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Toads or tow vehicles? What brand do you use?

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aimee

Re: Toads or tow vehicles? What brand do you use?
« Reply #60 on: March 01, 2012, 08:46:59 am »
Oh, I think we've veered far enough off this topic and off PC's in general. Current or potential buyers are not likely to find much here of usefulness. Can we bring it back on topic, please?

I don't mind veering off and stopping to smell the roses and see the largest ball of twine, but only when it stays pleasant. I hope thus makes sense and isn't jumbled by these confounded pain meds the doctors have me on. ;)

If you guys could see all the thankful emails I get from people who are do touched by the friendliness and welcoming nature of this forum you would understand where I'm coming from. It's humbling to see how many people make choices based on the information we provide here and the friendliness in which we do it.

There's a lot wrong with that grammatically. I am hoping you still see my point. It's the best I can do hopped uP on goofballs and typing from my phone.
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Ron Dittmer

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Re: Toads or tow vehicles? What brand do you use?
« Reply #61 on: March 01, 2012, 04:08:21 pm »
Quote from: pyrthkr on February 27, 2012, 12:01:01 pm
Picked up the Honda Fit from Cliff's Welding in Mesa, AZ last week & hooked up the Blue Ox bar, elec & safety cables to it.  We had the split hitch installed so we can try out the bike rack in the top portion.  The 2552 is a bit more sluggish - but that is to be expected I guess.  All things considered, we're still doing fine & are comfortable with the ride.
pyrthkr

1) Did you setup your Honda Fit with a secondary braking system, if so, what type?  If not, what is your comfort factor with the increased braking distance?  Or do you even notice an increase?
2) Is your tow bar horizontal, or at an angle between the motor home and the Fit, especially with the dual hitch adaptor?
« Last Edit: March 01, 2012, 04:09:53 pm by ron.dittmer »
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pyrthkr

Re: Toads or tow vehicles? What brand do you use?
« Reply #62 on: March 01, 2012, 04:47:50 pm »
No Ron, I have not initially set up a secondary braking system but I definitely know there is something else attached to the RV. Have only driven it back from the shop to home (~15mi) & consciously maintained a greater distance for stopping although it did not appear to need it.  That being said, I keep a pretty safe stopping distance anyway so I may already be overly cautious (is there such a thing?)

Tow bar appears to be extremely close to horizontal; definitely well within the 3" limit expressed in the manufacturer brochure (I think they actually say 4" but the shop went even lower).  I think the dual hitch actually helped that as the Fit is fairly low to the ground in front.  Remains to be seen how everything works in unison when I try the tow bar & bike rack together later this month when I travel to Sonoita/Bisbee.
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GoPhoenix

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Re: Toads or tow vehicles? What brand do you use?
« Reply #63 on: March 01, 2012, 05:00:13 pm »
My two cents worth on a brake system: We have an older Brake Buddy without proportional braking. (Fleetwood paid half the cost to settle a federal complaint against them for misstating towing capability on our Class A.)  I can tell when it’s working because I can feel it, plus the indicator on the dash.  But with very careful driving, it rarely comes on. The point being that if I had to replace it, I personally wouldn’t pay extra for proportional braking with the lighter weight toad we have.
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Ron Dittmer

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Re: Toads or tow vehicles? What brand do you use?
« Reply #64 on: March 01, 2012, 05:23:04 pm »
Quote from: pyrthkr on March 01, 2012, 04:47:50 pm
No Ron, I have not initially set up a secondary braking system but I definitely know there is something else attached to the RV. Have only driven it back from the shop to home (~15mi) & consciously maintained a greater distance for stopping although it did not appear to need it.  That being said, I keep a pretty safe stopping distance anyway so I may already be overly cautious (is there such a thing?)

