Your Thoughs on Using a Trailer for the Toad(?)

One issue is where you going to put the trailer when you get to the site. Another is much heavier than going four down, and more hassle loading and securing the vehicle on the trailer. A tow system for a 4 down would be cheaper than a trailer. I have seen it done with a single axle aluminum trailer with a smart car. I can have my toad hooked up and ready to go in 5 minutes with 4 down. As far as wear on the toad, yes there is tire and brake wear, but I think the convenience of 4 down is worth it. Edit: The brake wear on my toad is next to nothing. The Ford 6 speed tow haul transmission really take a lot off the brake system of both rig and toad.

Having a trailer for the dinghy will make you sort of crowd the parking at the RV camping spot as you will need to find enough area to park the trailer in addition to your dinghy and the RV. Also you will be pulling the additional weight of the trailer which might be a problem in mountain areas, check the weight allowance for your hitch on the RV; a towed dinghy four down doesn't press down on the rear of the RV like a trailer will.

Do you have the capacity pull a trailer/toad with your Class C?

Thank You for the responses! I will need to research tow hitches...your comments are valid. As for the tow vehicle cabilities.....yes it would be doable, but would add a considerably load on the TV. Also, length is something to consider...it would certainly limit us to 40+ foot pull throughs when we spend a night in an RV park. Our Toad, would likely be a Suzuki Samurai (short and light)!

What is your GCWR? I have never seen a class "C" rated to tow over 5000# many are much less. What is the weight of the car you are thinking about towing? Add that to the weight of the trailer.
This has been discussed maney times.
Having to use a trailer adds a whole additional level of challenges and difficulty to traveling with your RV. I have used a dolly and now tow 4 down. I have never had to use a trailer but we have some people in one of our clubs that use a trailer. Having watched them fight through the problems was plenty for me.
Problems like parking. Yes, you can find some campgrounds with long enough pull thrus that are long enough that you are ok. If not you have to park the trailer some place that may not be easily accessible with the coach. If you might need the car you have to unload the car park the trailer, unhook from the trailer, go back to your spot and setup. Now when in the morning or when you leave you have to tear down your site, maneuver back where the trailer is, hook up the trailer, load the car on the trailer and secure it, get ready to hit the road. Lots of work for an overnight stop.
Now a lot of this is going to depend on your physical ability.
Bill

WILDEBILL308, All valid points. I’m pretty sure that we could make the 5000# weight limit ( E-450, 4:55 gears). And, until the last two months, would have said the “physical abilities” would have been a non-issue. May have to rethink that right now! :M

The only pro I can think of using a trailer versus 4 down is that you can more easily back up a trailer, if you get yourself into trouble requiring a retreat. It's not recommended (although many have done it without problems) that you try to back up a 4 down setup. Stress on the tow bar is the primary issue. They're set up to pull, not push. The front wheels on the towed may tend to cut sharp left/right during backing, and that's also a problem. However, if you can start your towed, and use the power steering to straighten and control it's front wheel aspect, it can be done over short stretches on flat, or downhill, grades. Don't ask me how I know.

Lotta Work ~~ Lotta Weight ~~ for what purpose.

JM2¢ ~~ YMMV

Towing all 4 down offers the removal of the toad upon arrival at the entrance gate, so we can drive two vehicles to the site. This allows more campsite selections of sites to back a lone MH into, especially with a 24-26ft MH where you can fit into smaller sites.

I understand the OP's logic in consider trailering his tow vehicle. I wondered myself before making my decision to tow 4-wheels-down. Since "decision day" in 2007 we have been towing 4-wheels-down with two different tow vehicles.

First up in 2007 was a 2000 Toyota MR2 Spyder without tow brakes.




That car had to go because of the places we took it. We knew it was time for a 4x4 when we reached the one destination and all we saw were Wranglers scattered about. The look on peoples faces was very entertaining.

Second-up to this day is our 2006 Jeep Liberty with tow brakes.




It's the ideal vehicle for us in our travel and explorative desires. Working together in a hurry, I can unhook and watch my wife drive away in the Liberty in 45 seconds. Hooking up takes around 4 minutes with tow brake extras considered.

Thinking back to the day when I considered trailering our tow vehicle, I am so glad we didn't do it. For the places we travel like national parks, monuments, forests, etc. 4-wheel-down towing has been our right choice. Adding to it all is a place to store the trailer at home. I also feel that trailering would further complicate the trip, not simplify it.