The Pros And Cons Of Toad Vehicles
It can be fun to shop for the perfect RV. You look for something that has the right floor plan, amenities, and special perks! But at the end of the day, an RV is pretty hard to travel in (especially in a crowded urban environment). That’s where secondary “toad” vehicles come to the rescue!
A “toad” is an affectionate nickname for any vehicle that you tow behind an RV. They’re most commonly towed behind motorhomes because travel trailers already have a separate vehicle to pull them. Towed and Toad sound the same, and eventually the shorter (and more fun) “toad” took hold as the more common reference.
Plenty of people love their towed vehicles, while others find them to be unnecessary. This is an individual choice, but there are a few factors that might influence your decision. Read on to learn about the various pros and cons of traveling with a secondary vehicle. The benefits are considerable, but you’ll also have to deal with potential issues and annoyances.
Pros
Freedom from the campsite
The first benefit of towed vehicles is the extra freedom they offer. Motorhomes are difficult to move, especially once you have already set up your campsite. You don’t want to have to unhook everything in order to run to the grocery store! With a towed vehicle, you can travel to and from your campsite with minimal effort. You’ll have more freedom to explore the area with a smaller vehicle.
Better fuel efficiency
It’s no secret that RVs and motorhomes consume a lot of fuel. They’re usually decent during highway driving, but you can easily empty your fuel tank if you use these vehicles to navigate a city. Stop-and-start traffic is a nightmare! On the other hand, towed vehicles are generally small and fuel efficient. A single tank of gas can last you for weeks, depending on how far you drive. It’s also cheaper to refuel them.
More maneuverable
We’ve touched on this point already, but towed vehicles are also easier to control. Whether you’re in a crowded city or driving rural backroads, you’ll be happy to have something that’s small, light, and maneuverable. It’s easy to avoid getting trapped in sand, mud, and snow if you’re in a vehicle like this.
Additional storage space
RV storage space is limited, and sometimes you just don’t have enough room for all your gear. But if you’re bringing a second vehicle anyway, why not take advantage of the extra space? You can use a toad to store bulky items like skis, kayaks, bikes, and more. Think of it as a bonus storage trailer!
Most vehicles can function as toads
Although the classic towed vehicle is generally small and lightweight, you can bring almost any type of car or truck if you have the right towing capacity. Always prioritize safety and follow the manufacturer’s guidelines for both the RV and the towed vehicle.
Helpful if you have a breakdown
As much as we love our RVs, sometimes they will break down without warning. In this case, you may be stranded for hours while you wait for help to arrive. If you can’t call for help, you might be waiting even longer! This is where towed vehicles can be a real lifesaver. You can just load into the getaway car and drive for help.
Jump-starting your motorhome is also easy if you have a second vehicle on hand. If you can fix the problem yourself, you might also be able to save money on expensive service calls and roadside assistance.
Easier to find parking
Because towed vehicles are smaller than the RVs they’re attached to, you won’t have any problem finding a parking spot for them. This also makes city driving so much easier because you won’t have to find accommodation for a rig that’s more than 30 feet long.
Different towing options
Finally, you have a lot of options available to you when you decide to travel with a toad. If it has the right type of transmission, you can tow it flat on the ground (with all four wheels touching the ground). You could also use a tow dolly where only the back two wheels will spin.
Lastly, you can hoist the whole thing onto a separate trailer and hitch it to the back of the RV if you want to preserve the wheels. This flexibility means that you can bring almost any vehicle that you choose.
Cons
Extra cost to purchase towing equipment
Although you have a lot of choices for towing your secondary vehicle, you’ll need to pay extra to create a safe setup. Some additional costs may include a tow dolly, safety chains, a tow bar, lighting cables, and more. The price will vary depending on the towing style you choose, but you could easily spend $1,000 or more during this process.
