Dolly Towing 3G Taco

I recently purchased a 2022 Tacoma with manual transmission. Reviewing the owner manual I was surprised and disappointed to read that it cannot even be dolly towed. I could understand saying no for automatic tranny but manual too? The dealer is useless. No means no. But inquiring minds want to know. Why not? The whole point of neutral is disconnecting the transmission from engine. One BS web post said the engine could overheat. LOL Um, in neutral? Automatic, sure, but manual? That makes zero sense! Anyone have the straight poop on what's up with this situation?

PS- This makes me miss my 2004. Although 4WD the transfer case could be floor shifted into neutral between HI and LO ranges, thereby disconnecting the transmission from the wheels. Sadly, push button 4WD eliminates that possibility. Sigh

PPS- Sorry if this topic is rooted elsewhere on the forum. I did search but didn't find it.

 

I ran a repo truck for years. I would tow my personal tacoma all the time rear wheels up and front on the ground. Never a issue.

 

It's 4 bolts to disconnect the drive shaft from the axle and hang it with a ratchet strap, that'd be my solution.

 

Few pics a few years apart. Zero issues

 

Welcome to TW...is it broke down?

 

Ha! No, it's not even broke IN yet. Only 3 digits on the odometer so far. It dang well better not be broke DOWN yet. LOL

No, no problem. Just the question. Why not?

 

@KamperBob, it is probable that the Toyota manual transmission is set up like a Tremec. The gear cluster is disconnected from the output shaft when in N with no gears on the shaft to sling oil which will make it so no oil gets onto the shaft bushings and could lead to failure.
The only fix to this is to make it so the output shaft won't turn. Either by unbolting the drive shaft or installing a disconnect.

Edit: the site you read about the engine overheating actually isn't wrong, but possibly not explained. Some people (usually older people) get around this issue by dolly towing their vehicle with the engine running and transmission in N. This allows the input shaft to spin the gears keeping the transmission lubricated. However, the car may not receive enough fresh air to keep cool. Especially when the people doing this use a car shield or nose cover to protect their paint.

 

Though they're talking about a semi this is kinda the same concept, right?
https://youtube.com/shorts/op4Mzhk2ZZg?feature=share

 

Yep. Same concept

 

I think @KamperBob meant a tow dolly like this:



You need to load the front wheels (heavier half of vehicle) on the dolly to prevent sway. The easiest solution there is just to disconnect the driveshaft at the rear axle. 4 nuts.

 

Front wheels down is way different than back wheels down.


If the rear wheels are down they’re turning the transmission or tcase, and those aren’t setup to be lubricated correctly when turned from the output.

 

Thanks, that makes some sense.

Back in the late 70s Dad put a tow bar on our Chevy LUV, put the stick in N, hacked the stop/turn lights and towed it behind our motorhome. Asking around before doing so he was told by old hands about lube concerns. His workaround then was opening the shift lever boot to overfill the tranny with extra oil. No issues in thousands of miles that way. IOW he got away with it. Not saying it's right, or anyone else should, just saying that seems to jive with the lube concern.

BTW, I've never heard of a driveshaft disconnect.

Thanks again!

 

Correct. That's the go-to solution for RV toads. Perfect for front-drive compacts.

4WD trucks and SUVs used be be flat-tow friendly with N position on transfer cases. But push button transfer cases pretty much ended that solution. Shrug

Thanks!

 

If you look into disconnects, make sure you get one that is highway rated. There are some that are designed for off-road use that won't have the longevity of one rated for highway.

 

They exist, but cumbersome and expensive. Post 17 shows it installed on a Tacoma: https://www.irv2.com/forums/f85/remco-driveline-disconnect-experiences-please-169033-2.html

Need a custom shortened driveshaft. The whole mechanism is exposed to road dirt and grime as well. Forget about off-road use.

Even 4Runners and FJs with manual transfer case shifters apparently can't be flat towed. Has something to do with tailshaft lubrication.

 

Way back when. Even my first gen with a manual case shouldn’t be flat towed for the same reasons.


That said, people do it and seem to get away with it.

 

Come to think of it, I don't actually know that my 04 Taco 4WD could've been flat towed. Maybe not. Still, I liked the manual floor lever better than push button control. It allowed a dirt-simple 2LO mod, for example. VERY handy for backing trailer into tight spaces. Wink

 

Oh, I know. The only things that’s electrical on my 4wd system is the indicator light.

 

When you look at the YT vid posted above, w/ the exposed transmission & the guy explaining how, in neutral, there's no oil-slinging going on, it all makes sense.

The hack of overfilling the transmission (from the top boot of course, so the level can get way past the normal fill line) also makes sense in this context. Overfilling = oil level all the way up to the center shaft level = it gets proper oiling during a long flat tow.

Probably fine (?) to neutral-flat-tow a plain 4WD manual Taco (set to 2WD, of course) for short distances, at slow speeds, a couple of miles around town to get it from home to shop or whatnot. Anything beyond that, probably best to disconnect driveshaft.

 

GilbertOz, I just happened to notice to "2LO mod" note in your signature. So 2014 would be 2G Taco? Does the transfer case manually shift with a floor lever like my 1G Taco did? If not, I'm curious to know more about your mod. It may not help me but inquiring minds and all...