The Toadmobile has arrived! Our towing vehicle is in the garage.
Now this is where we get controversial. The Toadmobile isn't your usual TV, you see, but it is a Mom Car; a Minivan! At this point, sage old trailer people will be rubbing their chins and thinking that you can't tow a 28' Airstream with a Minivan. Well, folks, you can and we will be (with a little help from our friends at CanAm RV).
Say hello to the Toadmobile, a 2011 Toyota Minivan. It`s the LE model with the V6 3.5 litre engine and eight seats. It doesn`t have the Toyota towing package because that`s where CanAm RV of London Ontario come in. Their version of a towing package includes a custom fitted hitch, a bigger transmission oil cooler and a good brake controller to add to the Weight Distribution and Sway Control systems. With that little lot, and the excellent qualities that minivans, and this model in particular, bring to towing performance, we think we`re on to a winner. Sure we`re never going to break any speed records, especially going up hill, and we`re going to have to make full use of the six-speed transmission going down hill, but the physics and math add up to a very workable solution. Don`t think it`ll work? There are plenty of very satisfied CanAm customers who will tell you otherwise, like Einar and Anne-Grethe in their blog, Not At Home (anne-grethe-einar.blogspot.com).
Anyway, the Sienna it is and we will have no truck with trucks!
Actually, the Toadmobile is really nice to drive. It's not vannish at all and only the length and width are things I have to adjust to. The tadpoles love the big seats in the second row and the larger of the two likes to recline across the third row. Of course, we're never going to go thirsty what with the 16 (count them!) cup holders.
The next item in the project is to get the Toadmobile up to London for her towing modifications. We're not sure when that'll be but you can guarantee that you'll be the first to hear about it. Apart from us. And CanAm, obviously.
We are Mr & Mrs Toad, residents of Chatham, Ontario but formerly of lovely Olde Englande.
We are about to take delivery of our stately home on wheels, Towed Haul, and set off on our holidays across the broad lands of the New World. Or Canada and the United States, whichever is nearer.
This blog is to document our travels and to wax lyrical about Towed Haul, our 28' International Serenity Airstream Travel Trailer. Yes, there are lots of similar blogs out there but very few written by a pair of toads; we hope we can keep you entertained.
Towed Haul is still in Jackson Center at the moment, probably having it's chandeliers buffed, or some such finishing touch. Hand over is in four weeks, assuming JW is good to his word, and we are about as excited as a couple of toads can be.
We have trips planned to our local Provincial Parks and a bigger excursion in the Summer to Florida, with stops many and varied on the way down and on the way back. Hopefully we'll never be too far from water, toads like the aquatic lifestyle, but we will venture a little wider if the mood takes us. Yes, we know Florida in the summer is to be avoided but as Mrs Toad only gets time off from earning her crust in the Summer, we have little choice *sigh*
We will have a couple of tadpoles in tow and so far we've been able to keep Towed Haul a secret from them since we ordered it; won't they be surprised when they see it sitting on the drive? Let's hope they like their family holiday accommodation for the next few years!
Obviously we have no photographs as yet but we will post some as soon as we can; I think Mrs Toad wants to make sure that the silver dinner service and Royal Doulton china is in place before I'm let loose with the camera.
Anyway, I'll try to post updates regularly and keep everyone informed. Comments are always welcome. Also look out for Norbert Gnome's Blog; Norbert is a travelling gnome who has decided to tag along with us. He's insisting that he wants his own Blog so I'll publish his link when he gets that off the ground; at the moment he's still recovering from St Patrick's Day.
The next post will be the delivery of the Toadmobile; no, not Towed Haul, but our little tow vehicle, which will be sure to raise some questions!
Ribbitt.
