RetiredArmy
Zephyrhills
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Joined: 03/21/2007
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Does anyone out there in B land tow a toad? We are thinking about the possibility of getting a used Smart Car as a toad. Any ideas pro or con will be very helpful. Thanx.
Larry G
Brenda and Larry - Retired
2001 RoadTrek 200 Versatile
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Hit The Road Jack
Treasure Coast of Florida
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Joined: 10/20/2005
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RetiredArmy wrote:Does anyone out there in B land tow a toad? We are thinking about the possibility of getting a used Smart Car as a toad. Any ideas pro or con will be very helpful. Thanx.
Larry G
My idea is to sell your Road Trek 200 Versatile and buy a 'Class C' Larry. The Class B is a toad with-in itself IMHO...
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mockturtle
Northwest
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Joined: 05/31/2005
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IMO, it defeats the whole purpose of a B if you have to tow another vehicle. 
2000 Born Free 24RB Class C
2002 Honda CR-V toad
Roadmaster Sterling A/T towbar
VIP braking system
Eddyline Merlin kayak
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CJBill
Rockville Md.
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Joined: 10/09/2005
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With a trip to B6, 5 trips Maryland to Florida down I95, not all just for fun as I have obligations there, in the last year I have seen at least 3 B's with toads in tow. Don't know if it was their usual thing but they were doing it.
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bananadanna
Cambridge, MA
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Joined: 11/30/2005
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Many "B" owners have compromised on a lot of space in order to have something that could qualify as a daily driver. If you wanted something you didn't have to unhook, well, you might be better off adding some drycamping capabilities.
But if you want to get a proper downsized toad for a "B" you probably should get a lightweight 250cc dirt bike that you can carry on a hitch receiver rack!
Dan
02 Freightliner Sprinter 2500 long tall home brew conversion
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McK
Arkansas
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Having a toad with a B does seem to negate one of the major reasons for having a B in the first place.
On the other hand, when we picked up our Sprinter two years ago, the Sportsmobile facility in Austin was converting a short wheel base Sprinter that was going to be use as the Toad for a Class A. The owner was planning to use the A as his base camp and use the Sprinter to get into hard to reach places. It was being equipped with a huge array of batteries to be used in lieu of a generator.
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KHJPHOTO
San Luis Obispo, CA & Lancaster, PA
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Joined: 11/21/2004
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Welllll now let's hold on a bit here. I have a PW and tow my motorcycle on a custom built trailer. Total weight is only around 1700lbs - lighter then a Smart
Car. I tend to park the PW and use the BMW to do all my running around with.
Towing with the PW MPG is still up around 19mpg. Try that with a Chev/Ford/Dodge
Class C!
Happy trails.
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Salianron
Lake Livingston, Texas
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Joined: 02/17/2003
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I have also questioned why anyone would want to tow a vehicle behind their B and discovered a few reasons. Some were workcamping or doing volunteer work and needed transportation for one while the other stayed in their B home. Others brought along a motorcycle or sports car as their toy and alternate transportation.
I would not want to tow anything all the time, but if the Persue Hybrid (tilting 3 wheel enclosed motorcycle) ever goes into production I will be towing it sometimes for convenience but mostly for fun.
Salianron --Sally and Ron
2003 Roadtrek 200 Popular
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WhiskeyMike
Somewhere in the US
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Joined: 11/24/2003
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I have towed my Wrangler to a couple of places where I knew I wanted to leave the Sprinter in camp and "rough road" it! I don't weigh down the van...no extra water, food, etc. and same for the jeep. I always make plans to tank up with water, food and fuel for jeep when I arrive close to camp. I take it very slow, no hurries here and no problems so far. Mike
WhiskeyMike
Make camp early, break camp late, relax in between!
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kannonvaggon
Shorewood, Illinois
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We have hauled our Smart all over the place this last year, in the garage of our current class-A Damon. Before that we carried a sidecar motorcycle rig, but the little Smart Cabrio became our favorite since it is much handier in poor weather and in heavy traffic. The sidecar IS a fun ride though.
A Smart 451 will weigh in a bit over 1700lbs curb weight and closer to 1800 if a Cabrio and yer carrying anything more than a pack of gum.
The Smart rides very nicely inside our garage-coach and has been a good little sporty ride for a bit over 11,000 miles already. No problems at all.
This week we are trading our beloved garage-coach for a Tiffin tag-axle DP coach with the bath and a half floorplan. Momma said size DOES matter and she wanted a better bedroom than the Smart had... since we ended up living in the coach more than at our stick home.
We'll take delivery in two days finally.
We've decided to keep the Smart and tow it. I may not even be able to SEE the little bugger back there in the cameras... Having the B/O plate and the diode wiring done tomorrow I think. Gonna use an Aladdin tow bar.
A Smart is towable 4down easily, and it IS about the lightest load yer gonna find these days.... but I also don't get the part about trying to "camp" in a B model and still mess with a toad. ? I thought the idea was to be able to break camp and just have one vehicle to use.
I think SOMEBODY has " big coach envy " .....
Getting a toad is the first step towards that rolling condo you REALLY want... right ??
Now that we shall have a giant rollin condo, I wanted to swap for a Jeep Wrangler with a soft top since this coach would pull pretty much anything and I want to stay as "short" as possible on total length. My wife had a hard time getting in and out of the Jeep and wasn't able to drive it at all due to a physical issue on her part.... so we shall keep her Smart which fits her just fine . Having something with a back seat wouldn't bother me any, but in fact we seldom need more than the two seats and a bit of storage.
Maybe I just have " big car envy " .... !
We LIKE the Smart. It's a hoot to drive. Ain't cheap. Parts ain't plentiful or cheap. It IS very easy on fuel and VERY light as a toad. The only reason we bought one was cuz it fitted in the coach just peachy. Now I guess I could pull a Hummer er whatever, but we'll keep the Smart for now.
Jay and Joyce
2009 Tiffin Phaeton 42 QBH
Spartan MM tag-axle chassis
Real-deal-steel-2WD-military-sidecar-rig: The dreaded Frog-of-War
AND
Smart Cabrio for when goggles and rain gear are beneath our dignity.
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