40' bus/rv without toad? - RV-Dreams Community Forum

Geos · RV-Dreams Community Member

40' bus/rv without toad?

bjoyce · RV-Dreams Family Member

I don't know anyone who has gone totally toad free with a large bus for long, though some have tried. Here is a recent YouTube channel with someone making a go of it and having some issues - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCidJftClM4kU1196YynvqXg.

You need to be able to get into store parking lots and such with something. Many places cannot handle the height or length of a bus in their parking lots. Many down towns are unfriendly to large vehicles. Many attractions and parks are unfriendly to large vehicles, so you won't be able to park and enjoy them. Some try to ride their bike everywhere, but that does not always work. Some carry motorcycles or scooters/mopeds instead of a toad, but even those will rent or borrow a car or truck every once in a while.
A quick way to lose friends is to depend on them to take you places.

Technomadia · RV-Dreams Family Member

When we got our bus conversion about 4 years ago, we started off toad free to see what it was like. Here's our experiences with it.. and why we ultimately decided a toad made sense for us: www.technomadia.com/2011/11/to-tow-or-not-to-tow/

Melnal · RV-Dreams Family Member

We worried about a toad when we bought our 35' Winnebago, but decided on a used (2012) Fiat 500. It is so tiny that we barely know we are pulling it, and it is perfect for zipping in and out of small places. I highly recommend that u consider a toad :)

Barbaraok · RV-Dreams Family Member

Why would you want to have to unhook, etc. if the milk goes bad or you run out of bread? Pulling a car is quite easy & you have so much more flexibility.

But if your mind is made up we will just smile when you say some months down the road that you've gotten a toad.

Barb

The Restless Youngs · RV-Dreams Family Member

Last week, we took driving lessons at our campground, which required us to prep the coach for a trip on two consecutive days for a short trip/drive, etc. And although these were quick trips, preparing the coach for these jaunts was a royal pita. I can't imagine not having a toad and being able to get groceries or jeez, having to plan my shopping that closely. Just my opinion!!

Geos · RV-Dreams Community Member

My mind is not made up; that's why I'm asking. Another question is: to dolly or not to dolly. Dollys are pretty cheap but it seems most are not using them. So what are the pros and cons of a dolly vs none. I would think a dolly would minimize wear on the car.

Barbaraok · RV-Dreams Family Member

4-down is the way to go. With a dolly you have to find a place to store it, you have to hook up the dolly, then add the car. Towing for down, we pull the car behind the MH, extend the arms and hook up - don't have to be able and 1 person can do it in less than 5 minutes. We've towed our car over 80K miles, only wear has been tires and battery need to be replaced more often than the speedometer would indicate, otherwise, we've pulled ours for over 10 years, no problems.

Barb

Geos · RV-Dreams Community Member

Does each car need a specific tow bar or is that a generic thing? Where can I get some more info on how & where to get this installed? Thanks.

bjoyce · RV-Dreams Family Member

http://www.motorhome.com/download-dinghy-guides/ tells all and the 2015 guide is free. http://www.remcoindustries.com/Towing/Store.php will show you about any vehicle that can be a toad. There are three manufacturers of tow bars, Blue Ox, Roadmaster and Demco. Each vehicle needs a baseplate installed along with a lighting kit and the baseplates are specific to each vehicle and tow bar company. There are adapters to make a baseplate work with the other brands of tow bar. Watch RV-Dreams, The Fergs, http://fergizmo.blogspot.com/, who are going through this right now.

A tow dolly only works with front wheel drive vehicles and might be cheaper, but has hassles like Barb pointed out. You need separate licensing for the dolly, you need to make sure the car fits and is secured down well. The tow dolly provides your braking, so you need to maintain those brakes. You can start with a tow dolly if you want. They do work and expand the range of toads you can have.

TRAILERKING · RV-Dreams Family Member

Right now I use a dolly. No big deal for me as we're not full-timers..............Just the odd weekend. The good thing with the dolly is you can easily take any front wheel drive car you wish at any time with any special mod's. I also use the magnetic base tail lights to place on the trunk lid of the car.....simple and fast. That's good if something ever happened to your toad for a mechanical break down.
With a four-down system......Anything serious happening to the toad won't be a fast and easy switch. You will need specific tow bar/base plate, specific braking system for the toad, and lighting also.

Someday · RV-Dreams Family Member

GEOS, you didn't mention if you were intending to FT or not in it? If FT I would imagine that eventually you would benefit majorly from having a toad. If like us the past 13+ years you are just extended timers then, for us we've never missed having a toad. We hired a $9 a day auto when in Vegas many years ago to head out to Pahrump, Hoover dam and the like for a few days, and the rest of the time walked up and down the strip or cycled. We did the same in Anaheim one year so we could head off to Hollywood sign, Rodeo Drive, Malibu, Santa Monica and other attractions besides just Disney.

We just forward think our shopping picking up enroute as we pass by, and stop and start where we are near to what we want to see or even outside if parking is available. We get for more health benefits with our walking and cycling when RVing this way than we ever do when we are SnB based back at the ranch. In all fairness though we will likely be getting a 4 wheels down toad when we begin FT in the next 2 years so ........ How do you intend to roll? This will determine whether you really need a toad from the off or can try it initially without and see how it works out for you.

Just our 2 cents FWIW and what has worked well for us being toadless since selling our 5er for a A class back in 2002.

SD.

