Jim, no issues so far. Had to pat an extra $5 in one park. Currently in New Orleans and headed into the city tomorrow with the Focus. Even Tracy, who was against towing it, will tell you she loves having it with us now. Have had both State and local police look at us from every state so far and no interest other than the one that gave me a thumbs up.

Vaughan

Boy I'm sure glad you're not having issues with your tow. Jealous you're finally fulltiming it and going to new places. Glad your setup is working out for you and Tracy.

Thanks Jim. I think a lot of it is in how the rig is driven and what it looks like. We've got all of the vehicles color matching and it's obvious when you look at the tow setup that it's done right. A good friend who is a DOT enforcement officer told me that if he didn't know me, but saw our rig on the road, he would figure I was possibly over length but he had much more important stuff to do than hassle me.

Have towed it about 2k miles so far. Will be headed back to Florida , Savannah and Myrtle Beach and then up to Baltimore before the long tow to Montana in April.

Here's the latest picture. Taken yesterday at a rest area in Mississippi.

Vaughan, I love your setup. How difficult has it been to change your mindset of not being able to back up for maneuvering? I’m thinking fast food, grocery stores, Walmart - things like that where I can generally maneuver my Redwood safely but sometimes have to back up in order to do it. Just curious if you’ve changed your mindset in where you stop while traveling.

Hi Paul. Haven't really had to change mindset that much. We travel with cats so they are in the truck with us when we're on the road. Consequently we tend to make our lunch before we leave in the morning and then find either a truck stop or rest area to stop for a break. If I need fuel on the road with the coach hook d up I go through the truck lanes in a Petro or Flying J. I'm planning on swapping out the stock fuel tank for a Titan replacement tank when we get back to Baltimore for a bit in March. Have too many other things in the bed to put one I. There. Lol

There was a lot of thought and planning that went into this. I can say that so far, all has worked out as I hope it would. One big thing, I have no idea how it would be to tow with regular springs and axles. Maybe George or Lisa will add a post since they pull the Jeep and I don't know if they have gone to the IS yet. On my coach I have the 8k !IS, Disc brakes, and Sailun H rated tires. Very, very happy with all three. Coach ride is great, never moves gen in a 30-40 mph cross wind or when a semi passes, and the stopping power is amazing. When I decided to add the Focus a lot of research went into it. Wanted a car that was under 3000 lbs (it's 2685 per the scales) and also flat towable. Was originally looking for a nice used Mini or VW Golf but found nice ones were $14-15k. Got a new Focus for $16.4 out the door with full warranty and it's approved to flat tow stick or automatic.

Equipment on the car is same as if it was behind a gas motorhome. A 8" drop hitch receiver to make the towbar as level as possible, Blue Ox baseplate and Towbar and a SMI Stay in Play Duo full vacuum boosted proportional braking system. I can say that after I got the sensitivity just right on the inertial system for the brakes, the total braking power of the rig is amazing. Had to climb all over the brakes yesterday when an idiot pulled out in front of me and I don't think it took anymore distance than the truck alone would've needed.

Car can be on or off in about 2 minutes after you've done it once or twice. As far as maneuvering, anywhere the coach will go the car will make the turn no problem as the tail of the coach swings the car wide and it tracks in the tracks of the truck.

Hope this helps. It's only been a few months now but we love the convenience of the car. 36-40 mpg for the run around vehicle doesn't hurt either.

I was actually able to back up out of a gas pump line once about 1,000 ft with the boat behind the 5th wheel so I could find a path out of there.

However, 4 down cars - no go back 🙂 I won't discuss how even just a toad behind a MH has got me in traffic disconnecting because I misjudged the turn, more than once (but less than 5 times in one year).