When do you guys connect / disconnect when traveling?

[whit]

Hi all,

I'm getting ready to tow my car behind my class a for the first time and was wondering.
Do you guys disconnect your toad inside the campground? It seems to me it might be tight in some campgrounds and you would be blocking the road. Do any of you pull over before the RV park and disconnect outside? What about when you leave?
Thanks, Mike

[tatest]

It depends. If a pull through and I have no need to use my towed vehicle, I'll just pull through.

But more often, in the public campgrounds I use, the sites are back-in. So I'll find some wide area or parking area between the entrance and the site, disconnect the tow there, park it, and go on to my campsite. Once set up, I'll walk back to my towed vehicle, and bring it to the campsite if there is room, or leave it in overflow parking it not.

I've been in several commercial RV parks where the place I would do this separation, and park my towed vehicle, is outside the campground.

You do what you have to do, as the situation requires.

[Captain_Happy]

When your running solo like I am, you do the best you can. After checking in, go to your site location. If it's a pull thru, you just pull in. If it's a back in site, you pull over to one side of the road or street, (don't block the street)unhook, back your rig into the site, and then move the toad.

[whit]

Thanks for all the great information everyone.

[2gypsies1]

Agree... there are public parks where they will charge extra if your towed vehicle is not connected to the motorhome when entering. Glacier Nat'l Park is one. We were disconnected and asked to pay extra. There happened to be a big turning around spot just beyond the entrance booth. We told them we'd just turn around which we did. We then hooked up the Jeep and came through again - only one fee. 🙂

Michigan state parks don't care if you're disconnected or not. The towed vehicle is an extra fee.

[Dutch_12078]

As the others have said, it varies from park to park. Once in a great while we'll unhook before entering a park, but that usually only occurs if we stop to refuel very close to the park. It gives us something to do besides watching the dollars roll up on the pump... 😉

[tenbear]

We usually ask at the desk. They know their park and have lots of experience.

[avan]

I travel alone and don't look for opportunities to make a walk back to pick up my toad so I don't ask. I figure the mgr can see (if it's not already part of the check in process - 1 person registering 2 plates) that I have a toad and if there is a problem with excessively tight quarters, the mgr should volunteer that info. I just drive to my site and stop 1 or 2 sites before I get there, hop out disconnect, move the toad a bit out of the way if it is blocking the drive, back the MH in and then park the toad. Even if it is not a straight drive, it takes no time to disconnect - like maybe 1 to 1.5 minutes. Less time anyway than most folks take to back their fiver or TT into a site. OP, don't make something an issue that isn't.

[Hank_MI]

obgraham wrote:
It's the usual answer: "It Depends"

Sometimes you can get all the way to your site, or even pull-through, before you need to consider unhooking. If it's an overnight only, you may not need to actually disconnect.

Other times the RV park or its sites are too tight to allow the process, and it is easier to disconnect out near the registration area, or occasionally somewhere outside the park.

In some cases I would meet Mrs Obg and the toad down the road after I fueled up the "A".

Just another thing to be considered in the daily routine of traveling with a toad.

What he said.

[sdianel_-acct_c]

Depends. We ask when we check in the park office. If we have a pull through we don't unhook. If it's a back in, we ask if there is room near the site or should we unhook at the office.

[rk911]

whit wrote:
Hi all,

I'm getting ready to tow my car behind my class a for the first time and was wondering.
Do you guys disconnect your toad inside the campground? It seems to me it might be tight in some campgrounds and you would be blocking the road. Do any of you pull over before the RV park and disconnect outside? What about when you leave?
Thanks, Mike

we're in a 40' MH towing a Jeep Liberty so 60' +/- overall. we usually have no trouble finding a park/CG with pull-thrus large enough for us. been doing this RV thing since 1986 and have yet to find a park so small that we had to stop somewhere and disconnect the toad before entering the park. you can always disconnect up front by the office. if we're staying longer than a night or two we'll disconnect for errands, etc. if it's just for the one night we leave the toad connected.

[Bobbo]

I unhook at the last possible moment. Yes, sometimes I am blocking the road doing that, but not for long. I unhook, back the RV into the spot, move the car.

[accsys]

F1bNorm wrote:
Since this has always been our routine, I do have a question relating to this. Since we are towing upon arrival, I don't think we have ever been asked to pay an extra vehicle fee. Are folks charged for the car if it is detached?

Norm

Some states will charge for an extra vehicle in their state parks if it isn't towed in. Some will charge (like MI) even if it's still connected.

[Janss]

Norm...I have come across that same rule at a Nat'l Forest campground in AZ. I doubt that it would ever happen at a private RV park.

[F1bNorm]

There's usually a wide area, either at the check in office or just after it so other RV's can park or turn around. This is where we usually hook up or unhook the towd. Once you are in the campsite access lanes, you're going to block the road unless you have a pull through. Also, if you're solo, you can leave the towd there and walk back after you parked the MH.

Since this has always been our routine, I do have a question relating to this. Since we are towing upon arrival, I don't think we have ever been asked to pay an extra vehicle fee. Are folks charged for the car if it is detached?

Norm