Hello Guest!

towing. is it worth it for a 24ft?

  • 11 Replies
  • 9990 Views
*

chevyboy70

  • ***
  • 13
    • View Profile
  • OwnPC: Yes
  • NewUsed: Used
  • PurchDate: January 2015
  • Model: 2350 Ford
  • ModelYear: 2005
  • Slide: Yes
  • IntColor: light
  • ExtColor: white
  • Location: PA
towing. is it worth it for a 24ft?
« on: March 13, 2016, 09:10:17 pm »
is it worth towing with a 24 foot if we move most of the time.. we do explore all day when we are out but at a different site each night.
comments please


*

2 Frazzled

  • *******
  • 1434
    • View Profile
    • Spirit of the Woods
  • OwnPC: Yes
  • NewUsed: New
  • PurchDate: May 2013
  • Model: 2552
  • ModelYear: 2013
  • Slide: Yes
  • IntColor: Sunlit & Cherry
  • ExtColor: Sunlit
  • Location: On the road full time (prev. Maryland)
Re: towing. is it worth it for a 24ft?
« Reply #1 on: March 14, 2016, 07:50:31 am »
The answer is going to be based on what you are willing to do every time you want to run out and how good you are at keeping stuff stowed. Breaking camp requires the following: unhook water and electric and store the cords, hoses and any metering/pressure control devices. Stow the jacks and jack pads. Pull in the slide and awning. Stow any outdoor gear you don't want left on site like grill, etc. Crank down antenna. Pull off and stow windshield covers. Lock down all outside bins. Stow all movable items inside. Close all inside cabinets. Lock down inside doors and front curtain. Double check and hit the road.

It sounds like a lot but John and I can break camp in less than 15 minutes, working as a team.

If you truly move every night a tow vehicle might not make sense but our experience was that once we got past the sense of urgency to hurry, hurry, hurry from site to site, we realized how awesome it is to settle in one spot for a while and really check out an area. Our tow vehicle gets us out to dinner, down to the beach, around those restricted roads with tight curves or weight limits, down rutted roads we don't want to take the Phoenix on, etc.

The flip side is that towing a vehicle changes your parking options while you are touring so it is totally based on your style.

All that said, you can wait and see. The hitch will be there if you decide to tow later.
John, Holly, and sometimes Chloe.
Travel Blog: Spiritofthewoods.net

*

Doneworking

  • ******
  • 450
    • View Profile
  • OwnPC: Yes
  • NewUsed: Used
  • PurchDate: September 2013
  • Model: 2350 Ford
  • ModelYear: 2013
  • Slide: Yes
  • Location: Oklahoma City
Re: towing. is it worth it for a 24ft?
« Reply #2 on: March 14, 2016, 08:48:26 am »
We had Class Bs for years.  They can pretty much go anywhere and park most places.  When we got the PC 2350 a few years ago, we decided to change our style of camping and spend a lot of time at one site most of the time.  So, we got a Jeep Cherokee Trailhawk to pull behind it.   We love the flexibility of having both vehicles with us.  Now, we are able to see a lot of things that we would not otherwise see.   We had never towed before (over thirty years of owning Bs and small Cs) and find the experience of towing rewarding.  We set up our camp (usually in NF campgrounds and boondock) and then see stuff for fifty or more miles around our location.  

Still, at times on short trips, we don't tow.  Sometimes we just go to some state park and camp three or four days and hike from the camp.  It all depends on how you use your rig.  We love the flexibility of having the Jeep.  AND, we love the additional room of having the 2350 compared to our Bs.  One big advantage of towing is that we have the Jeep to transport and stuff a lot of gear in on our way to these multiweek outings.  Put the backseat down and have a cave to fill full of our junk and maybe buy a few treasures along the way.

I suspect at some point in the future we may go back to a small Class B and just tour the country, staying anywhere we want or checking into a hotel every now and then.  As we have gotten older, we have gotten lazy and just hate "breaking camp" everyday and driving a couple of hundred miles to the next miracle.  So, for now at least, we love our 2350 and our Jeep combo. 

Here is the biggest danger for us and anyone once you hit your senior years:  you are running low on time.  If you want to do it, do it.  We no longer have the luxury of a twenty year time horizon.

