What toad is small enough to carry on the back of a Class A?

[RoushFenwayRock]

Okay so here is the question. We bought our first "monster" (to us) 32' Class A Motorhome. We could tow our son's car that we acquire in a week, but we are already overwhelmed a little with getting comfy with the 32'. (Formerly a TT owner.)

What kind of vehicle is "street worthy," if that is the best term... that is TINY? I wish we could mount something on the back of the MH. I have a feeling you guys are laughing now, but I'm serious. Is there any kind of tiny electric car or anything that we could use on regular roads? Usually we just run a couple of miles ... down to right across the street, to and from a campsite to a Nascar track. But also sometimes from a parking lot to a music venue.

Wish it could be a little golf cart, but are they allowed on city streets? I'd think not, but not sure. They are all over Nascar tracks, but I've also heard they are only allowed for the owner/drivers... and I've read some track rules that say NO GOLF CARTS ALLOWED AT ALL! Hmmm.

We have a small car... a Volks GTI that we could tow... but that adds so much length, when we are already not acclimated to the new length. Looked at a car trailer, but that's really long. I guess if we do the GTI, it will have to be a Tow Dolly. But I'm hoping there is some nifty little car that we can attach to the back of the Class A and go. D

I'm a Dreamer, right????

Thanks, as always for your kind replies. I'm really trying here and hit a dead end.

A

[bsinmich]

Take the MH out a couple of times and find it is not a problem to drive and then adding a toad behind will not be even a thought. We have never gone without our toad and the only time it recorded mileage was when I forgot to pull a fuse. Now I have a switch so I don't have to stand on my head to find a fuse.

[RoushFenwayRock]

have not gotten off the toad subject, but humor me here. You can tell the motorhome we just bought was wrecked from the picture that I posted that is kind of squashed & a little skewed?
we had a certified RV mechanic inspect it. He said nothing about that.

[wny_pat1]

naturist wrote:
There are plenty of golf cars on the market. Please note that "golf cart" is NOT the same as "golf car." Golf CARTs are not allowed on the roads, but golf CARs are licenseable and can be driven on the street.

A golf car is capable of 35 mph, and while legal and safe on the street, it will not do for the open highway or a freeway. But for what you want, it should be perfect. You should be able to find a dealer 'bout anywhere, and golf cart dealers will know exactly what you want and where to get it.

But I wonder if all states would allow them. I know in some states that they have to be "certified" by the state before they can be licensed. And then it is limited where you can drive them.

[msmith1199]

Galvanizd wrote:
We're here at the Quartzsite rv show in Az. I've seen two smart cars being carried by lifts on the back of 40 ft Class A rv's with tag axles. There is a vendor here selling one. I'll try and take a picture of one when I see it again. The smart car is being carried sideways much like you see motorcycles being carried.

The OP does not have a 40' motorhome with a tag axle.

[msmith1199]

RoushFenwayRocks wrote:
Nowwww we're cookin! Somehow the golf CAR escaped my radar. I still don't know what a golf car is . Now I have another adventure awaiting... educating myself about golf cars. So are you saying that this is a vehicle that I can actually stow somehow on the back of this MH, or will it need to be on a dolly or car trailer, too? Specs you listed such as mph, etc., are just perfect. We absolutely want it I only to run back and forth from the track to the campgrounds if we're not camping infield and for going between venue and camping on our music trips.
Thanks, you guys!

You are not going to be able to hang a golf cart or a golf car from the back of your motorhome. Even if you could just the mount alone would run into the thousands of dollars as it would have to be welded to your frame. If you decide to go with a golf car, then you are going to have to put it on a trailer and you'll likely be just as long as you would towing a small car. And although golf cars may be street legal, they can be restricted from many roads. For example in California they can only be operated on streets that have a speed limit of 25mph or lower. That basically means mostly residential areas and the vast majority of RV parks aren't even located in residential areas.

Like the only thing you could easily hang off the back of your motorhome is a scooter or a small motorcycle.

[RoushFenwayRock]

Executive wrote:
The "Smart" car looks like your best bet..the back end looks like it's already been in an accident so you shouldn't worry about getting in a crash.....Dennis

DENNIS!!!!!!!!! are you kidding me? An accident. so I guess we really are in trouble?
How can you see the back of it??

[rv2go]

If your "monster" RV was large enough, you could do this.

[RoushFenwayRock]

donandmax wrote:

AZPops wrote:
How bout that Smart Car (?). The one that kind'ah sorta looks like a golf cart?

Thats what we tow weighs 1800 lbs. and we dont even know its back there
love the little guy. plus it gets 45-50 mpg and yes despite what you hear they are very safe.At least as safe as any crash in any car is..I wouldnt want to have a crash in ANY vehicle period.....

Don and max, I'm curious about the Smart car. My only concern is I have a feeling it would be out of our budget. If we tow something like our GTI, our expense would be the dolly or trailer to put it on. I will have to look into that cost of the used smart cars!

[wa8yxm]

Depends on if you wish to CARRY it (A bicycle or a Motor Scooter) or TOW it 4 down.... And it depends on many other things too.

Somewhere in your motor home is a sticker, Mine is on a door in the kitchen or pantry (forget which) (INSIDE side of the door) which lists a whole lot of information on your new Home on Wheels.

MAX GVW (Gross Vehicle Weight)
Max CGVW (Combined GVW)
Tank capacities
And curb weight.

Also, usually on the trailer hitch receiver is a sticker says somethign like "Max Tow Rating 5,000 (or 10,000) pounds.

Here is the procedure..... Load her for travel

SCALE it, Now you really should get 4-corner weights but for this discussion you only need total MH weight.

