Towing With A Lazy Daze February 11, 2015, 08:37:51 am Yahoo Message Number: 150982I am just trying to do my homework, before I bring home a Lazy Daze. I was wondering if it is possible to use a mini-van as a "Toad"? We have an '05 Toyota Sienna Van. We have a large family (2 adults, 7 children at home-2-21). Maybe it is out of the question to consider towing a vehicle with the amount of passengers we would be carrying. If anyone has any knowledge or advice about this issue, it would be greatly appreciated. Thank you so much.
Re: Towing With A Lazy Daze Reply #1 – February 11, 2015, 09:44:44 am Yahoo Message Number: 150983This is a topic that has been much discussed here so you will find a wealth of information just by doing a little searching.The answer to your question about the '05 Toyota Sienna van lies in your owners manual - can the vehicle be flat towed?Any vehicle contemplated for use as a toad behind a Lazy Daze should meet the criteria of a curb weight of 4000 pounds or less. The curb weight of a vehicle can be found on the federal placard on or near the B-pillar of the driver's door. This is the total weight of the vehicle with oil, coolant, and full tank of gas.And finally, (wow) - nine people traveling in a Lazy Daze! The OCCC (Occupant and Cargo Carrying Capacity) figure for any Lazy Daze is calculated (as I recall) at four adults each weighing 157 pounds. This factors 628 pounds into that rating. For your situation, nine people calculated at 157 pounds each would yield an addition of over 1,400 pounds to the calculation. I doubt that everyone in your family weighs 157 pounds, but this gives you an idea of how you must think about the weight you add to a Lazy Daze (or any other brand) in determining what you can safely carry and/or tow. Then, you must add the weight of the vehicle to the GVWR to make sure you don't exceed the chassis limits...which are 20,000 pounds if my memory serves me as I write this.Just a thought here. You should find a Lazy Daze rig near you and put everyone you plan to travel with in it and give it a space test before you think about a toad.Dan
Re: Towing With A Lazy Daze Reply #2 – February 11, 2015, 10:36:19 am Yahoo Message Number: 150985"I was wondering if it is possible to use a mini-van as a "Toad"? We have an '05 Toyota Sienna Van. We have a large family (2 adults, 7 children at home-2-21)."Your 2005 Toyota Sienna weights over the 4000-lbs and exceeds the rear bumper's weight rating . The Toyota transmission is not towable without adding a $1500-2000 electric transmission pump, plus all the other gear needed for towing (figure around $4-5000 to set it up)LD does not build a floor plan that will sleep 9 people, nor do any of their rigs have nine seat belts. With the large passenger load and their baggage, you may not be able to stay under the GVW of the chassis, depending on which length LD you are interested in.I seriously would be looking at a large Class A with a much higher GVW and the room to comfortably sleep and safely sit your family .Larry .
Re: Towing With A Lazy Daze Reply #3 – February 11, 2015, 10:49:28 am Yahoo Message Number: 150986Agreed. The larger the LD, the less CCC available. The smaller the LD, the more CCC, but less space. I'm pretty sure that just the weight of the family would put you at or close to the total CCC in a 31'; add supplies and equipment and personal items and a toad and you have a significant overload situation. And, while a 27' might offer more CCC, it would still be very challenging to (stay within weight limitations and) find enough *space* to accommodate 9 people and all their "stuff" and tow a vehicle.You didn't mention how you wanted to use the motorhome, but even if it were as a weekend or short vacation vehicle, IMO, a Lazy Daze (or any "standard" class C) will not accommodate 9 people, supplies, equipment, and general "cargo" safely and comfortably.As ever, YMMV.Joan
Re: Towing With A Lazy Daze Reply #4 – February 11, 2015, 02:01:19 pm Yahoo Message Number: 150995"I was wondering if it is possible to use a mini-van as a "Toad"? We have an '05 Toyota Sienna Van. We have a large family (2 adults, 7 children at home-2-21)." When I was in Alaska summer of 2012 I was driving across the Sky Line Highway. In Canada the road was asphalt; in Alaska it is dirt. When I came across a class A 40+' MH on the edge of the road with a toad. There were 2 elderly people standing there while the wrecker tried to get they MH back on the road. The right front passenger tire was hanging over the cliff. More than 300 foot drop. They may have had they grand children with them I do not know. The wrecker was one of the biggest made and he was not able to pull the MH back and get it back up on the road. He only keep loosing it. If the MH went on down it would have taken the wrecker with it along with the driver. On down the road 50 miles or so I seen another wrecker on the way up. I know for sure they never dreamed this would happen to them. And the bill well it had to be $4000 to $5000 at the least. I presume they were enjoying the scenery and lost the front tire in the loose gravel.GeorgeRetired Plumber
Re: Towing With A Lazy Daze Reply #5 – February 11, 2015, 02:31:56 pm Yahoo Message Number: 150996Hmmm - nine people's needs. How to accommodate this? One solution, if not the least expensive, would be to have two adult drivers. One drives the Lazy Daze, with or without an official toad, and the other drives a large vehicle like a Chevy Suburban that tows a trailer of some sort - even if just a pop-up variety. If the Sienna has some towing capacity, this might be possible with your current vehicle, if driven separately - not towed behind a Lazy Daze. Perhaps a tent or two for camping and sleeping purposes would help ease the congestion.This should provide safe travel seating for everyone, with sufficient sleeping and eating places, as well. It would be a challenge to accommodate the food needs for nine people with a six-cubic foot refrigerator, but it is easy enough to accommodate extra capacity with a good cooler and frequent stops for resupplying the larder. If the second vehicle is towing a regulation trailer, all the better, because you will have more food/sleeping/bathroom facilities.An alternative would be to travel in a vehicle that safely accommodates all passengers and then rent a place when arriving at your destination. Not ideal, and not the least expensive solution, but it would give you an idea of what you are getting into before purchasing a lot of motorized equipment only to find that it just simply won't work for such a large group of people with disparate ideas. The confinement factor (i.e. a rainy day) could prove difficult to accommodate with even the most luxurious of vehicles.This is not a task to be undertaken lightly. Your best chance of success is to do the best pre-planning and pre-experimenting that you can before taking the fiscal plunge.Virtual hugs,Judie http://dorrieanne.wordpress.com
