Toad Dilemma

[L.C.Gray]

Sit down, this'll be a long one...

We,ve transitioned into a motor home from a travel trailer. I have a dilemma on what to do about a toad. The existing situation is that I already have too many vehicles (6) and none are really suitable to tow. I really don't want to add another vehicle to insure and maintain just for the very limited use we'd get out of it with the MH.

Our current plan is on short hops (most of our travel) for the DW to follow in a car, for long hauls rent a cheap weekly rate car on the far end. The problem is what to do in between. We like to go to the coast and the two destinations we like are about 375 miles away.

I do have a roll-back car hauler, but at 26 feet long it's fairly heavy (3,000 lb) and by the time you put a car on you're at about 6,500 lbs. MH is a Super C on a C5500 Kodiak that's supposed to have a 10,000 lb tow rating. Best I can tell by reading it has 26,000 lb GCWR and we scale out at 17,100 wet and loaded to travel giving us at least a 8,900 lb tow capacity. At a current fuel consumption of 6.5 mpg I'm wondering how much the Toad or the trailer will eat into us. Basically will the additional 3,000 lbs of the trailer be a significant increase in fuel consumption over the 3,500 lb Toad. I really think the trailer will be easier to manage than a Toad alone. Easier to back, track and maneuver. Stowing the trailer on the other end is a disadvantage.

Of the vehicles in inventory, 1970 Mustang (auto), 1973 Mustang (auto), 1985 ElCamino (auto) 2011 F250 4x4 (heavy), 2017 Mustang, only the 2017 Malibu is listed as towable. I have checked and there is a baseplate available for my application. I'm figuring that buying the baseplate, tow bar and installation will run at least $1,500. To tow the car on a trailer we do need to have a brake controller installed, about $300.

Based on a 350 mile trip dropping to 5.2 mpg pulling the car on the trailer is the break even point vs following the MH with the car. We have yet to actually load up a car and pull the trailer to see what it will be like on performance and fuel consumption. I guess that's our next step in the process.

I'm just looking for the most reasonable answer both in ease and economy. We travel 4-5 times per year, usually one long trip and the rest <100 miles. I'm sure others have looked at this same situation and maybe y'all can give me another veiwpoint at it.

[96Bounder1st]

I tow my 2015 Equinox behind my Bounder and so far it seems to be costing me about a mile to the gallon penalty. On the just completed 600 mile trip I did towing made it an equivalent to a 2.5 mpg boost over putting fuel in both. That actually equals a 1.5 mpg difference between towing and not towing.

The cost of the tow bar setup may never be regained but the wife is happy.

I find it pleasanter to drive with a companion for conversation. Makes the trip shorter.

As to the performance issue, I am limited to 65 MPH per vehicle specs and it is slower to accelerate and slightly slower on hills.

Good luck with your decision,
What works for you will work for you.

Terry & Pat

[Crasher]

Don't overthink it. You have everything you need to bring a car with you. Load whatever you want onto your trailer and hit the road. It will take a little more fuel, but not enough to equal what setting up any vehicle to tow four down or even buying a dolly. I doubt that you would notice the difference between a 3500# car and a 6500# trailer. Plus, you can maneuver the trailer much easier than a toad. I've done both and although I tow an Avalanche (6500#) most of the time, I also tow a 3,000# trailer with a 5200# modified Jeep for a total over 8000#. I can't tell the difference between the two as far a mpg is concerned. A trailer has its advantages, plus you already have one. If you don't like it after a few trips, you can always spend the money and go to plan B.

[Gumpster808]

Agree with the above.

Since you already have the trailer that is the easiest all the way around. Plus you can take any of the vehicles except maybe the truck based on weight.

Our friend has a big trailer he rows behind his 42 foot DP and doesn’t notice the mpg difference. He hauls our Harley’s and has room for his trailhawk if he wants to take that as well.

We pull a Toad that we bought new last year for a long term Toad. Since I work out of the house no mileage normally so should last a good long time. Expense was worth it to us.

For storage there are campgrounds that have sites long enough for our friend to pull in and never have to unhook the trailer. At others we have worked with the manager and found a place to put it out of the way.

From a financial perspective I’d try it using the trailer first since there is essentially no cost involved. If it’s too much hassle you can always to the Toad setup later.

[TXTiger]

Not sure what they cost but you might look into a car dolly. Then you should be able to take whatever car you want in your collection, even take a different one each time, no base plate required and you usually can store a dolly on your camp site with no problems.

[Mr_D]

Originally Posted by TXTiger

Not sure what they cost but you might look into a car dolly. Then you should be able to take whatever car you want in your collection, even take a different one each time, no base plate required and you usually can store a dolly on your camp site with no problems.

Not totally true. AWD, 4X4 and rear wheel drive are not towable on a dolly. Some people do tow acrear wheel drive backwards but no tow dolly manufacturer approves it.

[Mark D]

The 2011 Ford can have a drive shaft disconnect added. Pull a lever and it's ready to go.

Originally Posted by L.C.Gray

Sit down, this'll be a long one...

We,ve transitioned into a motor home from a travel trailer. I have a dilemma on what to do about a toad. The existing situation is that I already have too many vehicles (6) and none are really suitable to tow. I really don't want to add another vehicle to insure and maintain just for the very limited use we'd get out of it with the MH.

Our current plan is on short hops (most of our travel) for the DW to follow in a car, for long hauls rent a cheap weekly rate car on the far end. The problem is what to do in between. We like to go to the coast and the two destinations we like are about 375 miles away.

I do have a roll-back car hauler, but at 26 feet long it's fairly heavy (3,000 lb) and by the time you put a car on you're at about 6,500 lbs. MH is a Super C on a C5500 Kodiak that's supposed to have a 10,000 lb tow rating. Best I can tell by reading it has 26,000 lb GCWR and we scale out at 17,100 wet and loaded to travel giving us at least a 8,900 lb tow capacity. At a current fuel consumption of 6.5 mpg I'm wondering how much the Toad or the trailer will eat into us. Basically will the additional 3,000 lbs of the trailer be a significant increase in fuel consumption over the 3,500 lb Toad. I really think the trailer will be easier to manage than a Toad alone. Easier to back, track and maneuver. Stowing the trailer on the other end is a disadvantage.

Of the vehicles in inventory, 1970 Mustang (auto), 1973 Mustang (auto), 1985 ElCamino (auto) 2011 F250 4x4 (heavy), 2017 Mustang, only the 2017 Malibu is listed as towable. I have checked and there is a baseplate available for my application. I'm figuring that buying the baseplate, tow bar and installation will run at least $1,500. To tow the car on a trailer we do need to have a brake controller installed, about $300.

Based on a 350 mile trip dropping to 5.2 mpg pulling the car on the trailer is the break even point vs following the MH with the car. We have yet to actually load up a car and pull the trailer to see what it will be like on performance and fuel consumption. I guess that's our next step in the process.

I'm just looking for the most reasonable answer both in ease and economy. We travel 4-5 times per year, usually one long trip and the rest <100 miles. I'm sure others have looked at this same situation and maybe y'all can give me another veiwpoint at it.

[txcpl]

I would start off renting a vehicle at the destination point, and then transition into what I decide is best at a later date. It won't take but a few trips for you to make your decision.