Those of you that have flat towed a vehicle. How much larger/heavier of a vehicle do you need to tow with?

I'm not talking bare minimum, I'm talking being able to safely, confortablly drive 70-75 across the country.

I was thinking about gettig a truck, borrowing a trailer and towing the Kick out, but I do not realy need/want a truck sitting in the driveway. Then I thought about a newer Kick/Tracker with a V6. That I could get, daily drive it and sell the X-90 :-/ I know that an Grand Vitara/ XL-7 is not enough to tow on a trailer, but what about flat towing?

What would be the Pros-Cons to flat towing compared to on a trailer?

Thanks Zig

What would be the Pros-Cons to flat towing compared to on a trailer?

Thanks Zig

FLat towing v/s Trailer.  

I can backup and turn around in a drive way on a narrow country road with a 34' Camper towing a 18' Deck tandem (just under 60' total legnth).   Can't do that flat towing.  

Good reasons not to flat tow:
    1. Not being able to steer backing up
    2. Miles on the towed vehicle.
    3. Only true neutral is to remove the D-shaft
    4. Trail breakage /carnage or drive train faliure can
         leave you stranded.
    5. Some Toll Highways do not allow flat towing (mainly up North)

My main concern for a tow rig is brakes & engine cooling.  Otherwise my S-10 4dr with the 4.3L would do fine.  

I'd say a good 1/2 ton truck would be minium for a 3k# vehicle for cross country.  I would do it in less but would not consider asking some one else to.  

The not backing up would get annoying. I did not think about that. The mileage I do not care about because I'm already WAY over 200K and plan on driving it in the ground, pulling all the good parts off and putting it on another. Trail Carnage :-/ That would be a definate question. But what would I have to tear up to strand me. Rear shaft (31sp alloy Curie 9", nah) front end? Bent tie rods, bearings, tires, AHHHH.

Sorry just thinking as I type: What about LOCKERS? I dont mind pulling the drive shaft to tow but what about the rear locker? Will that cause any problems?

Zig

The not backing up would get annoying. I did not think about that.

Sorry just thinking as I type: What about LOCKERS? I dont mind pulling the drive shaft to tow but what about the rear locker? Will that cause any problems?

Zig

We flat towed our Zuki 800 miles to Moab and didn't feel contrained about not being able to back up.  If you think about it, how often would you backup on a road trip with a trailer anyway?  You pull through the gas pumps, you find a  pull through spot to park at a hotel, and/or at a restaurant, basically it behaves just like it would with a trialer anyway.   Plus you can always disconnect and push the trucklet.  They're light enough to push on flat ground with ease.

I liked the reduced wind drag of not having a jacked up vehicle above my truck wind line.  (the object in tow is as short as it can be to save gas milage.)

We ran a detriot locker in the towed vehicle all the way and had no problems.  (its acting just like it would if I drove it)

The only concern was trail carnage.  Lukely, we're full floater now so it'd have to be some serious damage to not be able to flat tow home.

Since we have a Sammy t-case in our kick, which engages both front and rear in neutral, we did have to pull both drive shafts, which wasn't a problem (8 bolts)

But I think that flat towing has some major advantages over trailer towing it.

~Nate

I have towed my samurai over three thousand miles with no problems,I just pull the rear drive shaft and if I need to drive it I just lock in the front hubs and put it in 4wd to do short errands or move it,you could look into a tow dolly, those are light just real wide.

when i tried to rent a tow dolly from Uhaul to tow my tracker with my s10  they said that the tower had to way atleast 700lbs more that the towee but i towed a sidekick 100miles behind my tracker no problems

A 1/2 ton truck will do it fine. so would a dakota or even a toyota with a v6.

I flat towed a CJ% with 35's and detroits from Canada down the I5 to the Rubicon. It towed great and we only had one or two situations where backing up required unhooking the Jeep. If its set-up properly this is easy.

A bonus was we had a starter problem with my dodge diesel so my buddy hopped in the Jeep and pushed started me every morning! worked great! I would pull the rear drive shaft right out though and just use front WD if you need to move the tracker around on the road.

Oh we did have another problem on the way home we tweeked the tie rod on the Rubicon(read as bent really bad and tried to straighten it) and it had a pretty good toe in, if we took slow tight corners the front wheels on the CJ wanted to f%&k off in the opposite direction!!!  

I have a 16' flat-bed that I pull behind my Dakota, when I take the Gnewt to Moab.

The fact that the trailer has brakes makes a big difference to me.

I towed my tackick with a tow dolly behind my 4 popper taco. Never had any issues with it. I'd feel comfortable towing a good distence. Only thing is POWER, or lack there of.....

Not really about flat towing, but about towing, nonetheless.

Would a 1/2 ton pickup do fine pulling about 4k lbs altogether (including trailer), or would it be better to use a 3/4 ton truck?

Two year ago while heading down to Zookimelt, we took a detour through the blue ridge mountains, saw some relatives in Nouth Carolina, and then ended up at Zookimelt.

