How nimble is a 35' Class A motorhome?

[RedJeep]

Hello. This may be my third post seeking advice on my next RV. Different thought/question for today. As previously mentioned we have a 40' fifth wheel toy hauler and a dually crew cab. This setup has proven to be a bit of a challenge in the wooded campgrounds of Oregon. I have been exploring different Class A and C motorhomes. Ideally, I would like to have a motorhome that was "nimble" enough so that I would not need a toad. A 35' motorhome actually "seems" pretty small to me given my current setup.

Our current rig is very long. While driving on a trip we may make some small excursions into towns for shopping, grab groceries or other attractions. I have become "competent" at pulling this behemoth through, for example, crowded Walmart parking lots, downtown Vancouver BC, downtown Portland, etc. It is convenient once we setup camp to have the pickup to run around in.

Previously, I owned a Class C and towed a Jeep. This worked out ok, but here is my thought that I am looking to get feedback on. Is it practical to think that I could have an (approx) 35' motorhome without a toad and:
1) Once setup in a campsite is it practical to think that if I wanted to take the family on a drive (to the beach, store, whatever) to just lift the leveling jacks, fold up the lawn chairs, bring the slides in and drive off on an errand? Or does that become a huge pain?
2) Drive a Class A around the town and tourist attractions? Or does parking become a huge pain?

I know that I can rent a car if parked for long stretched. Anyway, I appreciate any feedback from those that go everywhere with their Class A and no toad.

[Mr__Jeff]

I guess I'll be the odd man out here about your questions. We've put 70,000+ miles on our 37' Southwind - all WITHOUT a towed vehicle! We've visited historic sites, busy downtown areas, various campgrounds, etc. I was extremely familiar with the capabilities of our Southwind so never ran into any troubles getting in or out of locations. And yes, there were times we would be staying for several nights but would pull out each morning to go sight seeing or the event/attraction we were interested in. We are always on the go so we plan accordingly. No need to hook up sewer just for a night, sometimes don't even hook up water - just power. Sure makes it easier to pull out in the mornings, and shorter set up in the evening when you have to get all the "stuff" out.

Now with our new-to-us Tiffin Allegro Bus it does take a little bit longer but we still operate the same way, and we're not pulling a toad. Who knows, may be in a few years when the last of our kids stop traveling with us maybe we will start towing. But for now, traveling without towing sure is easy!

[doxiemom11]

WE have a 36' class A and did not have a toad our first year of full-timing. We also did shopping, site seeing while on the road. We are parked for the winter now and do have a car, but have to break camp to go fill our propane tank. We have done it 2X and will maybe have to go another time before we leave. Big pain to pack it up inside so that it can go.

[rexlion]

Should "nimble" and "class A" even be in the same sentence? LOL

[Daveinet]

RedJeep wrote:
1) Once setup in a campsite is it practical to think that if I wanted to take the family on a drive (to the beach, store, whatever) to just lift the leveling jacks, fold up the lawn chairs, bring the slides in and drive off on an errand? Or does that become a huge pain?
2) Drive a Class A around the town and tourist attractions? Or does parking become a huge pain?

I know that I can rent a car if parked for long stretched. Anyway, I appreciate any feedback from those that go everywhere with their Class A and no toad.

1000 times NO NO NO NO! It has nothing to do with the length or size of coach. When I first bought my coach, that is what I thought as well. My coach is 31'6" and less than 8 feet wide. It is by far more nimble than anything else out there. While I have no problem driving the roads less traveled, or driving in downtown Chicago traffic, all this is totally unrelated the need for a toad. I owned the coach for about 3 years, before I toad my Jeep for the purpose of off roading. I discovered it made a night and day difference in the level of enjoyment of the trip. It was then I swore to never go on vacation without a toad, unless I'm just visiting relatives. What I discovered is, no matter how efficient you are at setting up camp, it is still a major pain to back the coach into the spot, level up, break out the lawn chairs and other goodies, and then re-organize the inside of the coach to prepare for supper. If you come back from your days excursions at 6:00 PM, time you get parked and setup, get the fire going and are ready to begin to cook dinner, you are talking 7:00, which means eating supper at ~8:00 NO THANKYOU. Same with leaving. the stuff you would normally leave out inside the coach, you have to secure and prepare for driving. Basically the lack of toad steals 2 hours (1 hr at either end) out of every day that you could otherwise being enjoying your vacation.

