Looking into getting a full size pickup to tow flat. Wanting opinions from those that do or have towed these. Recommendation for tow bars, mounting brackets etc. Hoping to use M&God air brake system for brakes, but all else is in the air. Looking at crew cab short bed for length.
All opinions valued and respected.
Thanks in advance,
Larry
Larry, I flat tow a jeep because it is 4 X 4 not all wheel drive but 4 wheel drive with neutral in transfer case. All trucks are not created equal when it comes to 4 wheel drive. I have an older Ford 4 X 4 that does not have a neutral in transfer case so I would have to put a disconnect on drive shaft in order to tow it. I am told the newer models of Ford and GM can have neutral in transfer case and I have driven a RAM (dodge) that does have neutral similar to my jeep. Check FMCA, they give an annual report on vehicles that are towable and what you have to do to get them ready to tow. To me the 4 X 4 with neutral in transfer case is just the simplest way to go with the least amount of additional equipment to add later
I'm sure others will chime in with their ideas --look over all of them and do what makes you comfortable and happy
Chris
Larry, we tow a 2016 F-150 4wd thru the mountains here in Colorado with no problem. It is by far the easiest vehicle I've ever had to get into tow mode and the 400 Cummins pulls it with ease. Good luck with your search.
It's not a full sized, but we tow a Chevy Colorado 4x4 diesel. Can't help with the M&G because we use AirforseOne braking system
I am towing a Chevy Silverado 4x4 with neutral, auto 4x4, low & high 4x4. Put in neutral, lock door and tow.
Larry,
I tow a Chrysler Aspen which is a full size SUV 6250 lbs. same weight as a 4X4 Dodge pick up. No problems at all. I have been towing this for 5 years. I use the ready brute tow bar rated at 8K, but it is a surge type brake, and while I am happy with it I think if I had it to do over I would use the air brake system as you only apply brakes on toad when applying brakes on coach. With the surge brake, brakes are applied with the retarder also.
Like previously posted be sure to get a unit with a transfer case that can be put in neutral.
Good luck with you search.
Jerry
Waiting until the 2020 HD2500 crew cab 4x4 comes out and then will buy one and set up to tow. Have friend that tows 2019 HD2500 Tow bar is Blueox, the 10,000 lbs model. He uses a blue ox brake device that he has to put in the from floor board. I currently towing Tahoe with Blueox 10,000 bar and air force one brake. I like the air force one because all I have to do is plug in the air hose, connect the breakaway and move the brake petal all the way forward.
I can go from driving Tahoe to ready to tow in about 5 minutes, start to finish.
I have a 2005 Yukon that I tow. The key as said above, make sure you get a rig with a transfer case that can be put into neutral.
I can be hooked up in 5 minutes and ready to go. I do use the Ready Brake system and I am happy with it. Surge brake, but it does work well and I was comfortable installing it myself.
I tow a 2015 GMC 4x4 Crew Cab (7,800lbs) with no issues here in Arizona mountains. I have a Blue Ox tow bar and Air Force One braking system. As a side note on a 6% hills I'm 3 to 5 mph slower towing my pickup.
Steve
I believe all trucks may by Ford, Gm and Dodge are flat towable. Japanese trucks are not. I tow a little Chevy sonic it's perfect. I'm not an off road guy. I know jeeps are big favorites. I did enough off roading in the army.
We tow a '15 2500HD crew cab Chevy 4X4, Blue Ox with M&G braking. It is easy to hookup and towing is not a problem either.
The only odd thing is having to disconnect the battery when towing. It is not a problem in itself but, remembering how to reset all the gizmos on the truck is a trip to the manual sometimes.
Glen
Do you know why the power has to be off?
On my Subaru it was stated that I needed to leave the key in the on position to prevent the wheel from (not really) locking. Found out later that on a Subaru the wheel only locks when the key is removed. In my system install a towing charger was added. It is powered on when the coach headlights are on and sends about 3 amps to the battery.
Chevy and Ford, 4X4 only. Chevy full size you need to verify you have (or order) a two speed transfer case.
I towed a 2007 Tahoe Z71 behind my 95 320. No problem, but you knew it was back there. And had M&G installed here in Central FL.
