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Old 02-19-2020, 07:09 PM   #1
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TO TOAD or NOT TO TOAD

Just throwing out the age old question as to what length of motorhome decides when you TRULY don’t need a toad to enjoy your travelling and sightseeing?

Now, no fighting boys and girls.
Cuz there’s no right or wrong here.
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Old 02-19-2020, 07:29 PM   #2
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It would depend on where you are going and what sightseeing you will be doing.

Cruising the northeast coast, no fun in a motor home.

Touring around in the mountains of the west, no fun in a motor home.

Driving in almost any national park, no fun in a motor home.

Sightseeing in any city, no fun in a motor home.

Going to the beach, no fun in a motor home, unless you get a site very near the water. But even then, going to get dinner or groceries, no fun in a motor home.

So, IMO, a toad is a very good thing in almost every situation.
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Old 02-19-2020, 10:18 PM   #3
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I don’t consider the length of the motorhome to be the only factor in toad vs no toad.

To me, it’s also a question of whether I want to stow all the camping gear back in the cabinets and storage compartments, stow everything off the countertops and table. put the slides in, put in the awning, unhook the utilities, etc. to go sightsee for the day

OR

Leave everything set up at camp and simply drive off in the toad, and come back to a fully set up camp.
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Old 02-20-2020, 12:02 AM   #4
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We have a Sunseeker 2400R which is 25 feet. No problem parking it anywhere. We carry 2 bikes on the back. Since it’s just the two of us it just doesn’t take long pack up and drive somewhere. In the National Parks in the west a car won’t help. Bikes work best or the shuttles.
Four days in Jasper we rented a car for about $100.00 to travel around. Ezee Pezze. That was a lot easier than towing a car behind us for 3,000 miles!
Also we would have to buy a car that we could tow so there’s that as well.

As you stated. No right or wrong. It depends on how you travel and camp.
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Old 02-20-2020, 12:43 AM   #5
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Couldn't tow with our 25' REV even if we wanted to.

We can get most places with the rig. What we like is our ability to break camp and while on the drive to the next campsite, stop and do some sightseeing.

That wasn't as easy driving a 40' truck and tt. We'd usually end up camping, driving to the site and then driving back to the rig. I think if we could tow, we'd probably end up doing that again and probably do more driving than camping.

We do sometimes have to rent a car. Long Beach, CA wasn't very friendly to our rig or our 21' Tundra.
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Old 02-20-2020, 01:49 AM   #6
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Our motorhome is 25 feet. We've taken it in to some national parks and had no problems finding parking places (it was in the off season I must say) That being said, our toad is a Jeep and is in itself a fun rig to take off road and some of our camping trips have been geared around that. Having the toad opens up the options.
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Old 02-20-2020, 02:48 PM   #7
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We have a 3170 at 31’ long. We toad. We do not take it with us on every trip. Just depends. If we were moving every day or two, I would not want a toad but, we usually setup camp for 4 to 14 days. Plenty of time to exercise the toad.
Our Subaru Outback will take us any place we want to go. Yes, we have had it in the back country on moderately severe roads. No rock climbing.
And besides, if anything happens to the RV, we still have a ride.
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Old 02-20-2020, 04:09 PM   #8
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We have a 25 ft motor rv. We haven’t felt the need to have a toad . What we use our motor home is travel with another couple who has a toad but doesn’t pull it when we go together. If we stay longer at one spot we rent a car and of course split the cost . Which we feel is cheaper than a toad. And with a twenty five ft. RV can be easily driven around the area that we r camping. We r never at anyone spot over three days.
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Old 02-20-2020, 04:22 PM   #9
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Depends on Size of Your Rig!

We have a Leprechaun 220 QB......24 foot long....Its just me and the wife and small chihuahua....we can get into ANY parking lot, restaurant, campground etc etc. Never felt a need to toad. If we go somewhere sightseeing, it takes me 10 minutes to disconnect from shore and head out. If I ever really wanted an auto to drive around, I would rent one. Ive been from Maine to Montana and never an issue. No toad for us!
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Old 02-20-2020, 04:59 PM   #10
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We are like Johnnyoeppers, we have a 28ft Leprechaun and have slept in all but 3 states and never towed. We can hook and unhook in 10 minutes and drive most places. If we stay for several days we will rent or use public transportation like in DC, El Paso, Taos, etc. In 4 years I would say we missed a road a couple times. Safe travels to all.
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Old 02-20-2020, 05:01 PM   #11
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That's missed a road a couple times fortunately haven't missed a road yet.
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Old 02-20-2020, 05:01 PM   #12
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TOAD. Wow getting old.
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Old 02-20-2020, 06:19 PM   #13
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Decided on Toad

Bought GT in 2015, went on first close trip and wife followed in car. We then went to Myrtle beach and decided to rent car. After returning car, long story shirt, did not get back to campsite for four hours after return.