The rig may exceed state length/weight limits
You also need to stay within the bounds of the law while you tow an extra vehicle. Every state has its own regulations about RV length and weight limits. You can usually combine a motorhome and a toad without issue, but things get dicey if you want to string together a tow vehicle, a trailer, and an extra vehicle at the back. This is known as triple towing, and several states expressly forbid this practice.
Carefully check the weight limits of your RV and ensure that your towed vehicle will not exceed them. Weigh and measure the whole procession once you’re ready. Make sure you’re not violating any state laws!
Extra maintenance and insurance costs
RVs are already expensive to maintain, but now you need to worry about an additional vehicle. Tow vehicles fall under the same requirements as any car. So you need to ensure they have proper insurance, registration, fuel refills, oil changes, and more. This can really add up.
Additional wear and tear for the toad
Towing can take a toll on your towed vehicles. Even if their engine isn’t running, their tires are still spinning, plus they’re hitting every bump and pothole in the road. This can damage the suspension and tires. If you use a tow dolly, the rear tires will also wear down more quickly than the front ones.
Unless you use a driveline disconnect, your toad vehicle will also rack up plenty of mileage during towing. This can reduce the resale value if you ever want to sell it.
Reduced gas mileage
Speaking of mileage, think about how a secondary road vehicle will impact your fuel efficiency. It adds thousands of extra pounds to your rig, which means that you’ll burn through your fuel much more quickly. You’ll need to make frequent stops at the gas pump. This is both annoying and expensive!
Reduced maneuverability while traveling
RVs and motorhomes are already bulky, so you don’t usually want to add extra weight and length into the equation. Even a small toad will add several extra feet to your overall length, and you shouldn’t discount the weight either. You’ll be forced to make wider turns and add additional time for acceleration and braking. In short, you’ll become even less maneuverable on the roads.
Cannot reverse with the toad vehicle attached
This next point depends on the type of towing you do. If you flat tow or use a dolly, you won’t be able to reverse while the towed vehicle is connected. You can cause serious damage if you try. You’ll have to spend extra time and effort to connect and disconnect every time you need to park or move. On the other hand, flatbed trailers will enable you to back up normally.
May incur additional toll fees
If you travel on toll roads, they sometimes charge you for towing an extra vehicle. The additional cost isn’t too high, but it can still be annoying. Prepare to pay a bit extra, just in case!
Hard to see the toad while driving
Finally, most drivers with towed vehicles have visibility issues. The towed vehicle is much narrower than the main RV, so the mirrors can’t always see it. This is a problem if something goes wrong on the road. You won’t be able to see if the towed vehicle has popped a tire or breaks loose from its connection points.
In the end, there are many benefits to traveling with a toad, but it also adds some extra complications. If you decide that this isn’t the route for you, rental cars, bikes, buses, and rideshares are good alternatives to explore.
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Related articles:
- RV Triple Towing Laws, Legalities, And Considerations
- Full-Time RVing Without A Tow Vehicle Is Possible. Here’s How.
- RV Towing: Important Things To Consider
I don’t believe any modern vehicle adds miles to the odometer these days. They are electronic.
Many, maybe most, motorhomes have backup cameras which permit seeing the tow’d clearly. If a rig doesn’t there are plenty of Bluetooth setups that will solve this problem. Having traveled over 500,000 miles in Cl A’s with a car in tow almost always, I cannot imagine a greater hassle than NOT having one.
AGREED 100%
We shopped for a 2dr Wrangler and ended up finding a nice TJ with low miles and already set up (tow bar, aux braking, and even a 13k winch). It will be nice behind our 40′ and the four camera system (front, both sides, and rear) will allow us to keep a keen eye on it.
We have been flat towing a 2007 Subaru Impreza with manual tyranny, for 8 years. Have put 40 k on them. The Impreza does not count miles while the ignition is off. However, the tires and other components wear a little.
Yes, there is some expense involved. $1,800.00, for a tow base and tow bar for the toad; $1,200.00, for the Toad tonight brake system. We bought the Roadmaster Invisi-Brake. $200.00, for towing lighting. These amounts are just for the components. I do all my own work. I have heard that to have all of this completed at a shop that will do it, would run $5,000.00, to $8,000.00.
