without a Toad ?

[J32952]

new to this and looking for advice.  Class A without a Toad.  Yes, have bicycles, but how to people get around.. say go to town, visit local sites, if you do not bring a 2nd vehicle?  Is Uber/Lyft an option? Rent a car?  What seems to work well?  Thank you for advice (learning a lot here).

 

[SeilerBird]

I did it for ten years while full timing. Not a big deal. I just drove the class A anywhere I wanted to go. They are easier to find a parking space for than most newbys anticipate.

 

[Larry N.]

So much depends on where you are at the moment that you need transportation. If you're mostly near cities then Uber, cab, rental, etc. might work. But if the bike isn't adequate then you either do as Tom said and drive the RV or you take a toad. Or there's one way that few use and that is to have someone drive your separate vehicle rather than towing it, but that's not too great for any distance.

Personally though, I tried without a toad for a short time with my first class A, and it meant we were severely limited, mostly stuck in the campground. Take Quartzsite, for example -- it's hard enough to get a parking place in town for a small car, let alone a class A, during the various shows in January. Our first year there we didn't have a toad, so it was walk (more than we wanted to mess with) or bum a ride with someone else. So the next year we had a Jeep toad.

 

[Gary RV_Wizard]

The overwhelming majority of motorhome owners do bring a car, either towed or driven separately. Those who do not get along with limited mobility.  All the alternatives you mention are feasible in some places and not in others. I also seen people hitch rides with other campers, which works reasonably well for long term stays where you get to know the neighbors.

It all depends on where you go and your willingness to live with limitations.  Renting a car is a good choice if you will be there long enough to make it worthwhile - some rental services will even deliver the car to you.

 

[Isaac-1]

The size of the coach also matters here, at under 30 feet it is somewhat practical to just drive the motorhome places.  A standard full size parking space is 22 feet long, my 28 ft Safari Trek (29'5" bumper to bumper) with a 178 inch wheel base will often almost fit in a standard parking space if I can back in and overhang the curb.  In the 12,000 miles I have put on my coach since buying it a couple of years ago, I have rarely not been able to find a parking option when needed, though there have been places that I have bypassed due to feeling it was not worth the effort, and times I have stayed at campgrounds vs making trips to a store, etc.  We have also used Uber, rented a car, as well as used campground provided shuttles, even once a public trolley system that picked up in front of the RV park.  Eventually we will likely setup a TOAD, and when my wife needed a new car earlier this year thanks to a teenager in a Yukon running a red light, we bought one that can be adapted for 4 wheel down towing, though for now our solution has been to plan trips to places where we can either use the coach, rent or use Uber, etc.  Sure this means that there are places that we don't take RV trips to, but we will worry about those places when we run out of places we want to go that can be done without a TOAD.

It seems whenever this topic comes up someone makes a statement like Gary does above about the overwhelming majority towing a car.  I don't think this is true, I live in a small town next to the intersection of 2 federal highways in Louisiana, so lots of RV's pass by in front of my house, and I can confidentially say that the majority of the class A motorhomes that pass by are traveling without TOAD's.  Sure depending on the season a lot of them may be going to the lake for the weekend, but that still counts as traveling.  I keep planning on setting up a web camera and counting them, but a casual estimate would put somewhere between 1/2 and 2/3 of class A's that pass by my house don't have TOAD's and something over 3/4 of class C's are without TOAD's.

 

[ArdraF]

Over the years we've had three Cs and two As.  We had no tow car with the first two Cs.  By the third one we got tired of constantly hooking and unhooking hoses and cords so we could go sightseeing, shopping, out for dinner or wherever.  During that same time we went to Alaska twice, once without toad and once with toad.  On the second trip with a car we realized how much we had missed the first time because we couldn't take the C to a lot of places we could go to in a car.  One of the huge "pro" reasons to have a car is emergencies that do happen.  When I broke my elbow and had to have three surgeries, physical therapy, and doctor visits for a couple of months we were really glad we had a car.  There was no place around that hospital where we could have parked an RV, but we could park in their garage with a car.  Also, we don't like depending on other people to take us places.  One of the few times we left the car at home was awkward.  A group of us went to dinner where the restaurant was about 20 miles away.  We went in our friends' car and I lost my expensive prescription sunglasses in the restaurant but didn't realize it until we got back to the motorhome.  My glasses were found but we had to make the 40-mile round trip to get them and I felt very bad that my friend had to drive me back there.  Luckily she was a good friend and was willing to drive!  Since then we always take the car on trips.

Our first toad was a cute little Geo Metro Tracker and it was bought by a couple who had been fulltiming for several years without a car.  The wife REALLY wanted one so she could get out and do things like go to a beauty shop alone.

ArdraF

 

[JudyJB]

I have full timed solo in a 32' Class C for over six years with no toad.  I decided i did not want to bother with attaching a toad and unattaching it at campgrounds, nor did I want to add to the length of my motorhome while traveling because of the difficulty of getting into gas stations etc. while on the road.

