First big trip towing... KY > FL > KY

Great places to stay, bad places to stay, offering courtesy parking? Let us know
User avatar
Kentuckian
Seasoned Traveler
Posts: 346
Joined: Sun Sep 30, 2012 3:52 pm
B190 Year: 1993
WBCCI: 0
Location: Kentucky, USA

First big trip towing... KY > FL > KY

Post by Kentuckian »

The first week of November we took our first major trip with our tow car setup. Kentucky to Saint Joseph Peninsula State Park Florida. Then to Fort Pickens National Park off the coast from Pensacola Florida and back home. Eight days and fourteen hundred miles. The B190 and tow car did great!

We have a Chevy Tracker for our tow vehicle. It is a 1991 Tracker with four wheel drive, manual transmission and manual locking hubs. At a little over two thousand pounds, the Tracker is an effortless pull that tracks perfectly behind the B190 all wheels down.

I’m using a Roadmaster Invisibrake installed in the Tracker for remote braking. I mounted our bikes our a carrier attached to the B190 spare tire above the tow bar.
Last edited by Kentuckian on Mon Dec 08, 2014 1:22 pm, edited 1 time in total.
1993 Airstream B190
User avatar
Kentuckian
Seasoned Traveler
Posts: 346
Joined: Sun Sep 30, 2012 3:52 pm
B190 Year: 1993
WBCCI: 0
Location: Kentucky, USA

Re: First big trip towing... KY > FL > KY

Post by Kentuckian »

I suppose that it was very fitting that we had snow falling as we left Kentucky for our beach trip!
Attachments
1 Ky Snow.jpg
1 Ky Snow.jpg (46.26 KiB) Viewed 17915 times
1993 Airstream B190
User avatar
Kentuckian
Seasoned Traveler
Posts: 346
Joined: Sun Sep 30, 2012 3:52 pm
B190 Year: 1993
WBCCI: 0
Location: Kentucky, USA

Re: First big trip towing... KY > FL > KY

Post by Kentuckian »

Saint Joseph Peninsula State Park has two camp grounds. Both are nice. We had a nice private setting within a five minute walk to the beach.
Attachments
2 St Joseph Island campground.jpg
2 St Joseph Island campground.jpg (67.8 KiB) Viewed 17915 times
1993 Airstream B190
User avatar
Kentuckian
Seasoned Traveler
Posts: 346
Joined: Sun Sep 30, 2012 3:52 pm
B190 Year: 1993
WBCCI: 0
Location: Kentucky, USA

Re: First big trip towing... KY > FL > KY

Post by Kentuckian »

The Tracker was super convenient for local outings.
Attachments
3 Tow car outing.jpg
3 Tow car outing.jpg (57.19 KiB) Viewed 17915 times
1993 Airstream B190
User avatar
Kentuckian
Seasoned Traveler
Posts: 346
Joined: Sun Sep 30, 2012 3:52 pm
B190 Year: 1993
WBCCI: 0
Location: Kentucky, USA

Re: First big trip towing... KY > FL > KY

Post by Kentuckian »

Saint Joseph Peninsula State Park was terrific with miles of bright white sand beaches and abundant wildlife. Notice no one on the beach but us!
Attachments
4 St Joseph Island beach.jpg
4 St Joseph Island beach.jpg (32.89 KiB) Viewed 17915 times
1993 Airstream B190
User avatar
Kentuckian
Seasoned Traveler
Posts: 346
Joined: Sun Sep 30, 2012 3:52 pm
B190 Year: 1993
WBCCI: 0
Location: Kentucky, USA

Re: First big trip towing... KY > FL > KY

Post by Kentuckian »

Packed up the rig in the middle of the week and headed for Pensacola to Fort Pickens National Park.
Attachments
5 Fort Pickens FL.jpg
5 Fort Pickens FL.jpg (18.18 KiB) Viewed 17915 times
1993 Airstream B190
User avatar
Kentuckian
Seasoned Traveler
Posts: 346
Joined: Sun Sep 30, 2012 3:52 pm
B190 Year: 1993
WBCCI: 0
Location: Kentucky, USA

Re: First big trip towing... KY > FL > KY

Post by Kentuckian »

Fort Pickens was again… miles of white beaches… just a few people… beautiful sun and surf.
Attachments
6 Fort Pickens FL beach.jpg
6 Fort Pickens FL beach.jpg (32.07 KiB) Viewed 17915 times
1993 Airstream B190
User avatar
Kentuckian
Seasoned Traveler
Posts: 346
Joined: Sun Sep 30, 2012 3:52 pm
B190 Year: 1993
WBCCI: 0
Location: Kentucky, USA

