Traveling without a TOAD
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โAug-12-2015 08:12 AM
I don't have a vehicle that I want to tow so the best I can do is either put a motorcycle carrier on the back or buy a small bike trailer. I would prefer a carrier so I don't have to tow anything and worry about the trailer itself.
If anyone on here travels without a TOAD I would be interested in hearing what the tricks of the trade are fro that style of travel.
2005 Holiday Rambler Admiral 37' Gasser
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โAug-12-2015 05:11 PM
I travel (road trip) without a towed vehicle, but will tow something (first it was a Ranger pickup, now a Honda Fit) if taking the RV out to the lake to sit in one place for a few days to a couple of weeks. I would certainly take one if snow birding.
When I consider the towed vehicle a hinderance is when I am traveling every day, making tourist stops, going places where I want to more easily find a parking space, which often means backing into one. My motorhome is just under 30 feet, I can back into a space at the edge of a parking lot and take up no more room than a small box truck or large dually pickup. But if your motorhome is a whole lot larger, that parking advantage my be already lost, but a towed vehicle will still keep you out of places where you might have to back up.
I'm working at downsizing to about 19 feet, but I might still haul a towed vehicle for long stays. Or maybe the towed vehicle might be the house, camper vans do sometimes pull trailers.
Itasca Spirit 29B
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โAug-12-2015 04:24 PM
We've had a few aggravations (sometimes late)with Enterprise, but they always picked us up and were always polite and helpful. Now, we did plan our trips and reserve cars in advance. We'd sometimes pick a campground with Enterprise access, then use their car to get to the distant attraction we wanted to visit (did I mention always unlimited mileage?)
Obviously, you have to allow time to pick up and drop off a car, so it can't be as convenient as jumping into your own car. On the other hand, we don't have to sweat getting into or out of a tight gas station.
Since our motorhome usage has ranged from 10 weeks/year to 2 weeks/year, it costs a lot less to rent than to buy a new car. If you're fulltiming, then it makes a lot more sense to tow.
Ed
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โAug-12-2015 04:12 PM
MagillaGorilla wrote:
Anyone on here do much RV traveling without a TOAD?
I don't have a vehicle that I want to tow so the best I can do is either put a motorcycle carrier on the back or buy a small bike trailer. I would prefer a carrier so I don't have to tow anything and worry about the trailer itself.
If anyone on here travels without a TOAD I would be interested in hearing what the tricks of the trade are fro that style of travel.
Six years w/o for admittedly vacation travel.
Enterprise has always picked me up when needed.
Never found a grocery store that I could not find a place to park.
1998 American Eagle 40EVS
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โAug-12-2015 04:09 PM
That was with 2 motorhomes as old Peace Arrow blew the engine in Ottawa and rental minivan.
Still no toad.
I drove motorhomes on Big Sur, I drove motorhomes via Yosemite, I drove motorhomes on mountain passes in Colorado where road had no curb and no railing, that would scratch RV, I drove motorhome via 12,000' + elevation in Colorado.
Toad would be just dead weight.
And again, different style, different strokes.
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โAug-12-2015 04:00 PM
Kayteg1 wrote:
You hear a lot from people who drive a little and park a lot.
I always had my vacations other way around and toad never made sense to me.
Towing a car for 2000 miles to make 2 miles grocery shopping run?
That what bicycle or small motorcycle is for.
Is toad saving you time? You drive with it slower (in CA while towing you have 55mph limits) while spending more time at fuel pumps.
How many people take 2000 mile trips every time they hit the road in their motorhome? Most do not. Most go someplace for the weekend, or even if it's a couple of week trip often stay in one spot several days at a time. That is when the toad comes in handy.
One of these days I would like to circumnavigate the USA in my motorhome. It's about a 10,000 mile journey to do that staying close to the coast or border all the way around. When I do that trip I may not take the toad as I'll be on the road every day so I'll just see what I want to see with the motorhome. That is unless the that trip doesn't happen until me and the wife are both fully retired, then we'll take six months to make the trip and we will bring the toad.
