When considering RVing, it isn’t just the rig that you have to choose. We grappled over the right choice for our daily driver just as much as we did when it came to our home on wheels.
Once we knew we were settling on a Class A for our first RV, we tackled the follow-up question of what type of vehicle we wanted to tow behind.
The Initial Questions We Had to Answer:
- What is the towing capacity of our RV?
- Do we want to tow with two or four wheels down?
- What are our must-haves in our daily driver?
These questions can narrow down the options quickly when it comes to what vehicle can accompany you on your RV adventures.
About Towing a Vehicle
We knew we could tow up to 5000 pounds and we were set on towing with all four wheels on the ground. A towing dolly felt too overwhelming for us, so we went with a Blue Ox tow kit, and had the RV dealer install it so that it would be ready to go when we picked up our Newmar Baystar. This tow bar was easy to attach and came with some extra safety and flexibility to make maneuvering the RV a bit easier when we were towing.
What we didn’t know when we began RV life is that you cannot, under ANY circumstance, reverse when you are towing your vehicle behind your rig! We pulled into a tight spot at a small gas station and found out the hard way that we would need to stick to larger areas for stopping! We ended up unhitching our tow vehicle right there at the gas pump so that we could make the tight corner out of there! We hitched our Jeep back up down the road and kept rolling!
Other Thoughts
Other than our big newbie mistake during that first trip, we were happy with the Jeep Cherokee as a tow vehicle! We practiced hitching and unhitching in an abandoned parking lot and got so comfortable doing it that we each could unhitch/hitch the Jeep alone in under 15 minutes. It got great gas mileage, was roomy enough for day trips and adventures with our pups, but also small enough to make our way through tight spots and crowded city streets. We towed the Jeep Cherokee down the entire East Coast, unhitching at campsites to go grocery shopping, sightseeing, and even driving for Lyft for a few months in Florida.
When we decided to make a big change in our full-time traveling lifestyle, we were sadder to see the Jeep go than we were to trade in the RV. We knew that we would miss the ease and access that the Jeep provided as a daily driving vehicle, but we also knew we had outgrown our first RV and needed an upgrade in space and comfort.
Match Your Vehicle to your RV
We decided to pick out the RV of our dreams and then decide what the best truck would be to tow that home on wheels. Our 42-foot fifth-wheel needed a big truck, so we went all in on our Dodge RAM 3500 long-bed dual-wheeled truck. This truck was intimidating initially, but now we find it empowering to drive this big girl! The truck is safe, reliable, and fits almost everywhere.
We have had a few close calls in National Parks with our big truck. We generally ask a park ranger if there are any size restrictions for park roads, but oftentimes the dual wheels are not taken into account when considering length limits. In Rocky Mountain National Park, we took on the terrifying trip on Old Fall River Road, which is a 9-mile windy narrow road with steep drop-offs. It is also a one-way drive, so once we were on it…there was no turning back! We supported each other and took lots of breaks at pull-offs to take deep breaths and try to enjoy the scenery.
We had another close call in Death Valley National Park when we opted to drive through Titus Canyon. We asked the park ranger who reassured us the truck would fit through the slot canyon, but we didn’t account for the trip up and over Red Pass, which was not only narrow, but bumpy due to the large boulders sticking up from the dirt road. We are happy to report that we made it up and over the pass, but may have had to remind ourselves not to hold our breath the entire trip!
Although we have had a few scary moments in the truck, we have never regretted our choice to go big. When we selected the RAM 3500, we asked ourselves questions about our needs and wants in this daily driver that would be towing our large RV.
Questions for a Vehicle Towing a Large RV
- Do we want the safety and stability of dual wheels?
- Do we want a long bed or a short bed, knowing that each will require a different style hitch?
- What kind of cab do we want in our truck for backseat options and access?
These were things we considered given how we were traveling when we purchased our fifth wheel. We opted for the dual wheels because that meant our towing would be much more stable and balanced. We knew we wanted a long bed because the thought of a sliding hitch made us both nervous. We also knew we wanted a backseat with its own doors because we frequently have our puppies or friends on our adventures.
There are endless options when it comes to selecting your daily driver as you set out on your RV adventures. There are no wrong answers, but certain considerations will be important when making your decision. We feel that thinking about what your needs are in terms of space and function is at the forefront of making an informed decision, which is what we did both times we selected a daily driver. We feel that if we make an RV switch in the future, we will again think of important questions to consider when selecting our daily driver!
Read more from Wander Free & Queer:
Stationary RV Life vs. Traveling RV Life with Wander Free and Queer
Running a Small Business from the Road with Wander Free and Queer