Subtract MG weight from MAX GCVW shown on the sticker

IF less than sticker on Hitch receiver, this is your tow rating
(If more then the sticker on the hitch is the rating. Read on)

Now Look at vehicles you can tow that are at least 100 pounds less than the max tow you just came up with.

NOTE where the tow bars will connect, how high is it off the pavement? How high is your hitch receiver? IF within 3" good, if not then you will need a drop/rise hitch adapter.. Take off another hundred pounds, And then reduce it even more (I can not say how much) because of the torque factor..

I pull a 2001 Dodge Neon

Finally, when you find cars in your tow range go to the Remco Towing site (Google Remco Towing) and fill in the blanks on that page to see if it can be towed 4 down or not.... I suggest you find one that can be.

MOST manual transmission cars can be

Many automatics can be

Many more can be... With modifications.. Modifications cost about 1000-2000 dollars.

And once you have picked a car

You need an aux brake system for it so the motor home can apply the towed's brakes.. Do not bother with "Are they needed in my state" questions. THEY ARE, it is a different class of law.

And you need a tow light system (unless somethign else provides that)

But these apply to ALL towed cars less you put 'em on a trailer.

[rgatijnet1]

RoushFenwayRocks wrote:

rgatijnet1 wrote:
You can get a rig like this, if you don't mind a very long rig. I have never seen a Class A with a toad strapped to the back. Certainly I have seen motorcycles on the back, but never an automobile. Just find a vehicle that is towable four down and you will hardly even know it is back there. Backing up is not something you will want to do with a toad, but a little planning makes that a non-issue.

Found out the car we just bought from our son cannot be towed 4 down...

I love this photo. Ha. the other issue with four down that I was concerned with is that we are going to be putting a lot of miles on our MH. If I could tow something four down, doesn't that put mileage on the odometer, or am I missing something about that as well?

I've towed several different vehicles and none of them registered the mileage. I can't speak for all cars but with my current Chevy HHR, you are turning off power to the digital speedometer when it is being towed so none of the 30,000+ miles it has been behind the coach shows.

[carp65]

We have been towing a 2001 Chevrolet Tracker, 4wd, 4 door for 8 years. Mileage
on Tracker is 165M and it has been towed for 48M. Best car I ever owned.
Hate to think of the day when we have to put her to "rest".

[RoushFenwayRock]

John&Joey wrote:
In your efforts to make life easier you will actually make it more difficult. If per chance you did "carry" a small car you would throw the balance of the MH off. The front end would lift and float on the road. You may also overload the rear axle causing damage.

What you don't understand at this point is towing a car makes driving a MH easier. It actually steadies the rear end of the coach in a cross wind. I prefer to tow then not tow for that reason.

Now as far as weight is concern you do have a valid concern. The heavier the tow the more brakes you need to stop it, and power to pull it up hills. I pulled a Saturn SC2 at 2,400 lbs and it was very aerodynamic. Other then stopping at the bottom of a hill you didn't even know it was back there. Later a brake buddy took care of that issue.

Thanks for hanging in there with me having all these questions. After the first couple of answers, I realized it was not a choice to try to put a car on the back of a small motorhome.

I don't think a scooter of ANY kind is it choice. I can see what would happen if it were pouring rain and we were late for qualifying and our only choice of Transportation was some kind of a scooter. Doesn't compute. 🙂 (A side note: bf of mine was killed on a motorcycle in high school, & I have honestly been afraid of any vehicle with 2 wheels ever since. Truth.)

I do know that after awhile it won't seem like a monster to us; even knowing it isnt a choice, still would much rather have something "stuck" on the back. Haha.

I have I do have a question about the brakes. We don't have our TT anymore, but we do have a braking system still attached to our Nissan Titan truck that we have not sold yet. Again, I hope this isn't showing my lack of expertise, but can/should that braking system be used with a dolly or car trailer? for some reason, I thought that with a dolly you don't need a braking system but sometimes do need one with a car trailer. Anyway I didn't know if that particular component could be used with the motorhome.

oh! (sorry, I'm ADHD.) thanks also for the info on the cross winds when you're driving. No I hadn't considered that it would make it more stable. But of course, that makes sense. I hope you guys realize how amazing it is that you spend your time putting out this kind of information to someone who doesn't have a clue. Besides making life easier for us, by avoiding these kind of mistakes, it may even keep us from creating a dangerous situation.

[RoushFenwayRock]

rgatijnet1 wrote:
You can get a rig like this, if you don't mind a very long rig. I have never seen a Class A with a toad strapped to the back. Certainly I have seen motorcycles on the back, but never an automobile. Just find a vehicle that is towable four down and you will hardly even know it is back there. Backing up is not something you will want to do with a toad, but a little planning makes that a non-issue.

Found out the car we just bought from our son cannot be towed 4 down...

I love this photo. Ha. the other issue with four down that I was concerned with is that we are going to be putting a lot of miles on our MH. If I could tow something four down, doesn't that put mileage on the odometer, or am I missing something about that as well?

[Galvanizd]

We're here at the Quartzsite rv show in Az. I've seen two smart cars being carried by lifts on the back of 40 ft Class A rv's with tag axles. There is a vendor here selling one. I'll try and take a picture of one when I see it again. The smart car is being carried sideways much like you see motorcycles being carried.

[RoushFenwayRock]

Nowwww we're cookin! Somehow the golf CAR escaped my radar. I still don't know what a golf car is . Now I have another adventure awaiting... educating myself about golf cars. So are you saying that this is a vehicle that I can actually stow somehow on the back of this MH, or will it need to be on a dolly or car trailer, too? Specs you listed such as mph, etc., are just perfect. We absolutely want it I only to run back and forth from the track to the campgrounds if we're not camping infield and for going between venue and camping on our music trips.
Thanks, you guys!