Newbie I hope ? About dingy towing auto 4x4

[96Ltd]

Hello all, I am hoping to by a nice one owner 96 limited 4x4 this week with only 69k on it.
I plan to use it to be dingy towed behind my motorhome, I hope I can put the transfer in neutral and tow with this automatic tranny am I correct?
I hope so I am tired of looking for a pull behind vehicle.
Thanks for your replys before I buy !
I welcome your thoughts by email also [email protected]

Thanks Eric:

 

[99LimitedKS]

I think I understand what you asking and to answer your question, the automatic transmission has a Neutral and the 4WD system has a Neutral position on it.

 

[96Ltd]

Thanks for the reply, since I have not gotten the car as of yet I don't have an owners manual to read. If I can't tow it on all four I do not want it.

Thanks again Eric

 

[99LimitedKS]

Towing will not be a problem since it is a 2WD vehicle, unless you enable the 4WD by push button, and then, like I said, the 4WD system has a Neutral setting.

 

[96Ltd]

Great news so leave it in 2wd and neutral on both shifters and hookup and hit the road. I didnt know the shifter had the 2wd button on it until today after some research. I will next to never use the 4wd mode, I am not an off roader like lots of u guys.
I have never owned a 4x4 before so I will be asking several questions I am sure.
I own a motorcycle shop and cater to the
Gold Wing market if I can be of help to anyone on here.
www.howellscycle.com

Thanks again Eric

 

[broncosi]

if your towing, does that put miles on your 4runner? because technically your not putting miles on the engine? right?

 

[96Ltd]

I expect with the transfer in neutral the speedo will not have any input?? Wrong or Right guys??

 

[broncosi]

well that would mean you could keep the miles down on your 4runner by shifting into N down hills and what not which i dont beleive is true, i see what happens on the way to work tomorow.

 

[96Ltd]

I sure hope the transfer case will kill the speedo, I would hate to add miles hauling it around. I was looking at the 99 up models which had the digital OD and didnt think about this model.
Let us know what happens, thanks

 

[gapboi210]

I don't think that you can tow it like that. With it being a 4x4 and it being rear wheel drive. Even though the transmission and transfer case is in neutral, the drive shaft is still turning parts in the transmission. This means that they are not getting proper lubrication and there also a chance that too much pressure can build up. The only way to tow it is with the front wheels off the ground and the driveshaft removed. Otherwise it would need to be a flat bed.

 

[broncosi]

ok well on the way home the miles keep counting when its in N but it might be different if the car was off.

 

[Kmvreter]

Back to the original question...

I know you're looking at buying a different year but the 2004 Owner's Manual states on pg. 303 under the topic Dinghy Towing:
"Your vehicle is not designed to be dinghy towed (with four wheels on the ground) behind a motorhome. NOTICE: Do not tow your vehicle with four wheels on the ground. This may cause serious damage to your vehicle."
Maybe someone with a 2nd of 3rd Generation T4R can confirm what is in the '96 manual but I don't expect it to be different.
Towing companies around here always use a flatbed for a 4x4.

 

[96Ltd]

Thank guys for your help, after your post on concerns I made a lot of calls yesterday. Someone finally told me that most of the Jap 4x4's use a clutch system transfer case and they are not totally in neutral.
So I have canceled the purchase of my 96 Ltd Now I am back to a stupid jeep or such.
Thanks even though I don't like the information it has saved me a car purchase I couldn't use.

Eric

 

[broncosi]

well it was nice having you for your 6 posts!!:biggrin2:

 

[96Ltd]

Well thanks for the kind words. BUT It looks like I will be here awhile!
I spoke to two people today who thought I could tow it from Toyota so I am buying it tomorrow and we will see who is wrong and who is right at my expense
One transmission builder told me today to tow it and put the transfer in neutral and the gearshift in drive, if the motor tried to turn over or run it was not towable. Well my cousin bought 2001 model today 4x4 and I told him about this and gave him this test to try. He drove up to 90mph put the transfer in neutral and killed the engine with the trans in drive and then turned the key back on. We coasted to a stop and the engine never tried to turn over! So to me it was totally disconnected. I am just sharing this with you guys NO NEED TO TELL ME IT WONT WORK! :bash: I am going for it at this point and settle this for once and all. I will keep you guys posted on the outcome if interested.
I hope I can share some good ideas that I come up with as well as use yours.
BTW I am also an 06 Corolla S driver and love the 38mpg!
Thanks

 

[indio192]

Last month I purchased a 2002 T4R 4x4 to pull behind my motorhome. (I had previously towed a 2000 manual transmission T4R 4x4 for over 75,000 miles with no problem. For the manual tranny, just put the transmission in neutral, leave the xfer case in H4, and tow away. But, age has finally overcome my desire to shift, so to an automatic I go.)

Anyway, there is no clear answer to your question regarding flat towing an automatic T4R. As you can see by the responses here you will get lots of guesses, but nothing definitive. For sure, Toyota definitely thinks you should NOT flat tow it and states so in their owner's manual (I think somebody already posted the quote). However, they do not tell you what might break. I have even called Toyota USA and they would not (could not?) tell me what might go wrong. So, I decided to risk towing my 2002. So far (about 1000 miles) no problem; but this is not enough miles to really test.

When towing, I put the transfer case in neutral and the transmission in park. I have no technical basis for putting the transmission in park - just a gut feeling that putting it in park will keep any parts from turning. Probably doesn't really matter.

Putting the xfer case in neutral does engage the ADD for the front axle. This means more "stuff" will be turning when you tow than when driving with the xfer case in high and the 4WD disengaged. However, the turning will stop at the xfer case. BTW, there is no clutch in the xfer case. Take a look at the service manual diagrams.

How far will I go before something explodes? It's anybody's guess. It's a gamble I'm willing to take.

I guess this is just an experiment in progress.

This does not answer your question, however.

Jim

 

[gapboi210]

I asked a friend of mine who does all of the transmissions for my friend's shop. He said that there is a a few things that could go wrong.

1. Moving parts not getting proper lubrication.
2. Some transmissions build pressure when towed like that and will cause failure.

He said that odds were that this could happen but chances are like 1 in 10. I would just rather put the front wheels on a dolly and disconnect the driveshaft.

 

[96Ltd]

Well the dream machine turned out to be a night mare ! I was shocked to see what I was told to be a 10 of a car, it was closer to being rough. So I am still out of a tow vehicle, and sorry to say once again even thinking of a jeep grand cherokee. I have been viewing cars nearly everyday and online day and night.
I want to tow my boat behind my tow car so a dolly is out of the question.
Jim I hope your vehicle turns out to do just fine!

Thanks Eric

 

[Drew]

most of the Jap 4x4's use...

Eric,

Being that both Thai and myself are of Asian decent your post was quite offending. I know/hope you didn't mean it, but the whole JAP thing got me a tad disturbed.

Feel free to use the words {import, foreign, asian market} but not Jap. Hell, I don't call your Jeep the "Cracker Climber" now do I? :


Drew

 

[gapboi210]

Eric,

Being that both Thai and myself are of Asian decent your post was quite offending. I know/hope you didn't mean it, but the whole JAP thing got me a tad disturbed.

Feel free to use the words {import, foreign, asian market} but not Jap. Hell, I don't call your Jeep the "Cracker Climber" now do I? :


Drew

I am Japanese and it didn't offend me! JAP JAP JAP JAP
(I am allowed to say that since i am japanese)