| Author |
Message |
RonaldPickett
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, November 29, 2005 - 3:57 pm: | |
Father-in-law is preparing to leave Alaska in his motorhome, but wants to tow his 1998 4x4 Suburban. Given that it is an automatic four wheel drive with no neutral, how is it done - short of removing the driveshaft??
Thanks,
Ron Pickett
Palmer, Alaska |
Bill K.
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, November 29, 2005 - 5:37 pm: | |
ck your owners manual. |
Dale L. Waller (Happycampersrus)
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, November 29, 2005 - 5:53 pm: | |
If still in doubt you probably need to rent a trailer, NOT a dolly.
We had an electric controlled 4wd ISUZU and the owners manual never really said how to tow it. Guess they thought it would never break.
Dale |
Rob King
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, November 29, 2005 - 6:29 pm: | |
Hi Ron
If it has the "manual" lever on the center hump to change from 2 wheel to 4 wheel and back, all you have to do is put the 2 wheel-4wheel shifter to neutral and unlock the steering wheel with your key then hook up and go. If it has the buttons on the dash, check the manual to confirm, but I believe that you flip one switch up and one down until you see the lights blink and hear the "clunk" in the gear box, then unlock the steering wheel, hook up and go. Don't want to leave your father-in-law standed in the wilderness of Alaska especially this time of year so confirm with manual/call to the dealer.
Rob |
mclough
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, November 29, 2005 - 6:43 pm: | |
my suburban broke down 3 weeks ago in NC. My daughter brought my tow dolly from TN to get me. i loaded the suburban on rear first and 2 wheel drive towed it 350 miles back here. |
John MC9
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, November 29, 2005 - 7:24 pm: | |
oh-oooh. The "anti rear-tow" guys are gonna' get ya' now!! |
Dale L. Waller (Happycampersrus)
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, November 29, 2005 - 7:49 pm: | |
Hold on! Here we go again. I smell smoke. |
JR
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, November 29, 2005 - 9:48 pm: | |
You cannot tow late model AWD Suburbans, Astro Vans, or S10 Blazers without removing both driveshafts. These are "rollback only" vehicles. The only units that can be towed have a "neutral" gate in the transfer case. You'll have to remove both driveshafts to tow 4 down.
Put it on a trailer. Or drive it? With the weight of the trailer, you'll have almost 8000 lbs of towing behind you. Be certain that the hitch can deal with this weight.
You could remove just the rear driveshaft and tow with a dolly. You'll need a big dolly. Dollies come in different weight categories. Rather than completely removing the rear driveshaft, just remove the rear universal U bolts, securely tape the caps to the joints to prevent loss, and securely (very securely) strap the driveshaft up to the exhaust. This will prevent loss of transfer case fluid if you use a dolly. And it will keep road grime out of the trans. The front driveshaft won't leak when removed. You can buy a cap that will fit into the transfer case rear seal from auto supply houses. Don't know what your motorhome weighs, but a Suburban is a big vehicle to tow without braking system. Illegal in most states. Dolly with surge brakes resolves this problem too. Good Luck, JR |
John MC9
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, November 29, 2005 - 10:15 pm: | |
Ohhhh, OK... here we go again:
A "Dinghy Towing Guide" (PDF file will download)
And more Dinghy Towing guide are: here.
And yeah..... New (2004) SUVs and AWDs are listed.
Let's dispell the rumors, once and for all? |
John Elnitski
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, November 29, 2005 - 10:55 pm: | |
I have an 02 avalanche, I have not done it yet, but the manual states it is designed to be towed four wheels down using a specific sequence to put in neutral, it is electonic 4wd, check your manual, I do not know when GM added this feature. |
Richard Bowyer (Drivingmisslazy)
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Wednesday, November 30, 2005 - 8:37 am: | |
99 Chevy Tahoe 4WD with pushbutton shift for 4wd is towable four down. I towed mine all over the country.
If you plan on renting a tow dolly or or auto transport from U-Haul, check with them first. Do not think you can ues either for a Suburban. |
Dick Bell (Richardkan)
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Wednesday, November 30, 2005 - 2:12 pm: | |
The 98 Suburban I drove with electric operated 4WD could put the transfer case in neutral by pressing two of the three "range" buttons at the same time. A yellow verification light lit up on the dash. Best to follow the procedure outlined in the manual.