Re: Towing With A Lazy Daze Reply #6 – February 11, 2015, 03:07:09 pm Yahoo Message Number: 150997Judie makes the most since; go rent a MH and see how it works out. I do not think any one builds a class A to do what you wish to do safely. It looks more like you need a 12 passenger van and a pull behind camper. Some of the pull behind campers can easely handle those numbers. The toy hallers have all sorts of room for a rainy day if needed.GeorgeRetired plumber
Re: Towing With A Lazy Daze Reply #7 – February 11, 2015, 07:35:38 pm Yahoo Message Number: 151002Thank you, everyone, for your kind and thoughtful replies. We have been exclusively looking for a Lazy Daze for almost 1 year. We are very impressed by their quality.Based on the information that I have, I think the best option for our family is to not tow anything. I believe that we can have seat belts installed professionally and that, as long as we are within the appropriate OCCC, we should be safe. As far as extra supplies, I already figured that I would have to bring along a 5-day cooler. (We were a boating family for 10 years, with many overnights, so I am pretty familiar with trying to keep everyone fed with coolers to assist us.)Does anyone know if there is a site or a file with the OCCC for Lazy Daze of different years? The factory only has records dating back to 2002. I think there are significant differences in years, depending on the engine used at that time. It is very helpful information and some sellers are not familiar with it. (I guess it's not as important if you are a family of two or four. As usual, the Lazy Daze community has proven itself to be very helpful and I really appreciate it.Thanks, again.Laura
Re: Towing With A Lazy Daze Reply #8 – February 11, 2015, 09:03:53 pm Yahoo Message Number: 151006Laura, go to Andy Baird andlook in the table of contents for the "Lazy Daze Pocket Guide"; this guide lists changes through the years.Another source of specific year specs is the " Techsnoz" website; there's a link to this on the home page of this message board. Subscribe, go to "Files" and scroll through the spec sheets for various years of LDs; the sheets contain weight information.Joan
Re: Towing With A Lazy Daze Reply #9 – February 12, 2015, 02:19:39 am Yahoo Message Number: 151009If you are set on a Class C type coach instead of a Class A, you might investigate one of the "Super C's" that are built on a medium truck chassis. A few years ago I looked at a couple. My favorite was the Dynamax that is built on a Freightliner chassis with a Cummins engine. My memory is a little fuzzy but as I recall they had a couple of floor plans that had bunk bed options and would haul quite a few people. However, get ready for a case of sticker shock as the price of most "Super C's" make a Lazy Daze look inexpensive. If something like this is satisfactory, choose the brand of chassis carefully. There are manufacturers that build Super C coaches on other brands of chassis; like Navistar (International). When traveling you will see a lot more Freightliner and Cummins service facilities than service facilities for Navistar and some other brands.Doug Baker
Re: Towing With A Lazy Daze Reply #10 – February 12, 2015, 08:42:46 am Yahoo Message Number: 151010Thank you for the link.
Re: Towing With A Lazy Daze Reply #11 – February 12, 2015, 09:02:37 am Yahoo Message Number: 151011Thanks, Doug. That sounds really neat. However, we just love Lazy Daze. We figure that as the children get much older, we can bring along a tent, for those that need more room. Plus, as our children grow up and leave the nest, less and less of them will available for travel. We already pack light for vacations, with the mindset that we will do laundry as needed. We live in an area that is surrounded by great Parks and springs within 1 1/2 hours drive. Basically, we will be doing weekend trips with a longer trip about 1-2 times per year. Although I enjoy tent camping, I barely get any sleep, because I worry about the children, since some of them are still little. Sleeping in an RV definitely adds an extra sense of security.I grew up with motorhomes and the memories I have of our family's rv trips are very sweet. Mom would keep our little Class C Shasta packed and when Dad got home from work on Friday, we would head out. As a child, it was so much fun waking up in a new place, be it a spring in North Florida or the steps of Lincoln Memorial. I would LOVE to give my children those same memories, even on a budget. As a grown, married woman, we have rented from Cruise America twice and my children loved every minute of it.Everyone's advice is much appreciated.Gratefully, Laura
Re: Towing With A Lazy Daze Reply #12 – February 12, 2015, 02:45:33 pm Yahoo Message Number: 151015LauraSo get the LD of your choice and also use the Sienna, except you don't tow it. Instead, have your oldest child (or you) drive it behind the LD, with the seats loaded.This way you have a vehicle at your destination, everyone is safely belted in a real seat and it saves you a bit of money, due to the $2000-3000 not spent setting the Sienna up for towing. That can buy a lot of gas for the Sienna.When nest is less filled, then get a real toad. Just another idea.Larry
Re: Towing With A Lazy Daze Reply #13 – February 12, 2015, 10:17:06 pm Yahoo Message Number: 151030Sounds like a good, well-thought out option. Thank you for the suggestion.Laura
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