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Old 12-22-2019, 04:00 PM   #1
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Pros & Cons of Toad

We are preparing to go full time and we assumed we would tow our car behind our RV. We are well within the weight limit but will need a tow dolly. New dolly is roughly $1500. Also full coverage on the car is about $1400 a year. The car is paid for. We are thinking about selling the car and if we sight see when we land somewhere we could either Uber or rent a car. Seems like that would be cheaper and easier driving without a toad. Looking for pros and cons.
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Old 12-22-2019, 04:40 PM   #2
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I think a toad is totally necessary. My preference is to flat tow.
Dolly takes longer to hook up.
Takes me about 3 minutes to hook up my 2014 cadillac srx and be gone.
Less to unhook.
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Old 12-22-2019, 05:30 PM   #3
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I have read that flat tow is easier than using a dolly but no way I could justify buying a different car. Thanks, though.
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Old 12-22-2019, 05:34 PM   #4
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Yes, you should go without a toad for a while. We all know that you'll end up with one soon enough.

Don't get a tow dolly unless you want to get down on your knees -on each side of the car - to strap in the tires at every hookup - including in the rain.
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Old 12-22-2019, 05:50 PM   #5
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What are some of the other benefits of having the toad as opposed to renting a car?
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Old 12-22-2019, 06:50 PM   #6
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What are some of the other benefits of having the toad as opposed to renting a car?
Freedom! The reason most of us buy motorhomes!
You won't even know you're towing a vehicle if it's small enough. We tow a 6 year old Chevy Sonic. It's perfect for us!
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Old 12-22-2019, 07:14 PM   #7
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What car do you have? If you're lucky, even if it isn't flat-towable as-is, it may be flat towable with some modification (transmission pump, etc.), you can check it out here:

Store : Remco

Personally, although I'm not a full-timer, I can't imagine being one without a toad.
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Old 12-22-2019, 07:19 PM   #8
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We have a Nissan Sentra. Definitely not flat towable without modification. I will check out your suggested site. Thanks.

Just looked it up on the Remco site. This model is not flat towable. So my choices are tow dolly, or no toad. But I still wonder what other advantages are there to the toad besides having your car with you all the time. As opposed to renting as needed or Uber.
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Old 12-22-2019, 09:13 PM   #9
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Some reasons for me to use a toad?
Rental places are a wait and see where you are and then 60/40 chance of getting a car without driving the RV someplace that was not part of the plan. Uber? That's pretty much a joke if you get outside the dcity much!
But then we also may have different ideas of what a motorhome is good for. I like it because it does give me free choice on where I stay. If I was willing to only stay where rentals or Uber were available, I most likely would just motel it but I wanted to be out where other folks are not so thick. Hard to get uber to take you and tell them, "I think there might be trout in the creek I crossed coming in, can you take me around there to find out?" Just not practical to spend a good deal of time and effort to just snag a ride! Sometimes we just jump in the car to find out what's in the area. Not something we would want to go to town and rent a car for just riding around while we are bored!
If you are in any size metro area, I certainly would not settle on not towing the current car from just reading online. First, I would check with a good place who installs the mods for towing cars and they may have a totally different package to install. Keep in mind that the net is full of good as well as bad info!
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Old 12-23-2019, 05:06 AM   #10
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We have been RVing (3-4 months annually) with a toad since '12. Had no previous experience towing or pulling anything so were scared. Once we learned the ropes, it became routine and stress free. Can't think of any downside. Towing "4 down" is easy and no dolly to store at the site and mess with. We watch others mess with it and would never go that route. The cost to sell your car and replace it with a used towable (4 down) vehicle isn't that much. We are very happy with our '02 Honda CRV and working on replacing it with the popular Chevy Equinox. You can get a late model Equinox that is flat towable (not all engines are) for around $17-18K, loaded with features like multiple air bags, heated seats, dual climate control etc.

We use the toad daily to run errands, go to dinner, sightsee, etc. It gives us time apart which is invaluable, as one can stay at camp and the other can run away for the morning etc.

I just rented a Hertz Equinox to test drive it. There is no way I would want to be involved with renting cars on a regular basis. What a time consuming hassle, but worth it to find out that I love the Equinox. And Hertz has a "rent to buy" program where you can pick a car in their fleet that is for sale, rent it for a few days to try it, and then buy it (very reasonable) if you like it. The '19 that I tested was only $17,500 and drove like a new car. However, it was a "plain jane" and didn't have the features I wanted.
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Old 12-23-2019, 05:26 AM   #11
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First off I will jump on saying stay with towing a car. I myself would never be without my car for many many reasons.