I have backed my Toad many times. You can only back it pretty-much straight. To do this you must lock the Toad steering in a straight ahead position. I have successfully a few times, backed it around a corner to be able to turn around. But, only did so with my GW, watching the backing and giving my direction. Thank you, Gorgeous Wife!
Maneuverability is decreased. However, behind a motor home you do NOT have to widen your turn. Make the same turn as you would with just the MH. I learned that lesson the hard way. When trying to make a turn, I swung wide right and then turned hard left and my Toad rubbed the tree to the right. Lesson learned.
Finally yes, it is hard to see the Toad (get an inexpensive back-up camera) and tolls will be higher. We have found it to be cheaper and faster to pay the tolls rather than finding a way to get around them.
So far, we have been in every state, visited 48 National Parks/Monuments/Recreation areas.
Heading out in January with our new (to us) Toad. A 2003 Chevrolet Tracker 4WD.
Best of luck on your adventures.
Why do people continue to flat tow a vehicle (toad)
Trailer it. No wear and abuse, tires driveline etc.,easier to backup, better brakes, no beating up the tow vehicle, easier to pull up tie down and you’re done? We see these very expensive motorhomes pulling these vehicles and just follow behind one and look closely and the back and forth and vertical movement and most people would be very surprised what the toad is going through.
A good aluminum car trailer is under 1400 lbs.
Because a trailer (or even a dolly) is just one more vehicle to have to purchase, maintain, license, etc. and when you pull that toad off the trailer you now need space to park THREE vehicles. In today’s RV Park(ing) lots, that’s often not an option.
Yup. The question should have been stated “is NOT towing a secondary vehicle worth the hassle”. The convenience of having a towed vehicle is enormous..
One major issue you didn’t mention is that having a motorhome and a toad limits where you can camp.
Most state and national parks are too small for a 40+ foot MH and these people end up having to stay in “resorts” which is not really camping. Simple solution – get a travel trailer and a truck to pull it with. Only have one vehicle with an engine/transmission and you can drop the trailer in any campground and explore with the truck. Also the trailer is covered by your auto insurance for liability so reduces insurance costs.
Relocating your house to get groceries, run errands, find the trailhead or see the local sights?
Unless your house is a van or a smaller Class B, nope.
Even if every road, parking lot and attraction were built to fit a Class A, putting unnecessary mileage on the big boy instead of the lil’ toad? Nope. No. No way.
The 5 minutes it takes to connect/disconnect in addition to the costs to tow are tiny compared to the risk of going where you shouldn’t and not going where you really should.
Just a couple of additional thoughts based on years of experience towing an extra vehicle behind motorhomes.
Contrary to what the article states, most vehicles ARE NOT compatible with flat towing on all four wheels. Be sure to check the numerous guides published each year as to which models from the various manufacturers are capable of being towed and confirm that information with the manufacturer before laying down your hard earned money for the “ideal” vehicle only to find out you can’t actually tow it!
Regarding the expense of adding the necessary equipment to safely tow a vehicle behind your motorhome, the $1000 figure quoted is far too low. In reality, you are looking at several thousand dollars of equipment and professional installation to safely and legally tow a vehicle, whether flat towed, on a dolly or a vehicle trailer!
Best of luck out there and safe travels!
YES
A tow bar is likely to set you back at least $800 for a good one that won’t frustrate you.
Add another $1000 (min) for a good auxillary braking system … YOU MUST have this to be legal in most states and it’s not based on your state of licensure.
How about that new (or upgrading your existing) TPMS?
And the tow hitch on the motorhome? Is it of sufficient capacity for your LOADED DOWN toad…. because you KNOW you’re gonna stuff stuff in there.
With a motorhome a toad is a no brainer for most though it can be done without. For a 5ver or (god forbid) a bumper pull…. You’ve got your small rig…well unless you get hit while tooling around on errands.
Bring two electric bicycles. Charged, versatile and the most practical option.