Tow bar appears to be extremely close to horizontal; definitely well within the 3" limit expressed in the manufacturer brochure (I think they actually say 4" but the shop went even lower).  I think the dual hitch actually helped that as the Fit is fairly low to the ground in front.  Remains to be seen how everything works in unison when I try the tow bar & bike rack together later this month when I travel to Sonoita/Bisbee.
It sounds like you are better set up than we were without secondary braking for our little MR2 Spyder, given your light 2552 and newer E450 with the improved brakes introduced in 2008.  I would like to say you are all done, but you will know better after conditions test your setup.  Increased braking distance is certain.  Just be extra careful the first time you decend a 7% grade for the next 10 miles on a snaking byway with cliffs abound.  We decended out the north east road from Yosemite with the 2100 pound MR2 in-back pushing hard, my wife almost wetting her pants.....and me too.  We would have gone over the edge if not for the HD sway bars, rear trac bar, Koni Shocks, Safe-T-Plus, etc.  Being in low gear helped until we'd get close to red lining the tachometer which then forced us to brake hard and often.
« Last Edit: March 01, 2012, 05:33:57 pm by ron.dittmer »
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DownBy TheRiver

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Re: Toads or tow vehicles? What brand do you use?
« Reply #65 on: March 02, 2012, 07:27:46 pm »
Aimee Said:

>>>>  “Oh, I think we've veered far enough off this topic and off PC's in general. Current or potential buyers are not likely to find much here of usefulness. Can we bring it back on topic, please?

I cannot disagree in any way with your chastisement.  Thanks, Aimee!  (Aimee smacks DownBy_TheRiver upside the “haid”)

I and others posting here are all about Phoenix Cruiser.  I’ve more than adequately disclosed why I still remain a die-hard PC enthusiast, but am not as of yet an owner.  While I could theoretically buy any Cruiser thrice at this late date, I must await the resolution of many personal issues prior to purchase, whether due unresolved employment, familial and/or financial issues in the current economy.  I admire those posters who’ve “arrived”.  My own personal circumstances are awkward, as I’ve been currently “denied” my own previously-planned and invested-in “arrival” by recent circumstance, as I should have otherwise been allowed.  I’m young’n, generally speaking.

I would hope that as a “wannabe”, and as Aimee herself mentions: (the concerns of) “current and POTENTIAL owners”, that my observations and critiques as a potential owner are valued regardless of whether or not I agree on tangential issues, whether raised by current owners or potential owners.   As a potential owner, I hope to benefit from the best possible coach PC can produce (as I believe they’re the best coach already available), and of which I can possibly purchase in the near future.  In my personal circumstance as a potential owner, PC’s coaches mean more to me as a likely future full-timer, than as do current part-timers; nor as any other available coach - as far as I can research.
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DownBy TheRiver

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Re: Toads or tow vehicles? What brand do you use?
« Reply #66 on: March 02, 2012, 10:02:49 pm »
If we are to focus solely on PC issues, and of which I have up until now - I have not only attested to my own approval of anyone’s choice of “toad”, but have provided additional info as well.  And yet, more than 47 days later, somehow, a flag need be waved?

Honest to God, I’m done now on this topic.  I would say only, look ALL results.  Don’t allow anyone to make you feel “guilty”.  Pay attention to the total financial result and NOT labels.  Whether we be current or POTENTIAL PC owners.  Whether we be current toad owners or POTENTIAL toad owners.  Whether or not a “toad” product offered makes sense for PC owners’ needs or not, regardless of “manufacture” or “nameplate”.

The “truth is out there”.  So is the data.  If the “domestics” have decided to ignore our needs, why should you care if they do or don’t?  They don’t care about you – so why should you care about them?  And if so, why should you care so much about the political considerations of your own choices, if your own choices end up ACTUALLY profiting “others”?  Your apparent confusion only confuses us all.

And how does ANY of this have ANYTHING to do with Phoenix Cruiser in the first place?  The HHR is built and assembled in Mexico.  Any and all PC’s are manufactured, built and assembled in Indiana.  And that’s all that matters to me.

If ANYTHING else matters, you’d better actually know why it either does or does not matter, beyond a mere Nameplate – if that’s your entire argument in the first place.  I rest my case.  Done.

