Toads

[rogerm60]

Hello Everyone,

We are new to this forum. TW and I have recently decided to forego the idea of purchasing a new DP, sell our existing Class A, and go for the MB Grand Tour. I realize it's a big change in size, but we're both tired of driving a house on wheels, and the constant repairs needed after every adventure. We'll do the hotel/motel stops when needed. My question is what are some of the toads used by members here that have the MB Interstate and/or Grand Tour? We have an enclosed trailer with a Harley Trike we pull on occasion, and a Jeep Wrangler Sport at other times? Any issues experienced while towing with the Interstate? Thanks in advance for the feedback.

[SteveH]

Don't know anything about it, and I've never done it, but I did talk with an Airstream salesman a couple of weeks ago who told me the towing limit on the larger Interstate was 3,000lbs.

Welcome to the forum.

[paiceman]

Ha

We had a 38' Class A and towed a Jeep 2 Door Wrangler, close to 4,000 pounds. The coach knew it was there. We did 7,000 miles last summer and early fall, sold the whole set up and went back to a 30' AS and F350 Diesel, MUCH more fun. I don't think an AS Interstate is appropriate to tow a Jeep. A HD Trike weighs in at just about 1,100 pounds (we had two in the past) and an enclosed trailer about 1,500# so you are probably at about 2,600# or so, close to where SteveH has reported the 3,000# limit is, which makes sense. I have seen Jeeps towed as well as cars like a honda CRV and a Saturn both of which are lighter.

Good luck

[UKDUDE]

The original poster asked about a tow vehicle with a Grand Tour. The towing capacity of all extended Sprinters is 5000 lbs, but really that depends on other factors such as how you're loading the van. Our resident expert, Protag, tows his Honda Fit behind his Interstate, 4 wheels down, and I would say that is about the ideal limit, especially since he also uses it as a cargo trailer. Probably about 3500 lbs.

[Protagonist]

Originally Posted by UKDUDE

The original poster asked about a tow vehicle with a Grand Tour. The towing capacity of all extended Sprinters is 5000 lbs, but really that depends on other factors such as how you're loading the van. Our resident expert, Protag, tows his Honda Fit behind his Interstate, 4 wheels down, and I would say that is about the ideal limit, especially since he also uses it as a cargo trailer. Probably about 3500 lbs.

Exactly so. Curb weight 2700 pounds, gross weight 3500 pounds. The last Honda Fit model that was considered towable by Motorhome Magazine's annual "Dinghy Towing Guide" was the 2013 model. By the way, the Dinghy Towing Guide is a decent resource, but you have to get the guide for the model year of the toad; for an older toad you should be able to find PDF versions of past years' guides for download.

The drop in fuel economy for towing my Honda is about 1mpg versus not towing. Since the car is entirely inside the wind-shadow of the van, it doesn't add any wind resistance at all, so the only effect on fuel economy is the added weight.

As for towing trailers rather than toads, at the Canopener 2015 rally, Foley RV brought an Airstream trailer over to the rally towed by an Interstate— an Airstream towing an Airstream! But you will want to stick to trailers that are small enough to not require weight-distributing hitches. Departure angle on an Interstate is lower than a pickup, and you don't want a WD hitch to drag the ground every time you come to any sort of incline.

A box trailer, unless it's 6½ feet wide or less, will be wider than the van and will add wind resistance— as well as requiring mirror extensions.

If you want to tow your toad and a box trailer at different times without requiring you to swap out a towbar for a trailer hitch and vice versa, go with a Roadmaster Stowmaster towbar; the entire towbar is on the front of the car, and it folds up to ride in front of the car's front bumper.(Roadmaster Inc. - Tow Bars, Braking Systems & RV Accessories)

[jkinglet]

We've decided to tow our smart car aboard a 6810H Aluma utility trailer equipped with rock guard, electric brakes (w/primus controller), 6 2,000 lb recessed tie downs, spare tire mount w/spare, rear supports and bi-fold ramp. 600lb trailer and 1808lb Smart. Able to back it up, easy onload (tie down with tire straps), plus it fits in our current storage space with the AI. Plan to put a type I hitch on the Smart so after arrival we can tow the trailer with our 9.6 Zodiac (inflated), electric outboard motor, battery, oars, etc. All this begins next month after the trailer arrives from the factory. Smart is tapping its tires in anticipation!

[73shark]

Since you mentioned spare tire, don't forget a lug nut wrench and jack for the trailer.

[carol1farr]

We have a 30’ Limited Classic that we tow with a VW Tourage TDi. It tows beautifully. However the 2012 Tourage is one of the vehicles VW has to take back its emissions issue cannot be fixed.

Our deli a is the purchase of a pick up truck that can take our HD trike in the back cargo and still pull our Airstream. Anyone do this and willing to share advice?

My husband thinks we should buy a toy hauler for the trike but I LOVE ❤️ my Airstream, so I came up with the long bed pickup truck idea.

Do you thing my idea would work.. the tuck cargo bed is 8 feet long and the trike is 8 feet 6 inches. We would have to do something with the tailgate.

The trike weighs 1100 lbs and we would drive it up a ramp.

Any suggestions on pick up to purchase. Thanks

[busb2]

We tow a Jeep Wrangler Sahara model behind our AI without a problem, including our annual trip to Breckenridge in Colorado Mountains. If you use the Search function you will find some previous discussions about towing, and experience with Jeep Toads.

[DI27]

I have been towing a Jeep Wrangler Unlimited 4Door for well over 20,000 miles without incident. Our MPG goes down to 14 when towing and engine temp goes up during long climbs but other than that I have been comfortable having the unit behind us. We installed a auxiliary breaking system on the Jeep as well. Hope this helps.

[toskeysam]

I have a 2017 Smart (automatic) to tow behind my AI. I use a Roadmaster Falcon II tow bar. We tried to use the Roadmaster Evenbrake, but the brake transmitter would not allow the Smart's computer to shutoff. Thats a very bad thing for that little guy...transmission and brake failures would ensue. Finally got a Patriot II brake system...works fantastically and no connection issues.
Also had to add a couple brackets to the driver seat base so I could put a bungee through the steering wheel to stop steering oscillations.
If I couldnt see it in the rear camera, I would not know it was there. Light (1700 lbs) and tiny.