I had a heavy 16' trailer, 6' truck bed with a topper that was filled front to back, top to bottom.  Also with 2 adults and two  kids.

Did mention we did this for 2 weeks!!!!

Anyway, I have a 97 1/2 ton GMC.  Never had any problem with any of the mountains or anything else.

1/2 ton will work well for 4-5K lbs. Lookin to get a early 90's F-150 with the straight six and a 5spd for the tow bitch!  

Good reasons not to flat tow:
    1. Not being able to steer backing up
   

Ok stupid Question time - Why can't you back it while flat towing ??

If you have an A-frame secured to the front wouldn't the force of the vehicle pushing back cause the front tires to  follow the direction of the force from the towing rig  

Those of you that have flat towed a vehicle. How much larger/heavier of a vehicle do you need to tow with?

I'm not talking bare minimum, I'm talking being able to safely, confortablly drive 70-75 across the country.

I was thinking about gettig a truck, borrowing a trailer and towing the Kick out, but I do not realy need/want a truck sitting in the driveway. Then I thought about a newer Kick/Tracker with a V6. That I could get, daily drive it and sell the X-90 :-/ I know that an Grand Vitara/ XL-7 is not enough to tow on a trailer, but what about flat towing?

What would be the Pros-Cons to flat towing compared to on a trailer?

Thanks Zig

I was thinking the same thing a couple of years ago. I didn't really need or want a truck. So I started to eye some of the bigger V8 cars. I wanted something that I could use for a nice everyday vehicle as well. I decided to get a used Cadillac. I have a 97 DeVille Concours. It has a 300 horse V8 and all of the little extras that make a road trip nice. Since getting the car I have put about 60,000 miles on it. In these miles I have towed my Harley in an enclosed trailer at 75 mph all the way to Daytona Beach. That's about 1400 miles one way. I have flat towed my Samurai to Ouray Colorado. That was about 950 miles one way. Another trip I flat towed the zuk out to Moab. Again 1000 miles one way. I also have a couple of shorter Harley hauling trips, about 1000 miles round trip. The whole time dragging the zuk at 80 mph, with the cruise set. I was really suprised how well it pulled through the mountains of Colorado. One of the passes is like 11,000 feet too. I was able to maintain at least 40 mph no matter how steep the grade. All of this while getting about 14 mpg. The whole set-up pulls and drives great. The zuk tracks the car and the car is wide enough that the regular door mirrors allow you to see around the zuk. You could easily forget it was back there. If it wasn't for the rearview mirror.

Now here is one of the benefits to having the car while not towing. I get about 23-25 mpg with the cruise set at 80 mph, and the A/C on while having all of the leather I could want, all of the power accessories, a CD changer and still have room for my gear. Since I have the Concours model, it has a little more HP than the regular DeVille. Also, it has a oil cooler and self leveling rear suspension. I would also tell you that this car really hauls a$$. I am suprised at the speed it can do. Not that you need to speed. But when no one was looking I was on a empty two lane road and could see a few miles ahead of me. I decided to put the pedal down just to see how fast it would go. I was expecting the car to shut down at 111 mph. I thought I read that somewhere. Anyway I blew past 100 mph like it was nothing, and kept going to 130 mph. I thought that was enough and I kinda liked having a license and living, so I let off the pedal. Once I let off, it shifted into overdrive. So I don't know how much more it had, but I had enough. I will just have to imagine.

I am sure that some of you will think that they are expensive and cost alot to get repaired. Well, they are just like Samurais and Track/Kicks. You can get a great car if you shop around a little and do a little homework. I think you could get the same model as mine with less than 100k miles for around $7000. That really isn't that bad I don't think. I have found Cadillac forums similar to the zuk stuff too. They are all Caddy fans, and seem to know all of the tricks and repairs, how to read and clear codes without going to the dealer. If you look under the hood of a Caddy, they seem a little intimidating. That's because they have all of the dress up trim on the motor. Most of that stuff is easily removed and then you can see what you need too. I have had some repairs done and I think the most expensive thing was the water pump. That is because you need a special too to remove the pumps insides. The pump comes apart, it is not like removing, and replacing. Anyway enough babbling. I really have been satisfied with the car. Daily driving, traveling, towing and reliability. I don't have any complaints. Except one, sometimes people get the wrong idea about me. They think that I have money. That couldn't be any farther from the truth. I can't use this car when I am going to look at  a used zuk or track/kick. They won't deal or drop the price cause they see what I drove up in. You will still need a stealth car for wheeling and dealing. It may not be the vehicle for you, but I thought I would let you know what I use for towing.

Also as far as flat towing. That is how I get my Samurai to some of my 4 wheeling places. I don't think the backing up thing is really an issue. Yes there will be times it could be, but I drive a truck for a living, and I don't back it up unless I have to. I find that a pull thru spot or pull thru pumps are easily accessable. You may even find that you have to go around the block to leave somewhere, but I think the amount of times you have to back up and can't are minimal. As suggested if you flat tow, go ahead and pull the driveshaft. It really isn't that bad. Good Luck with you choice. Jeff

isn't the caddy wrong wheel drive?