Trailer vs toad?

[Highmiles77]

I am at a point where I need to decide either to buy an enclosed trailer for my vehicle and toys or buy a vehicle to tow 4 down, let's hear from the experts out there to help me make the right choice first!

thanks in advance!

Bill and Jennie
2007 Phaeton
35DH 350 CAT

[twogypsies]

In our opinion, 4 down is the easiest way to go. With a trailer or a dolly, you'll always have to look for bigger sites with more room to store them.

[2500HD]

If I had a DP I would go with an enclosed trailer for the toad and golf cart. We make reservations a year in advance so we know where we are going and how big the sites are. If you are roaming around the country to unknown places a 4 down toad will be best.

No I'm not a expert DP owner but have been around enough MHs to know what works

[PushedAround]

It depends on what you want to bring with you. Our Honda Element makes for a great storage container when we want to bring more stuff than will fit under the MH. I see some guys pull a full-sized pickup with a cart or motorcycle in the bed. Then again, some guys can't be without the 28' Stacker so they can bring the cycles, jet skis, golf cart and car with them.

[IdahoSRT10]

Easy call.....if you want to brings your toys get the enclosed trailer. I have the enclosed trailer and have never used it....4 down works for me.
BTY you can back up 4 down to a certain amount, the wife has as also got in and steered the toad in a tight spot. It is easier backing up a enclosed trailer but still not easy IMO.

[hal1phx]

It was a no brainer for us due to the can we decided to keep .... but I guess it depends on what works for you ... We've been in to many situations where we needed to back up ... can't be done with 4 down ... #justsayin

[Wbonsell]

Having pulled a race car and gear in a 20' enclosed trailer I can tell you it was pretty easy for the most part. And the ability to back up was a real plus on occasion.

But with the race car and trailer gone, there is no way I would pull an enclosed trailer with a normal "toad" inside. Our Jeep works extremely well 4 down and provides a fair amount of storage room for things like our folding chairs and sat dish.

[nothermark]

It looks like you have the extra weight of the trailer covered do it comes down to what vehicle you want and what toys. If you must have something that cannot be towed 4 down or you need a car, golf cart, motorcycle and 2 sea kayaks you need the trailer. Somewhere in between there are many ways to compromise so we pick what works for us.

[zmotorsports]

We do both. If we are going on a trip where we are hop, skip and jumping from one place to another every day or two then flat towing our Jeep is definitely much more preferred. If we are going on a destination trip where we are staying at one place for several days or week and want to take the Harley in addition to the Jeep then we pull our 26' Haulmark Edge enclosed trailer.

We have towed enclosed trailers behind our last three coaches for the past 20 years now. Although mainly for racing but now that we no longer race I still like pulling the trailer when we want to take the bike along.

I will admit, finding a site when flat-towing the Jeep is much easier than towing the trailer. They both have pros and cons.

I definitely like showing up at our destination with the Jeep and bike clean though.

Mike.

[twogypsies]

We've never gotten into situations where we had to back up with the toad attached and we boondocked and used forest service campgrounds a lot.

Personally, I'd never have someone hold onto the steering wheel in the toad when trying to back up the motorhome - an easy way to break a wrist or arm.

[zmotorsports]

Originally Posted by twogypsies

We've never gotten into situations where we had to back up with the toad attached and we boondocked and used forest service campgrounds a lot.

Personally, I'd never have someone hold onto the steering wheel in the toad when trying to back up the motorhome - an easy way to break a wrist or arm.

Similar situation here. I know many use this as a argument for a trailer but in the 20 years and well ovef 100k miles of flat towing I have had two times where I had to unhook the toad and both were my fault in taking a wrong turn. Both were turning into campgrounds so I merely had my wife drive the Jeep to the campground.

The trailer is towed for different reasons than merely the ability to back up.

Mike.

[Highmiles77]

Thanks for all the input, I bought a jeep!

[jeryan59]

There are many posts on this forum regarding this topic, so I highly recommend doing a search.

I have towed on a dolly, 4 down and enclosed trailer. There are advantages and disadvantages to all. Everyone's circumstances are different.

One thing I encourage you to do, anyone who says there way is best I would ask if they have done any other way?

You really need to assess what you would like to accomplish? I like the flexibility with the trailer, this past week I took 2 Harley's and a car to AR to ride Harley's. I wanted a car to go to dinner and to enjoy some wine at dinner plus not have to worry about wildlife and cool evenings.

I also like the ability when I need to get service done on my Coach, to tow 4 down. I don't currently own a vehicle capable of towing 4 down. I can use the trailer to go to Cummins for oil changes but I prefer not to.

I would be happy to share more of my experiences, but you need to decide what your options may be. The trailer gives you the most options in my opinion, there are a few drawbacks but so did 4 down and dolly.

[Mr_D]

Originally Posted by PushedAround

It depends on what you want to bring with you. Our Honda Element makes for a great storage container when we want to bring more stuff than will fit under the MH. I see some guys pull a full-sized pickup with a cart or motorcycle in the bed. Then again, some guys can't be without the 28' Stacker so they can bring the cycles, jet skis, golf cart and car with them.

We got the Ody to use to go to various venues with our sales goods. Now it just makes a nice storage container.