Paul
« Last Edit: March 14, 2016, 08:53:54 am by Doneworking »

*

Ron Dittmer

  • *******
  • 5647
  • Ron and Irene
    • View Profile
    • My 2007 2350 Phoenix Cruiser
  • OwnPC: Yes
  • NewUsed: New
  • PurchDate: June 2007
  • Model: 2350 Ford
  • ModelYear: 2007
  • Slide: No
  • IntColor: Cherry Green&Gray
  • ExtColor: Full Body Gray
  • Location: N/E Illinois
Re: towing. is it worth it for a 24ft?
« Reply #3 on: March 14, 2016, 01:22:16 pm »
We've owned our 2350 for 9 years now.  We go for 3 to 4 weeks at a time and will limit any one camp site to about 3 nights.  We tow a Jeep Liberty (previously a Toyota MR2 Spyder) because our day excursions are not friendly for driving a motor home.  The roads are too primitive, too confining, and not enough parking offered.  One trip we took touring around Lake Michigan towing our Jeep Liberty.  That trip we should have left the Jeep home.  On another trip in the north west, we left the Jeep home but should have taken it.  We learned it is better to take it and not need it, instead of the reverse.  So it always comes along now.

2007 PC 2350 (23'-8" long) with 2006 Jeep Liberty In Tow
« Last Edit: March 14, 2016, 01:24:23 pm by ron.dittmer »
Ron (& Irene) Dittmer

*

Bruce

Re: towing. is it worth it for a 24ft?
« Reply #4 on: March 14, 2016, 03:51:03 pm »
Before we ordered our 2552 we purchased a 2350 thinking that we would travel without the toad, but we never did for the same reasons as those already posted here.
--Bruce and Sharon

*

Dave

  • ***
  • 48
    • View Profile
  • OwnPC: Yes
  • NewUsed: New
  • PurchDate: January 2015
  • Model: 2552
  • ModelYear: 2015
  • Slide: Yes
  • Location: Florida
Re: towing. is it worth it for a 24ft?
« Reply #5 on: March 14, 2016, 04:35:08 pm »
we drove our 22 ft class c for years and toured by bicycle. when we started towing we found that we had missed a lot. we've towed ever since, always.

*

TomHanlon

Re: towing. is it worth it for a 24ft?
« Reply #6 on: March 14, 2016, 05:32:03 pm »
Hi chevyboy, welcome to our gang.

For the next week, everytime you go some where, think about taking a motorhome and finding where you would park.  You might find that a lot of parking lots have small spaces and lots of island to drive around.
Think about not only the length but the  width and height. The 2400 is 2 feet longer than a crew cab with a long bed pickup. It will be wider and higher than a pickup. You can not take it thru a drive up window or into a lot of parking lots. If you are touring national park, think about all the other cars taking the parking spaces, even the RV/bus spaces. Think about touring and tunnels. some older tunnels like the Needles hwy in SD are low tunnels that even at 10' 2" becomes a problem.

Also when you leave your campsite you run the risk of someone taking it. I have had that happen in both state park campgrounds and private campgrounds where the site are assigned.

I agree with everything said above about breaking camp being a pain.
« Last Edit: March 15, 2016, 08:44:48 am by TomHanlon »

*

RheaNL

  • *****
  • 220
    • View Profile
  • OwnPC: Yes
  • NewUsed: New
  • PurchDate: October 4, 2012
  • Model: 2100
  • ModelYear: 2013
  • Slide: Yes
  • IntColor: Dusk
  • ExtColor: Dusk lower
  • Location: Colorado
Re: towing. is it worth it for a 24ft?
« Reply #7 on: March 16, 2016, 05:06:35 pm »
We do not tow because we only have the 2100 so allows even more access and easy parking. Towed a 24ft.travel trailer for several years and wanted to be done with parking issues. Many NF/BLM campgrounds have tight length restrictions. We do rent cars/jeeps along the way on longer trips so far the only time we couldn't get a conveniently located rental was Big Bend NP. Like previous post, takes  us 15-20 minutes to break camp and be in the road. It is totally a personal choice.

*

Syd and Margo

  • ****
  • 91
    • View Profile
  • OwnPC: Yes
  • NewUsed: New
  • PurchDate: 9/11
  • Model: 3100
  • ModelYear: 2012
  • Slide: Yes
  • IntColor: Sunlit
  • ExtColor: Sunlit
  • Location: Venice FL
Re: towing. is it worth it for a 24ft?
« Reply #8 on: March 20, 2016, 11:49:28 am »
Before getting our PC 3100 we owned a 24 ft motorhome and went out west for 7 weeks.  We were so glad we had our toad with us.  It enabled us to stay in one area for a few days and make day trips to various areas.  2 Frazzeled has some good suggestions for you also.
We tow a 2009 Honda CRV.

