Community Forums

reubenray · 05-21-2013, 05:30 AM

When we take our first trip in a week I have been thinking of when would I unhitch the toad at the campground. Do you do it at your spot or the first open area you come to? I do not want to block the road while doing this if possible. Every campground will be different obviously.

**CLIFFTALL** · 05-21-2013, 05:36 AM

It depends. I usually ask the office if there's no room at the checkin lane. Otherwise I unhook as my DW checks in. Even if I have a pull through , I prefer to be unhooked pulling in , in case I need to back up a bit.

zippo · 05-21-2013, 05:38 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by reubenray

When we take our first trip in a week I have been thinking of when would I unhitch the toad at the campground. Do you do it at your spot or the first open area you come to? I do not want to block the road while doing this if possible. Every campground will be different obviously.

Usually the wife and I go in the office to get the site and pay. As soon as I know they have a site for us I return to the toad and unhitch. I'm usually unhooked before the wife is done in the office.

ahicks · 05-21-2013, 05:48 AM

At a park we've never been to, we generally stop at the office and ask if we can drop to allow us to use the toad to pick a campsite? That works great, allows you to check for low overhead branches etc. Generally they're very accomodating and will just point a finger and say "sure, just go over there". It could be a wide spot in the road, an employee parking lot, or in a bigger park just the check in area.

If "en-route" we'll ask for a pull through and if avail. do not drop.

Point being, when and where to drop the toad nothing to be too concerned about in my expereince.

vsheetz · 05-21-2013, 12:27 PM

Yup, as others have said - it depends. Big thing it a good level straight spot, so the disconnect goes quickly and easily.

Wayne M · 05-21-2013, 01:03 PM

Every one that tows is in the same situation and basically "it depends." Many times when it is a back-in site there is still room in the road prior to backing in to unhook. In the worse case scenario someone coming in will have to wait 5 minutes or less. Many of us have been in that situation and for me it is not big deal if I'm unhooking, or just waiting to get by.

Our check in is a little different. Puppy wants out to smell the new area so DW handles her 80 pounds. I do the check-in and I'll ask the questions I need to ask to find out where to unhook.

Happy trails.

Sky_Boss · 05-21-2013, 01:12 PM

Same as others have said. I would also add that in some cases such as state parks with lots of trees we may disconnect before we even get into the park and scope it out before we even enter it or at least have the toad lead the way to scout any potential issues. We decided that after entering a state park in IA and one bend had a tight turn and a low, big limb.

We made it through but it was a bit tight.

I tend to have satellite photos of the park to give me a hint if things might get tight. It is good for getting oriented in advance.

OH...and if we get in late, we unhook before we get there to minimize any noise we might cause.

BFlinn181 · 05-21-2013, 01:36 PM

Like the others, I try to unhook at the office unless I'm sure I've got a straight shot at a pull through. Time is relative, '5 minutes' to the blocker seems short, but to the people returning from a long day of whatever, being stuck behind someone unhooking in the driveway the time seems MUCH longer, especially if they're only 100 yards from their campsite, drinks, bathroom, etc!!

Also when unhooking, be SURE to apply the brakes of the toad before pulling pins on the tow bar!!

biosensai · 05-26-2013, 11:15 AM

First thing I do is know which park we are going to stay at that day. That means reservations are made. I Google Earth the entrance to the park. If it looks like there might be be a problem unhooking where you park to register, I check the surrounding area for large parking lots. Lowe's, Wal-Mart, etc. That is very rarely necessary. In the time it takes my wife to register and pay for the site, I have the car unhooked and parked out of the way.