How do! Does anyone know of a site that has information on Vehicle flat towing laws or regulations? I have seen tons of opinions. Put, everyone has one of those. <br>I just do not have the facts book. I have never had a problem, nor have any of the other four wheel drive owners that I know. But, the way states vary, I felt I had best find out before I have a nice trip become not so nice.<br>Thanks! ???

 

Are you referring to &quot;toads&quot;? If so, have you looked over at rv.net? Or asked there? I'm sure there are plenty of folks pulling toads all over the USA+ that may have an answer for you.<br><br>You could always call State Highway Patrol of the state(s) you are travelling through and ask them.<br><br>Personally, I would think that flat towing would fall under the same height, length, width requirements as any other trailer. And as long as your combination pulls behind you safely, no one would bother you. But as you said, we all have opinions.

 

Not sure what &quot;flat&quot; towing is ???

 

Bearfoot2<br>Flat towing is when you tow a vehicle behind and all four wheels are on the ground. It is done with a towbar. I guess that the only question that I have is about break-away brakes. IF they are required, how in the world do you get them to work??????<br>Tom

 

[quote author=MnTom link=board=11;threadid=12136;start=0#115135 date=1047507581]<br>Bearfoot2<br>Flat towing is when you tow a vehicle behind and all four wheels are on the ground. It is done with a towbar. I guess that the only question that I have is about break-away brakes. IF they are required, how in the world do you get them to work??????<br>Tom<br>[/quote]<br><br><br>This is just a guess, but is there someway to hook up something to the tow vehicles emergency brake cable?<br>In the event the tow vehicle becomes detatched, the tow vehicles emergency brake cable is pulled?<br> ???<br><br>Rich

 

The really pricey flat tow setups come with breakaway systems designed into them. A friend of mine pulled his 89-90 F150 Lightning behind his 36' Sea Breeze (Ford V10 chassis). His setup cost a mint because it had a driveshaft disconnect for the truck and an actuator that hooked to the truck's brakes that included an emergency lock down breakaway for emergency use. <br><br>Sadly he is no longer with us or I could get details to post.<br>

 

I would normally be flat towing my Jeep CJ7 behind my CTD and often with my 9'6&quot; Lance camper on the truck. Have down it once so far and it did great, even in the mountains of Western Maryland.<br>While stopping does not seem to pose any problem, thus far. It is my hope to eventually get an exhaust brake for the truck, at least for piece of mind.<br>When I tow, I have a safety chain from the tow bar to the truck and from the tow bar to the Jeep. Around here, I believe it is only required from the towing vehicle to the tow bar. <br>One thought was a tow dolly with electric brakes. But folks that I know that have them say they get squirelly. A small car trailer would be great. But, one do not have that kind of cash. Two, that adds about another 1600 lbs, as a rule. Still might eventually go that way, as I would have brakes on that as well. <br>I just did not see any sites on flat towing. Making the brakes work while towing that Jeep would pose an interesting challenge.<br>Driving conservatively goes a long way, as well.<br>That Jeep is not so light. But, still, you hardly know it is there, most of the time.<br>This I do know from experience and common sense. The straighter plain that tow bar is on between your towed rig and your tow rig, the better the handling and the easier on your truck's drive line.<br>Standard shift Jeeps tow good, as a rule. Steering unlocked, transmission and transfer case in full neutral and that's it.<br>I rigged it up so I can break line going to the tail lights on the Jeep and plug in a cable so the truck lights run the Jeep tail lights. <br>Remember if you flat tow an automatic, that usually, you need to remove the drive shaft, due to a lack of lubrication.<br>But, with 4x4's check with your owner's manual. Jeep, at least, will have instruction in the manual.<br>Thanks for the replies.

 

I went to the Florida DOT page and found a page for the Class D drivers license. I was trying to search &quot;Flat Towing&quot; and then &quot;Towing&quot;. Anyway, it said if you tow a vehicle or trailer weighing more than 3000 lbs, it must have brakes that will activate in the event the trailer comes away from the towing vehicle. Here's the web page if you want to look. <br><br>http://www.hsmv.state.fl.us/handbook...sh/ch_206.html<br><br>I think you can do the same thing with most any state you have a question about. <br><br>Dave<br><br>

 

Thanks for that info. So, that brings up the next question. Who sells the parts one would need to make the vehicle brakes work like that. Suppose, I could rig up something with the emergency brake cable.<br>Hmm, drill a hole in the floor of the Jeep and hook a cable up to the emergency brake peddle arm. If the Jeep pulls away, the cable gets pulled and it sets the brake.<br>I bet that is DOT approved, he, he...<br>I bet it would work though.<br>Thanks, again.<br>See ya!

 

NOT with your emergency brake. Look at readybrake.com and all your questions will be answered. I have their brake system, and break away brake system installed on our Grand Cherokee and if I didn't trailer the CJ-7, I would buy the extra cable and install it on it. This is a great inexpensive system, and is easy to install. And you can use it on different vehicles.<br><br>Robin