For Chicagoans Tom and Alyce McCants, a flatbed train was the only way to fly.
“We were able to tour Mexico’s magnificent Sierra Madre Mountains and Copper Canyon without having to do all the driving,” said Alyce, describing how they loaded their RV and automobile onto a train for the ride of their life.
Until the McCants learned about flatbed tours through their RV club, they, like many others, shied away from Mexico. They were intimidated by language barriers and the prospect of driving around in a foreign country known for strict traffic laws.
“We had always wanted to see Copper Canyon but knew there was no way to see it driving our RV,” said Tom, adding that “we live in our RV five months out of the year and think of it as our home.”
Inaccessible by any other means than train, Copper Canyon is often referred to as the eighth wonder of the world because it is five times the size of the Grand Canyon, said Larry Olsen, president of Tracks to Adventure “piggyback” tours in El Paso, Texas. Tracks to Adventure kicked off the flatbed tours to Mexico in 1974.
“The only other way you can get to some of the sites would be by horse and buggy,” adds Rick Nelson, president of Fantasy Tours in Gunnison, Colo., which has been offering these tours since 1994.
Along with Adventure Caravans in Livingston, Texas, and others, the companies work with Ferromex, a Mexican railroad company that provides freight operations year-round and tourist excursions from October through March, when the “hot season” begins.Each caravan averages 44 people with the number of trips ranging from 17 to 62 depending on the provider.
The Copper Canyon portion of the trip begins 300 miles from an El Paso rendezvous point. They catch the train in LaJuanta , Mexico, and go 295 miles to Los Mochis with stops in Chihuahua and Cuauhtemoc. The caravan proceeds to the seaside resort of Mazatlan for an overnight ferry that transports the RVs to Baja, Cabo San Lucas. The number of stops varies with the length of the tour.
“The train only goes about 15-20 miles an hour, and you are right there in the middle of everything,” said Sally Herndon of Jefferson, Ohio, who recently returned from a trip with husband, Don.
“You get to get off at stops that allow you to do things you’d normally never have the chance to do, like go into caves and visit with the native Indians,” she said.
On top of that, travelers have the conveniences of their own RVs.
Flatbed tours are novel even for the most seasoned RVers.
“I would just sit in my convertible with the top down [on the flatbed] and soak up the sun and gorgeous scenery,” said Tom McCants, who was one of the many passengers who took their cars along on his trip two years ago. “You’re only on it five hours a day; then you go on a side rail and get into a tour bus and tour.”
Off-train excursions include visits to Pancho Villa’s house in Chihuahua and the Tarahumara Indian tribe in Creel.
McCants adds that “the only thing you had to be careful about was getting on and off the flatbed because there is only a 5-foot clearance around your vehicle and then you have to climb down a six-step ladder.”
After being rolled up on ramps, the RVs and cars are chained to the flatbeds.
When not riding the rails, the RVs travel in a wagon train of sorts, led by husband-and-wife teams, fluent in Spanish, who deal with Mexican officials and campground owners. They also make sure that flatbed loading and unloading goes smoothly.
“The railroad provides security at night,” said Herndon.
Also accompanying the caravans are “tail gunners,” another husband and wife team that’s first to break camp in the morning and the last to disembark at night. One is an experienced mechanic who carries spare parts and knows what to do if an RV becomes disabled.
With up to 22 RVs in a convoy over unfamiliar terrains, it’s important that all RVers carry CB radios to receive information on detours, weather conditions or just the social activities at the next stop.
“On one occasion we weren’t getting CB transmission and they made sure, quickly, that we were given another radio,” said Alyce McCants.
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The tour companies offer trips of 16 to 23 days at an average cost of $5,795 to $8,795 per RV. Five of those days are spent on the flatbed.
