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Old 11-18-2019, 03:43 PM   #1
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Traveling without the toad

We have a 2019 View which is new to us. Downsized from a 40' coach. We haven't traveled far yet but when we go out we tow a Honda Element. Since the View is of the large van size I am interested to know how many of you travel without a toad, and is the trip as pleasant as if you had a toad? Will appreciate your point of view. Thanks.
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Old 11-18-2019, 04:24 PM   #2
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Have done it both ways, and the only difference is slightly lower fuel economy 15mpg drops to 13mpg, and it's harder to back up when towing. You'll know that from your experience.
So, not really much difference. If it's a "touring trip" where we aren't planning on parking the rig anywhere for more than 24 hours, we can do without it. If we're staying somewhere for a while, it's nice to be able to park and hook up the Navion, and use the Wrangler for errands.
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Old 12-01-2019, 04:55 PM   #3
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No Toad

We are RV newbies (18 months part time in 2018 View) so have not been willing to add a tow vehicle to all the other items on the learning curve. We find that we do ok without a car most of the time. When we need one, we rent (e.g., on a trip to Washington DC). With our usage, I figure the rental cost is offset by the fact that we don't have reduced MPG from towing--and there are no therapy bills for the added stress of one more thing to learn!
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Old 12-01-2019, 07:19 PM   #4
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I hate towing a vehicle. The hitching up, worrying about it on the road, unhitching it, etc. If we're going to be at one location for more than three or four days, I get a weekly rental car. Well worth the cost, compared to the trouble of towing a vehicle.
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Old 12-01-2019, 07:45 PM   #5
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We had also downsized from a 42 foot A towing a Yukon XL, to the Via 25T. We made several transcontential trips, and my wife felt she wanted a "towed"...So we bought a Lincoln MKX--about as big as we could go with the 5000 lb tow rating.

We have not noticed a significant decrease in mileage on trips across the USA. I would rather not tow, but keeping the wife happy is very important! My major complaint is it is harder to fuel up. But we can always go thru the truck lanes. The Mercedes only has about 24 gallons of diesel. We still get 14 to 15 mpg, towing the MKX.
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Old 12-01-2019, 08:20 PM   #6
bkg
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We've been RVing for a while. We started with a truck and TT but when we got our first motorhome years ago we knew from experience with the truck and camper that we occasionally ran to the local store for something once we were settled.
This sort of set the stage for taking the toad once we got the motorhome. There is often that need for "something" and I'm not fond of repacking the motorhome just to run to the local store.
But, the big lesson came from our travels that having the toad makes for a great backup rescue vehicle. Driving out west in Nevada on a rural highway - we brokedown and had no cell signal. It was nice to just unhitch the toad to drive to the next town to make that call to roadside assistance.

Bobby
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Old 12-01-2019, 11:28 PM   #7
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Most times I put a small light motorcycle on a hitch rack instead of towing a vehicle. A 200 to 300 lb motorcycle/scooter in the 150 to 250cc range will get you on 55 mph roads with the 200 to 250cc bikes being Interstate capable and great for running errands. On the rare occasions where we need something more we break camp and take the 35 foot class A or get a local Rent-A-Wreck for a day or two.

Only on trips where we know we absolutely will need a toad due to something like a long stay in a remote location and a rental is not available locally or practical do we actually take a personal Car/SUV as a toad.