My 05 Tahoe will do the same thing |
JR
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Wednesday, November 30, 2005 - 9:14 pm: | |
Yep. Oh ooohh. I hate it when I'm wrong...well not entirely wrong..mostly wrong though. S10s can't be towed. But, nobody asked about that. I've got a printout from Blue Ox from some years back, and well, things have changed. I noticed that Blue Ox and Roadmaster have both removed the "towable" charts from their websites. Obviously, plenty sites exist for reference.
Looks like if the Hi and Low buttons are held in at the same time, for 10 seconds, the Suburban transfer goes into neutral and a yellow dash indicator light comes on.
Reckon that will simplify getting that Suburban down South. JR |
John MC9
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Wednesday, November 30, 2005 - 9:46 pm: | |
JR -
I'm proud of youse, guy! Welcome to the "I ate crow" club!
(I'm the longest term member ya'know. Been eatin' crow for years!) |
Mike (Busone)
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Wednesday, November 30, 2005 - 11:58 pm: | |
MMM Crow, I eat so much of it my wife ran out of recipes for it. |
JR
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Thursday, December 01, 2005 - 9:47 pm: | |
Some days it seems that if it weren't for crow...I'd go hungry. This discussion has been enlightening. Been looking at used Yukon today...absolutely didn't realize the things could be towed. Very nice SUV. I've got a 99 Jeep Cherokee that works fine, but it's a coarse thing to ride around in. I've never towed it, the Jeep is ready, but I'm still building a hitch for my MC9. Tried to talk the spousal component into towing her "same color as the coach" RX300. That went nowhere. Cheers, JR |
Rob King
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Thursday, December 01, 2005 - 10:31 pm: | |
Hi JR
If the spousal component gives permission to consider towing her RX 300, the 1999 and 2000 are "technically per Lexus" the only ones towable 4 down. See http://www.clublexus.com/index.php/ article/articleview/1761/1/200/ - 20k for offical lexus ownersclub info. BTW,I have towed both a 1996 suburban and a 2000 tahoe behind my Newell 4 down and had no problems for what it is worth.
Rob
91 Prevost
Missouri |
John MC9
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Thursday, December 01, 2005 - 11:01 pm: | |
Your bus is painted. I'd have to buy mine a Delorean....
(Can I tow a Delorean 4 down?) |
JR
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Friday, December 02, 2005 - 11:25 pm: | |
Buying and towing (whether one could or not) a Delorean is more likely to happen than hooking up to T's Lexus. Rob's right, I don't think it's towable. At least the oil "mist" from my 6V92 will keep the Jeep in excellent condition and prevent rusting. At 3300 lbs for a wagon with 4X4, a Jeep Cherokee XJ is hard to beat as a toad...its paid for too. Major bonus.
Yeah my bus is painted. It's Lexus gold...somehow it didn't quite catch that super slick finish the Lexus has. Don't understand. Probably painting it in a barn had something to do with that. Oh well...it looks good at 100 feet.
Regarding that oil mist..I hope that the leaking oil has been substantially slowed. I pulled the engine and replaced the rear main seal. That was a bit of large work. I drove it about 20 miles the other day and topped off the fuel tanks with $$$$$$$$$$ so as to store fresh fuel. Minimal leaks now. Nothing dropping on the floor of significance. I still think I overfilled the engine with oil. Paid a big price for that error...actually paid about 60$ for parts and did the work myself. Well, I'm so far off topic i'll quit now. This has been pretty well thrashed.
Best, JR |
Johnny
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, December 12, 2005 - 12:23 am: | |
I'm going to tow a Toyota truck. Specifically, a stake-body flatbed dually with over 300,000 miles. Since it's a 4-cylinder/5-speed, just put it in neutral and go.
(It was $250. It will accomodate 2 ATV's & a dirt bike with some creative loading.) |