What, a toad? Why are we talking about toads? I thought this was about RV's! Well, it is about RV's. A toad is a term used in the RV community regarding a towed vehicle or boat behind a camper or motor home. Towed-toad, get it? Yeah, it took me a minute too, the first time I heard the term.
So, you are thinking of buying a motor home and you know that this beastie is going to get pretty rotten mileage. Aha, you have an economical car that gets good mileage and wouldn't it be nice to be able to drive that around when your motor home is parked and set up in a nice park somewhere. But how to manage that? Have the spouse drive behind you with the family car or jeep wherever you travel? Heck, that's not very economical, is it? Then tow it! It's really not a very big deal if you know what you are doing and you know the laws regarding towing wherever you are going.
Basic towing 101. There are three basic ways of towing a vehicle behind an RV or motor home. First, make sure you have a hitch or receiver hitch on your motor home. A receiver hitch is basically a square steel tube securely attached to the frame of your motor home. Your motor home probably already has one installed. The receiver hitch can "receive" various types of ball hitches for your particular towing need and is secured with a large pin. Oh, the three types of towing. First, and most spendy, is an enclosed trailer large enough to drive a vehicle into, or a flatbed trailer that you can drive your vehicle up onto and secure it. These get all four wheels up off the road and there is no wear and tear on the towed vehicle. These are ideal, but can set you back a pretty penny. The next choice is what is called a car dolly. With this trailer, the front wheels of the towed vehicle are raised up and onto the dolly and ride off the pavement. This is the next best way to tow and in the case of cars with automatic transmissions, the only way, but more on that in a bit. These dollies can run around $3,000.00 new, but can be had for under $1,000.00 used. The third method used for towing autos is a tow bar. These attach to the front end of the towed vehicle and are the cheapest and most popular way to tow. There are basically two types of tow bars. One type attaches to the undercarriage of the car and then stays there. When the car is not being towed, the hitch can be raised up to a vertical position and locked in place so that the vehicle can be driven around. You have probably seen these from time to time and wonder what the heck was going on. Needless to say, they are unsightly and you probably don't want to drive around town with one of these attached to your Lexus. They look pretty cool on a jeep, however (it's a "guy" thing). The other type of tow bar unattaches from the towed vehicle. Now here's the rub about tow bars. First, before buying anything, read the owner's manual of the vehicle you want to tow! Some manufacturers will insist that you do not tow the vehicle with all four wheels on the pavement! Serious damage to the vehicle could result. Most cars with an automatic transmission should not be towed like this without a special pump installed for the transmission. Some manual transmission equipped vehicles need to have the drive shaft disconnected before being towed. Get professional advise before considering any type of towing.
Okay, once you have settled on what type of towing setup you will use, you're ready to hit the road. Towing a vehicle behind a motor home is pretty easy. The good news is you won't know it's there. The bad news is you won't know it's there! Always remember that you have a vehicle in tow! Remember when you are passing another vehicle on the highway and remember when it's time to back up. The next thing to bear in mind is that different states have different laws regarding towed vehicles. Many states have these laws, but don't enforce them.
So, you are thinking of buying a motor home and you know that this beastie is going to get pretty rotten mileage. Aha, you have an economical car that gets good mileage and wouldn't it be nice to be able to drive that around when your motor home is parked and set up in a nice park somewhere. But how to manage that? Have the spouse drive behind you with the family car or jeep wherever you travel? Heck, that's not very economical, is it? Then tow it! It's really not a very big deal if you know what you are doing and you know the laws regarding towing wherever you are going.
Basic towing 101. There are three basic ways of towing a vehicle behind an RV or motor home. First, make sure you have a hitch or receiver hitch on your motor home. A receiver hitch is basically a square steel tube securely attached to the frame of your motor home. Your motor home probably already has one installed. The receiver hitch can "receive" various types of ball hitches for your particular towing need and is secured with a large pin. Oh, the three types of towing. First, and most spendy, is an enclosed trailer large enough to drive a vehicle into, or a flatbed trailer that you can drive your vehicle up onto and secure it. These get all four wheels up off the road and there is no wear and tear on the towed vehicle. These are ideal, but can set you back a pretty penny. The next choice is what is called a car dolly. With this trailer, the front wheels of the towed vehicle are raised up and onto the dolly and ride off the pavement. This is the next best way to tow and in the case of cars with automatic transmissions, the only way, but more on that in a bit. These dollies can run around $3,000.00 new, but can be had for under $1,000.00 used. The third method used for towing autos is a tow bar. These attach to the front end of the towed vehicle and are the cheapest and most popular way to tow. There are basically two types of tow bars. One type attaches to the undercarriage of the car and then stays there. When the car is not being towed, the hitch can be raised up to a vertical position and locked in place so that the vehicle can be driven around. You have probably seen these from time to time and wonder what the heck was going on. Needless to say, they are unsightly and you probably don't want to drive around town with one of these attached to your Lexus. They look pretty cool on a jeep, however (it's a "guy" thing). The other type of tow bar unattaches from the towed vehicle. Now here's the rub about tow bars. First, before buying anything, read the owner's manual of the vehicle you want to tow! Some manufacturers will insist that you do not tow the vehicle with all four wheels on the pavement! Serious damage to the vehicle could result. Most cars with an automatic transmission should not be towed like this without a special pump installed for the transmission. Some manual transmission equipped vehicles need to have the drive shaft disconnected before being towed. Get professional advise before considering any type of towing.
Okay, once you have settled on what type of towing setup you will use, you're ready to hit the road. Towing a vehicle behind a motor home is pretty easy. The good news is you won't know it's there. The bad news is you won't know it's there! Always remember that you have a vehicle in tow! Remember when you are passing another vehicle on the highway and remember when it's time to back up. The next thing to bear in mind is that different states have different laws regarding towed vehicles. Many states have these laws, but don't enforce them.
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