Toad?

Hey everyone.  We got our camper.  I am wondering what everyone tows behind their MH?  Looking for a vehicle that can be towed, with higher clearance but good gas mileage.  Any suggestions?

We tow a Honda CR-V.  It gets about 30 mpg on the highway and 24-25 around town.

We tow a Chevy Malibu.  Not real high ground clearance, but as good as most passenger cars, and it can be towed four-down without modification.

We tow a Ford Explorer 4x4 and it's "ok".... but I sure miss my Grand Cherokee toad.

I would say that Honda CRVs seem to be about the most common toad we've seen in our travels though.  We travel with three dogs so need a bit more room.

Rick

What are you towing with?  Knowing what the MH tow capacity is would help making the selection of a toad a bit easier.  You may only have a 3500 lb hitch so that would leave out many possible toads.

We got a diesel pusher. I can tow A LOT.

We tow a 3200# 6 speed manual Honda Accord, four wheels down, get 32 mpg, but it won't ford a stream... :'(

Tracker 4WD with manual hubs, Jeep Grand Cherokee, Acura MDX (current).  The Tracker and Grand Cherokee were best for offroading, but the MDX does relatively well on tracks that aren't too badly cut up.  Even with a diesel pusher, there are still weight limits for your tow hitch and GCVW, so you still need to look at each prospective toad in terms of what it weighs, how much weight your hitch can handle, and how much the two vehicles weigh when combined.  Also consider the auxiliary braking system you'll need to get and how it will work with your motorhome.  For example, we have air leveling and the toad uses an air braking system, e.g. when the motorhome brakes go on so do the toad's.

ArdraF

gottabemore said:

We got a diesel pusher. I can tow A LOT.

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S/B no problem then, but you should verify the hitch rating just to be sure.

You guys are the best.  Thank you so much! 

I'm real partial to jeeps. There is something about a jeep on the back that says "we're going to have fun when we get there

Go to the hitch at the back of the RV and read the specs right on the hitch. My Magna has a 7000 lb capacity.

gottabemore said:

Hey everyone.  We got our camper.  I am wondering what everyone tows behind their MH?  Looking for a vehicle that can be towed, with higher clearance but good gas mileage.  Any suggestions?

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I can't suggest a good one, though I can tell you one you'll want to avoid, because it's not tow friendly.

My toad is a 1992 Volvo 240 GL RWD 174,000miles. I was told no way can I use this for a toad. Too big. Too heavy. Too long. Too rear wheel drive.  At 17' long it's not practical to tow. At 3,000lbs it'll effect the weight of things I can have inside my MH. There are things you can not do to a Volvo, things like: no tow bar, no tranny kit, no dolly, it's a RWD so don't even think about it as a toad, etc. My solution? Put it on a flatbed, tow the flatbed. Not a common solution, most folks would rather get a more toad friend car than deal with a flatbed, but I like this car, it's a show car, I won't own a car I can not enter into a show, I'm in the process of rhinestoning this car - you know, like Liberace? (I wonder how much it'll weigh once I've finished rhinestoning it?) and I'd rather have it than a more "toad friendly" model, so it's a flatbed for me.

I was adviced, it's doable, but it's not practical, and the flatbed is going to be a major hassle of impractibilty when I try to park at RV parks. I was asked, do you have another car?

Yep. I have another car all right, but if you think this teeny tiny little itty bitty 17' Volvo is too big, too long, and too heavy, to be a toad than no way in heck are you gonna like my other car! LOL!

Even less practical than the Volvo is the rare limited edition, less than 1,000 built 19 foot long 8 foot wide, 4,000lb monstrosaty of a 1964 Dodge 330 4-door sedan police car, also a RWD, and push button to boot, which happens to be my other car and I've owned this car since 1975 - this car is a member of the family, this car is my baby, no body touches this car, and I'm not getting rid of either car so it's either the Volvo or the Dodge.

In the corse of the conversation I was asked, "Well, have you ever thought about getting a third car?"

Yep, a 1983 Peugot 505 w/V8 engine - it was a limited edition, only a few hundred were made, very rare.

I could see the sigh of frustration and the eyes rolling as he realized my choices were getting longer and bigger and heavier by the minute. LOL! Along with the question: "Can you think of a car you want for a toad that is NOT a RWD? You just can't use a RWD for a toad!"

I don't know, is a 1973 Stingray FWD or RWD? The 1963 VW Bug is a RWD too isn't it? VW Thing is RDW too, huh? 1974 AMC Gremlin? How about a 1951 VW Bus?....

"A '51 VW Bus? What? To tow behind a motorhome? What are you crazy?..."

Uhm, well you did ask what my other options were if I was going to buy a 3rd car...I mean, I'm only answering your question here, I am a car collector after all, I don't exactly pick cars based on practicality, I pick them based on looks and what car shows I can enter them in, okay? And yes, the show cars are my every day drivers, I mean why have a car if you are never going to drive it?

"Could you at least try to think of a new car, something small and lightweight, can't you be practical about this?"

Me? a new car? Are you kidding? I had the choice of a newer MH and a 40 year old MH...look at the one I picked will you? Do you really think you are going to get me inside of something less than 25 years old? I don't even ride with a friend if their car is too new! Honey, take a look inside the MH - I've got 12 cats living with me. Do you have any idea how many people have told me it is unpractical to have any more than 2 cars in a MH? And here I am with 12 cats, a pink motoehome, a rhinestoned Volvo, and you think you are going to argue practicality with me? I don't suppose you noticed the fact that I am also wearing a red frock coat and a black top hat, and am a CosPlayer 24 hours, 7 days week, I do not own a single item of practical clothing! I write comic books for a living. I haven't had electricity in 5 years. I live in a tent during blizzards. I walk on the beach during hurricanes. You want me to be practical? I laugh at practical. I'm the epitome of impractical. Ask the locals about their going theory that I am so far beyond eccentric, that I am damn near insane. They don't call me "Maine's Crazy Cat Woman" for nothing. You want me to have a practical car? I don't have a practical bone in my body.

Yeah, he finally gave up trying to talk me out of RWD cars and new cars and said, "Alright, just tow the Volvo on a flatbed." in other words, get the hell out of my garage you crazy demented woman, who refuses to be practical about choosing cars, I have customers to wait on. LOL!

So what I got out of all of that was the ideal toad would be small, lightweight, NOT a RWD, less than 5 years old, and something you could tow all wheels to the ground. He recommended something along the lines of a SMARTcar or a Mini. Clearly not a car on my list of cars to buy, but it gives you some idea of cars you "shouldn't" tow.