Renting a car?

Any advice. Thinking we may try before towing

Depends on where you go. Some places it's hard to find a rental, some it's relatively easy. We tried that before we had a toad, but ran into headaches, so got a toad.

Once you figure where you're going, you'll want to check availability and how to actually pick up the rental (they don't all "deliver").

Hi kcsunshine69,

You could choose your campground based on car rental places. Might be possible to walk and pick up your rental. Usually they will come over and pick you up if not too far. I rented a car for a month last year and costed $700. I figure if you do that ten years in a row, you would have $7000 plus in renting. That could pay for a nice hitch and items to tow along with labor to get it done. You do have to have a car that is able to be towed behind your RV.

Renting for a day or two at a time is possible but usually costs more. So there is always ways around it. I am pretty happy with towing my car behind our motorhome. It is always nice to have a ride. I also view it this way, that if you have a break down somewhere, you can drive for help. I have been in some pretty desolated places so there is a piece of mind there. (be sure to have enough gas!!) One camp ground we were at was located pretty far from town. Having the car there with us allow us to go in and do some shopping. You just have to decide what is right for you.

I started out full-timing without a toad because I figured I could always add one later on.  Six years later, and I still have no toad.  Mostly, the only time I really need to rent a car is when I am near a city, and then I just call Enterprise and they pick me up. That happens maybe 4 or 5 times a row.  Mostly, I like to hang out in state, county, and national parks where there is some space and a lot of quiet.  I almost never stay in commercial campgrounds. I also move every week to ten days and am used to running errands with my big rig.

I am in the habit of doing my errands between campgrounds. Small towns almost always have side street parking.  And national parks and scenic places almost always have big rig parking.  (Mine is 32' long, by the way.)  Most of the time, I shop in big stores and parking is fairly easy.  Today, I went to the mall and got a haircut, for example.  I probably leave the campground to go sightseeing or stop at a store once every 2-3 days, which coincides when I have to dump my tanks.

Yes, it is sometimes awkward to not have a toad, but a toad is going to be pretty awkward sometimes getting into and out of places like a gas station if you are on the road, so there is a trade-off. 

So, it all depends on your travel style and where and how you plan to travel. If I stayed in one place for a month or months, I might get a toad.  The thing is you can easily add a toad, but getting rid of one after the expense is a little harder. 

I spent 8 years 24/7 with no toad. I got a lot of exercise walking because you can't park at the front door when you shop.  ;D

The savings were enormous! Enough that I paid cash for everything including my new used 5th wheel and upgrades.

Many tourist places have RV parking. I learned to always park heading out, so no one could block me in while I was gone. Even the places that don't have RV parking, I just looked for enough spots to park and always found something.

I picked campgrounds out in nature cause that is what I enjoyed so I didn't miss  a toad. I never wasted time loading and unloading a toad. I don't need to be in a car on the road every day to feel good.

Some have to drive somewhere everyday to feel good, but I like fresh clean air out in nature rather than smoggy traffic.

I only rented a car twice in 8 years.

Many times I picked campgrounds close together, less than 100 miles apart. On moving days I did my shopping and sight seeing.

Sometimes I would break camp to go sightsee and shop, but mostly I moved every 2 weeks so I enjoyed hiking and biking.

I preferred the money savings of cooking at home, so I wasn't chasing down restaurants every day.

It's a different lifestyle without a toad, but you can save an enormous amount of money and have a lot less stress.

Many camps are so quiet by day because the car people load up and leave. I enjoyed a ton of peaceful living this way.

;D

Back when we had a small 21' Class C, we both broke camp and rented cars as needed for sight seeing, shopping, and visiting friends. The hassles involved with that were part of the reason we decided to upgrade to a Class A capable of hauling a toad behind us. We're now on our third Class A and second toad, and have never been sorry we made the change. Gas stations are rarely a problem for our 34' coach and toad, and having the freedom to come and go when we want to without the need to stow everything or arrange a rental makes our lives much more pleasant. The one time costs to equip our toads for towing have been more than made up by the convenience and savings in rental fees and extra sight seeing fuel.

I?ve used Uber a few times, but you have to be by a populated area. Bikes get you around, too! I may get a toad one day, but for now, I?m going to go without. I have a 24ft class C and I usually just camp at electric sites, so all I have to do is unplug and go on an errand if need be.
Depends on your set up, habits and preferences. I would go minimized and work up if need be, That?s my philosophy.

