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Is a toad necessary with a small motor home?

goufgators
Explorer
Explorer
My wife and I in the market for a class c (down grading) and we've begun to wonder if a toad will be needed if we buy a class c in the 24-26' length.
If you have a 'c' in that length range, are you traveling w/o toad?
2017 Winnebago Sunstar (gas)
2005 Honda CRV Toad
Invisi-brake
44 REPLIES 44

ron_dittmer
Explorer II
Explorer II
Hi goufgators,

The short answer is that you don't need to tow another vehicle.

Our 2007 E350 based rig HERE measures 23'-8" over-all. In our case, we tow for convenience and explorative mobility having a 4x4 Jeep Liberty tow vehicle. Our vacationing often involves day trips where a 4x4 is great to have.

We left our tow vehicle home on one trip. We missed having it and haven't left home without it since. But it really isn't a necessity. We got around in the motor home just fine, especially because of it's friendly compact size in width and height.

wildtoad
Explorer II
Explorer II
You donโ€™t NEED a toad perhaps, and for the first few years we did not tow. A lot depends on how much stuff you have to put away when you want to go the five miles for a quart of milk. (Just an example). Many areas have local rental cars, ride share options, etc but not always where you want to be. The event we incurred causing us to start towing was a breakdown at a local state park close to us. Fortunately the wife had followed me to the CG with her car so as the tow truck went left we went home to the right. Had we been hundreds of miles from home we would have had a big problem.
Tom Wilds
Blythewood, SC
2016 Newmar Baystar Sport 3004
2015 Jeep Wrangler 2dr HT

Flute_Man
Explorer
Explorer
Simple answer. No
Jerry Parr
05 Mandalay 40B
Cat C7 350
04 Honda CR-V
Ham Radio K7OU
Retired EE
Jrparr32@gmail.com
602-321-8141
Full-timer

JaxDad
Explorer III
Explorer III
Iโ€™m my mind, and experience, the whole point of a shorter C is you are basically a cube van and you can go anywhere a cube van can go, which is pretty much everywhere. I even go through some drive thruโ€™s.

I park in normal parking spaces as long as thereโ€™s a little space or a boulevard or something behind me. If not a short stroll of a few hundred feet wonโ€™t kill me either.

When I do want a car I can have a rental delivered to me, or take an Uber for less than the extra gas (and hassle) of dragging a towed around.

Expyinflight
Explorer
Explorer
We have managed quite well without a toad. Don't really feel it has limited us that much in most situations. Have rented a car from Enterprise numerous times, if staying in a spot where we want to do some exploring of the area. No problem.
2017 Winnebago Spirit 25b

docsouce
Explorer II
Explorer II
We had a Thor 22e and took it cross country 3 times without a toad. We rent an auto when we find the need. We now have a Jayco 26XD and are leaving in early June for a 4 month cross country trip. Massachusetts to the 4 corners region, then poke around out there till we get to Montana then head back. Again no toad. We found all that's needed is to plan ahead. It's just the 2 of us though. I think if we had kids along, a toad would be very handy...
2020 JAYCO 26XD
Just right for the two of us!

garmp
Explorer II
Explorer II
There are 2 basic groups of RVers in our opinion. Destinationers and Tourers. Destionationers, drive to a park and plop for the duration. Tourers, may have a particular destination in mind, but generally take longer to get there than the time spent there. We are in the later group. We do not have a toad with our 26' Class C. We do however have e-bikes. We rarely are in any one park more than 3 nights and generally use the e-bikes to tour the park and riding enjoyment. Our sight seeing is mostly between stops.
If we were destinationers, a toad would be of value. If we stay at an area such as Destin, FL or such for any time, we do rent a car though.
Our 2351D Phoenix Cruiser, Jack, has turned us from campers into RVers and loving it!

Ivylog
Explorer III
Explorer III
Itโ€™s surprising the # of Sprinter Vans I see dragging a small car along with them...good for a chuckle. We are at the stage where weโ€™ll setup a dry base camp for a week and explore in the toad. If staying put for more than a week weโ€™ll start out conserving water, otherwise we donโ€™t have to cutback on anything.

Iโ€™ll take the shade with the windows open.
This post is my opinion (free advice). It is not intended to influence anyone's judgment nor do I advocate anyone do what I propose.
Sold 04 Dynasty to our son after 14 great years.
Upgraded with a 08 HR Navigator 45โ€™...

pnichols
Explorer II
Explorer II
The same here ... we don't need or want the expense and hassle of dragging a toad along.

With our 24 foot non-slide Class C, not using a toad offers the flexibility to make spur of the moment decisions to camp at spots like this:
2005 E450 Itasca 24V Class C

Gonzo42
Explorer
Explorer
We take our Toad almost always. Shopping, sight seeing, etc.
MOTHER SHIP Winnebago View 24H (2007 Dodge Sprinter 3500 Chassis, 2008 Body)3.0 L M-B Diesel V6 bought used with 24K miles. Toad: ROCKY the Flying Squirrel.

Lwiddis
Explorer II
Explorer II
Itโ€™s an individual choice. Iโ€™ve always taken a toad until I switched to TTs. Hard to explore in a C.
Winnebago 2101DS TT & 2022 Chevy Silverado 1500 LTZ Z71, WindyNation 300 watt solar-Lossigy 200 AH Lithium battery. Prefer boondocking, USFS, COE, BLM, NPS, TVA, state camps. Bicyclist. 14 yr. Army -11B40 then 11A - (MOS 1542 & 1560) IOBC & IOAC grad

lhenry8113
Explorer
Explorer
We have a 24ft. Class C and No toad. At 24ft. we can pretty much take it everywhere we would want to go. Also, we can and have used UBER and twice rented a car. Considering the cost of a Toad-Ins, Maintenance, Tires, Etc. compared to an Uber ride(usually about $7.00) to renting a it just isn't worth it to us.
2017 Chev/CLass C Forest River Forester 2251 SLE



A Positive Attitude May Not Solve All Your Problems But It Will Annoy Enough People To Make It Worth The Effort.
H Albright

midnightsadie
Explorer II
Explorer II
no toad we go where a van can, and lots of places a big rv can,t.

happynow
Explorer
Explorer
We have a 26' Class C. We travel Full Time on the road since December 2014.
We do not Tow a car. We generally travel to National Park and Natural areas. For the most part stay away from large cities.
We can break down/set up our site in under 10 minutes so using the RV to get around is easy. Its easy to find parking our rig fits in.
The 1-3 times a year that we need a car, we most often rent from Enterprise. If the campground is located within 10 miles, they pick you up. Pre-covid the cost per day was usually $20-25.00 per day.
Many folks want the freedom to have their car available without breaking down the rig. You may want to try a couple of trips near home to test out what works best for you.
happynow

Steve and Carol

MDKMDK
Explorer
Explorer
Downsized from a Sunstar to a Navion 3 years ago. Haven't been out but a couple or few times in it, because of border closure and winter in Canada. The maiden voyage was without our Wrangler as we were still in break in mode, but every trip since, we drag the Jeep along, in case we decide to park somewhere for longer than a day or two. So, it depends on our travel style, if we're touring we might not tow, but if we're headed to a destination for a stayover, we tow.
Mike. Comments are anecdotal or personal opinions, and worth what you paid for them.
2018 (2017 Sprinter Cab Chassis) Navion24V + 2016 Wrangler JKU (sold @ ????)
2016 Sunstar 26HE, V10, 3V, 6 Speed (sold @ 4600 miles)
2002 Roadtrek C190P (sold @ 315,000kms)