Now that the taxes are done and paid, we are planning on going to the Sierra foothills, aka the Gold Country for a few days next week. I am not a fan of hot weather, and I think it will be far more pleasant to hike and visit the Columbia Historic Park now rather than in summer when it will be crowded with families.
We also have plans for a three or four week trip at the end of June, thru mid-July to Northern California and Oregon.
For both trips I had planned on driving the Prius while Craig drove the Alfa. We had talked about using a dolly for the Prius, but have decided against that for a lot of reasons.
Today, as Craig made his list of errands he needed to do, I suggested he stop and buy new front tires for the Prius. They are getting very worn, and although we will probably be OK next week, I think it would be best to get them before we go in June.
His response was "Or maybe we should just trade it in on something that can be towed."
There are a lot of good reasons to do that now instead of waiting until later.
The Prius is a 2007, which makes the batteries five years old and possibly heading for full replacement. It is also due for the 80K mile service, which can be very pricey. As it is now, it looks and runs fine, and if RVing weren't in our life, we would probably just keep it and put money into it rather than trade it in.
I know I'd love to have a towed. It's the next logical step, but I always thought that if we weren't on the verge of getting out of here, we wouldn't get one unless my van died. But we need the van for trips to the lumber yard, Goodwill, the dump, and probably a storage place!
It's up to Craig to make this decision. He has always been the car buyer. (I did buy the little red MG Midget because it was cute, and a few $200 junkers for grocery runs in the 70's, but never a serious car.)
We shall see.
Craig said he would do some research on towables. He also has to be able to drive it daily for the next year or so until the house is on the market. He goes to town for one reason or another almost every day, and the Prius gets very good mileage!
I find this a very exciting step!
Do you tow?
I think that is a wise descion on your part to get a vehicle that can be towed 4 wheels down. Never once did we consider a tow dolly when looking for a towable. Lots of towable vehicles to chose from out there & only you know what will suit your needs best.
ReplyDeleteI have always wondered what the cost of batteries would be to replace in a Prius I assume not cheap. Hope you can find a nice Toad to fit your needs. Plus the enjoying the comforts of traveling together in the Alpha at the same time.
ReplyDeleteWe use a tow dolly and it's the most frustrating part of going on trips. If you can find a car that can be safely towed 4 down that would be fantastic.
ReplyDeleteGood luck!
Erik
We tow a 2010 Honda CRV with 4 weeks down. Spent two months visiting National Parks in the West last year. We moved every 2 or 3 days and had no problems with it. Towing it did seem to put a lot of wear on the front tires which only had 10,000 miles on them when we left.
ReplyDeleteWheels
ReplyDeleteI spent my first year on the road without a towed. Didn't take me long to see the advantages is having one. :)
ReplyDeleteWhen we were looking at motorhomes instead of a fifth wheel, we did a lot of research on towables. We were going to use my Honda Fit, four down. We have a friend that tows their Saturn.
ReplyDeleteJEEP!
ReplyDeleteWe went without a toad the year we worked for the carnival, decided not to do that anymore. We now tow a Jeep Wrangler, 4 wheels down. Good luck in your search.
ReplyDeleteWe decided no tow dolly -- and went with the Honda CR-V 4 wheels down -- we LOVE it -- good on gas mileage and tows like it's not even back there.
ReplyDeleteAs you know, Roxanne and I tow our Prius on a tow dolly. I think the idea of trading in your Prius for something towable 4 down is GREAT. If we were doing it over, we'd trade, too.
ReplyDeleteBut about the Prius battery. I spoke with a Toyota service manager once who told me he had never had to replace the battery in a Prius that hadn't been damaged in a wreck.
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ReplyDeleteWouldn't want to be without our Toad and wheels down is the only way to go. We had a dolly with our old motorhome and it was a nightmare. We enjoy our Fit as a towable but if I had it to do over, I would go with something with more clearance. The Fit gets great mileage but it doesn't like dirt/gravel roads.
ReplyDeleteOne of the best parts of travel is the time we spent on the road in the rig. We talk and laugh and just enjoy each other's company. Driving two vehicles would take away the best part of travel for us.
I have to agree with everybody else - you want to tow 4 down. And lots of people like their Jeeps out here.
ReplyDeleteWe agree with Donna and several others but sharing the journey in one vehicle is the best part of traveling.
ReplyDeleteWe tow a Suzuki Grand Vitara that is 12 years old but it is perfect for us and is still in great shape. Seats 4 and holds our golf clubs too. The first year we towed a pick up truck but if we wanted to take another couple along we just did not have the seating space.
Just another step in your adventure - have fun!
Sharon and Ron
We have a 2011 CRV Honda and a Blue Ox towing system. We have had good luck towing the little car and it is almost amazing to go back and start it after a long trip and have all the gas in its tank that we started with. But it does only get about 25 mpg and I know that is significantly less than the 40 + the prius gets.......
ReplyDeleteI'm gonna sound like an echo here. We have a 2009 Honda CRV. It gets great gas mileage on the highway when NOT towing, decent mileage in town, and is one of the safest cars structurally on the market, and gets excellent ratings in car reports. It can be towed four down, and has a simple procedure you do with moving through the gears to get ready to tow, it takes about three minutes for that. When you look around RV parks, you will see a TON of Honda CRV's, they are VERY popular with RVers for towing. Jeeps are even simpler to tow, but we fell in love with the CR-V.
ReplyDeleteno towing as yet for us,as you know..but Jeep all the way!!!
ReplyDeleteWe won't go if we can't tow! We read in Motorhome magazine that Fiat has a new lightweight model, towable 4 wheels down. A two-door hatchback, less than $20,000. We're not ready for a small toad yet, but our eyes are looking toward some kind of vehicle changes.
ReplyDeleteI do not tow and I would love to. I have a Vitara but it can't be towed down. The sales guy didn't know his job very well. Mine has to be towed on a dolly so I am not going there. GRrrr
ReplyDeleteMy class c is on the market now anyway. :(
We tow a jeep, it is the easiest tow we have had to date, we also towed a smart car.
ReplyDeleteHowdy Merikay,
ReplyDeleteCheck out Dennis and Carol's RV Adventures blog...They are the ones who owned RV Driving School and they just went from Arizona to East Texas driving seperately, because Dennis bought a truck to haul his 'toy' in and Carol had to drive their 'toad'.
You'll have to go back a few weeks
to find the blog, but Carol got OVER 40 MPG on that trip.. They have had this 'toad' for a few years and had NO TROUBLE with it.. It's some kind of Mercury product and is not made any more, but a used one should be a bargain.. The Ford equivalent should do the same!!
Funny! I thought all cars were towable. That tells you how much I know about it! Your travel plans sound like fun! Maybe you two will make it up to Vancouver Island while we're up there?? (Victoria area and Parksville)
ReplyDeleteI thought it strange when you said you would be driving the Prius behind the RV. I think a good tow vehicle is a good idea for you. My rig is small enough I don't need one at this time.
ReplyDeleteI think getting a towed would be a fantastic idea.
ReplyDeleteThe Jeep is what we used but it doesn't get good gas mileage. We got around 15 to 17. We have friends with the Fit and they love it. Good gas mileage too! I agree, I would tow 4 down.