Toad vs. Rental??

[John Vista]

Hey, just wondering about the pros/cons of towing a toad vs. renting a car when we get to our destination. Would have to invest in a toad, dolly, etc.....that could = a lot of $ that we could use for rental. Park RV, call Uber for ride to car rental agency....seems simple enough.

[Goodspike]

Just off the top of my head.

1. You might break down, and then have difficulty getting a rental quickly.
2. The places you stop at may not be anywhere near a car rental place.
3. If you pick the rental car up early on your way to a destination you may pay more to drop it off somewhere else on your way to your next destination.

[Wyatt]

Originally Posted by Goodspike

Just off the top of my head.

1. You might break down, and then have difficulty getting a rental quickly.
2. The places you stop at may not be anywhere near a car rental place.
3. If you pick the rental car up early on your way to a destination you may pay more to drop it off somewhere else on your way to your next destination.

All true. We don’t tow—yet. But if we’re going to an area that has rental cars easily available, like we do when we’re at Carmel California, we’ll go to the airport and Rent-A-Car for about 30 bucks a day and be able to go anywhere. Obviously that doesn’t apply to remote areas.

[ThomB]

We tow... a 2-seater convertible (our only car) and have had to rent when one of the kids come to visit. We discovered a service called Turo which is a car-share type of rental. You’re renting from an actual person that puts their car out there. We were near Bryce Canyon and needed a car. The “local” rental agency was about an hour away. The people renting out their car with Turo delivered it to the RV park we were in. If you are thinking of traveling without a toad I’d be sure to download the app and sign up.

[Wyatt]

Originally Posted by ThomB

We tow... a 2-seater convertible (our only car) and have had to rent when one of the kids come to visit. We discovered a service called Turo which is a car-share type of rental. You’re renting from an actual person that puts their car out there. We were near Bryce Canyon and needed a car. The “local” rental agency was about an hour away. The people renting out their car with Turo delivered it to the RV park we were in. If you are thinking of traveling without a toad I’d be sure to download the app and sign up.

That’s great information, thanks!

[be happy]

From the other posts it looks like I am on the other side.
I would never leave home with out my toad. Traveling the highways and by ways of our great country means getting out and seeing whats there. Kind of hard when all you have is your camper. Also if you break down on the road you have another source of transportation. I like the feeling of not having to deal with rental cars just the time alone is to much for me.
You said you would have to invest in a toad, so you do not have a car of any kind. A dolly will handle most anytype of car if you get the correct dolly. Depending on how often you travel the cost of the dolly would be off set in a couple of years renting.

There are pros and cons on each way of towing. Decided on the dolly as the number of cars that can be towed 4 down is becoming smaller and smaller. I guess your decision comes down to the type of rving you plan on doing. I just a weekend here and there maybe renting would be great. If traveling for a month or two staying at different spots a few days and moving on, I would think your own car would be a better choice.

[macnut]

For us, since we are part-timers, it depends on the destination. If we will not need to drive around in the area we will just put our bicycles on the back of the RV. If we will be treating our destination as a base camp to explore the area, then we hook up the CR-V.

[GaryKowal1]

There is not a one be size fits all answer to this question. It depends how you travel. Depends on what's important to you. Do you boondock or stay in resorts. How long are your trips. How adventurous are you. Is your idea of a good day hiking, offroafing, or visiting distant museums? Although we have a 4 wheel drive Jeep, and love it, probably not for most people. We love to explore rough dirt roads, trails, etc. We tend to be off the grid most nights with RV, so renting could be harder. Last year I drove to LV for 10 days to stay in a resort and did not tow Jeep, but rented when I got there. If we take a short trip (week or so) we might only take bikes. One last thing.. or toad allows us to take kayaks, bikes, and camping gear with us easily.

[AZAspect]

Originally Posted by macnut

For us, since we are part-timers, it depends on the destination. If we will not need to drive around in the area we will just put our bicycles on the back of the RV. If we will be treating our destination as a base camp to explore the area, then we hook up the CR-V.