Re: First big trip towing... KY > FL > KY

Post by Kentuckian »

Blue Angels practiced above our campground each day at 2:00Pm. Man I wish those guys wouldn’t fly so close together! But wow are they good!
Attachments
7 Blue Angels Pensecola Bay.jpg
7 Blue Angels Pensecola Bay.jpg (5.1 KiB) Viewed 17915 times
1993 Airstream B190
User avatar
Kentuckian
Seasoned Traveler
Posts: 346
Joined: Sun Sep 30, 2012 3:52 pm
B190 Year: 1993
WBCCI: 0
Location: Kentucky, USA

Re: First big trip towing... KY > FL > KY

Post by Kentuckian »

Next day we drove the Tracker into the Naval Air Station for a great tour of the Naval Aviation Museum!
Attachments
8 Naval Aviation Museum Pensacola.jpg
8 Naval Aviation Museum Pensacola.jpg (46.99 KiB) Viewed 17915 times
1993 Airstream B190
User avatar
Kentuckian
Seasoned Traveler
Posts: 346
Joined: Sun Sep 30, 2012 3:52 pm
B190 Year: 1993
WBCCI: 0
Location: Kentucky, USA

Re: First big trip towing... KY > FL > KY

Post by Kentuckian »

Last night on Pensacola bay...
Attachments
9 Ft Pickens night fall.jpg
9 Ft Pickens night fall.jpg (47.48 KiB) Viewed 17915 times
1993 Airstream B190
User avatar
Kentuckian
Seasoned Traveler
Posts: 346
Joined: Sun Sep 30, 2012 3:52 pm
B190 Year: 1993
WBCCI: 0
Location: Kentucky, USA

Re: First big trip towing... KY > FL > KY

Post by Kentuckian »

Hooked up and ready for the drive back home!

O.k…. funny story. So I stop and fill up the tanks in the B190 and the Tracker. My wife is inside buying some tea so I calculate the fuel economy to see what it cost us to pull the Tracker to Florida. I was pretty impressed! We were getting about 10 mpg towing the Tracker. (We have the 460 cubic inch V8 engine.) So then I calculate the mileage for the Tracker…. 158mpg! I’m thinking wait a minute that can’t be right… then I remember the engine off tow miles on the Tracker odometer… duh!

All in all another great outing in the B190!
Attachments
10 Fort Pickens Campground.jpg
10 Fort Pickens Campground.jpg (23.2 KiB) Viewed 17913 times
Last edited by Kentuckian on Sat Dec 06, 2014 11:24 pm, edited 1 time in total.
1993 Airstream B190
nvestysly
Seasoned Traveler
Posts: 149
Joined: Tue Apr 01, 2014 4:22 pm
B190 Year: 1998
WBCCI: 16771

Re: First big trip towing... KY > FL > KY

Post by nvestysly »

That's a nice setup and a wonderful trip. There are some great parks down along the panhandle. Thanks for the pictures.
We sold our 1998 B190, V-10
Currently own a 2010 Airstream Interstate
VT964x4
Weekend Camper
Posts: 70
Joined: Sun Jun 30, 2013 12:09 pm
B190 Year: 1996
WBCCI: 0
Location: Vermont

Re: First big trip towing... KY > FL > KY

Post by VT964x4 »

Thanks for the pics and the suggestions for camping spots, sounds like a great trip!
User avatar
Planck
Seasoned Traveler
Posts: 223
Joined: Wed Mar 23, 2011 12:00 am

Re: First big trip towing... KY > FL > KY

Post by Planck »

Thanks for the story Kentuckian. We have a 98 Tracker auto w/4 wheel drive. Where did you get the tow bar setup?

Phil
User avatar
Kentuckian
Seasoned Traveler
Posts: 346
Joined: Sun Sep 30, 2012 3:52 pm
B190 Year: 1993
WBCCI: 0
Location: Kentucky, USA

Re: First big trip towing... KY > FL > KY

Post by Kentuckian »

Planck,
I used Roadmaster hardware from 'eTrailer.com'. Roadmaster makes brackets to fit the front frame of the Tracker. I just checked and they do list brackets for your '98 Chevy Tracker.
1993 Airstream B190
Post Reply