Let's beat that poor dead horse again, Toad or No Toad?

[Philrisl]

We are about to leave on a two month trip in our 24W Solara and went through the same thought process. I am taking the Harley on a small aluminum open trailer. A test drive with the trailer showed a minimal effect on mileage. Most places we will only stay for a couple of days.

[Kyfan]

Originally Posted by Philrisl

We are about to leave on a two month trip in our 24W Solara and went through the same thought process. I am taking the Harley on a small aluminum open trailer. A test drive with the trailer showed a minimal effect on mileage. Most places we will only stay for a couple of days.

I haven't decided what to do yet, but I'm leaning toward taking the bike, and renting a car if needed and it's available. If you are leaving soon, and have time between the fun stuff, check in with the forum and let us know how the trip is going.
Have fun!

[HappyGuy]

We had a toad for years. Towed the toad 4 down with a tow bar. The setup with brake controller, tow bar, magnetic lights, and safety equipment I knew I could trust was around 2250.00. Modding the toad took a weekend because I hate to see exposed wires and I'm picky. I chose the bar route instead of a tow dolly or trailer because some sites don't allow trailers on site and some sites are just too small for a trailer, car, and rig. With the cost of the equipment, added towing hassle and reduced gas mileage we decided that the pain was not worth the gain. We switched to the Enterprise approach and haven't looked back. We can call ahead, I drop the wife and head to camp, she gets the car and normally by the time she arrives with the car the campsite is setup and beers are ready. We have found that this approach is much easier and much less stressful than hooking up, towing, unhooking, and stowing. We are considering getting a scooter and towing it. The problem is that in order to keep the rig from getting light in the nose I would probably need a swivel wheel trailer but right now that is just too much trouble. Guess I'm too cheap and too lazy...

The ultimate single wheel trailer system.

[markb422]

Just made the switch from TT to MH and am thinking about a bike/moped rack for the back. The hitch receiver is rated at 500 lbs hitch wt. Do you use the bumper to take some of the load or is it all on the receiver.

[RedLdr1]

Originally Posted by markb422

Just made the switch from TT to MH and am thinking about a bike/moped rack for the back. The hitch receiver is rated at 500 lbs hitch wt. Do you use the bumper to take some of the load or is it all on the receiver.

It is all on the receiver. Our current MH has a rear "bumper" integrated in to the rear cap that wouldn't take any weight. Our previous MH had a real "bumper" but it was so light weight it wouldn't be any help either.

[Kyfan]

Originally Posted by HappyGuy

We had a toad for years. Towed the toad 4 down with a tow bar. The setup with brake controller, tow bar, magnetic lights, and safety equipment I knew I could trust was around 2250.00. Modding the toad took a weekend because I hate to see exposed wires and I'm picky. I chose the bar route instead of a tow dolly or trailer because some sites don't allow trailers on site and some sites are just too small for a trailer, car, and rig. With the cost of the equipment, added towing hassle and reduced gas mileage we decided that the pain was not worth the gain. We switched to the Enterprise approach and haven't looked back. We can call ahead, I drop the wife and head to camp, she gets the car and normally by the time she arrives with the car the campsite is setup and beers are ready. We have found that this approach is much easier and much less stressful than hooking up, towing, unhooking, and stowing. We are considering getting a scooter and towing it. The problem is that in order to keep the rig from getting light in the nose I would probably need a swivel wheel trailer but right now that is just too much trouble. Guess I'm too cheap and too lazy...

The ultimate single wheel trailer system.

Thanks for the info on your experience. Hey, there's nothing wrong with being a little cheap and lazy with the toys,sometimes it has helped me delay spending a lot of money long enough that I come to my senses. I'm speaking from experience.

[camaraderie]

Originally Posted by markb422

Just made the switch from TT to MH and am thinking about a bike/moped rack for the back. The hitch receiver is rated at 500 lbs hitch wt. Do you use the bumper to take some of the load or is it all on the receiver.

Mark...mopeds and scooters (more than 50cc to about 200cc requiring license) weigh in at 250lbs or less. My 150cc Vespa will cruise easily at 50mph but is not for interstates. The standard class 3 hitch can easily accomodate one...but since we wanted TWO...we had the class 3 cut off and a class 4 welded on (1000 lb. tongue weight limit) which accomodates our 600lb. load.
The big BUT is that you have to have the spare carrying capacity (CCC) since that load all goes on your axles rather than the ground...and your chassis can't have welded on extensions if you want to support more than the class 3 weight limit by moving to a class 4.