I'm with Macnut...it depends. We purchased a used 2015 Fiat 500 Pop to tow behind our Aspect. It works great for the two of us, but if there are more then they are out of luck! We have a tandem bicycle that we use when we don't tow the Fiat. We used to rent where we went but as others have pointed out, the more you are away from things, the tougher it can be.

Al

[Skyhawker]

I've only been RVing part-time for 2 years, mostly solo, but the first thing I purchased after the RV was a tow package for my Jeep Wrangler. I have never regretted it. If for no other reason than the security of knowing that it I have a problem, then I'm not stuck wherever that happens; be it 200 miles from civilization or just in town if the RV needs repairs. Peace of mind is important, especially if you are solo. Last year my 2 major trips were a 30 day tour all over Utah, and a six week trip from Las Vegas to Kansas City and back. Really enjoyed being able to park the rig and stage out of campground for 2 - 4 days exploring the local areas, usually about 60 miles in all directions. There were places I wouldn't want to take an RV and a lot of scenic and historical places that I was able to get to quickly without having to spend an hour on either end of the day breaking camp in the morning a setting up again in the evening.

[aspengirl]

We previously owned another brand - a 24' Class C and rented a vehicle a number of times at different locations. Now we have an Aspect 27K and already owned a 2004 Jeep Grand Cherokee with low mileage that could be towed. We absolutely love having a vehicle to use and now stay longer at different RV parks/CGs and venture out in our own vehicle. I don't think we'll ever not tow again.

[ftodaro]

I have been thinking about this myself. For the last few years we have taken trips to Acadia and to the Smokey mountains. Have never had a problem finding a rental car on the way maybe 10-20 miles from our destination, pick it up on the way there and drop it off on the way home. So with some planning Rental's can work but I have been looking into a toad. Rental is by far cheaper no question. You can sink 15 to 20K into a car, tow package and all the you have to buy to tow 4 down for example. But clearly having your own vehicle is a huge convenience. When i get to the point that I am doing more traveling i think that will tip the scales for me to get my own. Till then i have a scooter on a rack and rental cars.

[thataway4]

We did without "towed" from the early 1960's until 1992. After that time we have always had a "Towed". (except when our second RV --kept in Los Vegas--was a Road Trek.). We tow a Lincoln MKX behind a Via 25T. We don't take the car when we go to big cities, such as New Orleans or Chicago--we Uber or Lyft there. It depends on where you are going to RV and what type of RVing you do. We always take side trips; many times the roads are not fully suitable for RV's.

[Wyatt]

I was thinking about one of these. My VTX 1800 is way to big and heavy.
I don’t know, just stick it on the back on a ramp.
Wife can drive it too, as it’s an automatic. Nice way to get around in National Parks and such when we can’t get a rental. There’s nothing like driving a motorcycle out on the wide open roads. But I promised, we’d wait a year to see if we really needed one, because I already WANT one.

[MollyM]

I always ask this question: Do you rent a car when you are home and want to drive around your are? Then why would you want to rent a car when you are RVing? The cost of renting vs. buying an older Toad is huge. A small car payment vs. the cost of constantly renting is a lot less. I also cannot understand why people want to tow a car on a dolly then have to deal with the dolly after they drop their car. There are so many towable cars out there - new and used. I cannot IMAGINE not having my own car as I travel around - but then I'm full time. There are going to be places you want to go and you may not be ABLE to get a rental car. You can get inexpensive, older cars for towing. Even 4WDs. Like Chevy Colorados, Jeep Liberties, Jeep Wranglers, etc. I have my second Jeep Liberty. My first one was a 2006 and I sold it when I sold my Allegro Bush in 2018. Now that I'm back on the road in a class C, I tow a 2007 Jeep Liberty. They are GREAT cars for towing - so easy to set up. They are everywhere, you just have to look for them. Check the transmission, suspension, radiator and everything else when you are looking. Those are the only 3 problems I hear about with these cars. You may have to upgrade a few things, but in the long run, the comfort, ease of towing, 4WD to take you anywhere is well worth it. Going on dirt roads in Moab or other placed out in he southwest, never getting stuck no matter the condition of the campground or whoever you are camping, I love my 4WD! I paid $4k for the one I have now, put $450 into a suspension issue, and then installed a "Stay and Play" braking system. I got my first one because I saw cars that had been towed behind a big rig and they were so trashed after awhile, I decided I didn't want to put a new or newer car back there. I took my Jeep up Schafer Trail in Moab, like it was a big "real" Jeep. They are FANTASTIC!