But I tend to stay only 7-10 days at each state or national park.  Do my errand running and grocery shopping between campgrounds, but that does not mean I do not go out while camped.  i can easily get into and park at most big-box stores and in small towns there is usually side street curb parking.  I very occasionally rent a car if I am near a big city.  Recently, I have been staying near a medium-sized town to get medical treatment for three months, so I use Uber to go to hospital and doctor. 

It is not that hard to drive a motorhome out for the day, although I may not be going out as often as some people.  For example, I seldom go out for dinner or lunch.  I do not put a lot of stuff around outside, but what I do have, I just leave, like the water hose.  (I tend to be a minimalist.)  I stick a rag in the sewer hose in those rare times when I have full hookups.  Most of the time, I can put my slides in, unhook electric and be on my way in four minutes.  And I probably go out 2-3 times per week for shopping and sightseeing.

There are positives and negatives to having a toad.  I decided in my case the negatives of the bother meant I would just not own one. 

 

[wackymac]

99.9999% of the time we take the toad.  The only time we don't is when we go to my son's house in beautiful downtown Chuluota, FL.

 

[decaturbob]

took us over a year to find a "toad", rented cars before that.  So glad I have our own vehicle behind us and I use it to carry stuff as well.

 

[Utclmjmpr]

It;s only a mater of time,, you will have a toad.>>>Dan

 

[garyb1st]

Depends on your lifestyle.  If you want to see major metropolitan areas, then a toad isn't necessary.  Park your motorhome and rent a vehicle or take a cab.  But then you have to find an RV park within reasonable distance to the city.  And they can be pricey. 

If you're the outdoors type and like to explore, a toad is the way to go.  There are beautiful places you'll never see with a bicycle.  We just returned from Death Valley.  This time we were there for 5 days and didn't need a vehicle.  But on our last trip, we drove through Titus canyon.  A single lane dirt road with big hills and canyons.  It's about 20 miles long and one way.  And when your finally through the canyon, you'll be probably 30 miles from your motorhome.  And if you haven't done a large remote park, consider the cost of fuel.  Death Valley is going to be about 4.50 a gallon.  If you're going to drive a motorhome everywhere, you'll be buying a bit of gas.  Yellowstone is another huge park where a toad can make a big difference.  In some parks, Yosemite and Sequoia for example, some of the roads will be restricted to vehicles no more than about 20 feet in length.  There are alternate routes, but you will want to know that in advance. 

 

[JudyJB]

Not true that give it time and you will end up with a toad.  I think the only condition under which I would buy a toad is if I were work camping somewhere for several months. (My current job is online, so no parking at one spot for weeks at a time.)  Traveling as I do, I have very few problems not having a toad.

I had an appointment at my urologists last week, and in driving around the back to find a big enough place to park, I discovered that AAA next door had four RV parking spots in the back.  And the big hospital here in Eugene, OR, has several RV parking spots in its largest parking lot!  Many airports, by the way, have big or "oversized" vehicle parking in secure areas.  I have left my rig several times in Orlando, Salt Lake CIty, and Las Vegas.  Call ahead to find out.

I am going out in a couple of days for another urology appointment, get a propane refill, stop at the mall to buy a book for a granddaughter, and stock up with groceries.  Don't need a toad for any of those things. 

 

[DearMissMermaid]

I spent 8 years traveling full time with NO toad.

It can be done. Think outside the box, or outside the car.

First and foremost is a willingness to be organized with a place for everything and everything in its place. This makes it much easier to get ready to drive.

Schedules and Lists
I kept running lists of supplies and food wanted/needed.

If I was scheduled to go to an event or important appointment, I tacked on anything else I could with the trip such as shopping or sightseeing.

Shorter moves between campgrounds
By planning much shorter trips on move days, I had plenty of time to stop and shop along the way so that I arrived at the camp with all my provisions. There was no mad dash to go fetch 1 or 2 things from the store.

If I was planning to sightsee in the area, I tried to play it for the day after arrival or the day before departure. These are times when the rig was at it most organized state and thus easier to get ready to travel.

Amazingly many neighbors would ask if I needed something from the store when they were going. I may have a long list but I never asked for more than ONE item.

I found that folks are happy enough to bring you one item from the store (a dozen eggs or a loaf of bread etc.)

If you do ride with others sightseeing, shopping or dining out, be sure to buy them gas or lunch or plan a dinner to have them over or make food and deliver it to them. Don't be a parasite.

I outfitted my bicycle with 3 baskets. I also have a backpack. It's amazing what can be hauled around. At some point I put on an optional electric kit so I could have assistance with the heavy loads.

It's equally important to outfit your bike with front and back blinking lights for daytime use in traffic as well as a horn or bell.

For 8 years I had a blast traveling in my motorhome with no toad.

It can be done, it's fun and it saves a bundle of money and time.

As a bonus, my dog was thrilled to go everywhere with me. Even waiting in the rig with a generator if it was super hot, he was delighted to be able to go so many places to do pee-mail.  8)