bukhrn
Lanexa, Va
Senior Member
Joined: 03/20/2005
View Profile
 Offline
|
WyoTraveler wrote:I guess if I was camping in Cody, WY and wanted to sight see I could put a lot of miles on a vehicle. Suspect it might be better at 30 mpg than 9 mpg. Things are not quite as close out here as they may be back east. If they are full timing and just happen to be moving around they may not want to disconnect everything just to go to the local store and buy a loaf of bread. Of course not everyone just camps at Walmart. This would be one of the biggest reasons, as whenI get set up & tour in the KIA, I'm getting 34 mpg vs 8, plus it's alot easier getting around in a car than a MH of any size, also, while it only takes 5-15 min to set up or take down,(depending on your MH), why do it twice a day, especially if you get back after dark.
2007 Forester 2941DS
2005 KIA Spectra
Zamboni, Long Haired Mini Dachshund
You can have my RV, when you pry my cold dead fingers from the Steering Wheel
Our Pics
|
tatest
Oklahoma Green Country
Senior Member
Joined: 05/14/2005
View Profile
Offline
|
You may be making the wrong assumptions about how the motorhome is being used. They may not all be touring, may be moving the house from one semi-permanent location to another.
If my stays are overnight, or a couple of days, I don't tow anything. If I am moving for the season, or setting up for a week or two, I'll tow my Ranger to that destination.
I do agree, for touring, the tow makes the motorhome less useful and a travel vehicle, because I have to park the motorhome and detach the tow (or just drop the tow temporarily) to get around. That's why it stays home most trips.
Tom Test
Itasca Spirit 29B
2001 Ranger Edge
|
wny_pat
Western NYS
Senior Member
Joined: 08/11/2007
View Profile
 Online
|
Pawz4me wrote:To each his own.
I personally can't imagine going through the hassle of unhooking an RV every morning before we could go sightseeing and then having to hook it back up every afternoon. Or of trying to find parking for anything bigger than a Class B in a tourist or downtown area. It's WAY easier to pull a toad. And no, the mileage difference isn't very significant. When you figure in the extra fuel one would use when driving an RV for daily sightseeing, I doubt there's any "loss" of fuel at all by pulling a toad. Not to mention the peace of mind of having another vehicle in case of mechanical issues with the RV. It is also the stowing of items so they don't roll off onto the floor. Moving thing onto the bed and then back off the bed at night so you can sleep on it. Lots of the smaller Class C do not have the storage room, especially when you are on a 1500 mile trip where you might buy souvenir gifts to take to those back home. You should have seen the Mexican pottery I had to haul back that the dw brought when we went to Texas a few years back. Had to haul the long horn steer horns in the back seat trunk pass through of the toad. Would not have had room for all that stuff in my old class C!
|
Mocoondo
Chicago, IL
Senior Member
Joined: 02/23/2010
View Profile
Good Sam RV Club Member
Offline
|
I don't personally pull a toad behind my rig, but I don't find fault upon those who do.
Here is my rationale for not pulling a toad --
1. I'm not a fulltimer, but we put a lot of miles on every year ... well more than the average, I'm sure.
2. We always carry our bicycles and almost always carry a pair of motor scooters.
3. I typically never go anywhere where I must have a toad to maximize enjoyment of the trip.
4. If we cannot bike into town or take the scooters, then we rent a car. We are 99% successful getting a great rate off Priceline or Kayak.
5. The $20 per day that we pay for an occasional rent car is, in my opinion, significantly cheaper than the dollar value of the added wear and tear and especially added mileage on a toad as well as the decreased fuel economy of the coach while towing a vehicle.
6. A couple of well known studies put vehicle depreciation at, on average, 8c per mile, maintenance at an average of 12c per mile and tires at an average of 3c per mile. On an exemplar 1,000 mile trip pulling a toad, that amounts to roughly $230 in depreciation, maintenance and wear and that does not include the added fuel consumption of the coach to pull the toad. I can rent a car for a lot less than $230 for the days we would ever need one.
So, by my methodology, I feel we are ahead by not pulling a toad and I don't feel that we have ever been overly inconvenienced by not having one.
|
wbwood
Troutman, NC
Senior Member
Joined: 05/01/2005
View Profile
Good Sam RV Club Member
Offline
|
floridastorm, you asked before about the costs between having an Rv and using a car/hotel...we gave it to you and you didn't like it. You went as far to say rolling a suitcase from the car to the hotel and back was a pain in the neck to you. Now you are asking us about towing a car behind a MH. 99% here have given you good solid reasons to do so. You can either take our advice or not.
Go out and buy whatever RV you are going to buy. Go on several trips. Not just weekend trips, but trips that last at least a week. Trips that will put hundreds and hundreds of miles on your camper. Then come back and let us know how the cost comparison was on the RV vs car/hotel thing as well as not having a toad went for you. But to be fair about it, you will need to leave the campground and go siteseeing (not just driving around).
I imagine when you push that shopping cart full of groceries to the RV at the end of the parking lot at Walmart, then you will start to rethink the little suticase thing.