[Idaho Jack]

I have a 2015 FR Forester 2251SLE and a 2015 Fiat 500 POP toad. I use a ReadyBrute Elite tow bar/surge brake as seen at ReadyBruteâ„¢ Elite RV Tow Bar and I use a Protect-a-Tow to keep debris from hitting the toad, as seen at Protect-a-Tow.

This is a great combination for me. The toad is so light that I hardly know that it is ther. The tow bar can be installed in 10 minutes and I love the simple surge brake idea.

[JimOneil43]

We originally were going to do a tow dolly and figured that it was the best option, but after considerable research, changed our mind. We wanted to be able to do side trips with the car where ever we were and did not want to miss out by using the excuse "Oh, it's too much trouble to get the car off an on the dolly".
So, we ended up towing our Honda CR-V 4-down and getting a Roadmaster Falcon 2 towbar setup along with a SMI Stay -in-Play Duo braking system, with a Roadmaster fusemaster tow/drive switch. Works great and we can hook-up/unhook in about 10 minutes or less.

[Tombsy]

My fishing kayak is coming with me anyway so I designed a trailer built to carry a Yamaha scooter as well, just for getting around the campsites or to nearby stores. The trailer also has a nice size storage box, deep cycle battery, mount for my portable generator and a 100w solar panel to charge the batteries for the kayak motor. If we need a car we'll try the Enterprise rental if it's available.

[Kyfan]

Originally Posted by Idaho Jack

I have a 2015 FR Forester 2251SLE and a 2015 Fiat 500 POP toad. I use a ReadyBrute Elite tow bar/surge brake as seen at ReadyBruteâ„¢ Elite RV Tow Bar and I use a Protect-a-Tow to keep debris from hitting the toad, as seen at Protect-a-Tow.

This is a great combination for me. The toad is so light that I hardly know that it is ther. The tow bar can be installed in 10 minutes and I love the simple surge brake idea.

Very nice setup, The Fiat 500 was one of the top picks I have been looking at for a toad. I will probably go without the car option on the first long run just to see how it works out with a motorcycle or car rental first before I invest the 15k or more.
Thanks for you help.

[Kyfan]

Originally Posted by Tombsy

My fishing kayak is coming with me anyway so I designed a trailer built to carry a Yamaha scooter as well, just for getting around the campsites or to nearby stores. The trailer also has a nice size storage box, deep cycle battery, mount for my portable generator and a 100w solar panel to charge the batteries for the kayak motor. If we need a car we'll try the Enterprise rental if it's available.

Nice job, It looks like you modified a boat trailer? What size scooter do you have?
I watched you video, darn you, now I may have to figure out a way to carry a couple
of kayaks. Looks like you were having way too much fun.

[Tombsy]

It is a modified boat trailer, the pvc pipe cradles fit the tunnels of the kayak plus the end caps screw off to store fishing rods etc. There is a set of cart wheels that plug in the bottom of the boat so just I pull the boat off the trailer enough to plug in the wheels then I can tow it with the scooter. The plan was not to have to back it up to a boat launch with the motorhome and the scooter pulled it no problem. It's only a 50cc Yamaha Zuma.
The boat is about 200 lbs all loaded up and I have spine issues so this way there's no heavy lifting.
I've fished from a lot of different boats and this is my first kayak but I'm really liking it, super comfortable 3 way adjustable seat, super stable I had no problem standing up right off the bat, really quiet and stealthy compared to a tin cartopper.
Sold yet? Lol.


Brian

[Kyfan]

Originally Posted by Tombsy

It is a modified boat trailer, the pvc pipe cradles fit the tunnels of the kayak plus the end caps screw off to store fishing rods etc. There is a set of cart wheels that plug in the bottom of the boat so just I pull the boat off the trailer enough to plug in the wheels then I can tow it with the scooter. The plan was not to have to back it up to a boat launch with the motorhome and the scooter pulled it no problem. It's only a 50cc Yamaha Zuma.
The boat is about 200 lbs all loaded up and I have spine issues so this way there's no heavy lifting.
I've fished from a lot of different boats and this is my first kayak but I'm really liking it, super comfortable 3 way adjustable seat, super stable I had no problem standing up right off the bat, really quiet and stealthy compared to a tin cartopper.
Sold yet? Lol.


Brian

Oh I'm sold on the idea. We recently moved from Ky. to S.W. Florida. We live about 3 miles from the gulf. The fishing here is great and I see kayakers on the inner coastal waterway between the shore and island.
Nice design on the trailer, it looks like it does everything you need.