Toads
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08-27-2007, 08:52
Post: #10
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Toads
Leroy,
All I can say, having a 4-down toad is the best thing I did. Originally, I was considering a dolly, but the RV lists I participate in were pretty uniformly suggesting I arrange to tow 4-down. When evaluating my choices: (1) use one of the cars we already own (neither able to be towed without modification), or (2) purchase a new or used vehicle that can be towed. Ultimately, I settled on using one of our existing cars. I guess it's better the devil you know rather than the devil you don't know. I was fully aware of the condition and level of maintenance of our existing cars -- and purchasing a used car would have that as an unknown. For budgetary reasons, I didn't want to purchase a brand new car to tow. (Hey, I'm not happy with all the crud that towing seems to deposit on a car-- and a new car would exacerbate that emotion.) Originally, I would have selected the smaller/lighter '03 Toyota Echo that my wife usually drives. However, there was no adaptors available for it to make it towable 4-down. Therefore, I used the '93 Toyota Camry I usually drive. Frankly, it's more comfortable for the 'touring' driving we do when the bus is parked. While it's about 1000 lbs. heavier than the Echo, in use it's not been any trouble and the weight doesn't seem to be much of a factor. After having towed my car for about 10,000 miles, I can observe: 1. it's really handy to be able to disconnect quickly in difficult circumstances. More than once we've found ourselves in situations where I _had_ to back up to complete a turn in very tight maneuvering situations. Being able to drop the toad has been invaluable. Not having to deal with a dolly (or trailer) in those cases is a major plus. While it's impossible to back up with a toad (for more than a couple of feet), you can back up with a trailer -- but the situations where I've been forced to back up would likely have been very difficult with a trailer/dolly that probably would have gone the wrong way in reverse. 2. the toad handles very well. Most of the time I'm not even aware it's there (except for the rear view camera). There is no storage problem. In one RV park, the size of the space did not allow the toad to remain in our assigned spot. But parking the toad in the 'overflow parking area' was quite simple. Trying to move a trailer or dolly under similar circumstances would have been a royal pain. 3. My car, a '93 Toyota Camry with automatic transmission, is not able to be flat towed without addition of a transmission lube pump. The Remco unit seems quite effective and has not presented me with any problems. In addition, I've installed an SMI supplemental braking system. I found that the supplemental brakes can (should) be adjusted to only activate on very "heavy" stops (when it would make a difference in stopping distance). For normal stops, I have the sensitivity switch dialed down to keep it from activating. The bus doesn't seem to notice, and it's much easier on the car brakes. (At first, I had the sensitivity adjustment a bit high ... and the car smelled of 'burning brakes' after a trip.) Pete Masterson '95 Blue Bird Wanderlodge WBDA 42 El Sobrante CA aeonix1@... On Aug 27, 2007, at 1:13 PM, Leroy Eckert wrote: > Thanks to all that replied. I'm giving some thought to selling the > trailer and going to a toad. > Leroy Eckert > 1990 WB-40"Smoke N Mirrors" <snip> [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] |
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Messages In This Thread |
Toads - Leroy Eckert - 08-26-2007, 13:37
Toads - Pete Masterson - 08-26-2007, 13:57
Toads - Fred Hulse - 08-26-2007, 14:03
Toads - Jack & Donna Smith - 08-26-2007, 14:21
Toads - Scott Forman - 08-26-2007, 14:47
Toads - Howard O. Truitt - 08-26-2007, 15:06
Toads - Jack & Donna Smith - 08-26-2007, 15:36
Toads - erniecarpet@... - 08-27-2007, 07:54
Toads - Leroy Eckert - 08-27-2007, 08:13
Toads - Pete Masterson - 08-27-2007 08:52
Toads - Don Bradner - 08-27-2007, 09:41
Toads - dspithaler@... - 08-27-2007, 11:11
Toads - Leroy Eckert - 08-27-2007, 11:13
Toads - Don Bradner - 08-27-2007, 11:44
Toads - Pete Masterson - 08-27-2007, 12:26
Toads - Travis Martin - 08-27-2007, 13:00
Toads - Mike McMahan - 08-27-2007, 13:38
Toads - Leroy Eckert - 08-27-2007, 15:24
Toads - Don Bradner - 08-27-2007, 15:44
Toads - Pete Masterson - 08-28-2007, 06:17
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