Bigdog
Chevrolet added an electronic steering assist and if there is power to it when you tow, it will damage it. As with all things, there are multiple ways to deal with it. Some buy a disconnect that breaks the ground when activated. I just remove the truck battery negative cable and put the M&G ground in it's place. (Simple and easy)
Glen
We tow a 2012 GMC Sierra 4x4. Shift to neutral and away we go. Don't know what the truck weighs but I also carry about a ton of tools it seems like. We use the 10,000 pound Blue Ox and had it rebuilt at Quartzsite last year after about 40,000 miles. The newer model GM started using an electronic power steering so the battery needs to be disconnected.
We use M&G on the last 3 Jeep Wranglers, 4600 Lbs. Works great.
Thanks for the clarification. Hadn't thought of electric steering.
Check Store : Remco (http://www.remcotowing.com/Towing/Store.php) to see what will work. Just for grins I put in a 4WD F150 with the diesel engine. Came back towable four down and to follow the instructions in the owner's manual.
So far, I've seen a lot of incorrect information on our Toyota RAV4. They don't list a manual transmission for our year and the year before and when they do list the manual, they say it must be trailered. The owner's manual clearly says it can be towed four down but must be idled for 5 minutes every 300 miles. Our 2005 has be flat towed since the day we purchased it. Wonder how many others they have wrong.
Pierce
For those who are buying new (or at least new enough to still have some warranty left) the owner's manual IS the authority. For those who, like us, buy used, the experience of others may be useful. The Mini Cooper line is very popular as a towed (several Foretravels have them), but the owner's manual clearly says that they are NOT towable four down.
Sales people may or may not know whether or not a particular vehicle is towable four down, so looking at resources like REMCO or FMCA can help narrow your search. Asking for the experience of people who may already tow something you are considering is also good. I'd suggest that a general RV forum, such as Escapees or RV-Dreams would be a better place to ask than a brand-specific one (like this one) since there are more people there who may have experience with what you are considering.
For a very long while, Toyota has just put out a blanket statement that NO Toyota is towable.
Subaru has this year done the same thing. Nothing on a Subaru manual transmission and transfer case system (oil bath & No pumps) has changed. It was corp lawyers.
BigDog,
Can't have been for a very long time as you can see not only from our Toyota 2005 owner's manual but also from the latest info sheet from the Toyota factory. It even lists the speed and distance before the engine must be idled before resuming towing.
Latest info from Toyota headquarters for all years/models, both automatic and manual transmissions: Is it possible to tow my Toyota with all four wheels on the ground? (http://toyota.custhelp.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/7710/~/is-it-possible-to-tow-my-toyota-with-all-four-wheels-on-the-ground%3F)
Pierce
For what it is worth, I have been towing a Toyota Avalon with a Remco Towing transmission lube pump for a decade. Even installed it myself. It is available for many vehicles.
Jim
2002 U320 42'
Probably should have clarified. I was only looking at AWD or 4x4 as I like to hit the dirt roads looking for photo oops.
Our RAV4 is AWD! As you can see on the factory recommendations png, it's limited to 55 mph while under tow. RAV4s are great for dirt roads or even trails, especially since they weight just under 3000 lbs. No low range but the gearing is slightly higher (numerically) than the 2 wheel drive models (also can be towed 4 down) Ultra reliable with going on 300K without any trouble. It's followed us to Mexico several times and across the U.S. twice behind the U300. They make 6 manual transmissions and two diesels but not for sale in the U.S. Too bad.
Pierce
The last flat tow Rav4 was 2005. And buying a used AWD/4x4 flat tow capable SUV that isn't a gas hog or already nearly worn out is getting hard.
Every Subaru that was more than two-three years old already had 100,000 miles. I swear that people must put their Subaru's on jacks and run them 24/7. Subaru and most other makers of smaller "capable" AWD are moving to un-towable CVT's. We like our Subaru because it has a more traditional transfer case and is full time AWD, In that it always has a 55F-45R split. Not the FWD that adds the rear if there is slip.
I tow a Ram 2500 crew cab 4X4 diesel with a 45 gal aux fuel tank in the bed { I had a 5th wheel). I use a blue ox 10,000 lb tow bar with air force one braking system (these came with the coach). I haven't towed it long distances or in the mountains but I am sure I will know it is back there. When my brother and I went to pick the coach up in AZ we pulled his Yukon back. He said he could tell that it was slower getting on the freeways but seemed to do good otherwise. That extra 100 hp I am sure makes a difference.