Let’s all wave the flag……
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bigbadjc

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Re: Toads or tow vehicles? What brand do you use?
« Reply #67 on: March 03, 2012, 12:39:31 pm »
I've been chuckling about the wild deviation from the norm that this thread has taken, but the quote from the X Files "The truth is out there" finally got me to throw in this note.  There is no TRUTH about this whole line of discussion.  What each person sees as the right fit for their wants and needs is the truth for them.  These are called tastes or opinions.  You cannot choose a Toad with a spreadsheet.  Appearance, interior layout and finish, and past experience for many of us far outway the exact MPG to expect, the 0-60 time, or the final purchase cost.  If we all looked at cost of ownership as the paramount thing, it would often be hard to justify a motorhome and toad over buying a nice car and staying in decent motels. Also, it's also hard to say where a vehicle is produced anymore.  You can say where the final assembly is made, but the parts are likely to come from a dozen different countries.  It wasn't just Toyota that was affected when Japan had their earthquake and subsequent nuclear accident.  Assembly plants all over the world slowed down.  Is a Honda assembled in the USA made with parts from Japan an American car or a Japanese car?  Are clothes die cut from American fabrics in the USA but shipped to Bangladesh to be sewn into clothing American clothes?  Decide what's right for you, seek advice from other's experiences if you desire, and buy what you like and can afford.  But don't believe anyone has the single truth about much of anything.  That's how wars start and how people buy things they later regret.
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Ron Dittmer

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Re: Toads or tow vehicles? What brand do you use?
« Reply #68 on: March 03, 2012, 01:43:11 pm »
Quote from: bigbadjc on March 03, 2012, 12:39:31 pm
Also, it's also hard to say where a vehicle is produced anymore.  You can say where the final assembly is made, but the parts are likely to come from a dozen different countries.
In 2007, I recall seeing a list of every 2007 vehicle sold in the USA.  One column had the percentage of parts and assembly in the USA.  The 2007 E-Series was at the very top of the list at #1 with a 97% parts and assembly made in the USA.  I recently tried to find that list on-line again but was not successful.

If anyone else finds it, please post the link to it.  I don't want anyone taking my word for it as I have been wrong before on other matters.  Nothing like confirmation.
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bigbadjc

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Re: Toads or tow vehicles? What brand do you use?
« Reply #69 on: March 03, 2012, 02:28:19 pm »
I was looking for the answer to your question about the source of the E series cutaway vans and according to Wickipedia, which is not really an official source, after I believe it was 2007 all Ford E series vans were assembled in Ohio.  In the past some came from Ontario, Canada, but apparently no more.  Ford E type vans also account for about 70% of all the vans made in America.

Jerry
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DownBy TheRiver

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Re: Toads or tow vehicles? What brand do you use?
« Reply #70 on: March 20, 2012, 08:18:40 am »
Where I used to work?

We were the sole provider for 2 separate E-chassis parts, or so were we told.

All were shipped to Lorain, OH.
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JimWert

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Re: Toads or tow vehicles? What brand do you use?
« Reply #71 on: April 06, 2012, 08:59:30 am »
2006 Jeep Liberty
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Ron Dittmer

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Re: Toads or tow vehicles? What brand do you use?
« Reply #72 on: April 06, 2012, 12:58:08 pm »
Quote from: JimWert on April 06, 2012, 08:59:30 am
2006 Jeep Liberty
2006 Jeep Liberty For Us Too.
« Last Edit: April 06, 2012, 01:00:01 pm by ron.dittmer »
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Bob Mahon

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Re: Toads or tow vehicles? What brand do you use?
« Reply #73 on: April 06, 2012, 03:11:00 pm »
Just now setting up the Cougar for our western trip.
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GregC

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Re: Toads or tow vehicles? What brand do you use?
« Reply #74 on: November 08, 2012, 03:17:17 pm »
We're getting ready for our first extended trip in the 2551 and wondering if anyone has experience towing a Jeep Grand Cherokee.  I've seen Ron's Jeep Liberty set-up (in photos) and an HHR, but didnt' run across any Grand Cherokees.
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