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Pirate01's avatar
Pirate01
Explorer
Feb 28, 2017

Class C What do I need to know about Dingy tow?

Brand new RVers - started August 16. We've been to 3 parks and I had one extended 4 night stay at work to support Super Bowl. We noticed as others have that once you're in the park and set up you're kind of stuck. I started looking for an RV dingy. We have a 30 ft Jayco GreyHawk. I was looking for something that could haul 4 adults to the grocery store or sightseeing around area - 30 miles max and was light.

I found a 1987 Suzuki Samurai/ 2300 lbs. I've been reading about dingy towing and see that the samurai is a favorite. I've seen some with sway bar hitches and others without.

I'm a cheap bast*&d so I just grabbed a $100 tow bar but I did hook the lighting to the existing vehicle lights.
I've done two test drives. One with my Ford F150 and the other with the Jayco. Both times the vehicle tows like butter.

Am I missing something? Do I need sway bars?
  • There is a whole forum on this site dedicated to dinghy towing... Maybe you should ask that this thread be moved there for better visibility.
  • I pull a Honda CRV 4x4. You need some type of brakes on that toad. If you get in an accident your hanging out there if you didn't have surge and breakaway brakes on that toad. I used a Readybrake system. It's the cheapest one I found and it works good. I was more concerned with a breakaway. I didn't want my CRV becoming an unguided missile speeding down the interstate looking to crash into a bus load on nuns. I can't stress enough how much this will hurt your quality of life if you don't get toad brakes and something goes wrong. Most states require a breakaway system to stop the toad if it gets loose. Some states require surge braking as well. I bought mine through Walmart.com. It was pretty cheap and made the drive stress free. The surge braking really helps those hard stops as well. If your standing on the brakes without surge braking it puts excessive pressure on that tow bar where it's on the ball. Again, liability..
  • I "assume" you have read the owner's manual under recreational towing to verify it is towable 4 down and what the specific procedure is?
    bumpy
  • Flat towing a Zuke myself, I find it very easy. Any simple tow bar will do as long as it's attached well. Make sure you use all the appropriate safety chains, lights, brakes, etc.

    Depending on terrain, you may want to add a braking system to the Zuke. I, and my friends who also have the Sammi, use the Ready Brake from NSA. It installs in-line with your truck and the ball. When the towed vehicle pushes on the ball as the truck brakes, a lever operates that is tied to the towed vehicle's brake pedal.

    You'll want lighting on the Zuke as well. There are at least 3 options as the three of us that tow our Zukes use different methods. I used a packaged diode system. Remove each of the rear tail lenses and tie in this little box to the existing wires, then run a flat wire 4-pin used in most trailers to the truck and you are done. It's an all inclusive kit and the sell at several places. I got mine at e-trailer.

    Here are a few tips on towing the Samurai specifically;
    1. Make sure you unlock the steering column. You'll need to turn the key to the run position. However, this will power up all the accessories and could drain the battery. If, after you've unlocked the steering, turn the key back to off BUT DO NOT REMOVE THE KEY, then the lock will stay unlocked and the accessories won't be powered up.

    2. Make sure your transfer case is in neutral and transmission is in 2nd gear. You'll hear all sorts of war stories on how the transfer case 'slipped' into gear. Bullpucky!! Either they didn't make sure it was in neutral or they used the Zuke as a trailer and loaded it up, something shifted and the transfer case was nudged into gear. Some folks will claim it's better to just unbolt the driveline at the rear diff. and tie it up. But if the transfer case does 'slip' into gear and the driveline is attached to the transfer case alone, it will beat the **** out of the under side of your Zuke and you'll never know. Happened to a buddy of mine. Took out brake lines and other vitals.

    3. Be sure you unlock the front hubs. Don't just assume. Kids or others might have locked one or both without your knowledge. Check every time.

    4. If you have a hard top or tin top, consider a rack for stowing extra gear instead of the inside of the Zuke.

    5. Consider a battery disconnect. Some folks are uncomfortable leaving the key in their Zuke while towing. A battery disconnect is extra protection from theft.

    6. Consider a rear view camera to keep an eye on your Zuke while towing. Behind a Class C, you'll never see it. If there's a problem, how would you know? I use a wireless camera system and a mag mount camera so I can move it around. For example, I can put it inside the Zuke aimed at the brake pedal to see if the brake system works. I can aim it at the hitch to see if it's behaving right, or I can aim it at the general area to see if a tire or steering issue is present.