Can somebody help me with a tow question?

[geordie]

Second or third the FRS or GMRS (license required, but a lot more power and a lot more sold than licensed) suggestion, they are good for short distances. The MX5 club in NH uses that (don't know if there's more than one) and we have a set we used to follow them in a Mustang GT (love the Coyote engine). If you are willing to do a very easy test you can get your amateur radio license and switch to 2m radios. BaoFeng do Yaesu knock-offs for about the same price as FRS radios but they work for much longer range. We use 2m for off road trips and have no trouble talking well out of line of sight, much better quality than FRS or CB, external antennas work better but a simple 2m antenna is less than 2 feet long. Noise cancelling VOX headsets make it like you are right there, so long as you don't both talk at the same time. We usually use mobiles, rather than HTs, a lot more power, sometimes hit repeaters from more than 200 miles in Nevada. I learned enough to ace the test in a couple of days, it's just multiple choice, though I did go on to extra class when I wanted to work HF. http://www.arrl.org/getting-your-technician-license

The interstates mostly have solid cellular coverage, but we are on Verizon and have even had coverage in rural Nevada well away from main roads and towns.

[Scott's Yott]

I would pay to ship it no questions. if it will cost 350 for gas then youre only spending 600bucks.What if it breaks down,flat tires , an accident,? Let someone else deal with it. It will be fully insured and 0 miles on it when it arrives.AND you get to drive your new truck 3000 miles .My brother towed a trailer from NH to Col.Doubled the length of the trip and was a nightmare

[dpg]

Agreed have it shipped....End of thread......

[MAXUM]

Originally Posted by geordie

Second or third the FRS or GMRS (license required, but a lot more power and a lot more sold than licensed) suggestion, they are good for short distances. The MX5 club in NH uses that (don't know if there's more than one) and we have a set we used to follow them in a Mustang GT (love the Coyote engine). If you are willing to do a very easy test you can get your amateur radio license and switch to 2m radios. BaoFeng do Yaesu knock-offs for about the same price as FRS radios but they work for much longer range. We use 2m for off road trips and have no trouble talking well out of line of sight, much better quality than FRS or CB, external antennas work better but a simple 2m antenna is less than 2 feet long. Noise cancelling VOX headsets make it like you are right there, so long as you don't both talk at the same time. We usually use mobiles, rather than HTs, a lot more power, sometimes hit repeaters from more than 200 miles in Nevada. I learned enough to ace the test in a couple of days, it's just multiple choice, though I did go on to extra class when I wanted to work HF. http://www.arrl.org/getting-your-technician-license

The interstates mostly have solid cellular coverage, but we are on Verizon and have even had coverage in rural Nevada well away from main roads and towns.

If you have an FM handheld with a 1/4 wave mag mount that'll work fine for local repeater work or simplex going direct from car to car. FM gets a little more finicky around here with all the trees and hills. That would be the only reason to favor a mobile with more power. I'd still stick with a 1/4 wave antenna either way though.

I need to do my General class so I can go HF too, eventually I want to put a nice HF rig in my camp. Not sure what to do about an antenna though.

[SIKSUKR]

There is also this option but it might not go over so well.

[Dave R]

I agree with having it shipped. I recently bought a car and had it shipped from SC to NH, it was a great experience. Driving across the US with a car in tow would be awful. The mid west is quite lovely at 85 MPH, not so much at 65...

Any thought about shipping the Taco and driving the Mustang? The Mustang could turn a "long drive" into a "fun road trip". I bought a truck in Denver and drove it home to NH last April and had a great time. Took my time when I wanted to, got off the beaten path a little, and just enjoyed seeing America. It was a trip I'd done in my teens in a 1965 Plymouth Barracuda and it was great to re-trace my steps.

[dpg]

Originally Posted by SIKSUKR

There is also this option but it might not go over so well.

She gets my vote for the worlds greatest wife!!

[ursa minor]

Cal, now that sounds like a plan! As someone that has long wanted and very recently found a Mustang for myself, I can relate.

They're definitely not winter weather vehicles but you should be able to enjoy it from at least April into late November most years. I agree with you on never being able to drive it without a smile on my face, the exhaust rumble alone does that for me. I can't wait to get mine up to NH this summer, good luck and I hope you enjoy the trip.

[geordie]

Originally Posted by MAXUM

I need to do my General class so I can go HF too, eventually I want to put a nice HF rig in my camp. Not sure what to do about an antenna though.

Car to car 5/8 works better because it flattens the radiation pattern. If you are going to have mobile you might as well go for a very slightly more expensive antenna and get better range. But even a cheap magmount antenna is better than being right next to the transmitter, even if ~150MHz doesn't couple in to bodies very well.

Any mobile HF solution is mostly convenience and not much about performance. I have a selection of hamsticks and an Icom-7000 with a tuner. Even with that you can get hundreds of miles reliably, like Utah to the California coast. I mostly keep it for off-road emergencies and for that I have a budipole in a bag that goes with the overland gear.

Sorry, this seems to have got off topic. Nobody would use a thousand dollar HF rig for casual car to car communications. Except in Australia and Iceland.