Flat towing 1997 Tacoma, Auto, 4WD

Just bought a used Class C Motorhome. I want to be able to mount a tow bar assembly to my Taco, and flat tow it when we take off. I did do a search on it, sounds like it is doable if you leave it in 2H, transmission in N, ignition key on, and disconnect rear drive shaft, it is OK. Thoughts?

 

This sounds like something that might be in the owners manual.



Full disclosure: nowhere do they mention or recommend flat towing. Nowhere do they mention removing a driveshaft. In all instances, they demonstrate towing distances on 2 wheels. In all instances on 4 wheels they say to have someone steering.

 

sorry, It isnt as easy as that. Most states require some sort of additional brake system with a breakaway ferature for flat towing with weights over 1500 lbs.

 

You definitely want the transfer case in neutral and the transmission in park. You do not want the internals in your transmission spinning while the pump isnt working. Key needs to be in the ignition in the on position so the steering column is unlocked and the front tires can turn. Parking brake off. And as others have mentioned you may need to have some sort of secondary brake system in place for a safety. Also you need to have some way of having lights on the vehicle for running,turn, and barke lights.

 

Yes, it would be wired, and have a secondary breakaway setup. Should have mentioned that. I would not half a$$ it, I want to be safe and have peace of mind doing it.

 

Why not just get a car hauler that's already got lights and brakes installed? Then you can run a weight distributing hitch with anti sway bars too and have a very safe and secure system and reduce all wear and tear on the Tacoma

 

The problem with that is when we get to a camping spot, I may not have enough room for the Class C, the Taco, and a flatbed car hauler. Wanted to eliminate the car hauler.

 

whats your question? if you can flat tow your tacoma?

 

Yes, that was the original post.

 

You are not supposed to but lots of folks seem to get away with it. Tcase in neutral will let the rear output spin but won’t be lubricated as the input shaft won’t be spinning and the output shaft and bearing is above the gear oil level. I just pull the 4 bolts holding the driveshaft to the diff and bungee it to the frame.

here is Toyotas official response. https://support.toyota.com/s/article/Is-it-possible-to-tow-7710?language=en_US

 

There’s been lots of discussion on it here, definitely search. I was going to flat tow mine but decided against it after research here. You could disconnect the drive shaft to make it safe, but it’s too much work in my opinion. Not worth potentially damaging the trans or tcase

 

With an automatic I agree. With a manual transmission you can flat tow it. I have flat towed mine 700 miles each year since 2007. I put the transfer case in 2wd and transmission is neutral. That’s a total of 12,600 miles over the course of 18 years. I think if it was going to hurt anything it would have by now. Manual transmission, I wouldn’t try it with an automatic.

 

In my 2002 manual it specifically states that to not perform dinghy towing:

 

I remember reading your posts about flat towing your truck when I was researching here on the subject. Yours was the only really well documented example I could find though, and I decided not to risk it with mine. I do agree that it’s likely a CYA from Toyota and they just lumped the manual 4wd into it. Still it would suck to be the one guy to find the problem.
Also on a side note, I feel like we might cross paths somewhere along the way, it’s a small world!

 

Small world indeed.

 

cool bird