Motor home size considerations

[JudyJB]

This is fine at a destination, the problem is wanting to stop somewhere midway on a travel day. Think wanting to see the worlds largest ball of twine or something and it is 80 mile short of where you plan to spend the night.

I really never have any problems doing that without a toad. I try to drive no more than 150-200 miles specifically so I can stop at places I find along the way.

 

[Lou Schneider]

We did buy a used Winnebago class C 24’. We’ll give it a whirl and let you know. Also, as of now we are also keeping our Grand Design trailer which we do love. So right now, our plan is to do stationary camps with the trailer and do more touring with the motor home. I have no problem towing with a motor home, I just don’t want to. We’ll see how it goes. I’m 75, not getting any younger and we always wanted to try a motor home, so here we go! I very much appreciate all of your comments. Have a great summer and wonderful camping.

Several people in the Escapees co-op park where I have a space (including myself) have done the same. Started out with a large RV or trailer, then got a smaller RV to travel in while leaving their larger rig in the park. Seems like the longer a large RV sits in one place, the harder it is to pack everything up and make it ready to travel.

 

[JudyJB]

I am not sure why "breaking camp" is so difficult. All I do is put slides in, throw counter stuff in sink, unplug electric hose, and water and sewer if I have it. I leave water hose, chairs, picnic table cover, even capped sewer hose on my site. I have never had anyone take anything, other than once when a camp host decided i had left. (And that is in 12 years.) To prevent that, I leave out a sign that says the campsite is occupied, and I will be right back. (I bought a plain yellow wet-floor type sign from Amazon and put black lettering on it.)

 

[Lou Schneider]

I am not sure why "breaking camp" is so difficult. All I do is put slides in, throw counter stuff in sink, unplug electric hose, and water and sewer if I have it. I leave water hose, chairs, picnic table cover, even capped sewer hose on my site. I have never had anyone take anything, other than once when a camp host decided i had left. (And that is in 12 years.) To prevent that, I leave out a sign that says the campsite is occupied, and I will be right back. (I bought a plain yellow wet-floor type sign from Amazon and put black lettering on it.)

That's a lot more stuff than grabbing the car keys to head back to the store for a loaf of bread.

 

[bzerull]

Congrats on the new adventure. A 24' motorhome should be very manageable.

Our 41' Super C has a 29' wheelbase. I finding that driving a semi-truck is easier. My parents have long had gas Class A motorhomes 28-30', and that's been a very good size for them. Still maneuverable in a Walmart parking lot, and not a huge liability if you get tangled up in tight side streets.

I think you will find no matter the size of your motorhome, you will want alternate transportation at your destination. Having to pack up your home for a day trip is actually a lot of work. Unplug, unlevel, slides and awnings in, roll up hoses, put everything back inside and get the inside "travel ready". Depending on your mobility, bringing e-bikes may be a good option. But I believe a 24' Class C should probably also be able to tow a small car if it came down to it..

Yes, we have E bikes we bring along

 

[Isaac-1]

I really never have any problems doing that without a toad. I try to drive no more than 150-200 miles specifically so I can stop at places I find along the way.

Judy, I am agreeing on this point, and saying it is harder to stop at these spur of the moment roadside attractions when towing, at least it is in my case with a sub 30 ft motorhome. When towing our Yaris we can just barely fit into 6 side by side full size parking spaces, curled up into a C shape giving up enough room to clear cars parked at either end of the 6 spaces, while not sticking out into the traffic lane. When not towing we can shoehorn into 2 spaces that are side by side, maybe even 1 if we could back straight in, but it would be tight and if allowed to overhang the curb like in my avatar photo.

Having said that I really learned to appreciate having a TOAD car on our first trip with one. We had stopped for the day at a small RV park on the edge of Corinth, Mississippi, it was around 5 pm, we had got hooked up, and were settling in for the evening. As we were reading over the RV park welcome brochure /map we saw an advertisement for a local pizza place that looked good by the name of Pizza Grocery, it is a downtown Pizza restaurant located in an old brick warehouse by the railroad tracks. Could we have made it there with our motorhome, probably, but it would have needed some route / parking planning due to the narrow downtown streets with parallel parking, etc. and would probably not have happened as we had just finished hooking up and leveling. So as a result of having a TOAD car we could unhook in 5 minutes, we ended up having a spectacular fig pizza with white sauce for dinner, something we would likely have missed without the TOAD.

