trips or what ever I wanted to haul. The engine was a small V-6. Great little engine. Standard transmission.

What about any of the small pickup trucks? I did not check the links in earlier posts, but does anyone tow the GMC, Chevy, or Toyota small PU? The issue we keep running into with our consideration is that we would like to have a PU for daily use as well as hauling our 4 kayaks but full size are typically over 5k dry weight