To pull a Toad or Not to pull a Toad...that's the question!

Jim/Alona · December 1, 2015

We fulltimed for 10+ years not pulling a toad, just me driving it behind our 1988 motorhome. It was fine, had it's good points and bad of course, but now we have a 1990 (still old of course) and I'm wondering if we dare pull a small toad. We are trying to avoid the "just pull it and see if it breaks down" method, is there a way of checking what needs to be checked to see if it's a safer bet?

Jimalberta · December 1, 2015

Do you not see the multitude of toads being pulled behind motorhomes? If it was not a good idea you would not see so many beng towed.

Dutch_12078 · December 1, 2015

Have the coach's trailer hitch and frame attaching points checked by a professional, and if all is ok, and the weight specs are sufficient, then there's no reason not to tow. A '90 vintage coach likely has a smaller HP engine than the current models, so you might want go with one of the lighter toads as well.

nana25k · December 1, 2015

There's also the issue of a health emergency. If something happens that only one person can drive then I guess you would need to leave something behind. Dutch gave good advise.

Barbaraok · December 2, 2015

I can hitch up the toad and drive us to where ever we need to go. Have done that when Dave's back has gone out and he is flat on his back on the couch. It only takes me about 5 minutes to hookup/unhook the toad by myself (in fact, that is one of my normal outside jobs). So we didn't leave anything behind.

Barb

Kirk W · December 2, 2015

It would be little more than a guess to venture an opinion, based only upon the statement that the RV is a 1990 year model. What chassis are we talking about, with what engine, transmission, and rear end as well as the mileage it has and perhaps a few other factors to be considered. I would take a look at the weight ratings of the RV and how closely you are operating to them. I'd look to see what I have available between the actual weight I traveled with and the gross combined weight limit, to see just what weight I could tow and not exceed the rated limits. With a 1990 chassis it is quite possible that you may have a maximum weight of 3000 to 3500# which limits you to a pretty light weight vehicle. If you stay within the rated limits, I really doubt that you will have significantly more problems than by not towing since the increase in weight is only going to be 20% or less increase above your GVWR. You could always disconnect and drive the car when you do go into very steep climbs to minimize the added work of the tow vehicle.

In my opinion, towing a small vehicle that is within the design limits of the chassis doing the towing is very unlikely to cause significantly more wear or reliability problems for the RV.