i recently bought a tow rig and the runner will now probably be getting towed to the desert for weekend runs. i'm not sure how to do this i know i need some lights setup i was told by someone that i needed to remove my driveshaft? it's a 5 speed manual does that make sense? also do i need to tie my steering wheel. i would think that if i put the tranny and tcase in neutral and tie the wheel i should be good to go but i figure i better confirm. thanks in advance.

 

Nope, you don't have to undo the driveshaft.
Toyota says to put the tcase in neutral.
We have found through thousands of miles of towing that it work better to leave the tcase in 2hi and just put the trans in neutral. This is because when you shift the tcase into neutral the front and rear driveshafts are connected (even though the input shaft is uncoupled) and this makes additional drag for your tow vehicle and adds lots of potential wear to the tcase. Some say the transmission won't get lubed and will have issues - my father has towed his 85 5speed all over the country behind a motorhome this way and had no problems. But, it wouldn't hurt to start up the engine every hundred miles or so just to be sure.

You will have to either leave the key on or disable the column lock so the front wheels can steer. Tie the wheel? No way, has to steer itself. You WILL be using a towbar - right? For long trips we just disconnected the battery and switched the key on.

 

someone with a awd car probably said to undo the driveshaft.

 

A bunch of the newer yotas probably can't be towed either...

 

That reminds me, if you have auto hubs, here's a neat wrinkle - before we put manuals on Dad's truck, when he put the tcase in N for towing it would cause his hubs to lock in. You could REALLY feel the difference when they did! (His motorhome was not big and powerful) That's actually how we realized it was better to go with 2hi and just leave the trans in Neutral.

 

I would highly recommend disconnecting the driveshaft. While leaving in 2wd may be fine (Marlin says no to flat towing, btw), I'd much rather pull 4 bolts than have my tranny/tcase spinning...

 

Well, after 20 years in the RV industry, I can tell you that there are tens of thousands of vehicles getting towed some serious miles out there doing just fine. On the other hand, disconnecting the driveshaft is pretty easy to on a Yota, and it sure doesn't hurt anything. Just be sure to secure it VERY well. I've seen em fall, and I've seen em lose half because they didn't prevent the slip yoke from coming apart.

 

EDIT: After some research I revised my earlier comment.

The best way IMO, get a car hauler and do it right.

 

First point will destroy the tcase in short order. As mentioned, putting the tcase in neutral locks the front and rear outputs together and causes huge erling problems.

Second point is 100% the best advice.