Towing and trailers in Project Zomboid

Towing needs no rope or tow bar. Two vehicles are linked through the vehicle radial menu, as in Build 41.

1. Park the tow vehicle in a straight line with the target, bumper to bumper with a small gap. Both must be on the same level.
2. Get out and stand between the two vehicles.
3. Hold V (the default vehicle radial key, see controls) and pick the plus icon, labeled "Attach [towed vehicle] to [your vehicle]".
4. Wait for the short timed action. It fails if both sides of the hitch are blocked.

The label names the tow point in brackets, (Rear) or (Front). Most cars and trucks have both, so you can pull from your rear bumper or push from your nose. Trailers hitch to the rear of the tow vehicle only. The option only appears when the two tow points are close and roughly lined up.

If the option is missing in multiplayer, the server may have switched towing off. Three server options exist: DisableTrailerTowing, DisableVehicleTowing and DisableBurntTowing. See hosting a server.

The towed vehicle does not need an engine, a battery, fuel or a key. A stripped car, a crashed wreck and a burnt-out shell all attach the same way. What matters is the engine power of the vehicle doing the pulling, the combined weight, and tire pressure on both vehicles. PZwiki notes that pulling power follows horsepower, which is why a sports car can out-tow a heavier truck on a paved road. One guide suggests 400 hp or more for comfortable towing (one source).

A worn engine delivers less than these base figures, so check the real number in the mechanics panel. The full table is on the vehicle list.

Opinion Use a heavy-duty pickup or van for everyday towing. Sports cars have the power but little trunk space, and most trailer runs end on grass or gravel.

Crashed and burnt wrecks are the hardest loads. Players report a 400 hp pickup crawling at 10 to 15 km/h with a crashed car behind it (one source). Flat tires on the wreck are the usual cause.

Sources disagree on the Sunday Driver trait. One guide says it blocks towing completely, while PZwiki, writing about Build 41, says it only makes towing far slower because of the lower acceleration, and that Speed Demon helps. Test it first (see traits and occupations).

Build 42 has five trailer records: the open trailer, the covered trailer, the advert trailer, the horse trailer and the livestock trailer. The last two are new in Build 42 and carry animals instead of general cargo.

Weights for the three cargo trailers are PZwiki figures. Other fan sites quote a script mass of 200 for the same trailers, so treat the weight as approximate. PZwiki also gives trailers a top speed of 70 (one source). Nobody can ride in a trailer. It is extra storage only.

Cargo trailers spawn mostly in traffic accident scenes, with four-lane highways the most likely place (one source). Some are still hitched to a wrecked car, and if that car is too damaged the trailer cannot be released until the wreck is dismantled. Animal trailers turn up in the same accident scenes, often with animals already inside. Players also report undamaged ones at the livestock farms and large farm buildings around Irvington and in the countryside west of Riverside (one source).

A damaged trailer can lose cargo in a crash. It is repaired like a car trunk (see welding).

Horse and livestock trailers have an animal compartment that is separate from normal cargo. A forum report puts the limit at 500 weight of animals (one source), and another player found two small shelves of 10 and 20 for feed and eggs (one source). No source gives a fixed head count.

1. Hitch the trailer and park with its rear doors facing the animals.
2. Carry chickens and other small animals by hand. Lead cows, sheep and pigs to the doors on a rope.
3. Stand at the back of the trailer, hold V and choose the option to add an animal.
4. At home, park inside the fenced pen, remove the animals through the same menu and close the gate.

If an animal is not offered in the menu, you are too far from the doors or the trailer is full. Animals add real weight. One player reached 50 with a bull and a cow behind a 400 hp pickup (one source). Patch 42.6.0 fixed a bug with animals in trailers, and 42.8 is said to have made livestock trailers tip less (one source). Pen setup and feeding are covered on the animals page.

• Speed and power. Acceleration and top speed drop with the combined weight. Fuel use rises, so carry a spare can (see fuel).
• Braking. Stopping distances grow. Brake early and in a straight line.
• Turning. Start turns wide and early, and hold a steady throttle through them. A sharp turn at speed can jackknife or roll the trailer.
• Tires. Low pressure on either vehicle is the most common reason a tow barely moves. Pump every tire before you set off.

Reversing with a trailer is awkward. Some players hitch the load to the front tow point and drive backwards to place it. Grass and gravel cut speed further.

To detach, stand between the vehicles, hold V and pick the minus icon. Detach before you swap to another tow point and before you log out or walk far away.

Physics can react badly when linked vehicles overlap, so do not attach in a tight garage. In single player, debug mode can remove a stuck vehicle.

Clearing roads. Wrecks at accident scenes block lanes on the routes you drive most. Hitch each one, drag it onto the shoulder and detach. If a wreck is too heavy to pull, try pushing it from the front tow point.

Car walls. Many players line up dead cars nose to tail to close off a street or yard. Zombies do not smash parked vehicles the way they break player-built walls, so the line needs no upkeep. Opinion Treat a car wall as a strong outer fence, not a sealed barrier. Overlap the bumpers and back it up with built walls where it matters (see base building). Whether crawling zombies can pass under vehicles in the current build is not confirmed.