From: Caleb Pal - MilVeh (m1009@defcon-3.net)
Date: Wed Feb 16 2005 - 15:24:01 PST
Hello,
About a week and a half ago me and my brother flat towed a M1009 for a
distance of roughly 150-180 miles. We used a Military tow bar (Only way to
go) that hooks into the front shackle points. This is a very sturdy system,
and was very stable even at 70-75 MPH. Other civy tow bars are very crummy,
and not very long. The Mil tow bar we used was extended to roughly 7 feet,
and worked great. We used a 2001 GMC Sierra half ton pickup to tow it. It
has a 5.3 vortec in it, and towed it alright. Once it kicked down and got in
the powerband it towed alright. The only thing that is bad about flat towing
it is the brakes. The Sierra has anti-lock discs all around, and it wasn't a
huge problem to stop, but your stopping distance is lengthened a LOT, and
you want to keep a good long following distance. We ended up going when it
was raining, bad visibility, and 120 miles of our trip was on Interstate 5,
which belive me is a lot of fun. Not something I would do again under the
same conditions. It can be done, but do it carefully. We cruised at anywhere
from 45-65 on the freeway, and had to go 70+ once to get past someone. The
M1009 tracked VERY nice behind us, never had any problems. Make sure a key
is in the ignition and the steering wheel is unlocked. I would reccomend
using a good sized truck with a diesel, the Sierra worked, but wasn't ideal.
Just take it easy, and be ready that your trip could take more than 6 hours.
Stop often and check everything. For lights we used a magnetic tow light set
like tow trucks use, which worked great.
Good luck,
Caleb
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