I'm looking to get a Zuk in the next couple weeks, and was wondering what everyone uses to tow theirs. I'm looking to flat tow it at first, since I don't have a trailer.

I've heard of people flat towing Zuk's with Dodge Dakotas before, but I'm looking to go even smaller if possible.

I've checked the search function and have found zuk's run about 2000 lbs without much equipment. I think my Comanche pickup's tow rating is like 2000 lbs, so I might be in OK shape there.

Any ideas? THis is for flat towing less then 2 hours to the trailhead.

Matt

You can't tow a Samurai with a Heep, that's just wrong.

I used to be a die-hard Jeeper (have owned 7 different Jeeps in my short lifetime - roughly one per every 4 years of my existance), and am now switching to the "dark side". I have to leave SOMETHING on the Jeep arsenal, since after all - I went so far as to buy a Jeep keychain!!!!!

Anyway, the Comanche will only be temporary until I can get a bigger tow rig.

Matt

I tow with a 94 4RnR 3.0 with auto trans tow cap is 3500 my trailer is 1800 and it tows just fine

easy rule of thumb. For every pound of flat-towee, you need 1.5-2 pounds of flat-tower. This accounts for the stability issues specific to flat towing, no trailer brakes, ect ect ect. I also try for about 1.25-1.5 times the wheelbase.

For a 2000lbs trail Zuk (You have GOT to be kidding me, 2000lbs????, my drivetrain weighs more than that :flipoff2:) you need a rig between 3-4+ grand. I don't *think* a Comanche is that heavy.
I'm guessing the WB around 80", so anything over 120" is sweet. If its a LWB version, you could get away with it for a while. I'd recommend a little heavier/longer rig...
Anything fullsize would work, I'd be really leary of a Bronco/Blazer, though. they don't have enough WB. A longbox J-10/J-20 would be about right, big bonus points being that they are cheaper then dirt.

The smallest I could recomend would be a Terra/Traveler, about right on weight and ok on WB. A short bed FS is a close second.

Ideal would be a longbox FS, or any FS extended cab. I'd recommend 3/4 ton+, but a 1/2t would do okl for occasional use.

I towed mine around town with our Durango on a trailer and it wasnt the best...the rear was really soft and it pushed you around pretty good.

Originally posted by 350Samurai
You can't tow a Samurai with a Heep, that's just wrong.

Its the perfect tow vehicle :p the sami is up in the chariot, whipping the jeep to bring it where it wants to be :D :flipoff2:

Oh I used a ZJ to trailer my rig to Zukimelt through the Hills of NJ and PA and it did fine, slowed down on the steeper inclines, but so did the big rigs.

I towed my buds LJ with a Sammi and was really suprised how well it towed. Though I would not recommend doing it as a practice or going any distance. But hey it got us out wheeling for the weekend and that's all that counts.

I flat towed my Zuk 300 miles with a 4cly Toy, my friend ran the Con and then tow me home. I think his Toy weighs around 3800lbs.:)

I flat towed a Samurai 350 miles on city streets and on the highway with our Grand Cherokee 5.9 Limited and I literally could not tell that the Samurai was back there. Only on the uphill passing lanes doing 85+mph did it even shift down out of overdrive. Cornering and braking were not perceptably affected.

Pickups don't have much weight in their rear end, so they'll naturally feel less stable than something like the ZJ, even with a longer wheelbase. A Dakota should have no problem towing a Samurai. We've towed a couple Samurai's on the highway with my buddy's Samurai, and I wouldn't recommend it for anything other than an emergency situation, for a very short distance, with the speed kept down to a minimum (which it was for us on both occasions). Definitely a back-road sort of thing.

I just pulled mine 2000 miles with my 4 dr Xploder, it did very well, and other than in the mountains, (just not 'nuff HP for the inclines) I was real happy with the ride and feel, It tracked wondefully in the corners and under hard braking.
I also ran a cooler thermostat, that kept the temp in line.
My Mileage went down about 4 mpg.

good luck

i tow mine with a F150 with the 5.0HO engine. no problems here, lol.:D

I've towed my Zuk and trailer with several different trucks, the lightest was a '93 Nissan 4x4. I went thru Nashville during the morning rush hour, that was kinda spooky with no trailer brakes! You need a heavier truck for trailering or flat towing.

My next truck was a short bed, standard cab F150. Better brakes, enough power to move along, it had a V6/5-speed, but I had my foot to the floor most of the time.

My new truck is a F150 SuperCrew, 5.4L, 3.55 gear, with four wheel disk brakes. Our trip to Attica last weekend was the first time I've had it out on the road with a load. I Love it! Driving a rig that was designed with towing in mind makes life so much easier.

to my knowleage a sammy weights stock 2100lbs,mine trail ready w/32's askid plate,minor armor 23/24 hundred..:D

I flat towed my Zuk to the con in 99 with a V6 EXt Cab Nissan. Brakes sucked, you really had to step on them to slow it down. As far as pulling it was ok, it could hold 65 no problem but you had to keep your foot into it so the gas mileage suffered. I tried pulling a trailer with the Nissan, that was scary. Trailer brakes might have made it better.