[Happily_Retired]

Not nimble enough! We just traded our 37 foot A for a more narrow 25.5 foot A. This is a much more manageable size to go without a toad!

[mena661]

gone2dadesert wrote:
I have a 31' and I wouldn't take it sightseeing, shopping or anyplace other than a campsite or a gas station.... I have my JK for those tasks :W

Just sayin :E

We have a 33 ft and would not take it around for sightseeing. It stays in the CG until we leave. If we need a car, we just bring it along.

[rocmoc]

We did what you are thinking about doing. Went from a 37' Toyhauler pulled by a 4x4 Ram Quadcab to a 35'6" Class A pulling a Jeep CJ5 or C-Max Hybrid. Our Motorhome is not a good vehicle to use for sidetrips or milk runs. Just TOO big to park! We always pull a toad as it is also too much work to break-down the Motorhome if we wanted to drive the Motorhome on a sidetrip or milk run. At one time we had a 29' class A and was OK most of the time.

rocmoc n AZ/Mexico

[tonyandkaren]

We have a 25' class C and fulltime without a toad but we mostly tour rather than setting up in a campground and staying for a week or two at a time. Our RV will fit along city streets, taking up two spaces, and will fit in many attraction parking lots but I think that you'll have trouble finding parking with a 35' motorhome.

Breaking camp isn't much of a problem for us but we don't stay in FHU campsites so it's just a matter of unhooking the electric (which we often don't have) and putting away the few things that we've taken out.

[427435]

If your MH trips involve staying in one place for several days, pulling a toad will be less trouble than breaking camp several times to sight see.

We did circumnavigate Lake Superior without a toad and that worked out fine. But we changed campgrounds most every day.

[dubdub07]

My dad is the same and has a RoadTrek that he even uses as a second "emergency" car if he needs one while at home.

[Bumpyroad]

I wouldn't want over a 24 footer if I was going to not have a toad along. actually I would prefer a B van towing my 17 ft TT.
bumpy

[jswalls110]

I have a 27'. We went the first year without a toad. The next year I got the necessary gear to bring the Jeep.

The point is it isn't just the size, it's the stuff you have to do to get ready to go anywhere.

[falconbrother]

A 35 is a long vehicle. It takes three street side parking spaces in a row to park it on the street because it's too long for two spots. Get the 35 and pull a Honda CRV 4x4. There are a blue million used CRVs to be had in great shape. That way you get in the campground and leave the motorhome there.

We have a 28 foot which is borderline nimble. In a tight mountain campground I will pull in, unhook the toad, and back the motorhome in. It literally takes me about two minutes to unhook the toad and back the motorhome into a site, less in the rain. Even with a 28 foot I don't want to move it from the campground till we are ready to leave. When we first bought the motorhome we tried going without a toad. It's OK for a couple of days. I personally think that the toad is not optional for anything more than a short weekend or overnight trip. Our CRV has 165,000 miles on it. I plan to keep it till we decide to do something else.

[mlts22]

RedJeep wrote:
I appreciate the feedback but not very encouraging. Is there some commonly recognized length of RV where it becomes small enough that you do not need a toad? Or does it boil down to having to break camp to run around town is just a pain?

This is a question I'm looking at as well. If you want to fit anywhere, and everywhere, a 20 foot "B" will do it... well, anywhere but a standard parking garage unless you go with a Sportsmobile pop-top.

[Sully2]

RedJeep wrote:
I appreciate the feedback but not very encouraging. Is there some commonly recognized length of RV where it becomes small enough that you do not need a toad? Or does it boil down to having to break camp to run around town is just a pain?

There is no length to accomplish what yo ask. If nothing more...make reservations ahead of time to have a rental car delivered to you at the CG....and you can drop that off when you leave town