Do you have to have a toad?

[scenic route]

Originally Posted by azloafer

Maybe I am dense, but what does this mean, " rental companies get all upset when you call them to tell 'em where it is" ???

Sorry about that...communication skill shortcoming. That was meant as a 'tongue in cheek' comment that we enjoy going into areas that the average rental car with 2WD might get stuck in and could be very expensive to retrieve. We do not do any 'rock crushing' but have been on some back roads that would have been impossible for a two wheel drive vehicle. It's just part of RVing we really enjoy and the Jeep has given us the opportunity to see a lot of wildlife we would not have ordinarily been able to see...no, we've never left a rental stuck in the woods somewhere but have heard of some that have...and it COST 'em! Bob

[Stevepkam]

Originally Posted by The Danes Are Coming

There is no way that we would be without a toad, but it is obviously down to your lifestyle and the way you prefer to travel whether or not you have to have one.

We tend to move our MH every 3 or 4 days (which is probably more than most people would like to do) so we do cover a fair distance. Strangely enough we put almost an identical amount of miles on our toad as we do on the MH (and no - the toad odometer is not ticking when it's being towed).

For us there would be no point in owning a MH and just stay there all the time except for the odd trip down to the supermarket.

Also - the golf-ball doesn't just go flying into the rough by itself - someone has got to drive over there and hit it

How is it traveling with toad? Don't know how many times I have had to do a U-turn. How tightly can you turn with toad? Can't back up at all with a toad rift?

[dieselclacker]

Originally Posted by Stevepkam

How is it traveling with toad? Don't know how many times I have had to do a U-turn. How tightly can you turn with toad? Can't back up at all with a toad rift?

You definitely have to be a little more careful of where you are going while pulling a toad. Make sure you have a clear exit, or enough room for a U-turn especially when entering parking lots, shopping centers, fuel stops etc. I have had to disconnect the toad a couple of times. Don't always believe that your GPS is 100% correct in routing you thru city streets. Don't ask me how I know this.

Dieselclacker

[danes-on-tour]

Originally Posted by Stevepkam

How is it traveling with toad? Don't know how many times I have had to do a U-turn. How tightly can you turn with toad? Can't back up at all with a toad rift?

Basically we don't feel the toad at all when travelling. Radius on a U-turn is the same with and without the toad but you can't reverse. This takes a bit of planning and looking ahead. When f.x. going to the gas station you will have to carefully assess your route for access and exit - otherwise you may find that the toad have to be disconnected.

[codgerbill]

When we first started towing the Jeep I had a couple times that I had to disconnect it because I got into someplace and had no other options. The same for gas stations. But as with other things in life you learn what you can and shouldn't do while towing the toad. For example: Gas stations.... You look for places where the lineup of fuel pumps is parallel to the street and not facing into the gas stations building, and if the pumps access faces into the building you look for the lineup that has the best in and out access.

[chasfm11]

Originally Posted by Stevepkam

How is it traveling with toad? Don't know how many times I have had to do a U-turn. How tightly can you turn with toad? Can't back up at all with a toad rift?

When you first start driving a MH, you start looking out above you as you never had to do in a passenger vehicle. After a time, it becomes automatic. Everyone seems to panic about the possibility of low bridges. I worry a lot more about low tree limbs in towns.

I think that the same is true for turning with a toad. Pretty much any place that I can put our MH, I can take the toad. After several years of making turns, I've developed a sense for how much space I need to make 180 degree turn. We wanted propane at a little RV store in Arkansas and DW nearly panicked when I pulled in with the toad. The propane pump was at end of a long and somewhat narrow corridor. Though I needed the help of the propane attendant to watch the front of the MH as I made the last of the exit turn, we got in and out without unhooking. I won't have even tried it during the first two years that we owned this RV.

As others have suggested, making the go/no go decision about where you pull into is the most important. I've bypassed many places because I just didn't like what I might have to do. We've also gone down narrow roads by mistake and had to unhook so that we could back the MH in order to get out. That has probably happened less than a half a dozen times in all of our travels.

Of all the things that I worry about when we are traveling, this is not in the top 5 items. Frankly, my biggest worry is the silly campgrounds who cannot keep their trees trimmed high enough for RVs to make the turns that their roads dictate. That would be the same toad or no toad.

[WheelingIt]

Originally Posted by chasfm11

Frankly, my biggest worry is the silly campgrounds who cannot keep their trees trimmed high enough for RVs to make the turns that their roads dictate. That would be the same toad or no toad.

I agree! Pulling a toad is easy as far as I'm concerned. It pretty much tracks the MH and you just have to make sure wherever you get in you can get out. Worst case you stop and unhook. The only accident we've had since we started RVing was a tree limb that hung over the road on a turn. Those things scare me way more than anything else.

[wa8yxm]

I have not had a towed in over a year.. We manage without it by timing all our "out of park" stuff (Shopping etc) for Sunday go to meeting day (EIther Saturday Evening or Sunday Morning church, and either before or after we do the shop and bank thing)

However; If you know of a decent towed for sale at a very low cost.. E-MAIL ME PLEASE!