A few years ago at the beginning of covid I bought a Focus RS and drove it all the way from Minnesota to Idaho, going along all the parks and camping in it for about a week. I wanted to do that again, but have since sold the Focus and drive the Mini full-time. I wanted to put this out here since it seems not many have done it in an F56 3 door (probably for good reason), I wanted to be way more ambitious this time I wanted to hit the West Coast and Canada, specifically drive the Bear tooth Highway, Going on the Sun Road, and Highway 101 to name a few destinations. Anyhow, here is how I did it:

I initially gutted the back seats and went to Menards to pick up 1/2 inch plywood along with fasteners, reflectix, and automotive carpeting (their black automotive carpeting is a near match to what is in our Minis):


Gutted out interior with foam in place


Traced out the back seat area with some boxes I bought from Menards, cut them with a jigsaw


To allow a complete flat and secure floor, supports were added to the middle section board. These supports hook into the OEM seat position and prevent it from moving:



Using a staple gun, I put the carpet on the wood for a finished floor:


Flooring with carpet 1

I built a deck to replace the front seat, this deck would allow me to get a twin bed length in the car as well as provide additional storage. I added a hinge so I could use the backseat passenger area as storage. The deck also holds a 40 inch folding table firmly.

Here is the entire floor interior done. I have photoed my crate placement, this would be my cooking supplies and food. I made a little shelf that I carpeted to keep them secure that may be seen later:

For tools, I used the space below the trunk and went to the store to get 3+1 inch foam, cut out what I thought would be necessary to keep me going on my trip, below the first aid and tire kit is a simple socket set:

For a majority of the windows I cut out sized sheets to prevent light from coming in and covering them in a cheat fabric I got from Walmart. Though if you've ever camped youll know you need to keep air coming in to prevent moisture from building up. My solution was to use thin plywood and create a lip so it can grab onto the window and fit into the original grove of the door trim. I made the spacer about 4-5 inches in height and cut out holes with a circular hole bit and covered it with fabric to stop bugs/dust from coming in:

I used a 6 inch high density foam and 2+2 inch memory foam top to make the bed. I then used a sleeping bag liner to use as a sheet. At 6 foot 4, I have about an inch of space fully stretched out with the trunk closed.


The route:




Trip:
I suffered 0 mechanical failures that prevented me from going anywhere, when I hit Glacier National Mark I heard the rear brakes squealing pretty bad going downhill with cruise on - I believe a rock got stuck. When I hit Redwood Park, I check my oil and consumed half a liter of 0w-20 (which for 3-4k miles is fine on an engine @ 150k miles). If you've seen my coolant leak thread, you'd see that basically a day after I got back the oil filter housing failed on me, I am grateful that this didn't occur during the trip as the cost would've been insane and held me up since I doubt it would've been easily obtainable. Gas mileage averaged around 36 mpg throughout the trip according to the computer. I cheated 1 day in Banff where I slept at a resort and did my laundry there, otherwise nearly anytime I would have a Planet Fitness on my route, I would stop by to work out and shower. I would say that the best road was Going on the Sun Road by a mile, I went up and down it multiple times and since it was the end of the season there was very little traffic. The views were beautiful, and the driving was even better. Beartooth is a close second for me too as my first morning driving up on the northern side was fun, but after I hit the peak and started going down I just wanted to slow down and watch the scenery. Highway 101, atleast the Oregon and Washington bit, was nice but a bit too much traffic and construction (which I expected - I intend to drive the rest this upcoming April). Here are a few photos from the trip, some are jumbled around:

First night of Beartooth Highway, camping just right off of it.


West Yellowstone campsite

MT 49 - the most beautiful road in this country

MT 49

Going on the Sun Road

On the way to Banff

On the way to Vancouver

Taking a ferry from Seattle to Mt Olympia

Hoh Rain Forest camping

Highway 101 in California, clouds are so low you drive above them

Badlands camping spot right outside the park, super windy and hot!

NE Yellowstone camping at night, about to go to sleep for the night

West Yellowstone BLM Camping, making food

Crossing the border, first time driving with kilometres in a minute

Stopped at a Tim Hortons going into Banff, parked next to a Nissan Micra - very cool, sad to see we didn't get them in the US :(


Cypress Mountain in North Vancouver, making breakfast

Stopped at an Oregon air museum

Cape Lookout campgrounds in Oregon, parked at an angle to prevent showers from coming into the car.

First stop in Northern California, the sea should be behind the fog.

 

Thanks for posting! Cool trip and experience. Nice to see an F56 being used! Is yours Chili Red? I have a Chili Red 2023 and I like seeing an example of how it might age (appears darker/less bright than mine). I feel like you have to keep yours until it literally dissolves and disappears.

 

I believe it is chili red, I've been meaning to buy a paint pen for some chips. It's probably worth mentioning that the car was dirty and probably appears lighter because of it, after the first night in the Badlands the wind just pushed so much dust on the car, and it only got worse every day. The car desperately needs a wash

 

Than you so much for taking time to document and share all this!!