Went home and bought Chevy Sonic, small and easy all four down. To me, running to get a gallon of milk in the car is worth it. To me, if you plan on doing anything out side of campground, or the safety to know if someone got hurt and had to be run to urgent care, you can hop in car. Some places in the middle of nowhere it is hard to get Uber.
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Old 02-20-2020, 06:28 PM   #14
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Quote:
Originally Posted by kenandterry View Post
Just throwing out the age old question as to what length of motorhome decides when you TRULY don’t need a toad to enjoy your travelling and sightseeing?

Now, no fighting boys and girls.
Cuz there’s no right or wrong here.

That, really was a rhetorical question, eh? We have 'toaded' all along, across this great country. This a "To each his own" decision.. The vehicles we bought were with the intent of towing.
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Old 02-20-2020, 06:41 PM   #15
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We are now into year 2 with the motor home. The first year we tried the non-toad route with rental cars and Uber. We found Enterprise to be untimely and Uber hit or miss, particularly with military campgrounds. For short range trips we did "formation TOAD". The One Who Must Be Obeyed followed me in her Grand Cherokee and we conversed using hunting walkie talkies. This works well in areas of spotty cell phone coverage.



We threw in our experiences with talks with fellow campers and decided the TOAD was the way to go. Our Lime Green 5 speed Fiesta is fun and gives us a lot of flexibility.


We can go anywhere and not worry about turn radius and parking places. The TOAD sips gas at 37 mpg.


We toured Big Bend and Saguaro National Forest during this trip. It would have been low fun with our 31' and change Sunseeker. I imagine even lower fun for our Class A brethren.



I can't master a 10 minute hook up and de-hook and don't want to.



For us, a $7K used car with $3k fixin's was the way to go.


An aside, TOWMBO did not want her Grand Cherokee to be a TOAD.



Safe Travels!
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Old 02-20-2020, 06:54 PM   #16
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Originally Posted by RBotr01 View Post
We are now into year 2 with the motor home. The first year we tried the non-toad route with rental cars and Uber. We found Enterprise to be untimely and Uber hit or miss, particularly with military campgrounds. For short range trips we did "formation TOAD". The One Who Must Be Obeyed followed me in her Grand Cherokee and we conversed using hunting walkie talkies. This works well in areas of spotty cell phone coverage.



We threw in our experiences with talks with fellow campers and decided the TOAD was the way to go. Our Lime Green 5 speed Fiesta is fun and gives us a lot of flexibility.


We can go anywhere and not worry about turn radius and parking places. The TOAD sips gas at 37 mpg.


We toured Big Bend and Saguaro National Forest during this trip. It would have been low fun with our 31' and change Sunseeker. I imagine even lower fun for our Class A brethren.



I can't master a 10 minute hook up and de-hook and don't want to.



For us, a $7K used car with $3k fixin's was the way to go.


An aside, TOWMBO did not want her Grand Cherokee to be a TOAD.



Safe Travels!
We 'toad' a 5 speed Focus for awhile, then decided to tow the Grand Cherokee, it was a bunch more comfortable than 'Roller skate with seat covers'. Do what you gotta do now, so you can do what you wanna do later.
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Old 02-20-2020, 07:23 PM   #17
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I built and installed a rack on the back for a scooter. We have used it at Yellowstone, Teton, Bryce, Zion, Arches, etc..
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Old 02-20-2020, 07:53 PM   #18
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Another thought

My old boss got tired of replacing transmissions even towing a small car so he rented a car when he needed one from Enterprise and they would deliver it to his campground. He said gas mileage was better, lower tolls and less to deal with. Just a thought.
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Old 02-20-2020, 10:24 PM   #19
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Garrett, what year Outback? What transmission? I was told they could not be towed 4 down.
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Old 02-20-2020, 10:34 PM   #20
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My old boss got tired of replacing transmissions even towing a small car so he rented a car when he needed one from Enterprise and they would deliver it to his campground. He said gas mileage was better, lower tolls and less to deal with. Just a thought.
That’s a new one. I’ve never heard of a MH having transmission problems due to towing. Unless one is towing a 10,000 pound toad with a MH rated to tow 7,000.
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