How much are you driving your Toad?

[Ductape]

As we approach FT, I am questioning my selection of toad. The Jeep in sig is highly modified, and while it makes a great vacation vehicle, I'm not so sure it's the best to live with every day. Wind noise, tire noise, poor mpg. Great off road (what I built it for) but not my vehicle of choice for an all day drive on pavement.

We're thinking maybe a CRV or something similar would be a better all rounder.

A key part of this is how much daily driving gets done. As we transition from working to FT, not sure how that will change. So how much are YOU driving the toad, and what are your thoughts?

Thanks!

[SteveRuff]

We have towed a Pontiac Vibe for years and have loved it. Gas mileage is superb and we have spent little on maintenance other than tires, oil changes etc. Our problem is that after several years of fighting traffic in places like Boston, Atlanta, Houston, and San Francisco we finally decided we had to have an automatic. Dealing with the manual transmission in all that stop and go traffic is murder. Sadly, the selection of automatic transmission cars suitable for towing 4 down is quite limited. We were lucky to get in on a new Honda CRV 2014 after first buying a 2015 and finding the transmission had been changed making it now untowable.

[Ductape]

Thank you everyone for the insight. Like RnJ above, I think a Forester is in our future before we go FT. Spent part of today cruising the available offerings from Honda, GM, Jeep and Subaru, and it's the one that appeals to us the most.

[Ro_n_Joe]

We're kind of torn on the toad we're going to use when we full time. Love my Jeep Liberty but the mileage stinks. We'll probably be putting a lot of miles on the toad and getting a vehicle with 5-8 more mpg makes sense. Have a few years yet but currently thinking something like a manual Subaru Forester and than can rent something when we want to do some off roading.

[xctraveler]

Just for comparison we pull the Jeep in the description. Recently drove it 500 miles one way from the coach in our son's yard to our summer apartment and then back. It certainly is not luxury boat on the highway, but neither of us were bothered by it and having the factory standard off road capability is a wonderful addition. Since we are most time we have no use for a second car, no way to have it with and no reasonable place to store a car for 10 months at a time. When we need a second car we rent or use ZipCar - I think this has happened 2x in 3 three years. As always YMMV

[Ductape]

Yeah, I kind of liked those Colorado / Canyons myself. I think we'll go looking for a fuel efficient AWD such as a CRV and just use the Wrangler for an off road toy. Working, the two of us are putting on over 30k miles per year on the cars and as some of you have said, that probably won't decrease in retirement. The Jeep is getting around 15-16 mpg and if we get something around 30 then that's twice the miles for the same cost.

Definitely only interested in flat towing.

[traveylin]

2012 GMC Canyon 4 x4 towed to Alaska and back this summer. The pickup helps a bunch when having to haul stuff around the house when not rving. The doors are large enough to provide easy access. Low weight makes for an easy tow. 4 wheel drive worked very well off-roading around Moab ut. Pity they quit making them.

Pops

[lonnie4801]

Chevrolet Colorado pickup, 4-wheel drIve. Will have this toad 7 years in December. Have a bit over 74,000 miles on it and have towed it over 75,000 miles. Two trip to Alaska.

We move a lot. Average 75 different campgrounds a year.

[C-Bears]

Another 5th Wheeler Full Timer chiming in.....the longest place we stay put is in SW Florida for 4 or 5 months in the winter. In the Fort Myers Beach area it is a pain driving a 1 ton truck everywhere. This year we are taking our Jeep Wrangler to Florida with us and then storing it down there so we can have it every winter down there.

As full timers we really don't mind the truck for all transportation needs when we are traveling. But when we are in one spot for extended periods of time we want something small and fun to drive.

[usnret]

Until my wife and I headed out west last March we had a cr-v as a daily driver. We have a 5th wheel that I pull with a dodge dually. We sold it so she could ride in the truck and not have to follow across country.

From April to the end of Sept we hosted at campground near Madras Oregon. During that time the dually became our daily driver. We used it for going on day trips and sightseeing when we were off. Both of us think we will be replacing the C-RV once we get to our wintering location in Apache Junction, AZ. The smaller car makes the daily driving and day trips easier. Especially, when driving in more congested towns and large cities. I also miss having Judy driving behind me as we travel because she could block lanes whenever I had to shift lanes. It is also cheaper to operate the C-RV.

We are getting another C-RV because it can be towed "wheels down" in case we decide to get a MH at some point.

Jim

[SteveRuff]

While not actually full timers we almost qualify as we spend 8 or 9 months a year in our motor home. We are part of the Amazon Camperforce that travels to new facilities to help train their workers. This means we stay in one place for at least three months. We also have adapted our travel style to take advantage of the lower weekly and monthly rates when we are not working. All that being said I have found we put miles on the toad (Pontiac Vibe, new toad Honda CRV) at the rate of about 10 to 1. Having a toad that is comfortable, easy on the gas mileage, and big enough to take a couple of friends with you is essential to our lifestyle. It factored in heavily when we were choosing between a motor home and a fifth wheel. I just couldn't see myself using the big truck as my daily vehicle.

[dahkota]

We put at least 3X more miles on our Jeep than we do our coach. The advantages of having a Wrangler far outweigh any inconveniences for us. If we didn't/couldn't get a Wrangler, our second choice would definitely be the new Cherokee, though I much prefer the old ones.

[2gypsies1]

Dutch_12078 wrote:
We drive our toad for many more miles than we do our coach.

Same here.

Also, we have had great enjoyment with our Jeep Liberty off-road.

If you like Jeeping think twice about getting something different. Take a look at the new Cherokee which replaced the Liberty. It is extremely comfortable with very nice appointments. (It's different from the Grand Cherokee).

[HeeHawHoney]

Whatever you decide to go with, make sure that it is flat towable. I bought a Chevy Cruze in 2011 in anticipation of owning an RV and using the Cruze as my toad and my daily driver when not traveling. I specifically asked the salesman if it was flat towable because I knew that I would want to use it with my future RV. He asked the service manager, he said it was. We looked it up in the owner's manual, and it said it was. Six months later, I get a letter in the mail from GM saying that it wasn't and they sent me a nice little page to replace the original one that was in my owner's manual that stated that, if I did flat tow the Cruze, my warranty would be voided. I still love the car, but don't love loading it on and off the tow dolly when we get ready to move.

[BarbaraOK]

You'll put as many, and probably ,ore, miles on your toad as you did your daily driver while working, Shopping, site seeing, going to concerts, dinner, exploring, for us geocaching. We figure a 100 mile radius from where we are parked is toad driving range, sometimes more.

Things to watch for, reme,ber to add miles towed to the odometer mileage for tires, and really check the car battery every month. Amped rotate the tires on the toad frequently.

Barb