Cross Country- to toad ot not to toad?

[Fla2RI]

We are planning a 5 month cross country trip in the Spring and I am still undecided on whether to drag my toad with me for 9,000 miles. It would be much less stressful without it, less expensive on fuel and tolls, and less wear and tear; but then we don't want to be stranded either. I was thinking of renting a car when we needed it, plus we'll have our bicycles. By less stress I mean being able to back up when necessary, one less vehicle to worry about damage, no tow bars, cables, and brake systems etc. Please share your thoughts or experience on whether you would or wouldn't. We will be doing a lot of national parks etc. Thanks!

[wa8yxm]

i would tow myself.

[Steve N Sal]

Quote:

Originally Posted by wa8yxm i would tow myself.

X 2

[RickO]

Personally, I can't imagine spending five months on the road without a toad. It's expensive to get set up properly but worth it IMHO.

Good luck...

Rick

[Glenn and Kathy]

Take the toad. You could buy a lot of fuel for the coach with the bucks It would take to rent a car 4 or 5 times and I would bet you would rent more times than that. You will find a lot of things to see that are difficult to visit in the coach.

Glenn

[vermilye]

If you are planning to visit state & national parks, you will find the toad far more useful than driving the narrow roads & trying to find parking, etc with the Bounder. There are some (such as the Going to the Sun Road in Glacier National Park) where you have no choice - large vehicles are not allowed.

[tj4dirt]

If you had a small class C I would say forget the toad. But you don't and that means every time you want to go to the store you have to take the MH. Also, if you do any sightseeing it would involve driving the MH. Many times parking will be limited and a toad much nicer vehicle to get around in.
Like others have said, I can't imagine a 5 month trip without a toad.

[GaryKD]

I've been across the USA several times. The first time was toadless. All other times, with a toad. Lesson learned. Take the toad.

[2Labs]

I would take the TOAD as well. We've accumulated about 4,000 miles since mid-summer with our Sea Breeze and there were only a couple of times that we stopped and didn't need our TOAD for one thing or another.

We're not towing 4down, but rather on a flatbed trailer, so we don't have problems with backing up or excess wear and tear on our VW. While we always try to plan our trips with stops at the market, etc I wouldn't want to be without it.

We've been driveway boondocking it for the past couple of months - waiting for our 1st grandchild to come home from the NICU - and it's enough of a pain in the rear to have to breakdown every 8-12 days to refill on propane and dump the tanks but I can only imagine the aggravation if we had to breakdown to run to the store for milk, or this or that ingredient to complete dinner.

I agree with some of the other posters that if you had a small Class C that you could probably get away it, but for me the ~2 hour breakdown and setup routine isn't worth it. In fact, I don't really foresee us travelling at all in our Motorhome without pulling our VW Tiguan behind us. It's just too convenient in the long run.

[Fla2RI]

Thanks for all your replies. You've all convinced me to take the toad!

[40GnTX]

If you are already set up for it, I can't imagine why you wouldn't take your toad along. I find that my wife and I end up seeing much more than we would without the toad. Example, we just got back from a 16 day trip that included Carlsbad Caverns, the Grand Canyon and Santa Fe, NM. Carlsbad Caverns doesn't have campgrounds so we ended up about 30 miles away at a KOA (fairly nice KOA if you are ever in the area). Being able to zip over to see the caverns in the Jeep made it fairly quick and hassle free. Plus we saved time by not having to break down/set up camp.

We found at Grand Canyon that even though they have a campground within the park and a bus system, the buses aren't on a full schedule in the winter at the south rim. In order to see the area of the park that we wanted to we would have had to rent a car (I have always found this to be a hassle - even with Enterprise) or walk/ride a bike about 20 miles. While, I don't have a problem with walking or riding our bikes it sure is nice to have the option to ride in your own comfy, warm and dry vehicle when the wind/snow/rain kicks up.

Lastly, when we got to Santa Fe, we weren't planning on skiing but they got dumped on by snow a couple of days before we got there. It was really nice begin able to jump in the Jeep and not have to worry as much about the condition of the roads or worry if there was going to be anywhere to park the coach (there wasn't and I was glad we had four wheel drive when we got to the parking area. I ended up helping several people with two wheel drive get out of the parking lot. As a side note the skiing was incredible the two days we were there

Oh well, that's my feeling about whether or not to take your toad. Enjoy your trip!!

[Dav5942]

Gas mileage minimal difference. Wear on toad minimal. Easy of hooking up 5 minutes or less-not a question in my mind after over 200,000 miles of toading.

Biggest decision for us is which toys to put in the garage(UTV, ATVs, and/or Harley).

[bluepill]

Compare the costs of a tow bar and braking system and lighting system - probably 2 to 4 thousand bucks - with just driving the car. The toad will sustain both tire and brake wear in either case, so it may just cost you a couple of oil changes and fuel to drive rather than tow. Plus, you don't have the down side of hooking/un-hooking.

Also, when we get within 5 miles of an exit, I have the DW drive the car ahead while I slow down a bit. She can then do a recon of the gas station or restaurant and call back to me on the CB radio to tell me about any trouble spots. Especially handy for spotting which lanes have diesel, and guiding me to the right roads to get to those pesky Cracker Barrels that are hidden in the bushes.


I agree with everyone that you do need some kind of transportation along with you. When I go by myself, I carry my dirt bike on a hitch carrier. A friend of mine carries an electric scooter the same way.

[KBolin]

As soon as you said National Parks I said to myself Toad. I'm a wildlife/nature photographer and tow all the time to give me flexibility and use the coach as base camp.