Flat or Dinghy Tow a Tacoma - why not?

I will be flat towing my 2019 Tacoma 4x4 Automatic behind my RV on an upcoming 3000 mile trip.

I only live a few hours away from the guys at Superior Driveline that have been making driveshaft disconnects since the 70s. I have an appointment to have the disconnect installed this Wednesday.

I did the rest of the install this weekend.
1. Blue Ox Tow bar mount and safety straps.
2. Roadmaster taillight wiring kit with diodes and 6 pole plug
3. RVi Towed battery charger (charges tacoma while being towed)
4. RVi Towed tire pressure monitoring
5. RVi breakaway sensor install for the RVi brake actuator (actuator gets power from tacoma 12V plug)

Thanks to those that have shared their experiences in this thread. After reading loads of good and bad information, and chatting with a trusted Toyota mechanic I decided to do the work to flat tow our Tacoma behind our RV rather than trading it in on an easier to flat tow vehicle.

 

Great set up. You’ve gone all the way the only thing I would recommend is having the driveline shop build you a new driveline with the disconnect this way you keep the factory shaft and the Toyota warranty that goes with it. As soon as it’s modified Toyota can void the warranty with anything associated with that component (diff, trans, etc). I have two driveshafts for my 4Runner: one with the disconnect on it. That shaft has a slight vibration so I only use it when I’m going to tow.

I also had to hard wire my brake actuator to the battery. I have a simple plug under the dash. My actuator was too much for the cigarette lighter.

 

That's the plan. I took measurements at home and when I arrived this AM at Superior Driveshaft they had a new driveshaft with a disconnect built and ready to install.

Interesting about the actuator being too much for the cigarette lighter. I will be towing the Tacoma around this weekend troubleshooting any issues before our trip

 

Well since I'm a cheap ass I bought the brake buddy on CL. Guy was asking $100 and when I tested it the fuses in the car kept blowing. I offered him $20 to throw it away for him. Took it home and rewired it. Connects direct to battery with inline fuse and works great. When I was having issues with my other (used, now broken) BB I called BB and they said to wire directly to battery to eliminate any voltage drop thru the lighter.

 

Maiden voyage complete. Brake controller, driveshaft disconnect, lights, tire monitoring all worked flawlessly.
After a few minutes I lost signal with the towed battery charger so I will have to look at that more this weekend.
I towed with the Tacoma lights off. (So only the taillights were on getting the signal from the RV). Then I turned the Tacoma's parking lights on. I think for towing at night I prefer having the parking lights on as it's easier for me to see it on the backup camera.....just need to make sure I am charging the battery.

My family has RV camped for 4 years without a TOAD, and we are all excited to be able to bring the truck with us.

 

After 3100 miles flat towing with the Tacoma here are a couple tips for anyone who may do the same.
1. Learn how the driveshaft disconnect works. Engage and disengage it from under the truck a few times so you know how it works. This is helpful as the driveshaft disconnect has very tight tolerances and road debris/dirt can make it very difficult to engage and disengage.
Blasting off the disconnect with brake cleaner then lubing it with wd-40 really helped me out.
The more you use the driveshaft disconnect the easier it gets, but it can be tough when new or dirty.
2. Having a TOAD battery charger works great with the newer keyless trucks. I keep the truck in neutral and in Accessory mode while towing. It does not add mileage to the odometer. (Which is great for our 3000 mile first trip) And the steering wheel does not lock on you following this setup.
3. The last part was a bit of a surprise. The new driveshaft built by Superior Driveshaft is balanced better than my OEM driveshaft was. This setup is noticably smoother with less Driveline vibration at 70-80Mmph than my truck was for it's first 37000 miles.
Happy Towing!

 

Or drive a manual

Glad to hear it all worked out for you....

 

The input shaft on the transmission must be turning to circulate the oil in the transmission for lubrication. The input shaft turns the counter shaft in the bottom of the transmission which pumps/circulates the oil. The only time this happens is when the engine is running.

 

Sorry bud but that's a myth. Was already brought up in an argument further up in this thread.

Check out any dinghy towing guide and manual transmissions can be towed with no preparation. People have been doing it for decades.

 

Coming from someone who works on transmissions for a living, this is not a myth. Maybe you'll get away with flat towing for a while, but not with my transmission.. Bud..

 

I have only flat towed my Tacoma 3100 miles so far this year. And should easily reach 7500-10,000 miles. Anyone want to guess when the transmission blows?

 

"some" (design specific) manuals can be towed in neutral, but, Radar is generally right about towing a manual..... since you have an automatic with a driveline disconnect - apples and oranges.

 

Ahhh, thanks for clarifying.

 

With the driveline disconnect your trans should be in park. That outta stir this thread. Lol.

 

My flat towing update: Just passed 30,000 miles flat towing my 1st gen auto. No issues.

 

Installed a superior driveline disconnect and follow the procedure to ensure the steering doesn’t lock.

 

The RA6# series transmission uses an output reduction, not an input reduction. The counter shaft only spins if the output shaft is spinning. The speed of the input shaft has no effect on the speed of the counter shaft in neutral.

As such, you'd get a good bit of lubrication from spinning the transmission via the output shaft.

Jeff

 

The procedure provided by superior driveline, indicated towing in 2H and park after the rear drive shaft was disconnected. You said the output shaft turns in neutral. Thoughts ?

 

If you are in 2H with the rear shaft disconnected, nothing in the t-case or transmission is spinning at all.

Jeff

 

What problem could the Vehicle stability control when flat towing ?