2021 Nexus Viper 27V. Class B+
2019 Ford Ranger 4x4
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โAug-12-2015 02:03 PM
Kayteg1 wrote:
You hear a lot from people who drive a little and park a lot.
I always had my vacations other way around and toad never made sense to me.
Towing a car for 2000 miles to make 2 miles grocery shopping run?
That what bicycle or small motorcycle is for.
Is toad saving you time? You drive with it slower (in CA while towing you have 55mph limits) while spending more time at fuel pumps.
I drive 55-60 anyway and toad makes no difference on mpg on the diesel. In the northeast there are many towns that do not allow rv parking. We do National Day Parks, museums, packed restaurants and a toad is a blessing.
My worst Enterprise story was in Ohio in Amish Country for my dads funeral. We were parked by the side of the road in Florida eating lunch and a girl rammed our toad and we had to leave it. We camped about 30 miles away in Millersburg where the Enterprise office was. We had to wait four hours each time to be picked up and then suffer a 50 minute drive.
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โAug-12-2015 01:54 PM
Kayteg1 wrote:
You hear a lot from people who drive a little and park a lot.
I always had my vacations other way around and toad never made sense to me.
Towing a car for 2000 miles to make 2 miles grocery shopping run?
That what bicycle or small motorcycle is for.
Is toad saving you time? You drive with it slower (in CA while towing you have 55mph limits) while spending more time at fuel pumps.
For those that do not want to see all the country has to offer, then a 2 mile grocery run makes sense.
We have been to places where there is so much to see in the surrounding area that we have put 200-300 miles a day on the toad. There are many places that are just inaccessible to a large RV that can be enjoyed by car/pick-up. If you get in to some of the places out West, you will find that not all areas have auto rental readily available.
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โAug-12-2015 01:33 PM
I always had my vacations other way around and toad never made sense to me.
Towing a car for 2000 miles to make 2 miles grocery shopping run?
That what bicycle or small motorcycle is for.
Is toad saving you time? You drive with it slower (in CA while towing you have 55mph limits) while spending more time at fuel pumps.
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โAug-12-2015 01:01 PM
I'll never go without it now. When I am on vacation or even just the weekend, I don't want to waste any time waiting for a shuttle just to get to the rental car place.
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โAug-12-2015 12:45 PM
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โAug-12-2015 11:25 AM
Sully2 wrote:X-2, The DW and I traveled to the Mt Rushmore area several years ago without a toad and used Enterprise! We were staying at the KOA in Rapid City and Enterprise brought the rental vehicle right to our RV site. We have just done this one time to try it and it worked out fine on this trip.
Just call Enterprise when you get to your destination.
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โAug-12-2015 11:15 AM
But after a few years, we realized that having a toad allowed us much more flexibility of being able to go longer distances in any weather. Also, getting groceries and other things are much more convenient with a toad.
Try the scooter(motorcycle) thing for a bit. If you don't like it, get a toad.
2003 40' Allegro Bus, 3 slides, 400hp 8.9 liter ISL Cummins
2000 24' Dynamax Isata
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โAug-12-2015 11:12 AM
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โAug-12-2015 10:45 AM
For the past couple of years now, we've been towing DW's 03 Explorer, and wouldn't be without it. Even on trips where we didn't expect to need a vehicle, there are unexpected needs that sometime arise where we were glad we had it along. For me, there is piece of mind to having a toad along while onthe road, and that is having YOUR own vehicle on hand should the unfortunate breakdown ever occur with the MH and it needs to be towed in for repair. Would save a lot of headache of trying to scrounge around for a rental vehicle in an unfamiliar or not-so-populated area.
2002 Newmar Dutch Star DP 3872, Cummins 350 ISC, Spartan Chassis
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โAug-12-2015 09:19 AM
2002 43' DP Beaver Marquis Emerald Cat C-12 505 HP, 1600 Tq
2003 Jeep Grand Cherokee Overland ---toad