Toad, Trailer, or not?

[Thumbqdm]

Kris,
We've used a tow dolly in the past with a FWD car, then migrated to flat towing a Jeep Wrangler 2-door and now we are flat towing a Ram 2500 Mega-Cab. I own a 16-foot flatbed car-hauling trailer but discounted using it long ago due to the complexity of loading, unloading, and parking the trailer. I can connect and disconnect my Ram 2500 is 5-minutes, and that includes putting the air-brake on the brake pedal. Plus the pickup bed with cover allow me plenty of storage space for tools, bikes, a coach spare, etc.

4x4 vehicles are easy to tow because of the transfer case, plus in your travels you may want to do some off-road exploring. There are many nice small/midsize pickups on the market that would be great toads. Our Ram 2500, when loaded, is still well under our coaches limit of 10K, plus the mileage is about the same as when we towed the Wrangler. The Ram rolls on light-truck tires at 75-PSI, so the rolling resistance is next to nothing.

Good luck with your decision.

[1984Lodge]

We have been towing our 26' enclosed trailer with our rig for several trips now, including WOG trip. I love having the trailer, its a great place to keep extra goodies out of sight, bikes, tools, spare tires, spare parts etc. We tow our SUV so we can move the trailer around with the SUV if we need to. We have done this on a couple of occasions when we cannot find a site large enough to park the bird and the trailer. I am sure this is more work than just unhooking a toad, but it works for us. I have considered setting up my truck to be towed so we can have a toad and also put our golf cart in the back but it has not been a priority as most of the time we do not need both, it would have been nice to have the golf cart at WOG though.

Here is my rig at WOG, SUV toad is next to the bus:

[tqwrench]

Thanks to everyone for their feedback so far, it's really helpful to hear others' experiences. When I was discussing this at WOG, I raised John Finn as an example, so that answers the question on events.

Jeff, I saw your setup at WOG, I strolled by, but it looked like you and the family were elsewhere. Definitely admiring that trailer! And I feel the same way - can't steal what you can't see! Having been raised on the mean streets of Philly, we learned not to leave anything valuable in sight. Also being a mechanic = pack rat, but at least I'm conscious of it and can control it. I think electricians are worse . Want to find a truck over GVWR? go find you a commercial electrician!

As for the Jeep thing, it's not my thing. I respect it, they make it easy to toad, but not my cup of tea. BTW love that red Jeep with those hubcaps, what a unique machine! Bet it draws a lot of attention as it should. Tasteful choice right there.

[isp2952]

I have had about any combination you can think of. Bottom line it all depends on what you REALLY want to take with you. Are you wanting to take your classic cars along? Are you wanting to invest in another vehicle, which is more expensive because of maintenance and insurance/licensing, etc. I had a real nice trailer or my first bus. It was extra tall, which provided attic space for lots of extra storage and my car was not towable. I also could not move the trailer around with the car, but we got along fine, but we had to be picky on where we stayed. Then I bought a nice Jeep. I didn't even need a base plate. Used the D-ring mounts to mount my tow bar. Like others have said, this was the easiest way to go. Then I bought a pick-up. Diesel, 4x4, 3/4 Ton and I put the golf cart in the back. Again no baseplate, I use the snow plow mounts to hook the tow bar to. Works like a charm. I now have a new Rubicon and it is all "juiced up" with lift, big tires (expensive tires) etc.etc. I can't take my golf cart with me with the Jeep. So I have been considering a trailer again. Something I can put the Jeep and cart on or even the truck if needed. But I am leaning more to pulling the jeep, when we are going to do some off roading and taking the truck when we are not and want to take the cart. That will most likely be the end result for us, unless I run across a deal I can't refuse. Having access to a trailer is nice for many other uses just around home, so it is still on the table, up for discussion.

Bottom line is do what best suits you, your needs and desires.

[Harold,Cat&Sam]

Originally Posted by tqwrench

As for the Jeep thing, it's not my thing. I respect it, they make it easy to toad, but not my cup of tea. BTW love that red Jeep with those hubcaps, what a unique machine! Bet it draws a lot of attention as it should. Tasteful choice right there.

Thanks , we have really enjoyed it . Yep , it does get lots of attention We enjoy riding through the mountains , nothing too rough though . None of that extreme rock crawling for us . It is also used for the occasional storm chasing, but we haven't done that in a while. Heading to Arkansas tomorrow to ride the back roads and see the leaves change.

[tqwrench]

Looking at a 1983 Mercedes-Benz 240D stickshift as a toad. Does anyone have any experience? I know Mike H had a Benz toad point in time, but his was auto and had a driveline disconnect. The Benz forums say you can tow a stick model 4 wheels down. Looking for feedback here and any experience.

[1984Lodge]

Originally Posted by tqwrench

Looking at a 1983 Mercedes-Benz 240D stickshift as a toad. Does anyone have any experience? I know Mike H had a Benz toad point in time, but his was auto and had a driveline disconnect. The Benz forums say you can tow a stick model 4 wheels down. Looking for feedback here and any experience.

Not sure about towing one, but have you driven one? May want to drive one first, from what I understand they are quite underpowered, a 300 is much more desirable.

[jberger]

You can measure the 0-60 times with a calendar, not a stop watch.
They are incredibly underpowered as Jeff mentioned.

While I love these old rides, I would not want to have to deal with keeping up with the Bird AND having to keep an old benz running behind it too, especially a diesel. The last thing I'd want on a trip is to spend time tinkering with the Toad.

[hexspeed]

Originally Posted by jberger

You can measure the 0-60 times with a calendar, not a stop watch. They are incredibly underpowered as Jeff mentioned.

I remember test driving one back in the day - went to pull out into traffic from the dealer driveway and nearly got killed. My bicycle would have accelerated faster! Drove around the block, parked it back in front of the sales guy and walked away. Only car worse was the VW Rabbit diesel.

[max hendrix]

I bought my wife one (240D / Automatic) and actually thought that it was a nice looking and pretty good car. She HATED it. She was working in North Dallas at the time and if you aren’t familiar with the drivers over there, then just imagine Indy 500 cars with license plates 😱😱😱😱. She said she got the Middle Finger salute almost every day. It takes a lot to get her all riled up but that car did it. She wanted rid of it and made it known that it was time for me to get something else for her to drive.