I am on the side of tow dolly. I have used one for many years and have no real complaints. Yes it take longer to hook up (I am in no hurry), Yes you have to get down and secure a pin or two. To me the straps are the biggest pain, but again I have over come. Make sure your dolly have brakes!
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Old 12-23-2019, 06:48 AM   #12
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We are not full-time and I don't have a car that can be towed easily. I decided to compromise with a scooter. It's fun & easy to drive and more than capable for highway use. It's a 250cc Honda Reflex. I bought a rack and customized it to work with our rig. It's not a car but we are not stuck at the campsite either.
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Old 12-23-2019, 08:37 PM   #13
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I drove 40,000 miles over the last 4 years in my RV.

I put only 4,000 miles on my 2009 Saturn Aura.

And these are the advantages of having a toad:

* Grocery store visits when my RV was "set-up" in the campsite and not going anywhere.

* My Saturn gets 35MPG vs. my RV that gets 7-8. And when the RV is in the shop, I am able to go run errands and/or visit tourist sites where I can not drive my RV.

* I once pulled an enclosed trailer with a Harley inside, and while I love riding a bike, I found my toad was far better suited for travel. Plus you will find it rains a lot... and you really can go grocery shopping in a harlet.

Note: If you can't find a tow car you like then I suppose scooter is perhaps the second best tow vehicle choice, but I would buy an enclosed trailer and use it to pack a bunch of other things in it. And you will really like having more storage too!

* Having a second vehicle of any kind is a real SAFETY measure.

* If you like to frequent major cities like we do, the trick to finding 5 parking stalls in a row is to arrive on a Friday night after 9PM. At these times all businesses are closed. Then spend the night... stealth like... and the next day go enjoy your tourist attraction, night club, festival, etc.

Of course, pulling a car you already own would be ideal, but you might want to sell your car and buy a tow car that has already been outfitted with a "base plate." That's what I did. $5,000 will get you a Saturn with a Blue Ox Tow Bar.

Note: I like Blue-Ox over "Falcon II", but there are a few higher end Road Master tow bars out their that are very nice. All of these are expensive new, but are practically given away if you find a car so equipped. My point is that the higher-end tow bars are easier to hook-up and un-hook, and you will be doing a lot of this if you like to travel the USA.

There are not that many toads for sale, but you can find them. Just be prepared to travel to find one. Note: I would never pay for a new tow-ready set-up unless you are buying new car. And I would never buy a new car to pull behind an RV, because the toad will take a pounding.

In summary: I would sell your older car or leave it with a relative. Then hit the road for as long as you can stand NOT HAVING A TOAD.

Then I would buy a $5,000 Toad "ready for tow" ...wherever you can find one. And a 2007 or newer Saturn are a great value, and are very reliable even at 125K. Not to mention you have $3,000 of tow equipment included in that decision and you will always be able to sell it for $4K-$5K when you want to another RVer.

I would move to Montana, and change your residency, change your DL. Then I would register your 10 year old vehicles using Montana's one-time registration fee and no sales tax. And I would always pay for full insurance coverage on your toad, because "Insurance Goes With The Vehicle". I.e., your RV insurance will not cover the Toad when you tow it.

Good luck making the right choice for you and your budget!
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Old 12-23-2019, 09:45 PM   #14
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Originally Posted by imnprsd View Post
I drove 40,000 miles over the last 4 years in my RV.

I put only 4,000 miles on my 2009 Saturn Aura.

And these are the advantages of having a toad:

* Grocery store visits when my RV was "set-up" in the campsite and not going anywhere.

* My Saturn gets 35MPG vs. my RV that gets 7-8. And when the RV is in the shop, I am able to go run errands and/or visit tourist sites where I can not drive my RV.

* I once pulled an enclosed trailer with a Harley inside, and while I love riding a bike, I found my toad was far better suited for travel. Plus you will find it rains a lot... and you really can go grocery shopping in a harlet.

Note: If you can't find a tow car you like then I suppose scooter is perhaps the second best tow vehicle choice, but I would buy an enclosed trailer and use it to pack a bunch of other things in it. And you will really like having more storage too!

* Having a second vehicle of any kind is a real SAFETY measure.

* If you like to frequent major cities like we do, the trick to finding 5 parking stalls in a row is to arrive on a Friday night after 9PM. At these times all businesses are closed. Then spend the night... stealth like... and the next day go enjoy your tourist attraction, night club, festival, etc.

Of course, pulling a car you already own would be ideal, but you might want to sell your car and buy a tow car that has already been outfitted with a "base plate." That's what I did. $5,000 will get you a Saturn with a Blue Ox Tow Bar.

