FROM: "Brendan Southey" SUBJECT: Towing Long Distance DATE: Fri, 09 Feb 2001 13:24:05 GMT ORGANIZATION: BigPond Internet Services (http://www.bigpond.net.au) NEWSGROUPS: aus.cars.offroad If (touch wood) my 4x4 breaks down in the middle of the desert on the black top and I need to tow a few hundred clicks to the nearest town, will selecting Neutral on the transfer case act as a substitute for disconnecting the tailshaft? Brendan FROM: w.j.markerink@a1.nl (Willem-Jan Markerink) SUBJECT: Re: Towing Long Distance DATE: Fri, 09 Feb 01 17:08:53 GMT NEWSGROUPS: aus.cars.offroad In article , "Brendan Southey" wrote: >If (touch wood) my 4x4 breaks down in the middle of the desert on the black >top and I need to tow a few hundred clicks to the nearest town, will >selecting Neutral on the transfer case act as a substitute for disconnecting >the tailshaft? On some vehicles, especially those parttime-4wd, you basically engage 4wd by switching to neutral....which means a locked drivetrain, which means binding....might be okay if you only go straight[*], but in tight corners you could also get problems with the towing vehicle, since resistance increases quite a bit.... One solution is unlocking the front hubs (only available in parttime systems of course), but the front wheels don't really like being unlocked, while the drivetrain still spins (the stubbies in the knuckle lack one supporting bearing in that case I believe, not sure if all brand/models do). [*] I always estimate binding by the difficulty by which it releases 4wd at higher speeds, in a Land Cruiser HJ-60 this works instantly, unless accelerating or decelerating....in that context, towing should be the least binding scenario of all.... (posted & mailed) -- Bye, Willem-Jan Markerink The desire to understand is sometimes far less intelligent than the inability to understand [note: 'a-one' & 'en-el'!] FROM: NSvnbx@yahoo.com (Vic Barkas) SUBJECT: Re: Towing 4X4's on all 4? DATE: Wed, 20 Mar 2002 16:44:41 GMT ORGANIZATION: Lefthanders Liberation Front NEWSGROUPS: rec.autos.4x4 I regularly tow my Suzuki Sidekick 4X4 four down behind my motorhome. It has manual hubs and a manual transfer case, where I put it into neutral for towing. It is towable without any modifications. You can tow nearly anything not designed to be towed four down if you equip it with the right accessory(s). There is a company called Remco, www.remco.com, I believe, that is in the business of supplying aftermarket equipment for this purpose. They have auxilliary pumps for transmission lubrication, axle disconnect kits, speedometer disconnect kits and other similar stuff. Vic On Sat, 16 Mar 2002 21:11:50 -0800, Les Kamm wrote: >We have a 96 Blazer with an electronic transfer case and guess we cannot >tow this vehicle on any wheels! >I know we've seen 96 Blazers towed behind motorhomes on all 4's. >Are there any 4x4's that can safely be towed on all 4's? > > Remove "NS" (no spam) from my email address to reply to me personally.. FROM: "Irishman" SUBJECT: Re: Towing 4X4's on all 4? DATE: Wed, 20 Mar 2002 11:39:34 -0600 ORGANIZATION: CompuServe Interactive Services NEWSGROUPS: rec.autos.4x4 "Vic Barkas" wrote in message news:3c99baa7.9963653@news.sf.sbcglobal.net... > I regularly tow my Suzuki Sidekick 4X4 four down behind my motorhome. > It has manual hubs and a manual transfer case, where I put it into > neutral for towing. It is towable without any modifications. > > You can tow nearly anything not designed to be towed four down if you > equip it with the right accessory(s). There is a company called > Remco, www.remco.com, I believe, that is in the business of supplying > aftermarket equipment for this purpose. They have auxilliary pumps > for transmission lubrication, axle disconnect kits, speedometer > disconnect kits and other similar stuff. The correct URL is http://www.remcotowing.com