I used quick connect on my water hose, to make it easier to come and go.

Because I used my 28' Class C RV as my transport, I stayed on top of my housekeeping daily. That made it easy to break camp to go places. I never had any trouble leaving my patio mat, chairs and table etc. outside while going somewhere and then coming back to camp again.

I was used to a place for everything and everything in its place so I could drive away after a few minutes of tidying up and unhooking.

I did get spoiled traveling this way because my doggy went everywhere with me. There were times too when I was invited to go places with people that had cars, so that was always fun too.

Shopping is not my thing, bu I did use Amazon to buy most of my RV parts and many of my provisions.

Neighbors often asked me if I needed something from the store when they were going. Typically I said no, but if I did ask for something it was just ONE item like a dozen eggs or loaf of bread.

I stocked up on sale items, so my pantry always had extra food.

There is a ying and yang to living without a car but it can be done and it leaves a lot of stress free time to do other things.

We did some traveling several years ago with no toad.  Stopped at Walmart or any grocery store next to the road with a big parking lot and rented from Enterprise when we needed a car.  It was a pita, but we survived.

kcsunshine69 said:

Any advice. Thinking we may try before towing

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I have done it without a toad when I had a small "C" however there was lots of places I couldn't go because of parking, traffic and the general hassle of driving a big rig (and it was only a "C"). 
I would not and have not gone anywhere without a toad. I did a little study a couple of years ago as this is a common question on the forums. I made believe I didn't have a toad and checked rental companies for cars at different spots and attractions. Don't expect to be able to show up and have a car available.
I feel that not having a toad reduces your experience by at least 80%. Many make excuses why they don't need a toad and that works for them. Many drive from home to a campsite then back home and that is great for them. Those who want to maximise their experience will have a toad.   
Bill

WILDEBILL308 said:

Many drive from home to a campsite then back home and that is great for them. Those who want to maximise their experience will have a toad.   
Bill

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My thoughts exactly.

jymbee said:

My thoughts exactly.

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I agree as well. We put on 8700 miles on the rv this winter, and put 2400 miles on the tow car. (for you smart asses, yes the tow car went the other 8700 miles as well ) Most all the miles on the car were sight seeing, shopping etc. Having to take the rv sightseeing greatly reduces your ability to see things. As stated, having a fail safe towing behind you is reassuring in the event of a breakdown. At least you can go get parts or stuff required.

muskoka guy said:

I agree as well. We put on 8700 miles on the rv this winter, and put 2400 miles on the tow car. (for you smart asses, yes the tow car went the other 8700 miles as well ) Most all the miles on the car were sight seeing, shopping etc. Having to take the rv sightseeing greatly reduces your ability to see things. As stated, having a fail safe towing behind you is reassuring in the event of a breakdown. At least you can go get parts or stuff required.

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X3 - The first long trip we took in the coach was made with no car. We were at the mercy of the trolley system in Nashville for three days, rented a car in St. Louis for a week and had to pass up seeing Mammoth Cave on our way back. The next year, I bought an ACME EZ-tow dolly and we took our car with us. Neither of our cars can be towed four down. The dolly is a bit of a pain, having to climb under it to hook up the chains and making sure the wife drives up the ramps perfectly straight and centered, and the need for continually tightening the wheel straps to ensure we don't lose the car. But it's worth it. We did a 6,200 mile trip from Florida to Arizona to Vegas to Hot Springs to St. Louis to Mammoth Cave and back home. Renting a car every time we stopped would have been much more costly and time consuming than the ? mpg we lost from towing our own. We put 2,000 miles on the car off the dolly while on our trip. Now, it's a regular thing for us and we won't go anywhere out of the state without the car. Eventually, I want to trade in one of the cars for a model that can be towed four down because I know in another couple of years, I'll be too old to climb underneath it to use the dolly. But we will never go on a vacation again without a car.

Our first year of RV ownership, we rented cars and really had no issues. I started looking for a towable almost from the start and took me 18 months to find one.  We just got back from a 4000mi/3month trip with towing the car for the first time and outside of busy highways and some gas stations, everything went great. The Blue OX towbar system is awesome as I can connect/disconnect in a few minutes.  Having our own car was priceless. BTW, this was the first time I really ever towed anything in nearly 50 years of driving ( a couple of times  with my brother's boat and uhaul trailer) so I was pretty nervous about learning under the gun.