[LuvWildlife]

We haven’t purchased a car for towing. So far after 3 RVs, and many trips (under 2000 mile outings), we decided to rent cars after we arrive. The trip is less hectic actually, and better gas mileage. It’s cheaper in our books, and we can choose size and comfort. But that only works well if you don’t do a lot of exploring on your nightly stops. so far our Winnie Fuse is so easy to get around in, it’s no problem. We just don’t hook up if we are driving to dinner, until we get back.

Easier in the mountains, Easier parking and a little less intimidating for us. But we are in the “whatever is easier” mode right now. Try a few trips to see if that works for your style. It depends on what plans you have.

[CalifCruiser]

I agree with "it depends" on your situation, and in our case, the situation has changed. Up until mid 2018, we were mainly weekenders, with the occasional vacation trip, so really didn't feel the need to buy another car to tow, as my wife and I had somewhat newer vehicles and did not want to trade either of our vehicles in for something towable. We did rent cars a few times, fairly easy, and most times they will bring the rental car to you or pick you up at the RV. However, now that we are both retired, we are spending a lot more time on the road, longer and more frequent trips, etc. So we not only upgraded to a bigger, nicer RV, but I also traded in my truck for a slightly used 4x4 version and am in the process of setting it up for towing behind the RV.

[lewisedge]

Several years ago we bought a used high-end tow dolly with surge brakes. That cost was considerably less than buying a "special" vehicle that could be towed four-wheels-down and equipped with the towing modifications. Our dolly allows us to tow just about any front-wheel-drive vehicle. The one we tow is a Ford Focus. After my retirement we sold our house and lived in our motorhome for more than two years, using a South Dakota mail forwarding company as our "legal" address.


That tow dolly and car have followed our motorhome from coast-to-coast twice and to many of our national and state parks plus Western Canada from Banff, Alberta to Vancouver, B.C.. When possible, we get pull-through campsites, which eliminates the need to disconnect our tow dolly. I was surprised at how little my motorhome's mileage was affected by towing.


Prior to buying the tow dolly, we either rented a car at our destination, used our bikes or carefully planned our trip, so we did not need to drive in tight places. Having a toad obviously greatly increases our travel options, especially when we're camped at a location for several days. While at several national parks, such as Glacier and Yellowstone, there were parts that we would not have been able to see if we did not have a car in tow.

[BobC]

Personally, renting wouldn't work for us. My wife is disabled and we need a car pretty much any time we stop or stay somewhere, except for quick overnights or when we camp with friends and just hang out in the campground. Walking and/or cycling isn't an option.

Everyone's situation is different. One nice thing about sorting this out is that you can try a trip or two with renting without any upfront investment.

[Smittty54]

The first couple of years we had our RV we did not tow and always felt kind of stuck. The rental always just sounded like a pain to me and it would be more than $30 a day for me. I always buy the extra insurance so if something goes wrong I am not responsible. After the first 2 years we purchased s 2 door Wrangler Sahara and set it up to tow. Camping the last 6 years has been great with the Jeep. It takes about 7 minutes to hookup or on hook. We love going to other places from our home base. I highly recommend having a tow. We never take off without it. Most of our trips are anywhere from a week to 8 weeks. We usually stay in a location about 4-6 days to get out and see the area. The only downside, is planning your entry and exit from gas stations a little more because of the extra length.