newbie question about extended stays

First motor home was a 24' Isata. We had her for a year and traveled with no toad. We found it doable with limitations. We almost always were able to find a spot to park, especially in larger parking lots such as Walmart, major grocery chains etc, even larger tourist attractions. We had our tear down, set-up routine down to a science and could stow, pack and vacate a site in less than 15 minutes. Often our set-up was less because we would just plug in if our water tank was full and we didn't need to dump. What we eventually realized, though, was that more and more often we simply skipped going to do something or missed some things we would really have enjoyed seeing because we just didn't feel like going through the hassle and, as some one mentioned, going off leaving the motor home with the genny running so the dog stayed comfortable. Our first trip with the toad clinched it. We so enjoyed that and we realized that, for us, a toad was a "must." In a year of travel we now put 5,000 to 8,000 miles on the motor home but double or even triple that on the toad.

You don't have to have a towed vehicle, especially with a B. It is just more convenient that way, for extended stays. You can reduce your hookups to just the power cord, and some people do without that, but not for long stays.

Since you are talking about a B, if it is a short one getting around and parking will be no more problem than with a full-size SUV or crew-cab pickup truck. My daily driver is a full size van. However, there are places where it is easier to park a smaller vehicle, and in large cities where parking spaces are priced by size, it is cheaper to park a smaller vehicle.

For most RV parks, in and out is not a problem and they will work to accommodate you if you ask. I've been in only two RV parks that required me to be escorted each time I came it.

For campgrounds, where spaces might not be reserved, your problem will be keeping possession of that space while out. There are different rules, customs, procedures at different campgrounds. For some, the flag or ticket on a post is well enough honored, in others you might have to leave something blocking entrance to the campsite. But it is unlikely you will be having extended stays in campgrounds, since most have a short limit: 30 days, 14 days, 3 nights, etc.

Even with a 30 foot C, I've found that towing a vehicle is more of a convenience than a necessity, but I do tow one for extended stays where I need to get out and around. The more complex your camp setup, the less convenient going in and out becomes. The larger your motorhome and the more congested your driving environment, the more a towed (or rented) smaller vehicle becomes a necessity.

We rented an Enterprise vehicle when ever we needed it. It proves to be cheaper than purchasing a TOW, insurance and depreciation for the few times we needed one (about once or twice a month at most) when they have their weekend specials.

wa8yxm wrote:
Wife and I went for 3 or 4 years w/o a towed, We just timed all shopping and such so as to minimize miles and gallons of fuel.

Finally got a towed and crashed it 4 days later which is why I am now a single camper... Got a new towed though
Basically it is how much fuel do you want to burn going to the store for supplies, going to church, and such... I do church 2x a week in the winter (one in the summer) and hit the store on the way back to the campground.

Care to explain which is why I am now a single camper..
Inquiring mind wants to know.

Wife and I went for 3 or 4 years w/o a towed, We just timed all shopping and such so as to minimize miles and gallons of fuel.

Finally got a towed and crashed it 4 days later which is why I am now a single camper... Got a new towed though.

Basically it is how much fuel do you want to burn going to the store for supplies, going to church, and such... I do church 2x a week in the winter (one in the summer) and hit the store on the way back to the campground.

Thanks everyone. I am getting a Class B and I don't really want to get a toad due to financial circumstances, so this was very helpful.

Happily Retired 2 wrote:
When we downsized from 37 feet to 25.5 we were planning on not towing and using our motor home to get around. Bear in mind ours is fairly small and only 94" wide so fairly easy to get around in!

That thinking lasted for one trip! Took us three days to find an available rental! Enterprise charged us $67 for 2 days, and I bumped my head on that compact numerous times!! Also, didn't love the thought of having to leave our 2 dogs in various parking lots with the generator on. Always worried about a break in and the possibility of losing them!!

When we returned from that trip, I started researching suitable toads as the Dakota we had previously towed was bigger than we wanted with this smaller RV. That search led us to our Ford C-Max Energi, which we love. Would not want to go back to toadless!!

Only down side we have seen is that we are not able to carry our portable dump tank easily as we did in the pickup. Working on that!! :)

Since you will be full timing, I would think you would appreciate a toad even more!!

X-2, a major PITA to be without a toad, especially for a full timer.

Happily Retired 2 wrote:
When we downsized from 37 feet to 25.5 we were planning on not towing and using our motor home to get around. Bear in mind ours is fairly small and only 94" wide so fairly easy to get around in!

That thinking lasted for one trip! Took us three days to find an available rental! Enterprise charged us $67 for 2 days, and I bumped my head on that compact numerous times!! Also, didn't love the thought of having to leave our 2 dogs in various parking lots with the generator on. Always worried about a break in and the possibility of losing them!!

When we returned from that trip, I started researching suitable toads as the Dakota we had previously towed was bigger than we wanted with this smaller RV. That search led us to our Ford C-Max Energi, which we love. Would not want to go back to toadless!!

Only down side we have seen is that we are not able to carry our portable dump tank easily as we did in the pickup. Working on that!! :)

Since you will be full timing, I would think you would appreciate a toad even more!!

X-2, a major PITA to be without a toad, especially for a full timer.

When we downsized from 37 feet to 25.5 we were planning on not towing and using our motor home to get around. Bear in mind ours is fairly small and only 94" wide so fairly easy to get around in!

That thinking lasted for one trip! Took us three days to find an available rental! Enterprise charged us $67 for 2 days, and I bumped my head on that compact numerous times!! Also, didn't love the thought of having to leave our 2 dogs in various parking lots with the generator on. Always worried about a break in and the possibility of losing them!!

When we returned from that trip, I started researching suitable toads as the Dakota we had previously towed was bigger than we wanted with this smaller RV. That search led us to our Ford C-Max Energi, which we love. Would not want to go back to toadless!!

Only down side we have seen is that we are not able to carry our portable dump tank easily as we did in the pickup. Working on that!! :)

Since you will be full timing, I would think you would appreciate a toad even more!!

There's no problem with coming and going since you've already pre-paid for your site for X number of nights. Small class B RV owners do that all the time, and we tend to have simple setup/teardown routines and fewer problems parking while out & about.

Some of us leave items behind like chairs to indicate the site is in use - or carry an orange cone with something like "site occupied" stenciled on it, especially for public campgrounds where people pick their own vacant site and then put their money in an "iron ranger" drop box.