I want to buy another truck for wheeling. I live in Alabama part of the year and Nc the other part of the year. I was wondering if it is ok to use either a towbar or a dolly to go back and forth(on a regular basis). How bad are these for a 4wheel drive. I realize that a flatbed trailer is the best way to tow a trail rig, but as with alot of others money is tight.

 

ive towed a 4wd with a flat bar a couple of times.

transfer case in N and tranny in N

for the ultimate in "feeling good about it" pull the drive shafts (least the end that connects to the axle)

 

Ah, flat towing. Yet one more reason I want to build a full floating rear axle.

I'd second pulling the driveshaft(s). Not 100% needed, but for the 20min it'll take to get them off, you can avoid huge problems if something slips into gear.

 

As with the 2 above, definitely put the transfer case & tranny in neutral..

if you're going to be towing a 4wd toyota, there's a section about towing the vehicle (using different methods other than flat as well) in the owner's manual.

 

Just do not ever tow a 4x4 or awd with just the front or rear wheels off the ground.

 

we towed my bros 84 pickup on 35s from miami to atl on a tow dolly from uhaul with the rear dshaft out and both tranny/tcase in N. No problems whatsoever

 

Actually, t-case in 2H is the best, neutral on the part time t-case is actually a 4WD neutral, front and rear shafts are turning. And best to pull the rear shaft (at the axle is all that is needed), see the 2nd Q&A at:
- http://www.4crawler.com/4x4/TLCA_Tru...ech.05.03.html

 

If you d/c the rear drive shaft and put the hubs in free does it matter what gear the trans and x-fer are in??

 

Obviously not as nothing will happen to move either driveshaft.

 

Thats what I thought, just wanted to make shure I did not miss something.

 

How do you go about this with a A.D.D. equipped rig?

 

also, if you unbolt the driveshafts from the axles, be sure to make marks for lining them up for balancing issues. sometimes it is a problem, sometimes it isn't. Best to play it safe.

 

ADD doesnt do anything unless the engine puts a vacuum to it, Only time you have to worry about the front is if you have a locker, It will make the passenger side axle rotate.

If manual trans just put it in neutral and leave the Tcase alone, For auto pull the rear driveshaft leave the Tcase alone.

 

I think you are suppost to put the tcase in neutral, and the transmission in first gear...with the tcase in neutral, nothing is spinning but the axles...you need not even disconnect the axles for towing. A 4wd is the perfect for tow bars, because you dont need to do any of the disconnecting...why do you think that the most common vehicle being towed behind motorhomes is a 4wd, and since older people most commonly drive motorhomes, they cant get underneath the trucks and disconnect anything!!! One of the only reasons you shouldnt tow a vehicle with all the wheels on the ground, is because with the engine off, the transmission doesnt have a way to flow lubicant through the transmission, which in turn causes damage...but with the Xfer case in neutral, there is nothing spinning in the transmission!!!

Good post though, waiting to see all of the responses!!

 

I have seen an article in a motorhome mag comparing dingy vehicles, and some OE manufactures realise that their car may be used as a tow behind and prep them for this, Saturn comes to mind for instance and that is mostly what i see behind motorhomes around here

 

Well, I went out and tested the Tcase neutral theorie and its not a good idea for mine, The Tcase in neutral locks both front and rear driveshafts together.
On mine with the locker in the front it puts unwanted wear on the front passenger axle and bushings, Not to mention just alot more drag on the 4x4.

The only only reason for auto's dropping the rear driveshaft is that the trans uses the pumps inside which are run from the engine side to keep its rear seals cool and wet, With out that they will dry and burn (leaky leaky) but that be in the older auto's

 

Yes, as I mentioned, t-case neutral is not a true neutral, it is 4WD in between high and low range. If you put in a twin stick t-case shifter, then you can leave the 2-4 stick in 2WD and the H-N-L stick in Neutral and get the true neutral, although you can still run into issues with t-case output shaft oiling.

 

You can safley do this if you disconnect the rear shaft. I have towed my 4runner 3K miles on a dolly, with the rear shaft disconnected.

Nope, as nothing is spinning

Wont make a difference. The front driveshaft doesnt spin when in 2wd, and as long as you remove the rear shaft you are fine.




The easiest way would be to get a full float conversion kit for the rear that uses hubs, then you just unlock all 4 hubs and dont have to disconnect anything.

I would be sure to disconnect the rear shaft, probally wont hurt a manual tranny if its left on, but flat towing with an auto could cause fatal damage to the tranny. if the shaft is left in place.

 

Originally Posted by Marlin Crawler
On all auto chain driven and manual gear driven t/cases, if it is towed in two wheel drive, the output shaft will turn, but there will be no way for the oil at the bottom of the case to get to the top where the output shaft is. On the chain driven cases, the input shaft turns the planetary housing which drives the oil pump. Gear driven cases use the input gear and low range gears to throw oil on the inside of the housing that collects the oil via gutters and directs it to the rear of the case by gravity. Both style of cases, must have the input shaft spinning to lube the output shaft, speedo gears, and rear seal of the t/case. The rear driveshaft must be removed.Marlin

 

I flat towed a 1981 Toyota 4/4 Truck with a 1985 Toyota 4x4 truck from Phoenix, AZ to Guatemala (2500 miles) years ago. It can be done fairly easily. I would just recommend that you disconnect the front driveshaft for the trip and make sure that your towed rig does not outweigh the rig that you are towing it with. I found this out less than 200 miles into the trip and ended up taking 6 days to get to my destination as I was not able to safely exceed 55 mph.

Kevin