How useful is a Toad?

I flat-towed a Jeep behind our truck camper for the first time last year and it was definitely worth the expense and effort. For me it’s an off-road vehicle while we’re in Utah and Arizona. For my wife who is less enthusiastic about off-roading it was more convenient for in town driving and touring about in general. I was concerned about the no backup because it was probably a 5-10 minute job to disconnect and hook up but in 6,000 km it was never an issue. I did have to plan fuel stops more than I did prior to towing though. Nice to know I had a spare vehicle in case of a break down. Didn’t need that though.

Same as Norm, if the distance is close and we still want the Jeep my wife will just drive it especially if the trip involves a ferry (we live on an island).

The down sides? It makes for a long rig. I needed about an 18” extension and 6” drop (BTW, I originally tried the Curt extension but it was way longer that I needed). The fuel consumption goes up - minor on flat roads, more on the twisty lumpy more interesting back roads I prefer to travel on.

I installed the Ready Brute Elite, Ready Stop ebrake, Hopkins tail light kit and a brake light relay. It’s a 2 door Jeep and a Ram dually diesel.

I can't seem to figure out how to add a signature so it shows what my rig is. I looked in the help section but maybe I'm missing it.

jplante4 wrote:

Wharfcat wrote:
Mod I want to know what people with truck campers think.

Yes. I could have left it in TC, but you would only get replies like "just drop the camper and use the truck." Would that have been more useful than replies from people WHO ACTUALLY TOW A CRV?????

Nowhere in your profile or signature is the fact that you have a TC. It's customary to put your rig's description in your signature to avoid confusion and help people in answering your question.

Why didn't you name the thread "Can I Tow a CRV Behind a Truck Camper?" ?

burningman wrote:
And after all that... did you read the question, which is about pulling a toad behind a truck camper?

And exactly WHERE in the initial post does this exist? Here is the original post.

How Useful is a Toad?

I have a 2013 Honda CRV that is capable of being towed 4 wheels down.
How many of you have a towed and what your thoughts are.

Yes my fault. I should have been more precise. The truck camper has some additional quirks that flat towing behind a Class A or C don't have. Having to extend the hitch is a big one. The Class A and C owners have valuable insights too, I'm trying to gather as much info as I can at this point. I've got so much work to do in order to prep for my summer trip I'm not sure if I have enough time to do it all and prep the Honda to flat tow. It now seems a bigger project than I initially thought it would be. I got a Curt 2.5 inch extension so I'll start by installing it and taking some measurements. And of course keep asking questions here. Sorry for the confusion I created.

jplante4 wrote:

Wharfcat wrote:
Mod I want to know what people with truck campers think.

Yes. I could have left it in TC, but you would only get replies like "just drop the camper and use the truck." Would that have been more useful than replies from people WHO ACTUALLY TOW A CRV?????

Nowhere in your profile or signature is the fact that you have a TC. It's customary to put your rig's description in your signature to avoid confusion and help people in answering your question.

Why didn't you name the thread "Can I Tow a CRV Behind a Truck Camper?" ?

burningman wrote:
And after all that... did you read the question, which is about pulling a toad behind a truck camper?

And exactly WHERE in the initial post does this exist? Here is the original post.

How Useful is a Toad?

I have a 2013 Honda CRV that is capable of being towed 4 wheels down.
How many of you have a towed and what your thoughts are.

The initial post was in the truck camper section where this member is a regular contributor. It doesn't seem confusing to me.

The test to see if we wanted to tow our CRV was to have my wife follow the MH to a favorite campground. We decided it was nice to have the car, so we set it up to tow. Depending on the destination or distance we now have the option to tow or not.

Towing: freedom to sight see, not have to store stuff in the camper to move, CRV has room for extra gear, mate can go off on their own (unless you don't mind sitting outside of quilt stores).

Not towing: Better gas mileage (about 1 MPG), easier to maneuver (you can't back up with a towd), no speed limit restriction for towing (CA-55MPH).

If you set-up your CRV, we are happy with the ReadyBrute system. I suggest you include a battery charge line.

Norm






A plus for towing whether a TC or small MH is that you can carry extra stuff in the towd.

jplante4 ~~ THANKS ~~ that is where i originally got lost. I tow behind my class A ~~ I do Not tow behind my TC.

Wharfcat wrote:
Mod I want to know what people with truck campers think.

Yes. I could have left it in TC, but you would only get replies like "just drop the camper and use the truck." Would that have been more useful than replies from people WHO ACTUALLY TOW A CRV?????

Nowhere in your profile or signature is the fact that you have a TC. It's customary to put your rig's description in your signature to avoid confusion and help people in answering your question.

Why didn't you name the thread "Can I Tow a CRV Behind a Truck Camper?" ?

burningman wrote:
And after all that... did you read the question, which is about pulling a toad behind a truck camper?

And exactly WHERE in the initial post does this exist? Here is the original post.

How Useful is a Toad?

I have a 2013 Honda CRV that is capable of being towed 4 wheels down.
How many of you have a towed and what your thoughts are.

I love having my toad behind the truck camper. It comes in handy for many reasons. I don't like to be without it.

And after all that... did you read the question, which is about pulling a toad behind a truck camper?

Wharfcat wrote:
I have a 2013 Honda CRV that is capable of being towed 4 wheels down.
How many of you have a towed and what your thoughts are.

Wharfcat,
Well, I'm not too sure how this thread got diverted into truck camper use but, I'm pretty sure you wanted info on towing your CRV and what maybe others TOW? Well, we've been motorhoming, towing, camping etc. for well over 35-36 years or so. We've towed a Toyota 2WD truck, an '11 Honda CRV EX-L All Wheel drive, an '11 GMC Sierra 1500 Extended Cab 4x4 and, 9 different Jeep Wranglers.

Our coach doesn't move an inch, without one of our present toads. We've been broken down a couple of times in those 35 years and, it's no fun if you're dead in the water and no way to get around. Towing for some, make it harder than it needs to be. For others, it's so routine, that all aspects of it are done as second nature.

You never, ever know if and when, even something small can break down in and or on, your motorhome so, having mobility, at least to us, IS A MUST!! And we don't even think about all that Uber ****. We're not gonna RENT any car anywhere. Every single vehicle we've purchased in the last thirty years has had considerations for towing. There's quite a few various toads that are flat towable out there.

And, speaking of that, your '13 CRV is right up there at the top of the list for flat towable toads. I did all the setup for towing our '11 which, would be almost identical to yours. The entire front plastic is off in a matter of minutes if you know where to unfasten it. Then, the install of the base plate, no biggie. I did all my own (as I've done for decades) wiring when it comes to lights for it while being towed.

I'm not one of those that runs and hides when it comes to tying into factory wiring for lighting. I setup the CRV to utilize not only the RED tail lights and brake lights but, I also setup the AMBER turn signals too. When we towed it, people following it, when it was being towed, saw the exact same action with the tail lights, ALL OF THEM, as they would when it was being driven. I drew up an easy to follow diagram for wiring your CRV if you're interested.

Anyway, as stated earlier, we don't go ANYWHERE without one of our toads. The mobility for a zillion reasons, going out to dinner, lunch, breakfast, getting groceries, seeing attractions, visiting nearby friends, getting parts or supplies for the RV, and a whole lot more. And no, I don't worry about the miniscule amount of loss in miles per gallon in the coach. The darn thing only gets 6-7.5 anyways so, it is what it is.

Get your CRV hooked up and go have fun.
Scott