 

[Ohiosnowbird]

We have a 30’ class C and really like it. We haven’t had issues parking or stopping to see roadside attractions. We use google earth to scout where we can park, sometimes we have to walk a few blocks, but that’s ok. We also only travel 150-200 miles in a day so we can stop places. When we stay longer than a week, we rent a car. For us the renting math works.

 

[1stimerver]

And so the adventure begins.

 

[bzerull]

Judy, I am agreeing on this point, and saying it is harder to stop at these spur of the moment roadside attractions when towing, at least it is in my case with a sub 30 ft motorhome. When towing our Yaris we can just barely fit into 6 side by side full size parking spaces, curled up into a C shape giving up enough room to clear cars parked at either end of the 6 spaces, while not sticking out into the traffic lane. When not towing we can shoehorn into 2 spaces that are side by side, maybe even 1 if we could back straight in, but it would be tight and if allowed to overhang the curb like in my avatar photo.

Having said that I really learned to appreciate having a TOAD car on our first trip with one. We had stopped for the day at a small RV park on the edge of Corinth, Mississippi, it was around 5 pm, we had got hooked up, and were settling in for the evening. As we were reading over the RV park welcome brochure /map we saw an advertisement for a local pizza place that looked good by the name of Pizza Grocery, it is a downtown Pizza restaurant located in an old brick warehouse by the railroad tracks. Could we have made it there with our motorhome, probably, but it would have needed some route / parking planning due to the narrow downtown streets with parallel parking, etc. and would probably not have happened as we had just finished hooking up and leveling. So as a result of having a TOAD car we could unhook in 5 minutes, we ended up having a spectacular fig pizza with white sauce for dinner, something we would likely have missed without the TOAD.

Had you ever thought of taking an Uber in a case like this?

 

[bzerull]

Great for you bzerull! Many happy adventures in the Winny. Let's know how it is working out for you.

I will, thank you!

 

[Isaac-1]

Had you ever thought of taking an Uber in a case like this?

I have in fact used Uber in the past on such trips, but Uber is not available in every small town in the US. (This was in May of 2021 as the pandemic was winding down). We still don't have Uber in the town of 10,000 people where I live in Louisiana in 2024. Lyft claims service here, but has no active driver from what I understand.

 

[Adventurous Traveler]

There have been a few times we have left the dolly and toad at home and rented cars at our destination. I agree that cost might be a washout regarding $$$, decreased fuel mileage was the largest determining factor for us in the past

However, I don't know if that would be the case now with our DP that averaged over 10 MPG during our recent Spring trip. Plus, there is the convenience of going anywhere anytime with an extra set of wheels with you.

 

[oldryder]

We had a 31' Winnebago gasser. Was actually a nice size although we learned we wanted a living area with 2 slides. We weren't pulling a TOAD but the argument by others regarding the benefits are compelling. We moved up to a 40' diesel pusher and found it was just bigger than what we wanted or needed although you could pull anything for a TOAD and not really know it's there. Our 3rd unit is a new truck and a 31' 5th wheel. So far we like it the best of the three (and I got a nice new truck out of it.)

 

[Adventurous Traveler]

Our recent Spring Southern States trip took us along US90 through Biloxi, MS, and Gulfport. We decided to overnight at a really nice Walmart in Gulfport. Still, somewhat early on a beautiful early Spring day we decided to drop the car off the dolly and find a waterfront place for dinner. Our traveling friends in their Class C were happy about our decision. We found a great waterfront multi-level pub-style restaurant with outdoor seating across from the beach and the Gulf. As a bonus, they allowed pets so our friends were able to bring their small dog. After a nice meal and a local beer, we drove around the area a bit. After that we stopped and walked along the beach and Milo the dog could run and stretch his legs! To finish the day we found this great homemade ice cream shop. Back at Walmart and the campers we enjoyed a nightcap in our friend's camper and called it a day.

So having our toad with us allowed us to experience another full day of adventure, and to share with our traveling friends an area none of us had been to before.