I plan on flat towing mine with my Isuzu Amigo in a couple weeks. I'll let ya all know how it goes. I have the weight (aprox 4000lbs) and the engine to do it, little concerned about the short-wheelbase

We have a guy that uses his Samburban ( streched LWB ) to pull a trailer with no brakes and his built Zuk on 36's.:confused: :rolleyes: :eek:

I used to flat tow my 56 Willy's with my 4-cylinder Nissan, 4wd. Did fine (lol), except it didn't have quite enough power for the flat lands so I had to drop a gear (drop two or three gears on hills), the engine would tend to overheat constantly (so I had to run the heater full blast all summer), and the braking situation was absolutely frighteneing (look out I'm comin' through!).

I agree with "The Mick" about relative weight and wheel base as a general rule of thumb. Also, as was said a vehicle with a heavier rear end helps out a lot too.

I tow the Zuk with a 98 disco on a trailer with no brakes. Goes fine, but it don't stop so good!!

I use the lil woman's 2000 Olds Alero- 5 hr drive to Suzican (actually took us 9 in traffic). I used shitty lil street tires for that and it wasnt too bad. Towin with the 33 boggers is a bit different, it likes to grab ruts on the highway and gives me a bit of a hard time once in a while....... But i am a driver :flipoff2:

I checked the towing limits of the Comanche today and the book says 3500#, so a decently dressed Sammi should weigh in at about 1000 less.

I think that might be OK... now, to swap out the motor in the Comanche for one that isn't going to rattle itself to pieces doing this task and install a capable hitch and it should be A-O-K...

Thanks again!

Matt

I have flat towed my sammi on 33s behind a Jeep Yj with a 350 and SPOA on 33s and also behind a 79 Blazer. I dont really recomend it. Both trucks had plenty of power but it can get squirelly really easy. I currently tow with a 94 3/4 ton suburban and have no problems except a very fast draining of my pocket book.

When Im short on Cash I generally will flat tow my Zuk behind my 95 toyota tercell. It has a really good 4 cylinder with 170000 on it. I have put a K&N filter on it and also heavy duty clutch and N.O.S ( for passing )and heavy duty struts in it. Now it tows like a dream . I average about 36 mpg flat towing the zuk and about 39 with the trailer and the zuk. Minor problems towing over 2mph on the flats or hills etc. Hey but it gets good mileage :rasta:

I dont even know what to say about that last post.....yikes

Originally posted by flexlarson
I generally will flat tow my Zuk behind my 95 toyota tercell. It has a really good 4 cylinder and N.O.S Hey but it gets good mileage


:laughing: :laughing: :laughing:

Originally posted by flexlarson

When Im short on Cash I generally will flat tow my Zuk behind my 95 toyota tercell. It has a really good 4 cylinder with 170000 on it. I have put a K&N filter on it and also heavy duty clutch and N.O.S ( for passing )and heavy duty struts in it. Now it tows like a dream . I average about 36 mpg flat towing the zuk and about 39 with the trailer and the zuk. Minor problems towing over 2mph on the flats or hills etc. Hey but it gets good mileage :rasta:

Now THAT'S funny! :) Actually had me going there until I got the the Nitrous. :eek:

Matt

I towed with an 01' toco with 3.5x gears pulling my zuke on a 1000# 6x12 trailer (with no bakes) and it suck ass on take offs. Maybe an auto or gears would have helped it... Just not enought torque at low rpms.. Truck brakes worked awsome... This lead to replacment tow rig... f250 psd long bed crew.... it does the job...

What ever you do dont do like several friends of mine and tow zukes with a single axle trailer.... Yes it works but comeone !!! lawn mower != zuke

-yag

I just flat towed my Zuk with 31's and diesel ( a bit heavier than the 1.3) about 600 miles round trip last weekend. The route was a mix of flats and steep (up to 5% grade) hills from Wasilla to Homer, Alaska. I had to drop to 3rd on the steepest hills, but was able to keep 65mph. Most hills were done in 4th, even stayed in 5th almost all the time. Braking was something to be careful of, but very hard braking could and was done on occasion - having driven commercial trucks, I can say you would still have more braking than a loaded semi, and those are considered legal. I have a stick shift 4.0 geared for 2200 rpm @ 75mph in 5th. The auto they put in Cherokees is a bit weak though - I would be careful if you have an auto - the 4.0 makes a lot of torque, and this is tough on trannies). The same or even higher horsepower from a less torquey engine would stress it less ( I belive they put this tranny in Toyotas, or maybe it was a Toy tranny to begin with) My friend used to overheat and spew whenever he towed his camper in Colorado, even after he added a heavy duty cooler. Even under warranty, the dealer would just change the fluid and send him on his way. So if you have the auto, get a way too big cooler for the tranny, even if you have to mask it in cool weather.
So yeah, you can do it. Stopping is the most important part, and it is within what many other loaded rigs can do. But a bigger rigs would be better, if only because they have bigger brakes ( like Toyotas have ).

I think what I will end up doing is keeping the Sami on the 31's it comes with for flat towing it and then changing over to the 35's at the trailhead. It will involve some work to do so, but I figure I'll be pulling the driveshaft anyway, why not plan on a little more work and do it right.

The 31's are street tires anyway, and the milage won't hurt as much as the 35's, plus the additional weight in the bed of the Comanche from the 35's should improve it's rear braking (there's a little brake biasing valve on the rear axle that senses weight - it's pretty cool for this kinda thing)

It will be interesting, that's for sure. I'll just plan on leaving earlier than everyone else, so I'll have time to change tires at the trailhead. At least I won't have to air down!!!!

Matt