Just my two cents
I may research changing my transfer case to one with a neutral in it. I have a 2000 Ford F-250 super duty 4x4 I have owned since new. 130k miles. Thought about a drive line disconnect but my research is that the transfer case is switchable as my current one has no neutral.
Used to tow a 86 Ford F-250 4x4 long bed std cab in the 90's when I ran a country coach store.
You definitely could tell it was there.
I have a extra road-master 6k tow bar here now truck weighs 6,500 empty. Wonder if it would work safely?
Say...I have a 2000 F350 4x4 6 speed DRW 7.3. 4.10 gears The nice thing about one of these as a toad is you can put it up front and tow the coach for a change of pace!
So Ford is adamant that no wheels can be on the ground while towed. Would adding a manual xfer case and getting rid of ESOF make it towable?
I may research changing my transfer case to one with a neutral in it. I have a 2000 Ford F-250 super duty 4x4 I have owned since new. 130k miles. Thought about a drive line disconnect but my research is that the transfer case is switchable as my current one has no neutral.
[/quote]
Caflashbob, keep us posted if you do a transfer case switch, I have a 150 and have looked at drive line disconnect, but would be interested in transfer case switch
Chris
I'm towing 2018 Colorado 4x4 which has neutral in transfer case and also requires battery disconnect. I installed Roadmaster battery disconnect on positive terminal. Once installed a simple push of button to connect and disconnect from button on dash. Would work with half ton late model GM trucks. When reconnecting the dash asks you to lower and raise driver side window for some reason. After that it's happy. Radio presets are not lost.
If your hubs are not un-lockable a drive line disconnect could still damage the transfer case while the fronts were on the ground.
That's got to be the reason, thanks Craneman. Not a big deal to install manual lockers though.
The hubs are auto lock. Un locked normally. I understand it vacuum in the front housing to engage them.
Plus they have a manual lock ability on each hub.
The superduty forums long ago talked about the transfer case swap.
Last reference I read talked a our 4 different cases. One each for gas and diesel and one each for stick and auto trans.
The hole was alleged to already be in the floor for the in and out lever.
Someone posted his on the fly was wired to work and his dash light showing the boxes function lit up correctly.
Seems just to need someone who has experience doing this swap
I flat towd a 1942 Willys MB and did rock crawling for 10 years, so have researched "flat towing".
Some cautions to be aware of:
All two speed transfer cases have a neutral but some do not have a neutral indent which keeps transfer case in neutral.
Having a neutral indent in transfer case does not mean the vehicle can safely be flat towed - it depends.
The problem here is twofold: lubrication and what is spinning?
Some transfer cases do not have sufficient lubrication when being flat towed in neutral.
Some manual transmissions do not have sufficient lubrication when being flat towed in neutral.
Some transfer case shifting causes front drive shaft engagement when in neutral, some do not.
Auto front hub lockers can become engage when being flat towed - not good.
manufacturer indicate that a vehicle cannot be flat towed does not mean it cannot be safely flat towed.I flat towed a 1984 Bronco II, which Ford indicated could not be flat towed. I over filled the Dana 18 transfer case with Ford automatic transmission fluid and towed it thousands of miles, and so did many others. The front drive shaft was not engaged when the transfer case was in neutral which I liked.
I flat towed a 1998 Suzuki X90 automatic which Suzuki indicated could be flat towed after auto lock front hubs were replaced with manual hubs, which I did. The front drive shaft was engaged and spinning when transfer case was in neutral so I would disconnect the rear drive shaft at the rear diff when doing long tows.
i flat tow a 1984 Toyota Supra automatic, which of course Toyota says cannot be done. I installed a drive shaft disconnect and boy, does it ever turn heads when being towed. I have owned this car for 24 years and it has 85,000 miles.
I also flat tow a 2015 Jeep Wrangler automatic, which Chrysler indicates can be flat towed. Note that not all Jeep Wrangler can be flat towed, only the ones with the 4WD transfer case, not the ones with the AWD transfer case.
The front drive shaft is spinning even though it is not engaged at the transfer case, because the front wheels are always connected to the half shafts (no front wheel locking hubs).
Thanks for the input from everyone. I need all the info I can get for my learning curve.
Larry