*

Janey

  • *****
  • 112
    • View Profile
  • OwnPC: Yes
  • NewUsed: Used
  • PurchDate: 8/19/14
  • Model: 2350 Ford
  • ModelYear: 2014
  • Slide: Yes
  • ExtColor: Cafe
  • Location: Muskegon, MI
Re: towing. is it worth it for a 24ft?
« Reply #9 on: March 20, 2016, 01:47:25 pm »
We owned Winnebago rialta a from 1996 to 2014 and couldn't tow. When we bought the PC, we didn't tow the first year cuz I was afraid.  Then I decided to be a big girl and give it a try. Well, I'll never be without my crv!  Life is so much simpler and easier for a myriad of reasons.  Don't hesitate to tow!

Janey (sitting in the sun in Apalachicola)
Suzanna Jane (aka Janey) and Sid Shazly

*

chevyboy70

  • ***
  • 13
    • View Profile
  • OwnPC: Yes
  • NewUsed: Used
  • PurchDate: January 2015
  • Model: 2350 Ford
  • ModelYear: 2005
  • Slide: Yes
  • IntColor: light
  • ExtColor: white
  • Location: PA
Re: towing. is it worth it for a 24ft?
« Reply #10 on: March 26, 2016, 09:58:31 pm »
Thanks to everyone for all your comments.. Two points. One, we have traveled in VW vanagon campers since 1970. On our third now which is 25 years old and semi restored. we bought a 2005/  2350 last spring  so it is like a castle to us. As for towing, I am nervous about it BUT, we just bought a Fiat 500 already fully rigged for towing with very low milage and in mint condition. I have read a lot of negative reports about the Fiat but I figure for what we paid and it does not work out well at least we now know.. Early 70's already so figure rather than sit there at 85 and ask ourselves why we never tried the bigger RV and tow we will be able to say we did and either we liked it or did not but we tried it.. Next try will be a pontoon boat, after RV of course.    I am already trying to figure out when to tow an when not to but I see the best advise says better to have it and not use it than to not have it and want it.    So, off we go!

*

Ron Dittmer

  • *******
  • 5647
  • Ron and Irene
    • View Profile
    • My 2007 2350 Phoenix Cruiser
  • OwnPC: Yes
  • NewUsed: New
  • PurchDate: June 2007
  • Model: 2350 Ford
  • ModelYear: 2007
  • Slide: No
  • IntColor: Cherry Green&Gray
  • ExtColor: Full Body Gray
  • Location: N/E Illinois
Re: towing. is it worth it for a 24ft?
« Reply #11 on: March 26, 2016, 10:35:10 pm »
Just keep in-mind when towing any vehicle behind you.....

NEVER back up when towing a vehicle for it simply does not work.  The car has a mind of it's own, the tires going in their own direction in the first two feet backing up, and then it binds and you can't even move the RV back any longer.  Don't think having your spouse steering the car makes any difference because it doesn't.  Plan your gas station, grocery store, and restaurant maneuvers so you always move "forward".  If you get in a pickle of which we all have at one time or another, you simply unhook the tow vehicle, and drive them separately to an area where you can re-hook them together.  It takes a time or two before you get real good at it.  At camp sites we unhook on the street in about 60 seconds and pull the PC in first, the tow vehicle next.  It sounds complicated but it is not.  After your first trip, you will become an expert at it.

Always watch your mirrors closely in sharper turns like when pulling up to a gas station pump from an angle.  Your motor home will clear the pumps, but the tow vehicle doesn't if your approach is wrong.  You need to swing around bigger and more gradual to make it work smoothly.  Get the idea?

In the beginning we towed a tiny little 2 seater sports car, a 2000 Toyota MR2 Spyder.  It was a tiny tow yet I got into trouble with it a number of times on our first trip.  Now we tow a much bigger 2006 Jeep Liberty and I get into a bind not more than once per 3-4 week trip.  Unhook in 60 seconds, re-hook in 3-4 minutes.  I always seem to mess it up once in the early part of the trip.....like I need retraining or something. :)
« Last Edit: March 26, 2016, 10:42:04 pm by ron.dittmer »
Ron (& Irene) Dittmer