Love my Toad

The time for a toad had come. In the RV world, the vehicle being towed behind an RV is called a “toad”.  A great play on words and funny to boot.

The trips that I have made to date with the motorhome (Shaneeda) have been without a toad, only my bikes.  During the last couple of week long trips, I’ve been able to imagine a variety of uses for the additional transportation (sightseeing, grocery run, etc…) and decided that if I am going spend lots of time doing this or even living in the motorhome, having a toad would be a good thing.

I started researching the options, prices, and pros/cons several months ago.  I knew that I would be making a two thousand mile drive over the thanksgiving holiday to visit my family and set a goal of making a change after that trip.  The last trip in the Nissan Murrano was a good one, it drove so smooth and is so comfortable that I hated to see her go.  However; it is a terrible toad candidate being very heavy and unable to be flat towed – all four wheels on the ground – using a tow bar.  A tow dolly was an option but they are not cheap and that adds more weight never mind the nuisance of hookup/disconnect.

After a bunch of research, I finally decided that a Jeep Wrangler was my best option.  After pouring thru the used market for a couple of months, I finally decided on a newer model.

I simply love used car dealers and having to work with them but I swallowed my attitude (as best I could) and went to work.  The end result was the purchase of a 2010 Jeep Wrangler Sport (JK).  She is a lovely vehicle and a bunch of fun to drive – six speed manual transmission.

This morning, I decided a bit of off-road time was in order.  I’ve seen pictures and video’s of guys having a blast off-roading but I had never tried it.  That said, I have spent a lot of time on dirt bikes (as recently as about five years ago) and loved doing that.  I wasn’t exactly sure what to expect but it just didn’t strike me as something that would be my cup of tea.

I drove out to a nearby area at which I used to ride my dirt bike.  There are lots of Jeep trails there with plenty of hills.  It is the type of stuff that I suspect a veteran would consider to be very beginner level stuff.

Well, I am surprised!

This little Wrangler just chugs right up some steep (to me) hills that I wouldn’t even want to walk up!  The terrain that she rolls right on thru is pretty amazing.  I started off VERY easy as I really didn’t want to get stuck and have to make the call of shame for assistance.  Every time I’d try something a little harder, she treated it as if it was no big deal so I kept stepping up to bigger/harder obstacles.  I found a variety of little climbs where it was obvious that people were getting stuck and having to back down. She just  purred right on up the climb.  This is a bone stock Wrangler – I can’t imagine what the heavily modified Wranglers can do!  Very kewl – very fun!

I think I had my first peak into the “It’s a Jeep thing” saying and admit, it is a blast!