Note: I like Blue-Ox over "Falcon II", but there are a few higher end Road Master tow bars out their that are very nice. All of these are expensive new, but are practically given away if you find a car so equipped. My point is that the higher-end tow bars are easier to hook-up and un-hook, and you will be doing a lot of this if you like to travel the USA.

There are not that many toads for sale, but you can find them. Just be prepared to travel to find one. Note: I would never pay for a new tow-ready set-up unless you are buying new car. And I would never buy a new car to pull behind an RV, because the toad will take a pounding.

In summary: I would sell your older car or leave it with a relative. Then hit the road for as long as you can stand NOT HAVING A TOAD.

Then I would buy a $5,000 Toad "ready for tow" ...wherever you can find one. And a 2007 or newer Saturn are a great value, and are very reliable even at 125K. Not to mention you have $3,000 of tow equipment included in that decision and you will always be able to sell it for $4K-$5K when you want to another RVer.

I would move to Montana, and change your residency, change your DL. Then I would register your 10 year old vehicles using Montana's one-time registration fee and no sales tax. And I would always pay for full insurance coverage on your toad, because "Insurance Goes With The Vehicle". I.e., your RV insurance will not cover the Toad when you tow it.

Good luck making the right choice for you and your budget!


That is the best advice that I have heard.
I will be checking into Montana residency.
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Old 12-24-2019, 03:27 AM   #15
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Wow! You spent a lot of time on that post. Very thoughtful. I appreciate the sound advice.
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Old 12-24-2019, 12:06 PM   #16
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If you add all this reading together, there is one thing that I come away thinking. Most do feel a tow car is worth the trouble. It is possible that one could do the work to move the "home" address to get better rates on the car part.
But then it also occurs to me that one would also need to check lots of other points before deciding one could save money by changing home address. Lots of things like taxes, insurance rates, and dozens of other points that you might want to figure in before deciding.
I find it gets down to me figuring out why I got an RV. I did not spend some pretty big bucks to buy and RV, only to spend countless hours trying to figure out how to avoid less than a thousand on the expense of a tow car. It'll only be one percent of what the total RV thing costs.
If money is so tight that I have to spend months scratching around for info----I better sell the RV, cause it's going to be just too much trouble!
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Old 12-24-2019, 01:05 PM   #17
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We also have a Sunstar 27PE and don’t leave home without our “Miss Toad”. She is a 2014 Fiat 500L 6-speed manual transmission. She has been to Alaska and back to Florida, California and back, and all the local trips we take as well. Plus we drive her around town whenever we are home for everyday use.
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Old 12-24-2019, 02:39 PM   #18
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Morich, also sound advice. It is funny I posted the same thing on a full time RV group at Facebook. The results were more mixed. Our current plan is to sell the car, go without for a few months as we are starting out by visiting lots of friends and relatives. Then likely buy something we can tow four down. Thanks to all for the excellent comments & suggestions.
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Old 12-25-2019, 05:53 AM   #19
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Just could not imagine life in an RV without the toad. We tow 2 different vehicles, a pick up (Ranger) and a small sedan (Focus) with our dolly- and decide which one to take based on our needs. Speaking from experience, we've enjoyed towing with the dolly much more than when we towed 4 down. We had a bad experience with 4 down. One day coming down a hill I heard a screeching/crunching sound, asked the DW to go back and see what it was--- then I looked out the drivers mirror to see the 4 down Cherokee toad passing me. The base plate connection had broken. That and the total inability to back up at all ended our 4 down days.

Thankfully got it all slowed down and stopped with some damage to the front of the Jeep but 4 down wasn't for us. That plus the higher cost of tow bars,base plates and braking systems lead us eventually to a good dolly.Plus with the dolly we can do some limited back up- a never ever situation with 4 down.Plus we can tow with a wide variety of front wheel; or rear wheel drive vehicles

We've towed on the dolly cross country 2 times and to AK and back to GA also.

The DW and I are totally hooked up in 10 minutes and we don't have to get on the ground to do it in a smooth set up. I agree though that may be due to the different types of dollies- ours can be done without getting on the ground.

I've come to like towing our RWD Ranger (front facing rearward) as having the bed of the truck gives us more versatility to haul some extra junk and get off road a bit more. There are many who say that hauling a vehicle rear facing can't be done, but it can be done easily and safely if weight is properly added over the dolly axle to offset the forward engine weight. We've towed our Ranger 10's of thousands of miles that way.

Our toad is our life boat, our storage hauling stuff place, and has made life so enjoyable on the road for us. The thought of traveling without one for us would be disconcerting.
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Old 12-29-2019, 04:30 PM   #20
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We cheat, carry a Honda Reflex on the back and drag our Cherokee behind us. Wife goes one way and I go another.
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