Is a toad necessary with a small motor home?

[goufgators]

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?

[Gjac]

BFL13 wrote:
We have an almost 30 ft C that we can take to town for groceries no problem. No toad needed for that.

The big issue is will somebody steal your campground spot while you are away?

Was mentioned but worth repeating, if on tour a long way from home and the C has to go in for repairs, it would be good to have the car while you are at a motel. (If renting a car is not easier)

Both of what you mentioned has happened to me. I had a Hi top van and left a sign saying this site is taken and when I returned someone removed the sign and took my site that I already paid for. With a small C and no tow it would be best to setup a small tent. 3 years age I broke down in Mt. and had to leave the MH there for 4 mos in a truck repair shop and drove home in the tow car. Finding a repair shop in the summer when everyone travels that will work on a large MH proved very difficult. I am thinking a 24 ft C would be easier to find a shop?

[AJR]

Is a toad necessary with a small motor home?

No.

But it is nice to have another vehicle if something breaks.

[Gjac]

I am in the same boat as you, I have a Class A now with a Toad and have put on over 100 miles with it since I retired and would not be without a toad with a Class A. Things change as we get older so I am looking at a 22-24 ft Class C with no toad also. My thinking is this, I started looking at TC's first about the same size, most people I know or see on the road don't use a toad. However option is very costly if you have to buy a HD truck and camper and you have lest storage and FW than a small C. A small C with no toad your wife can drive, you can back up, you have all your stuff with you when you sight see. I can't remember how many times I forgot to pack something in the tow car. If you get one with the large storage bay in the rear you can store bikes/Ebikes in there for local travel. I think also levelers at this stage of the game would simplify setup also. Good luck on your choice.

[melandme]

Another reason we starting towing was to haul items that were awkward in the MH. With the Wrangler, I can put kayaks on the roof rack, 2 bikes on the spare tire carrier and 7 foot fishing rods inside. It gives you more cargo space.

[BFL13]

We have an almost 30 ft C that we can take to town for groceries no problem. No toad needed for that.

The big issue is will somebody steal your campground spot while you are away? It depends on the campground if you can leave some stuff there to show it is occupied, and assuming that stuff is still there when you get back! (some campground park rangers are kind of lazy with the paper markers in the winter and Some People don't read them much 😞 )

We have a good place to go and stay for weeks, but would like a toad for that, because up at the lake for a swim it is hard to park the C, being full of other parked cars and trucks. It is possible with a car, but not always with the C--still no problem in town though.

Was mentioned but worth repeating, if on tour a long way from home and the C has to go in for repairs, it would be good to have the car while you are at a motel. (If renting a car is not easier)

[Bordercollie]

Our driveway is about a 4-degree incline, takes two "lego blocks to level it" We ran the original Dometic fridge on 110 vac for prolonged periods (up to one month) . We never bothered to level it. It developed an ammonia leak at about 10 years old and we had it replaced with a Norcold unit. Your mileage may vary. I understand that running a fridge a little off level for short periods while underway or at rest stops is not particularly injurious, maybe occasional overnight running off level is OK.

[John_S_]

I downsized from 42 foot to 29 foot. I rarely tow any longer. I towed behind my Foretravels for 370k mikes but now it is freeing to not take one. The exception is the beach or places I will off road with the Jeep. My c will tow 12k pounds so it is not an issue that way

[Grit_dog]

Summarizing 4 pages for the OP
Toad? It depends. Make up your own mind. You should be able to do that.
And there’s no need to get anxiety over a RV fridge. It’ll be fine.

[2_Retired]

Another thought - our toads have always been 4 on the ground vehicles. Right now it's a 2012 Ford Fiesta (automatic transmission). It is much easier to do it this way than to deal with a tow dolly - for so many reasons. We got one several years ago, DH used it once! Just too much of an effort! It has never really been hard to find a vehicle that can be towed this way, and it takes us less than 5 minutes to hook up or to unhook.

[2_Retired]

Back to the original question! I think the 'need' for a toad depends on your plans while on the road. If you are one who goes to a CG as a destination, content to mostly take advantage of what it has to offer, no toad is fine. If, like us, we travel to explore, wander and enjoy other parts of the country, a toad is essential. We love being in a CG, but almost every day we leave it and discover what else is around where we are. I'm a retired history teacher and use our RV as a 'base' for seeing America as much as we can. We have been RVing for over 45 years and have had almost every kind of RV made. When we 'moved up' to a Class C,and now to our Class A, a toad was always part of our rig. We're happiest that way. As DH tells everyone - we get between 7-8 MPG with our rig, toad or no toad. He so often says he doesn't even notice if it's there - just remember you can't back up with it attached! The only major concern we address is the process of getting gas. Mostly we use Flying J/Pilot (great discounts!) or other travel centers where its not a problem. We have never encountered a real problem with that. Again, I think it all depends on what you want to do once you reach your destination.

[ron_dittmer]

Oops, duplicate. I wish I had a way to delete this.

[ron_dittmer]

valhalla360 wrote:

siremike wrote:
I do have a question concerning the fridge. While breaking down the Rv and going somewhere is not a problem what are the chances of finding a level parking place to keep the fridge level within limits.

I do travel with pets so I am not sure leaving them in an RV while visiting a location would make me feel comfortable.

The fridge is the big concern. I sometimes wish I had pushed to have a compressor fridge installed instead of the 3 way.

I live in Florida and my trips always stress me some concerning the fridge temp.

Thanks

I'd say most parking lots are level enough, that a propane fridge will be fine.

Going down the road, the jostling eliminates most of the out of level concerns.

I totally agree with valhalla360.

[PatJ]

We have a 2019 "23'" no-slide class C which measures 24'10" bumper to bumper. We are just weekenders and still work full-time, but we did 39 nights last year and over 10k mi. We have been over Snoqualmie pass twice TODAY for a doc appt in Everett (we live in eastern WA.) So we went through some big cities and ~700 mi within last 24 hrs. I'm gonna say no toad for us, we can explore any town or big city basically the same as if we were driving a Surburban or similar. This is our third RV and all were similar sized, we stick with this size range because it works well for us. But as was said, everyone travels very different.

[melandme]

We have a 26 ft Minnie Winnie and we now use the toad. I believe it depends on if you are a traveler, destination camper, or just relax in the campground campers. We started out as travelers,rarely staying more than one night in the same location. We have involved more into destination campers, staying in one location and exploring the area in the toad. Now if we going to a campground for a couple of days to just relax, we load everything we need into the MH and leave the toad at home.