I really hate the unhooking etc when you arrive at a camp site with a vehicle in tow especially if its late or raining so I try to avoid it whenever possible.
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Old 12-02-2019, 06:25 AM   #8
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In 35 years of motorhoming, we have never towed a car. Sometimes, we take bicycles.
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Old 12-02-2019, 06:40 AM   #9
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we have been towing for 36 years- but now we are DONE with it.as others have posted, there are so many reasons why we absolutely hate towing.sure, there are some benefits to have a toad, but today there is not many reasons to put yourself through the hassles. here are a few alternatives : ENTERPRISE, UBER, LYFT,AND TURO.
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Old 12-02-2019, 10:18 AM   #10
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We sometimes travel with a Toad (Honda Fit on a tow smart tow Dolly - needed automatic transmission so flat towing not an option). Last trip was a 4 month stay at Daughter’s house). As we have to travel at 55MPH we end up getting about the same MPG as we do without the toad and driving at speed (65-70 MPH). We drove south on the 5 from Sacramento to San Diego with “Dolly” and Fit in tow. Wind in our face was ~15-20 MPH; we were getting about 11 MPG (about the same as the last time we did this with blustery winds without dolly). If you are familiar with I-5 Southbound you know one has to go up the “grapevine” - the section through the mountains north of LA- the pass is at 4144 feet. In blowing rain/transitioning to snow. We kept up with traffic and maneuvered without any problems. We didn’t go more than 57-ish, but the steep hills were not a problem at that speed. Changing lanes - not a problem. Maneuvering off the freeway for gas; driving through Lowe’s parking lot so we could eat at chick-fil-a; emergency stop on I-5 shoulder in LA as a mattress blew off a caravan in front of us (no room to maneuver- we drove right over the top of the full size mattress and dolly smashed it to pieces- had to pull over to get rid of the parts Dolly was dragging- which by the way is a big plus for using a tow Dolly as it and NOT the car took the force of the blow) ....and then accelerate quickly to get back into the flow of traffic: all easily managed with the toad.
SO: yes, it is an extra pain to hook up and then disconnect; yes, backing up is mostly a no-go; yes you have more space needed when parked; our take-away is that if you are concerned about MPG and maneuvering and power on hills, then Be advises: NO SWEAT. As others above have said, only take the toad when you will really need the car for extended periods of time. Also, we plan to go to Yellowstone and Glacier national parks this summer, and using the RV to see those parks isn’t practical nor can we rely on “Uber” (renting a car not a good option there either) so we will travel with dolly. For places like Zion or Joshua Tree: no dolly needed.
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Old 12-02-2019, 02:03 PM   #11
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Had a 36' Class A without a toad the first 12 years of full timing. Got used to planning my trips so that I was within bike riding distance of places to visit, including grocery shopping, but usually just planned things so I could drive the RV into attractions, and once per week from the RV park to stores or for all my errands in one day. Took some planning for Drs. appointments, banking, package shipping, shopping and what not, but it was doable. In Mexico, the taxis are so inexpensive, I'd just take one for shopping or errands.

Then 4 years ago, bought a newer, more powerful Class A that could easily tow whatever I wanted. So I bought a car and have been towing that ever since. It's easy to hook up and unhook, many RV parks these days have pull through spaces so if I arrive somewhere tired or it's raining, I can just leave it sit without unhooking until I'm rested. But the big thing is I can now take more off the beaten path excursions that I couldn't take before. Get to see more things impossible to get a giant RV to.

So in my case, having a toad is more fun than not having one. Both situations are easy to deal with though. IMO.
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Old 12-02-2019, 02:31 PM   #12
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Chemosavvy View Post
We have a 2019 View which is new to us. Downsized from a 40' coach. We haven't traveled far yet but when we go out we tow a Honda Element. Since the View is of the large van size I am interested to know how many of you travel without a toad, and is the trip as pleasant as if you had a toad? Will appreciate your point of view. Thanks.
My point of view .... no matter how I try to convince you one way might be better than another, DON’T DO AS I DO, do what suits you and your life/travel style. Doing what I do doesn’t make me smart, cool, right or any more handsome
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Old 12-03-2019, 12:29 PM   #13
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Need a toad?

I think this is a question that only you can answer. It depends on your circumstances and how you travel. We usually tow a Jeep Wrangler as we like to go to national parks and hangout. We bring tents in our Toad and occasionally leave the RV behind and go camping. We sometimes range 200 miles out with the Toad. We can connect and disconnect in less than 5 minutes, so no big deal.

I do not think it is stressful to tow. It affects my MPG by LESS THAN 1 MPG. If we don't have the toad, we basically have to pick up camp daily to use the RV and then reset up at night, which to me is more stressful.

Sometimes we only take only bikes if it is a short trip (less than a week).

Once we left Toad behind and rented a car as we were going to only one city for a week and just rented a car.

If I travel without the wife I take a Kawasaki Versys 300 motorcycle on a rear mounted rack that I can fit on along with my 11 pound dog.

We seldom stay in cities and RV parks with hookups, so many time very difficult to rent a car nearby. I know of other people are exact opposite and never boondock.

So it depends on what suits your style of travel.

Good luck! Anyway you choose will be fun.
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