4 ms·

Slightly off topic, but in the current context of environmental awareness, let me get this straight: They're travelling across the continent in what I can only

Slightly off topic, but in the current context of environmental awareness, let me get this straight: They're travelling across the continent in what I can only describe as the vehicle from Meet the Parents, and for what I presume are short local trips, they bring along... a Lexus RX !? This is the standard European solution to the same problem: https://www.watling-towbars.co.uk/motorbike_scooter_carrier.html https://www.watling-towbars.co.uk/motorbike_scooter_carrier....

pjc50 8y ago
I've seen more tagalong cars in Europe than I have motorcycles, but usually very small ones (Nissan Micra etc). More common is bicycles - you are after all on holiday.
ceejayoz 8y ago
I'm not sure "buy another vehicle" is necessarily the environmentally conscious approach, nor is a scooter likely to be the best approach in many areas of the US you might vacation to - for both distance and weather reasons.
- namdnay 8y ago
  Sure, but an RX? That's the biggest Lexus you can buy in Europe..
  - ceejayoz 8y ago
    In the US, an RX is in the "mid-size crossover" class. Things are bigger here, including the RVs themselves. Check out the pics, it's the size of a small apartment: https://asktog.com/misc/countryCoach.html https://asktog.com/misc/countryCoach.html
  - perl4ever 8y ago
    This article is from 2004. The RX was a smaller vehicle 15 or so years ago. At this point, what Lexus is selling under the same nameplate is considerably different.
SigmundA 8y ago
I have an RV and tow a 4 door Jeep behind it, the difference in gas mileage towing the jeep vs not is maybe 1 mpg(6.5 mpg vs 7.5 mpg). I have two kids, towing just a scooter would not be that useful. The jeep works really well for sight seeing, including off-roading while at the destination. A large RV is not the efficient way to get around regardless of towing a smaller vehicle, but it is a great way to see the country. I am somewhat torn about the environmental aspect of it, I am not sure how clear cut it is vs air travel and hotels and related infrastructure.
- namdnay 8y ago
  For those outside the US: 6.5 us mpg = 36 l/100km ... it's funny how different fuel prices have given radically different local optimisations.
Theodores 8y ago
You would be amazed at what Americans tow behind their RV. Often you get a pickup truck being towed with a couple of dirt-motor-bikes in the pickup truck with a trailer on the pickup truck to carry a boat. Then the RV is as big as a European coach, with untold junk on the top to further impair the aerodynamics. The joke of this is that all of these toys take a lot of time to get out and pack away. So in the National Parks where people join the dots between places like Bryce and Zion the humble bicycle becomes quite competitive. On the bicycle you can rock up at a camp ground at 7 p.m. with no booking needed. Then, by 8 p.m. one can be fed, watered, washed, clothes washed, stove washed, tent ready and tired enough for the best sleep ever. Food might be basic but there is a lot you can do with a simple camp stove. Meanwhile, the RV crew have arrived five hours earlier, having set up their BBQ, chairs, TVs and what-not they are not having much time left. They also have to have arguments about plates and other petty things. Then, the following morning, when on a bike there isn't much to pack away if it all fits into two pannier bags, even with a leisurely lie in the road can be hit many hours before the RV crew have got their first breakfast prepared. On the way the bike also pays dividends. Say you need to shop for groceries then you can park right next to the store entrance with no time wasted walking half a mile across a car park. Same with attractions en-route, there is no need to dismount. Meanwhile the RV crew are having to park a considerable distance away, have an argument or two about maps and fritter away the day doing RV things. The 'panoramic sunroof' is also a lot better on the bike, one's view of the world is not framed by a windscreen. Admittedly cycling is not for everyone, particularly if carrying a tent, sleeping bag and stove but, when you are covering the same distances as the RV crew in the same time and doing a better job of seeing the sights rather than picnic tables, you do have to wonder what it is all about. The other thing the RV crew don't get is meeting the natives, American hospitality is the best in the world, not that you would believe it from watching TV, but it is. The RV isolates the traveller from that, the bicycle opens it up. People you meet on the way do invite you onto their boats, show you their gun collections, even put you up in the RV that is parked outside their house. So all these things American people take with them on their RVs are kind of there for you if you go by bicycle through the splendid US scenery.