Brian
RVing Illustrated
|
|
|
wa8yxm
Wherever I happen to park
Senior Member
Joined: 07/04/2006
View Profile
Offline
|
Well.. Just now and likely for the next 2 years I drive a 38' Class A with no towed.
however.. It's not just the driving that matters.. There are other things.
For example.. If you need to run to the store for loaf of bread... You have to pack up, unhook, and go.. Or.. you drive the towed.
Go to church on Sunday.. pack up, Unhook and go, or drive the towed.
Go to Dinner at Sam's Town (Short story here so I'll tell it)
Couple flew into Las vegas, Dealer picked 'em up and handed them keys to brand new Class C with sticker in window.. They drove it to TT-los Vegas and parked next to me.. Went to Sam's Town for Dinner.
Well the pipe in front of the entrance to the parking structure had a number on it that was greater than the height of their motor home so in they drove.. The Pipe, however, hangs LOWER than the ceiling, The Unit has a Winegard "Roadstar" Flying saucer type omnidirecitonal TV antenna (This was pre digital)
Pipe slipped under the saucer, ripped it off the roof, then flew up and came down on the bathroom vent cover smashing it to pieces.
Yes, a towed would have been much easier... Cheaper too.
Nothin adds excitment like something that is none of your business
Kenwood TS-2000 housed in a 2005 Damon Intruder 377
|
dodge guy
Bartlett IL
Senior Member
Joined: 03/23/2004
View Profile
Offline
|
Floridastorm wrote:folks buy a small class C or class A motor home (I would say something under 30 feet) and then tow a vehicle behind it? I would think that this defeats the purpose of owning a smaller motor home. If you're going to drive from point A to point B you are not using the towed vehicle. Once you get to point B and are staying a couple of days, either in an RV park or at a place like Walmart, why would you need another vehicle? Getting around sightseeing is a lot more comfortable in a motor home than driving around in a car, is it not? Also, on the open road, I'm quite sure that towing a vehicle brings your gas mileage way down. Now, I can see possibly towing a car with a large Class A (over 30 feet)(do they even make a Class C over 30 feet?). However, with a Class C or Class A, under 30 feet, driving in cities should be no more difficult than driving for UPS. Those drivers don't seem to have any problems.
Try parking anything over 20feet long and 8 feet wide in a destination area! Gatlinburg TN. comes to mind. I would rather have a small car to park in those instances.
Wife Kim 
Son Brandon 10yrs
Daughter Marissa 9yrs
Dog Shadow 
07 Cherokee 32B
02 Excursion 4X4 V-10 4.30 gear Hellwig sway bar
Reese HP dualcam,Prodigy brake controller.
A bad day of camping is
better than a good day at work!
|
Devocamper
West Haven CT
Senior Member
Joined: 02/15/2004
View Profile
Good Sam RV Club Member
Offline
|
I guess you have never tried to go into a large city or park at a hot spot for eating with a motorhome, try seeing the arch in st louis with a 30 foot motorhome you cant, people like an easier way to get around once in camp as well as not having to pack the motorhome up to go to the store to get bread ,milk or other supplies
08 NU-WA Hitchhiker Discover America 339 RSB
07 Chevy 3500HD LT1 EXT Cab LB DRW D/A
|
Dakzuki
Carnation, Wa, USA
Senior Member
Joined: 11/01/2002
View Profile
Good Sam RV Club Member
Offline
|
I have a small C (see sig) and am actively looking for a toad. The main reasons are that even at our relatively small size there are sill place we cannot drive. The toad will be a small 4x4 which gives me the capability of going off road. It will also be the cargo carrier in leiu of the trailer we often pull. The reason we have that size of a C is there are only two of us so we don't need much space and we can get into many sites a 30 footer cannot. The toad will just be another option.
2011 Itasca Navion 24J
95 Chinook Premier
|
SteveRuff
Bacliff, Texas, USA
Senior Member
Joined: 11/06/2004
View Profile
Good Sam RV Club Member
Offline
|
We drove a 24' Isata for 4 years. The first year was sans toad. We loved it and went almost everywhere in it. We noticed, however, that we would rather frequently chose to skip an attraction or an event such as a downtown festival or craft show because we knew parking would be a real if not impossible task. We also realized that going back to the RV to cook a meal, take a nap, watch TV for a spell just wasn't happening. Our dog was constantly being uprooted and had difficulty settling down. We would not have gone off and left the generator running so all he had was the fan for some circulation and it sometimes got quite warm in the motor home. When we added our Vibe toad a whole new arena opened up for us. The lifestyle began to make more sense and we certainly enjoyed the experience more. We began to stay in areas a little longer, taking advantage of the weekly and sometimes even monthly rates. We ranged farther from the base camp with the toad. We no longer minded running out for "quick" short trips where before if we were only going somewhere for an hour or two we often just chose not to go as it was too much trouble to break camp. The day we first hooked the toad onto the motor home was the last day we went anywhere without it and that is still true today.
Both retired. Travel with Nicky the Schnoodle. Son graduated and is teaching high school math. We still love our 2006 34' Allegro Bay XB and have 40,000+ miles on her.
|
|
|
|
