Tony D Posted December 13, 2006 Share Posted December 13, 2006 TonyD,I think I want to bolt to more than just the bumper struts, though (I pushed them in and ran a bolt through the side so the bumper is tucked a bit closer to the body) Little anecdotal quip herre, if "Strength of the Struts" is an issue with you (it seems to be making you hesitate, so this story should help). Mike M. from ZC.C came out to my place to pick up an 82 ZXT (Five Speed)that I was storing for him after buying it in a private sale. While driving through Oklahoma he hit black ice. Now, he was towing the 82 ZXT with a KA24 Powered Five Speed 2001 Frontier. Er.... Yeah----what's the Nissan Towing Recomendation with that setup...like 1500#??? Anyway, the truck was in cruise, and when he hit the black ice, he semi-jacknifed the whole rig, the ZXT pushing the rear of his truck along on the ice, as he headed for the shoulder. The side of the cab took out mile marker 88 on I40, and when the right rear wheel hit the jagged nub of the sign, it blew the tire, making the rim DIG into the shoulder, starting the truck in a FLIP. The Towbar, connected with ONE bolt through each bumper strut, was PULLED OVER ON IT'S SIDE as both the truck and 82 ZXT flipped up onto the passenger's side, and slid along the wet grass for a distance. When the tow truck arrived, they uncoupled the two vehicles by unhooking to towbar from the ball, dragged the truck clear so nothing would hit, and pushed them back over wheels-down "upright", the ZXT suprisingly not messed up on the side it was sliding upon, but the "pull up point" was a little deformed... They reconnected the vehicles, and he continued towing back to the far end of Kentucky, same towbar. Then he UPS'd my towbar back.... I have towed at least three mover vehicles with the same towbar since. It's a trooper! Those struts are TOUGH. If you have one 1/2" (12mm) bolt through the strut assembly I doubt HIGHLY you will shear it. And from the above example, you can see those towbars WILL HEAVE a car over by their bumper struts! That seems to me to be a "decent and acceptable" torture test. BTW, that towbar folds flat, and will fit in a space 8X8X36" (maybe)...will that fit in the typical USMC Footlocker? LOL Anyway, I know it fits under the back seat of my F250SD Cab-and-a-Half. Just in case you are iffy on what the combination will actually do in an accident... I had bitchen celphone photos Mike sent me that evening, just no way to transfer them! Thinking about it, SECOND ANECDOTAL STORY: When packing up the 280's for Frank280ZX's Sea Container, we hooked the chains through the holes in the struts, and lifted the cars up into the Sea Container by the bumper struts. We actually suspended the cars weight dangling by them for some time while figuring out what to do next. Eventually we suspended som cars from the struts with chains to the sidewalls from the bumper struts, and used the "tiedown points" on the body for crosschaining to keep sway under control. This went over-the-road from my place to Long Beach, then onboard a ship, through the Panama Canal, and to Amsterdam... Parts are well engineered, just don't tow with Junk. I am very happy with the Valley Towbar I bought back in 95... It was actually cheaper than the Tow Dolly from U-Haul at the time...which is why I bought it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paz8 Posted December 13, 2006 Share Posted December 13, 2006 TwoEightyThreeZ, why don't ya get a large car carrier and bring back to Pa some of those "rust free" Z cars that are laying around all over Calif. like eveyone tells us. Just messing with ya, PM me when your back home. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twoeightythreez Posted February 17, 2007 Share Posted February 17, 2007 THanks for all your advice, I just anted up and drove it back...no probs until I hit 78, that's right, 2950 miles uneventful, 43 miles from Allentown and we got hit with "Pennsylvania's Katrina" (not disaster wise---I mean in state government mismanagement)...14 hours stuck on a travel lane in the interstate, I have vids, just have to upload them and you guys can enjoy. My youtube ID is the same as my hybrid ID. The videos have not posted yet for some reason, I'm still trying. Have fun! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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