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mleekamp's avatar
mleekamp
Explorer
Dec 29, 2018

Chaser vs. Dinghy

Hey all. I recently saw a couple u-tube vids on folks using chaser cars vs. dinghy towing (regardless of dolly, 4 down, etc).

Currently, with our new Class C, I don't have a dinghy set up yet...we've camped local so far (we got the C in late Aug) and wife met us at campsite after work.

Our plans are to make my truck into a dinghy (can be towed flat 4).

But the question I have is...what experiences do any of you have using chaser on long trips vs dinghy? Set up cost is not my concern...just the ease of driving motorhome w/o towing.

Obvious disadvantage is not all being together at the same time, but an advantage would be ability to reverse and less strain on motorhome.

Looking for honest input!
  • Used toad as a chaser for a few hundred mile on vacation many year ago. Out in the middle of nowhere hit a bad 'dip' leaving a parking lot and tore out the tow cable wiring. WOW!!!! set off the screach alarm. As we had Remco pump in toad didn't want just any yahoo putting it back together. Our installer at home said car would be fine if we stopped every 125/150 miles ~ held the brake down and cycled it thru the gears. Worked fine ~ did use a little more fuel. Didn't have to hook up every day. Had family 2way radio so we could communicate. All in all not too bad.

    JM2¢ ~~ YMMV
  • I much prefer the dinghy as we can enjoy each other's company, AND she can keep my coffee cup full......just sayin. :B
  • We used a chaser for a while but limited to a couple hundred miles. Anything further we would just try to rent, taxi, Uber or stayed put where we were. Found out that the three options listed were not available everywhere. So when we got our current RV we decided to bite the bullet and got a toad. Now we “don’t leave home without it”.
  • We’ve towed a cargo trailer while wife drove a car. It’s ok but not optimum..
  • If you don't mind the extra fuel cost, it's a valid plan. My wife did a chase car for a while, but you lose the advantage of togetherness and she didn't like it for long. Towing four down is fairly easy, but don't know how heavy your truck is. On a long trip, the cost of fuel might equal the camping fees.
  • Another possible option on long trips is, rent a car when you reach your destination.
    Or use bicycles?
  • A lot depends on the MHs chassis and towing ability. So many class Cs are already at or over chassis limits before adding hitch weight towing becomes impractical. Before deciding on anything you need to get some accurate scale weights on your MH loaded ready to travel.

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