How many don't pull a TOAD behind their coach?

[Mondooker]

I'm curious, if you don't pull a TOAD and I see many who don't. What do you do about food shopping, doctor visits and performing general trips associated with travel?

Of course when I see motorhomes not pulling a TOAD I have no way of knowing if that's their normal configuration? But if you don't pull a TOAD I'd love knowing how you make it work?

Thank you

[2gypsies1]

Folks RV in many different ways. We would never choose our place of stay based on if a rental agency or grocery store is nearby. The priority to us is exploring the area, including the boonies. That's where the beauty is.

[AbdRahim]

Look for campgrounds that have some food within 2 mi. Then I walk. Usually, I'm only out for two or three weeks. l pre-cook most dinner meals, and carry plenty of extra food (canned goods, etc.). Some campgrounds have a snack bar for a supplemental meal or two. I am thinking of getting a bicycle to expand my range. One trip each summer is a tourist trip. .Then I will rent from Enterprise for a week. .I get all of the touristy stuff and extra shopping done in that week and spend the rest of the time within walking distance of the campground.

[ed1]

We've gone 13 years without a toad. We started that way because we didn't have a towable car when we bought the motor home. So we rented from Enterprise for our cross country trips. In general we got good service and, for our usage, it was more cost effective to rent than to buy a new car. This depends on how much you travel.
Eventually we needed to get a new car and got a towable Corolla. By that time however, we were down to a few local trips a year, so I decided not to spend the several thousand it would have cost for the tow package. Our usage has dwindled more so that was the right choice for us.
I should note that we planned our trips in advance, and part of the planning was to select campgrounds which were close enough to an Enterprise so that we were assured of a pickup. Some folks don't like to be so regimented, so a toad may be the best for them.
Incidentally, when we made our first cross country trip in 2003 we entertained ourselves by counting Class As with or without a toad. At that time, about 1/3 had toads.

Ed

[JFC]

After our first trip, we've always had a toad. At first, we had toads that were only used as toads. We finally got smart and the last two have been everyday drivers that also can be a toad, Saturn Vue and now Ford Flex. No big deal to tow and great to have at the location. Because we like short travel days and plan accordingly, even if we're at a CG just for one night, it's fun and easy to get the toad and explore for a few hours.

[tropical36]

Mondooker wrote:
I'm curious, if you don't pull a TOAD and I see many who don't. What do you do about food shopping, doctor visits and performing general trips associated with travel?

Of course when I see motorhomes not pulling a TOAD I have no way of knowing if that's their normal configuration? But if you don't pull a TOAD I'd love knowing how you make it work?

Thank you

We've found since, that pulling your transportation along with you, is the way to go and with the only real difference being that before you didn't have it and now you do.
However, before this and for extended stays, we'd rent a car.
For everyday travel, we'd pull into a Walmart before going into a campground or depending on the time of day, just stay there for the night and especially if in a large shopping and restaurant area for looking around some.
For going places later, and just for instance, we once unhooked and drove to the the train station parking lot in Albuquerque, where we boarded for a day in Santa Fe.
Another time and after a stay at the KOA in the black hills, we took advantage of their van to the Chief Crazy Horse Monument night show and then stopped at Mt. Rushmore on the way out of town, for a few hours.
Keep in mind that your toad should also be your pick as an everyday driver.

[Snowman9000]

Renting from Enterprise is a good way to waste half a day twice, if you are in a busy area. That was our experience anyway. They didn't bring the car to us. They picked me up and took me to the rental office. That trip depends on their driver availability and other customers ahead of you. Then it took 20 minutes to get there. Then stand in the rental line. Then drive back to the CG. And reverse the process on return day.

You had better plan on 2 or 3 hours for each half of the transaction.

[HighwayJunky]

Totally depends on your individual camping/travel plans. If you wish to wonder around the area after set-up then a toad is required. If you like to stay in the campground and go No Where except the campstore then you'd not need the toad..Pretty simple..

We always that the toad as we like to discover the areas in which we camp...

[rk911]

RVER wrote:
I used to own a motorhome and not toad and then bought a fiver and owned that since 2000 and now have put the fiver on site for whole summer, and bought a 2003 Newmar Mountainaire and will not pull a TOAD and will rent from a company like Enterprise so they bring the car to you at campground and they pick it up. Why pay the taxes and insurance and maintenance on the car when you can rent. IF I were out there for months at a time then would think about owning a small car but until I am out more than 3 mos at a time, car rental.

before we started towing we did the enterpise thing. they will...usually...pick you up. the smaller the town the fewer office staff available to give rides meaning they are less likely to offer that service. and in all cases we had to return the car to the office and in most but not all cases we were able to get a ride back to the CG. FYI.

[Mr_Mark1]

RVER wrote:
I used to own a motorhome and not toad and then bought a fiver and owned that since 2000 and now have put the fiver on site for whole summer, and bought a 2003 Newmar Mountainaire and will not pull a TOAD and will rent from a company like Enterprise so they bring the car to you at campground and they pick it up. Why pay the taxes and insurance and maintenance on the car when you can rent. IF I were out there for months at a time then would think about owning a small car but until I am out more than 3 mos at a time, car rental.

We rented for three years before we purchased ('04,'05,'06). So, we didn't tow with the rentals as none of our cars were 'towable' four down.

We didn't have good luck with rental companies. In the Napa Valley area, the Enterprise company couldn't pick us up (under staffed), finally, they could pick us up 3 or 4 hrs. later.

While at the Russian river in Guerneville, CA, no rental cars. In Sedona, AZ, you could only rent from the major rental companies if you flew into the airport. I found a secondary rental company that rented used vehicles.

I will always have a tow vehicle behind the motorhome because it works best for us.

We use the tow vehicle as Costco/Home Depot/bad weather car when at home.

Safe travels,
MM.

[MrWizard]

We carry a two wheel motorized transport, and it does very well to get us around
When we want to leave the mh parked and run to the grocery or visiting

[RVER]

I used to own a motorhome and not toad and then bought a fiver and owned that since 2000 and now have put the fiver on site for whole summer, and bought a 2003 Newmar Mountainaire and will not pull a TOAD and will rent from a company like Enterprise so they bring the car to you at campground and they pick it up. Why pay the taxes and insurance and maintenance on the car when you can rent. IF I were out there for months at a time then would think about owning a small car but until I am out more than 3 mos at a time, car rental.

[doxiemom11]

We pull a utility trailer that has motorcycles etc on. I trail behind with our Jeep. I'd rather do that than ride in the motorhome. Especially if there are any mountains around! We know other couples that do this also - some pull tt or 5th with the truck and wife follows in their other vehicle which they use for everything once they have arrived.

[k6ncx]

racer99 wrote:
If you don't have a toad how do go to the beach-visit wallmart-carry your clubs to the course-ETC. etc.

I don't care much for beaches, but I can hardly believe there are no beaches that motorhomes can be parked somewhere near.

Visit Walmart? Seriously? That's easy, just park in the parking lot. Many Walmarts allow overnights! I've done it.

I don't play golf, but I do go to a restaurant on a golf course near home sometimes. There would be room for a half dozen, maybe a dozen motorhomes in the outer part of the parking lot there.

[jplante4]

One more point about renting vs. towing; we found we were picking campgrounds based on their proximity to an Enterprise rental location for pickup. A few times we were able to park close enough to the rental office in the motorhome, but most of the time we needed a pickup.