pjc50 8y ago

I've seen more tagalong cars in Europe than I have motorcycles, but usually very small ones (Nissan Micra etc). More common is bicycles - you are after all on holiday.

ceejayoz 8y ago

I'm not sure "buy another vehicle" is necessarily the environmentally conscious approach, nor is a scooter likely to be the best approach in many areas of the US you might vacation to - for both distance and weather reasons.

namdnay 8y ago
Sure, but an RX? That's the biggest Lexus you can buy in Europe..
- ceejayoz 8y ago
  In the US, an RX is in the "mid-size crossover" class. Things are bigger here, including the RVs themselves. Check out the pics, it's the size of a small apartment: https://asktog.com/misc/countryCoach.html https://asktog.com/misc/countryCoach.html
- perl4ever 8y ago
  This article is from 2004. The RX was a smaller vehicle 15 or so years ago. At this point, what Lexus is selling under the same nameplate is considerably different.

SigmundA 8y ago

I have an RV and tow a 4 door Jeep behind it, the difference in gas mileage towing the jeep vs not is maybe 1 mpg(6.5 mpg vs 7.5 mpg). I have two kids, towing just a scooter would not be that useful. The jeep works really well for sight seeing, including off-roading while at the destination. A large RV is not the efficient way to get around regardless of towing a smaller vehicle, but it is a great way to see the country. I am somewhat torn about the environmental aspect of it, I am not sure how clear cut it is vs air travel and hotels and related infrastructure.

namdnay 8y ago
For those outside the US: 6.5 us mpg = 36 l/100km ... it's funny how different fuel prices have given radically different local optimisations.

Theodores 8y ago

You would be amazed at what Americans tow behind their RV. Often you get a pickup truck being towed with a couple of dirt-motor-bikes in the pickup truck with a trailer on the pickup truck to carry a boat. Then the RV is as big as a European coach, with untold junk on the top to further impair the aerodynamics. The joke of this is that all of these toys take a lot of time to get out and pack away. So in the National Parks where people join the dots between places like Bryce and Zion the humble bicycle becomes quite competitive. On the bicycle you can rock up at a camp ground at 7 p.m. with no booking needed. Then, by 8 p.m. one can be fed, watered, washed, clothes washed, stove washed, tent ready and tired enough for the best sleep ever. Food might be basic but there is a lot you can do with a simple camp stove. Meanwhile, the RV crew have arrived five hours earlier, having set up their BBQ, chairs, TVs and what-not they are not having much time left. They also have to have arguments about plates and other petty things. Then, the following morning, when on a bike there isn't much to pack away if it all fits into two pannier bags, even with a leisurely lie in the road can be hit many hours before the RV crew have got their first breakfast prepared. On the way the bike also pays dividends. Say you need to shop for groceries then you can park right next to the store entrance with no time wasted walking half a mile across a car park. Same with attractions en-route, there is no need to dismount. Meanwhile the RV crew are having to park a considerable distance away, have an argument or two about maps and fritter away the day doing RV things. The 'panoramic sunroof' is also a lot better on the bike, one's view of the world is not framed by a windscreen. Admittedly cycling is not for everyone, particularly if carrying a tent, sleeping bag and stove but, when you are covering the same distances as the RV crew in the same time and doing a better job of seeing the sights rather than picnic tables, you do have to wonder what it is all about. The other thing the RV crew don't get is meeting the natives, American hospitality is the best in the world, not that you would believe it from watching TV, but it is. The RV isolates the traveller from that, the bicycle opens it up. People you meet on the way do invite you onto their boats, show you their gun collections, even put you up in the RV that is parked outside their house. So all these things American people take with them on their RVs are kind of there for you if you go by bicycle through the splendid US scenery.