Until it rains and you need food from the store 10 miles away.
Or if you’re retired.
Of you’re boondocking and don’t have the power to charge them.
OR
Electric bicycles may find their way onto our rig but not as a replacement for a good old internal combustion TOAD.
A couple of things to add to your Con list for towing with a dolly instead of 4 down… 1: Some states require the dolly to be licensed as a trailer. That means extra license fees and insurance. 2: If you have a back-in camp site, that’s one more item you have to disconnect from the RV before backing into your space… AND 3: Where do you store the dolly when not using it?
It was an asset when we traveled greater distances and made many stops. but now that we’re getting older we stick closer to home and go to places near Enterprise rent a car or towns where you can rent a golf cart and access the local area or beaches.
Before retirement, we just brought bicycles, as mostly weekend camping to state parks, not too far away. After retirement, we got a Honda PCX-150 (small motorcycle, technically a scooter). Added a Hydralift and we use the bike to sightsee. Have driven the bike around San Antonio, New Orleans, Albuquerque, Branson/Springfield, Atlanta, Yellowstone, Dickinson ND, Dallas/Ft Worth, Gulf Shores AL, Palo Duro Canyon, and some other places.
In our first 4 months of owning a class C, we took two long trips without any toad. First trip, to go into town for groceries and to visit family some miles away from the campground, we had to break camp and drive the RV. Second trip, we driveway camped at a relative’s who had electric and water. He loaned us a car to drive around the area and visit friends and family. To visit another relative in another state, we once again had to break camp and drive 20 miles. This time we were able to park at the loading behind their warehouse. They took us to dinner. After we got back home, we decided we needed to get a towable 2nd vehicle (down size). We found a 2014 CR-V that already had a baseplate and auxiliary lighting. We tow it on all of our trips. Most times there are not campgrounds anywhere near the family or places to sightsee. It’s really convenient to make a grocery trip.
First of all, an RV covers many different configurations… Class A, B, C, Travel Trailers, 5th wheels, Teardrops, etc. Any camping vehicle that has a license plate is considered an RV. With that said, I can’t imagine doing anything where you have to use your RV to run any form of errand… it just seems too much of a hassle to unhook your electric, water, sewer and leveling on a Class A,B,C just to go to the grocery store to buy a loaf of bread and a 6-pack of beer. You have to have a toad or a TV that is used to tow your RV. That is why I prefer travel trailers, 5th wheels and the like.
I used to swear I’d never run a motorhome and would only pull a 5ver. Then I saw how horribly built the RV industry rigs are and how rock solid buses are. Especially school buses.
So, we now have a 40′ STEEL bus in conversion and a Wrangle TJ for the toad.
We have a newer 45′ pusher which we love but, we wouldnt consider going anywhere without our toad. It’s a 2017 Jeep Cherokee with the automatic lock-out system and an electronic power steering pump package. Of course we have a back-up camera and have never had an incident. We also have a custom full width rock guard near the end of the coach to prevent debris from damaging our jeep. If I have made an error and we have to back up, my wife usually jumps in the jeep and coordinates steering. I can hook up or unhook the car in less than 10-minutes with ease. Once we get set-up in a park, we’re off and running with day trips or shopping. Can’t imagine not having the freedom of our car. If the extra expense bothers you, you probably shouldn’t be RVing!
It took us three months and two trips after getting our class A before we realized that a toad was mandatory. Yes, everyone has their own way of doing things, but I don’t see how you can manage if you have to drag your rig everywhere you go, and not everyplace has Uber. Our little Chevy Sonic (2700 lbs and 14 feet) tows flat and only slows us down a bit. A reasonably handy RVer can do the tow gear install after a few lessons at YouTube University. YMMV, but for us I can’t imagine a toadless life.
We were hesitant to pull a toad behind our 30’ Class A, but now we will not leave home without it, takes a bit to get it installed and feel comfortable with the hook up/ detach procedure but now we do it with ease. All pro, no con imo.