How to Tow Cars in Project Zomboid

One of the most useful editions to Project Zomboid was the inclusion of vehicles to get around the map. Now that they have been included in the base game of Project Zomboid, they are a must-have for any survivor wishing to travel great distances on the map. One of the bad things about them however is that you will often find the vehicles in not such a great condition. For this, we will have to level up mechanics and put our grease-monkey skills to the test. But what about when you need to get that wreck to the shop?

In build 41, the ability to tow cars has been added to the game. You will no longer have to fix up that old heap in the middle of a zombie-infested road. Now you can tow the vehicle to wherever you want to work on it. How do you tow vehicles in Project Zomboid? Read on to find out.


How to Tow Cars in Project Zomboid Build 41

Let’s get straight to the point here. Nobody likes a fleshed out, wordy article. I’ll start with a quick step-by-step to those who have already played the game a lot and go into more detail underneath with images.

Step-By-Step Guide to Towing Vehicles

  1. Back the car you want to tow with up close to the car you want to tow
  2. Get out and go to where the cars meet
  3. Hold V to open up the radial menu and select the option to attach the vehicles (on the left)
  4. Release the menu and the vehicles will be attached
  5. Drive the first car as normal and you can now tow vehicles around

More Detailed Guide to Towing Cars (With Pictures)

To tow vehicles in Project Zomboid first a vehicle you want to tow and a vehicle to tow it with.

It will help to have a larger, more powerful vehicle towing the smaller one. Most smaller cars cannot tow larger ones. A pickup will be pretty good at towing almost anything.

Back the vehicle up quite close to the vehicle you wish to tow. You can tow vehicles from the front or the back, it does not matter which you decide to tow. Make sure you are backing up to either the front or the back of the other vehicle as you obviously cannot tow them from the side.

A pickup towing a van in Project Zomboid Build 41

Now, walk to the area inbetween the cars. It will help if you stay a little closer to the car that you actually want to tow. Now that you are here, hold the V key to open up the vehicle radial menu. Now, select the option which reads Attach “Car 1” to “Car 2”. You will see a large plus symbol here. See the image below.

Attaching a vehicle to another to tow them in Project Zomboid

Once you release the V key the two cars will be attached together. You can return to the first vehicle and now tow your second car wherever you wish to go. You can use this method to take cars from other players in multiplayer or take cars that won’t start back to your base.


How to Stop Towing a Vehicle in Project Zomboid

So now you know how to tow cars around when you want to get them somewhere, but how do you release them? Well the process is more or less the same as actually attaching the vehicle. If you’ve managed to crash hard enough, chances are you’ve detached the vehicle yourself accidentally. If it is till attached and you want to get it off, simply go to the back of the car and once again hold the V key to open the radial vehicle menu. Here you will see the option to detach the car. This time it will be a minus sign instead of a plus.

Detaching a car once it has been towed in Project Zomboid

How to Tow Trailers in Project Zomboid Build 41

You may have also come across some trailers in your adventures in Project Zomboid. The good news is that these are also usable vehicles as well. You can store many items inside the trailers. They are great to have on the back of a car for looting purposes. These can also be towed in the same way that cars can be towed in Project Zomboid. Just back up to them, hold the V key to open up the menu and attach the trailer through this. You can tow trailers with basically any vehicle in the game as they are small and light.

an offroad vehicle towing a trailer in Project Zomboid build 41

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5 thoughts on “How to Tow Cars in Project Zomboid”

  1. Wow! I can tow? And they’ve added trailers? Hell of a good news! Thanks Jeff)
    And once again I start dreaming of a fuel trucks, especially small cute towable ones. Looks like FRUC mod have at least one.
    Oh, and a semi-trailer.. to loot entire factories in one raid.. and run over a myriads of zeds with no speed penalty and .. sweet heavies.

    • Yes I had the same reaction when I played on this version of the game as well. I was going to mention the mod then I saw you already know about it.

      My biggest dream for Project Zomboid modding is a caravan or RV with an interior you can actually enter and walk around in….

      Thanks!

      • I’ve known just of one of the mods featuring such vehicles.
        I think it’s always worth to mention any good mods known. With all its complexity and difficulty PZ is a kind of game for adults, and many of adults are busy for almost entire day with fulltime employment and household chores. So we have a very limited time for the game and all about. That’s why good article or good point are always welcome)

        Btw, just spent weekend looking for mods on fuel/cargo semitrailers and eventually found a few more (cut off links or the entire section if it doesn’t fit your rules of commenting):
        (this list is of poor quality; all mods are declared to be 41.65 MP compatible; though didn’t tested any by myself yet)
        – ’82 Oshkosh M911 + Military Semi-Trailers — heavy tractor + 5 fully functioning semitrailers (4 cargo, 1 fuel tanker); all this semitrailers are towable only by this tractor; + other minor features — https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2618213077
        – Containers! — ISO cargo and fuel containers, fully functional; towable by most vehicles, according to the author (despite containers have no wheels) — https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2625625421
        – Filibuster Rhymes’ Used Cars! — some middle-sized wagons, some fuel trucks, and many more vehs; has declared compat issues; — https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1510950729
        – Autotsar Trailers [MP updated] — some cargo semitrailers, one small fuel semitrailer, generator semitrailer (connectable), mobile home semitrailer (can’t be entered nor functionally altered; has built-in oven, fridge, tv-radio, …) — https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2282429356

        Got thought of enterable mobile homes too, but all of mobile homes’ implementations I’ve found as of today was not enterable and no clue if it’s even planned or possible to be. What we know about PZ engine leads to conclusion that vehicles with building-like interiors are a feature far away from even proof of concept implementation.

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