Geos · RV-Dreams Community Member

Thanks for all the great info. Yes, I will be FTing. So according to my limited math abilities it would cost around $3k to fit a car with all the tow hardware while I've seen used dolly's for $500. Seems like quite a difference.

Barbaraok · RV-Dreams Family Member

Geos wrote:
Thanks for all the great info. Yes, I will be FTing. So according to my limited math abilities it would cost around $3k to fit a car with all the tow hardware while I've seen used dolly's for $500. Seems like quite a difference.

How do you measure ease of use in terms of time and effort. To us, being able to just quickly hitch and go has been worth it. We've been towing for over 10 years and it was only $2K (maybe a little less) for our set up and worth every bit of it.

Barb

Melnal · RV-Dreams Family Member

We thought about the dolly thing but decided to go 4-wheels down for a couple of reasons. The first (and most important) is the convenience of attaching/detaching the toad. I was committed to making sure that anything to be done could be done by either my husband or myself (in case something happened to one of us). I have no problems hooking up our little Fiat 500. The second reason I wanted to go 4-wheels down was to be able to detach the car if we needed to pull into some tight places or backup. I didn't want to have to worry about the trailer or dolly length getting in the way.

It's worked out brilliantly for us so far - but we've only been on the road for a month now. I'm so eager to hear what others say, so thanks for starting this thread!

Mel (of Melnal and http://wheresphoebe.com)

Trabuco · RV-Dreams Family Member

With 40' of coach you need a toad and like others have said, towed 4 down.

Sushidog · RV-Dreams Family Member

Have you considered a tadpole (motorbike) or two?

Here's the pair we are planning to take with us (as long as our health holds up.) We plan on carrying them in the bed of our pickup. You will probably best be served with a bumper rack to carry a light weight motorbike or scooter.

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Another option is having you companion drive a small car separately. For the small amount of fuel they burn it may well be an option to consider for the increased flexibility they provide, not to mention the money saved on fuel and wear and tear on your bus. Remember to move, say to go get groceries, go to the doctor, go out to eat, run errands, etc. you must not only unhook from utilities, sewer, etc. but you must retract slides, and stow everything away so nothing gets broken and then try to find a parking space in the strip mall on busy, tight, downtown streets. Even in the best case scenario, parking at the back of the huge parking lot at Target or Walmart and walking all the way to the door and back is more difficult than finding a place up front in a small car - especially as you age.

Then there's always an Elio. $6,800 and 84 mpg

www.eliomotors.com/

Though not available yet, possibly in a year or two - but now's the time to get in line if you want one. BTW they say they are flat towable too.

Chip

Geos · RV-Dreams Community Member

Those scooters are street/highway legal? Are they stable on the highway?

Sushidog · RV-Dreams Family Member

The little motorbikes are street legal in all states (they are even Ca CARB certified with small catalytic converters in the exhaust.) They only have 125cc motors, so I would not recommend them for sustained highway use as they only go about 60mph wide open. For highway use you should at least have a 250cc motor. I got them mainly for around town use and for occasional secondary road use. The highway by my house has a 55 mph speed limit, so I regularly go 50-55 mph for about 3 miles (each way) to the grocery store. I have occasionally gone about 10 miles each way in the opposite direction (as there is less traffic) but that's about it. They are very stable at 45-50 mph and a lot of fun, but faster than that for a long distance is really overdoing it for such a small bike. I would put them in them in the same class as a 150cc scooter, which IMHO is not intended for extensive highway use either. Unlike a scooter, they don't have narrow tires and a drive belt/torque converter, but instead have chain drive, 4 speed transmission and wide tires making them suitable for light off-road/trail use too, where a scooter is not. I think you need at least 16hp for interstate use, which puts you in the 250cc plus class (like a 250 Ninja or equiv.) They only cost me around $1,100 each including shipping. For comparison a 50cc Honda Rukus scooter costs over $2,600 and a 125cc Honda Grom (the closest comparison I can find) costs about $3,200, though the Honda does get better gas mileage - about 134mpg compared to my Ice Bear's measly 100mpg ;). I'm sure the Honda is a much better bike in all respects, but it costs 3 times as much, so it should be better. But are they really 3 times better? You decide. I've been very happy with mine, especially at the affordable price. Insurance only costs me $99/yr (through GEICO) to insure the pair too!

Chip

bjoyce · RV-Dreams Family Member

I met a fulltiming couple once that carried two of those little motorbikes on the front of their truck and truck camper combination.

wannabe · RV-Dreams Community Member

I have had Motorcycle as well as a toad (Honda CRV), when i had the MH (Monaco Executive 43')

Get a toad and do it 4 down, period.

Those scooter/motorcycles are ok for a short vacation use
Loading and unloading them + securing them, is not fun

In bad weather these two wheeler are questionable....bad road conditions
etc. I would haul a bike for fun ride (I hauled a BMW R1200GS)
Not sure how good of rider you are but if you are down, you will be sorry

jim

Lucky Mike · RV-Dreams Family Member

I have done it in 4 directions.......the bike was great , got lots of exercise then it really couldnt get there fast enough up that hill.........as far as towed 4 down or dolly.........4 down is great but not transferable if you decide to get another towed , the base plate most likely will have to be replaced and wiring will have to be done again....with a dolly it doesnt matter what is on it and no wiring is required from vehicle to vehicle....so its a budget thing ........with me my thoughts are I can always sell the dolly in the end pretty quick and recoup my money while selling a baseplate after paying someone to remove it and the other parts becomes fruitless......but we all have choices and some have large budgets.........Im frugal!!!