2015 Ford Focus flat tow damage

[j_wackerly]

I had a 2015 Ford Focus that Ford said it could be flat tow behind a RV . My Ford Focus came lose from my RV . The unibody broke from the weld . The whole front of car came off . The car was still under warranty and Ford would not fix it . I baseplate was installed per instructions . It was still attached to the front of the car when it came off . This car should not be flat towed . It could happen to any Ford Focus with the same unibody.

[hohenwald48]

j wackerly wrote:
I have done some research on base plates and nobody makes a base plate that extends past where my failed at . If you look at the photo on page 4 . This is where the base plate should extend to .

I agree, it looks like none of the baseplate manufacturers have done a good design job for the Focus. A lot of them make sub par baseplates for the Wrangler too. The fix for this design flaw is almost always a short little cable to attach to another location in case the primary attachment point comes apart. Even that kind of indicates the baseplate manufacturer knows there's a problem.

Unfortunately, it's up to the consumer to figure it out. Shouldn't be that way but it is. I suppose the Focus used by the baseplate manufacturer for the initial design could have been manufactured differently than subsequent years. The baseplate guys should be sure of that before telling a customer "yeah, it'll work."

I put it in the same category as the RV sales person who says "sure your F-150 can pull a 40' bumper pull toy hauler with no WDH". But it happens.

[Y-Guy]

j wackerly wrote:

Y-Guy wrote:
Have you had any communications with Roadmaster about the failure and the connection point?

I did send my photo to roadmaster . I have not heard back yet ?

Thanks, that is sort of what I would expect. Sadly, in this day and age of lawsuits many will not respond. While I personally think each part car & baseplate worked fine on its own they did not work together as the consumer would expect. I wish you the best with your new toad! Thanks for sharing the problem you ran into, though I wish it hadn't happened in the first place.

[j_wackerly]

The consumer is stuck in the middle if you tow a unibody car . Did Ford or Roadmaster do there home work on the stress on a unibody car ? They are going to point there fingers at the consumer because nobody but you installed it . The car I replace it with a Buick SUV . The dealer probably thot I was crazy because i got under under the car in the show room looking at the way the unibody was made . The unibody was all one piece and the Roadmaster base plate had 8 bolts on each side not 3 like the Ford . I hope i made the right choice . It is a shame the consumer has to a structure engineer in this case .

[j_wackerly]

Y-Guy wrote:
Have you had any communications with Roadmaster about the failure and the connection point?

I did send my photo to roadmaster . I have not heard back yet ?

[willald]

dodge guy wrote:
A Jeep Wrangler or a base model 1/2 ton 4X4 will be under 5k lbs.

Right, but as I said in my post, 'unless you want a small SUV or pickup...'.

Everything you mention here is just that, either a SUV or pickup.

[Y-Guy]

Have you had any communications with Roadmaster about the failure and the connection point?

[j_wackerly]

I have done some research on base plates and nobody makes a base plate that extends past where my failed at . If you look at the photo on page 4 . This is where the base plate should extend to .

[hohenwald48]

willald wrote:

j wackerly wrote:
After reading all the post . It looks like if you have a unibody car you are on your own when you have any base plate installed to it . The only sure way is not to tow a unibody unless you you know the stresses points on your car . A full frame car would be the best way to go .

How many cars are still made that way, with a full frame, flat towable, and fit within the 5k towing limit many have?

Unless you want a small SUV or pickup, I’m thinking, none.

Flat towable vehicles are getting more and more scarce for sure. However, even the Focus can be towed flat with a properly designed and installed tow bar. Your experience shows that not all tow bars are properly designed and installed.

[dodge_guy]

A Jeep Wrangler or a base model 1/2 ton 4X4 will be under 5k lbs.

[willald]

j wackerly wrote:
After reading all the post . It looks like if you have a unibody car you are on your own when you have any base plate installed to it . The only sure way is not to tow a unibody unless you you know the stresses points on your car . A full frame car would be the best way to go .

How many cars are still made that way, with a full frame, flat towable, and fit within the 5k towing limit many have?

Unless you want a small SUV or pickup, I’m thinking, none.

[j_wackerly]

After reading all the post . It looks like if you have a unibody car you are on your own when you have any base plate installed to it . The only sure way is not to tow a unibody unless you you know the stresses points on your car . A full frame car would be the best way to go .

[hohenwald48]

I went back and looked at the pictures posted by the OP. I think they are on page 2. At any rate, if you look at the first picture, at the bottom of what I suppose is a box frame member, it looks like there is a saw cut in the frame metal. Am I just looking at it funny?

[j_wackerly]

Elk_traveler wrote:
I read this topic with some concern as I tow a 2017 Ford Focus and have done so for more than 20K miles with some four trips from the east coast across the rockies of Wyoming, montana and colorado. It appears the towbar could have been connected to the bumper assembly instead of to the chassis properly. I remember when I had baseplate installed the mechanic had to remove the entire front end of vehicle in order to make the correct connections since he said it would be literally impossible to properly hook up the tow bar unless he remove the front end. Once removed I could see why because the Focus being subcompact is very cramped and you simply cannot reach anything unless you have clearance. Anyway he did a good job as I have never had any problem associated with the baseplate mount which is critical for any flat tow.

If you look at page 2 you can see the Roadmaster base plate is still installed to the unibody . The base plate was installed correctly loctite and torqued per instructions .

[j_wackerly]

carringb wrote:
1) How would a 2015 Focus be "under warranty" when the factory bumper-to-bumper warranty is only 3-years?

2) The baseplate was attached to the bumper assembly, not the chassis aka "unibody". The section affected is part of the crumple-zone.

3) Rust indicates the welds were cracked a long time. Could be from towing stress. Could also be from a low-speed collision that maybe didn't even cause visible external damage. I'd put my money on a tow-bar that wasn't level however. This causes tremendous stresses under braking and accelerating.

It was completely level . I had to use a drop hitch on my RV to make it level. Believe me i did everything posable to make every thing correct.