Flat towing a sami..........what do I need?

[ZONA]

I need to find out what I need in order to flat tow my sami. I don't have enough money or room for a trailer at my house so I have to flat tow it for now.

What kind of set up should I be looking at? What kind of hitch and what bracket to hook up to sami and any and all misc items needed (for like brakes and stuff).

I'm wondering if any of you flat tow and what setups work well. Maybe I can avoid a mistake or 2 if I know what to look out for.

Thanks,

[belleville95]

Owners Manual says ....
o Manual locking hubs in 2WD
o Transfer case in neutral
o Transmission in second gear
o Ignition key in Accessory position (1st click) to unlock steering wheel

Better yet -- also remove rear driveshaft

I use a Roadmaster removable towbar to tow our sammie behind the motorhome.

-- Ernie in Tucson

[ZONA]

Owners Manual says ....
o Manual locking hubs in 2WD
o Transfer case in neutral
o Transmission in second gear
o Ignition key in Accessory position (1st click) to unlock steering wheel

Better yet -- also remove rear driveshaft

I use a Roadmaster removable towbar to tow our sammie behind the motorhome.

-- Ernie in Tucson

Looks pretty cool but I think I would puke if I had to pay over $500 for a towbar................shiit. Those are damn exensive man.

Anybody know of some more stuff but a much lower cost?
Anybody selling any used stuff?

[ZONA]

I found this at Pepboys. Anybody use one before? What's the word on these?

Great Price at under $200

http://www.7453217467431.com/products/productDetails.jsp?PRODUCT%3C%3Eprd_id=1566081&FOLDER%3C%3Efolder_id=50309&affID=39901&bmUID=1144891579718&tab=1

[wallyo]

Check on E-bay you can get a universal tow-bar w/brackets for about 60 bucks

[ZONA]

OK, now we're talking. Found this one at Uhaul for $150.00.

I didn't even know Uhaul sold stuff, I thought it was rent only. Cool.

http://store.uhaul.com/product_detail.aspx?id=260

[ZONA]

Check on E-bay you can get a universal tow-bar w/brackets for about 60 bucks

Sweet - let me check. Thanks for the heads up :D

[belleville95]

Looks pretty cool but I think I would puke if I had to pay over $500 for a towbar...... Those are exensive man.

We bought ours for $200. Watch for RVers selling used tow bars. You'll have to fab the mount for the Sammie but that is normal. I have a friend that fabbed his own towbar and mounts. The mounts are essentially clamps that clamp over the front springs just behind the shackles. I used his towbar once to haul in a parts car. The towbar works well.

[ian_r]

Keep looking for a reasonably priced towbar, I found one like the uhaul one for $120 canadian. Towing with tcase in N and trans in 2nd is fine for local tows but for anything further do yourself a favour and unlock the hubs and pull the rear shaft. I only remove the back of the rear shaft from the diff and then use a couple of ubolts to bolt the shaft up to the frame.

When towing I run with the key in Acc and I also put a bungee cord from the brake pedal to the steering wheel. It adds a some of resistance and helps the wheel return to center quicker. For wiring the tail lights I went to the local trailer hitch supply and got 2 heavy duty diodes which I wired into the wiring harness on the firewall. From the diodes I have wired in a 4 pin connector that I plug into the tow vehicle harness and then all my zuk tail lights work when towing. Make sure to get diodes made for this application as they are high amp and smaller ones are not suitable.

When towing there are a few things to watch out for like entering roadways from a gas station or parking lot or such. If there is a slight downgrade with a corner onto the road your vehicle may have a tendancy to turn the wheels to full lock the in opposite direction of the corner. I think this worse in my case in part worse due to the spring over. Once you get used to it you know what to look for and can usually prevent it. Another annoying little thing when towing is you can not back up. Get used to looking for the best line through an area going forward only.

[Tim J]

I carry a heavy rubber bungee cord to keep the wheel straight in case I have to back up by myself. Also make sure your toe-in is correct, or the wheel will turn to full lock as mentioned above. Even with it adjusted correctly it can still lock up as also mentioned above, and I find it seems to be more likely when the road is wet. For lights I just bought a set of magnetic towing lights. I will probably wire into the truck soon tho, because I'd like to use my 7 pin connector, and hook into my reverse lights, and be able to charge my battery during tow.

[ZONA]

I carry a heavy rubber bungee cord to keep the wheel straight in case I have to back up by myself. Also make sure your toe-in is correct, or the wheel will turn to full lock as mentioned above. Even with it adjusted correctly it can still lock up as also mentioned above, and I find it seems to be more likely when the road is wet. For lights I just bought a set of magnetic towing lights. I will probably wire into the truck soon tho, because I'd like to use my 7 pin connector, and hook into my reverse lights, and be able to charge my battery during tow.

Can you explain in more detail this "Toe-in" thing and "Full Lock".
I am finally having my hitch done on my pick up. Had to call around and price things out because some people wanted an arm and a leg. Found a place called Hitchman's and they are doing class 3 with wiring kit, dropbar and ball installed for $250.00. Found a tow bar at Carl's Custom VW for $70.00.

I figure I saved some good money on the hitch and tow bar so I opted for some Renegade Pro2 seats and 4 point harness instead of going with Eclipse seats and stardard shoulder belt. I like the added safety I'll have with that set up. Cool place too, they even made the seats to my custom specs and colors in less then 24 hours. That was nice. Local company in Phoenix so that was even better. Picking them up tomorrow morning.

http://renegadeseatsusa.com/

[TruckTrader]

[QUOTE=ZONA]Can you explain in more detail this "Toe-in" thing and "Full Lock".
QUOTE]

This usually happens to lifted samurais because the shackles are longer which rotates the pinion up. This causes the front wheels to want to "fall on themselves" and makes the front end get stuck at full lock (either left or right). It usually happens when going down a steep incline as noted above. The best remedy is to use a heavy bungee to provide resistance to center the wheel.

[GRW]

Used $10-$25.
I think I paid $15 for the last one.
Had to make the attach points. :D

[imgonnasnap]

I found this at Pepboys. Anybody use one before? What's the word on these?

Great Price at under $200

http://www.7453217467431.com/products/productDetails.jsp?PRODUCT%3C%3Eprd_id=1566081&FOLDER%3C%3Efolder_id=50309&affID=39901&bmUID=1144891579718&tab=1

Ive been using that tow bar to tow out my jeep for a few years now.. gotta make brackets so i can tow my sami, too. :smokin:

[zukidave]

The steering thing is cause,d for the caster not set right. I have a buddy wiht a early bronco that towed great till the lift.His lift messed up the caster and was a b&^%* to tow after that