Toad Or Just Move The 30' For A Quart Of Milk...

[rhart]

We are going to buy a 30' class C. I'm thinking of towing a car on trailer so I can back up. We rarely stay more than a night or two in any spot. I'm thinking we can just unplug and drive the coach into town if we need to. Has anyone started with toad and then switched to unfettered after a while or vice versa. I'l like to hear some comments to push me in one direction or the other. The original idea was a manageable size 30' so we can use it to drive to town.

Thank you in advance

R

[obedb]

Ran a 34 gasser for years and we did not tow. We were always in a hurry and like you, most places two nights max. We now have a 40' , are retired, and tow a Subaru 4 wheels down. The toad unhooks so quickly I would never consider a trailer. You gotta deal with the car on and off thing, and if you don't have a pull thru, you gotta move the trailer somehow. Everyone I have seen with a trailer always has a lot more work to do before leaving the site. Plus a trailer will probably add considerable weight to the project. Check the weight of a trailer that can handle a three or four thousand pound vehicle. My two cents, but if you have an opinion someone may jump on you.

[rhart]

I had a dream last night. We needed that quart of milk. I thought hmmm do I want to pull out the ramps and unload the car? Maybe it in the long run its easier to just drive the beast to the store. If we really need a car at a spot for a longer stay we can rent one with the money we save in gas by not hauling the trailer. i.e. your comments are spot on me thinks.

[kaypsmith]

Toad or not to Toad, that is a question, only Prince Charming could give a good answer to, and he was kissed by a pretty young maiden. But seriously, please don't let anyone push you into.

I have owned a 27 foot gasser class A, seemed a good idea to just crank it up and go to the store, but if you are hooked up and only need a quart of milk, you soon learn that unhooking and rehooking is not hardly worth the effort, so you start carrying powdered milk in the cupboard.

There are many places that you can go see many sights that you want need a toad, some have public transportation, and some actually have many items at the camp "Store/office" for sale. My DW loves to have everything that we might need at her fingertips, making it necessary to own a larger coach, another expense trading up, and now it really is not practical to not have a toad.

A trailer is easier to back, but as ObedB points out, there is the extra weight, and also where do you leave it while parked in the park, many parks want allow it and some just don't have enough space. I use a tow dolly most of the time, but I do own a car that can be towed 4 down, and can use it when needed.

So with all said, you and only can really decide for your situation. Another quote " My two cents, but if you have an opinion someone may jump on you." Good luck deciding, and hope you have as many fond memories as we do.

Kay

P.S. you were posting as I was writing, this is very true, a rental is sometimes a good alternative, but rates are different in different locations.

[jleamont]

rhart,

Going back to some old...memories, we bought our 1st coach in Feb 2008 and a tow dolly but often the specific campground was our destination so no need for the car, plus the dolly when we did bring it was tough to find a place to park it and a bigger pain to tie the car down. One day late in 2009 I was under the coach installing roller wheels under the hitch since I had bottomed it out so often (11' of body after the rear axle) I was trying to save the coach underside, I looked up and saw a sticker on the front side of the hitch where no normal person could read it that stated something like "caution 3000lbs maximum towing capacity" "Coachmen part# xxxx00000". I started to feel sick to my stomach as I was calculating the weights in my head the dolly was a few hundred pounds and the car was 3000 + this decal was facing the rear axle under the back side of the hitch. Just under the bumper where you connect to the hitch was a decal from the hitch manufacture rated at 5000 lbs., I saw that and thought I could pull 5000 lbs. when we bought it a year ago great! Shouldn't have listened to the DW I wanted a Safari DP at the time and I just should have bought it then...different story.

So I sold the tow dolly and we were not going to take any chances and tow our car any longer, at the time the kids were 6 and 8 so destination campgrounds for them became a routine and the lack of transportation was not a big deal. There were a few occasions I did unhook and go to a store, I ground my teeth all the way to and from the store. We started to only go to destination campgrounds that had a good size campstore, yea,everyone reading this is laughing right about now. Then we bought a golf cart and trailer, never brought the car again. Funny how towing the golf cart in an enclosed trailer was more of a drag on the unit from the wind resistance on the trailer than towing the car was, but I was under 3000lbs so that’s how we rolled for a few years.

Now I very rarely go anywhere without the Toad and we pull with a tow bar (no more dolly). I finally bought the DP 5/2014 close to what I have always wanted so the jeep we had purchased in 2012 and only drove on occasion graduated to the "Toad" status.

Before you make your decision, think about the future, how long you will most likely have the coach and don't do what I did, looking back that was a lot of money. Since you are looking toward the Class C be sure it is rated to tow what you have or are considering on purchasing soon since IMO you will be lost without your car.

[obedb]

I agree with Joe on "lost without your car." I would not be without a toad now even if we downsized. The original owner of our coach pulled an older Honda civic with a manual tranny. I remember him telling me that it weighed under 3,000 pounds. Above 3,000 seems to be the weight where most states require supplemental braking systems. He towed with a Blue Ox bar and no supplemental braking. That is the cheapest method. Like me, he had a Class A CDL in his wallet. He also drove tractor trailers during his time off work as a full time firefighter, and probably knew the 40' Phaeton was not a sports car. I have seen some RVs driven that way though.

[tomandgloria]

We had a Class B Roadtrek before buying our current motorhome. We decided it would be easy to pull up stakes and sightsee during the day. After doing that, then having to re-level and plug back in we decided to rent a car. That quickly became expensive and not fun either. I was still working and would be gone Friday thru Sunday on our trips. Most rental cars, except airport locations are closed on Sunday's.

Anyway, we no longer have the issue of towed or work. Good luck on your decision.

[manholt]

rhart,

Did you buy the Forester? Or the Blue Bird?

[rhart]

Timely question. I'm glad I started this 6 months early. We have now morphed to towing. Since we decided to tow we have decided to get a 40-42 foot DP. Now we can concentrate in ernest on the target. Yesterday we looked at an 02 Monaco Signature and a HR 03. It is remarkable how good a 12 yr old coach can look when well made from the get go. So Bird, Monaco, Newmar, HR, Beaver and Country Coach are the targets. I still have 120 days to make a decision. It was helpful to hear the horror stories of new delivery customers of Forest River. This helped push us to better older quality.