Thursday, May 26, 2011
2nd trip add on.
I just realized, I didn't mention the main attraction of the weekend. Elvis made an appearance. Robin Hill had an Elvis impersonator, who was pretty good. I missed out on it because I was suffering a major allergy attack, but the rest of our group enjoyed it. The King was camping a few sites down from us and had to drive passed us when he left. After he was gone, my 8 year old daughter proudly proclaimed...Elvis has left The Campground. Not sure how I missed that on the original post.
3rd trip......the toad dilemma or to tow or not to tow
We are leaving tomorrow for our first 3 nighter of the year. Kim's dad is in from Kansas and will be going with us, along with his 2 dogs. That means my best 2 camping buddies, Rebel and Zeus, won't be going with us. I hate pulling out of the driveway with Reb and Zeus not with us.
Anyway, we usually don't tow on shorter trips, but we plan on going to Quiet Vally Farm, so we will be taking the toad. I thought I'd throw this post in, just to give an ideal on what is required for towing a car behind a motorhome.
We tow 4 flat, so my comments do not relate to towing with a dolly at all.
Our toad, which is short for towable car, is a 2010 Jeep Compass. We ended up with the Jeep, because the price couldn't be beat. To tow, we needed the 5 speed manual, front wheel drive version. Toad selection is very important and requires research.
it can be very expensive to set a car up for towing. Tow bars and brackets, brake controller, toad lighting, mud and stone flaps, all stuff to consider when towing. The price can add up, but there is a way around the high cost.
We got our tow bar on Craigslist, about a year before we got our toad. We paid $100 for it, compared to $596 new. That leads us to the tow brackets.
We had to get brackets for our tow bar and also that would fit our car. These were found on Ebay for just over $200, compared to $350 to $500 new.
Brake controller. we didn't go used here, although we could have. we went new on sale and paid $1100.
Mud flap was $80, and I made an easily removable bracket myself from parts I had laying around.
Lights for toad. From research, the safest, easiest, and cheapest way is to get the kit which adds a bulb to your light housing. This kit was only $56.
I was short on time when we needed the toad, so I had our mechanic do the light wiring and bracket installation. The cost for that was around $300. I installed the plug for the lights, the breakaway switch, and the cigarette lighter on it's own fuse. i would have done the complete wiring, but I had 1 weekend before our Disney trip.
That's a basic outline of what is needed. Kim and i can hook the toad up in minutes and be on our way.
We have had our Class C for 3 years now, and it is nice to be able to have a way to get around if needed.
There is no reason to be intimidated on towing a car behind a motorhome. Just remember it's back there, and make sure you follow all your car's requirements to towing.
I'll add pics and maybe a video on setting up a toad.
Another post coming soon after our trip, until then check out the forums on Camping Pa
Anyway, we usually don't tow on shorter trips, but we plan on going to Quiet Vally Farm, so we will be taking the toad. I thought I'd throw this post in, just to give an ideal on what is required for towing a car behind a motorhome.
We tow 4 flat, so my comments do not relate to towing with a dolly at all.
Our toad, which is short for towable car, is a 2010 Jeep Compass. We ended up with the Jeep, because the price couldn't be beat. To tow, we needed the 5 speed manual, front wheel drive version. Toad selection is very important and requires research.
it can be very expensive to set a car up for towing. Tow bars and brackets, brake controller, toad lighting, mud and stone flaps, all stuff to consider when towing. The price can add up, but there is a way around the high cost.
We got our tow bar on Craigslist, about a year before we got our toad. We paid $100 for it, compared to $596 new. That leads us to the tow brackets.
We had to get brackets for our tow bar and also that would fit our car. These were found on Ebay for just over $200, compared to $350 to $500 new.
Brake controller. we didn't go used here, although we could have. we went new on sale and paid $1100.
Mud flap was $80, and I made an easily removable bracket myself from parts I had laying around.
Lights for toad. From research, the safest, easiest, and cheapest way is to get the kit which adds a bulb to your light housing. This kit was only $56.
I was short on time when we needed the toad, so I had our mechanic do the light wiring and bracket installation. The cost for that was around $300. I installed the plug for the lights, the breakaway switch, and the cigarette lighter on it's own fuse. i would have done the complete wiring, but I had 1 weekend before our Disney trip.
That's a basic outline of what is needed. Kim and i can hook the toad up in minutes and be on our way.
We have had our Class C for 3 years now, and it is nice to be able to have a way to get around if needed.
There is no reason to be intimidated on towing a car behind a motorhome. Just remember it's back there, and make sure you follow all your car's requirements to towing.
I'll add pics and maybe a video on setting up a toad.
Another post coming soon after our trip, until then check out the forums on Camping Pa
Sunday, May 15, 2011
2 trips in
Camping season is finally here. 1st and second trips were just weekend trips to local campgrounds. Sill's was the 1st. Small, family owned campground. Nothing fancy but a nice, close weekend getaway. owner's are friendly. Surprisingly they had no activities. It was the weekend in April so I guess it was too early. Campfire pies for breakfast and t-bones over the campfire. It was nice to be back out.
2nd trip was to Robin Hill. Local, owned by a bigger company. Lots of activities, as always at Robin Hill. It's nice to have something for my daughter to do. Very surprising how empty the campground was.
We made a list of what we needed in the camper so we will be well stocked for our Memorial Day Weekend trip. The first longer trip of the year is usually 1 of the best trips of the year. We'll be in the Poconos, which is 1 of our favorite places to be. We may even take the car along to do some sightseeing.
The LED bulbs I put in are working great. Both of our Coleman coolers broke, so when Kim gets home today, we are going cooler shopping.
For my Pennsylvania friends, a great camping site is Camping Pa.
2nd trip was to Robin Hill. Local, owned by a bigger company. Lots of activities, as always at Robin Hill. It's nice to have something for my daughter to do. Very surprising how empty the campground was.
We made a list of what we needed in the camper so we will be well stocked for our Memorial Day Weekend trip. The first longer trip of the year is usually 1 of the best trips of the year. We'll be in the Poconos, which is 1 of our favorite places to be. We may even take the car along to do some sightseeing.
The LED bulbs I put in are working great. Both of our Coleman coolers broke, so when Kim gets home today, we are going cooler shopping.
For my Pennsylvania friends, a great camping site is Camping Pa.
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