Flat Towing Questions

Since the Dana 18 is an off-set design, the rear output shaft is turned by the rear drive shaft, and it continues to lubricate the xfer case rear output bearing and lower gears lube the upper gears even when in neutral. but you have the unnecessary wear. Pulling the rear driveshaft eliminates any chance of the xfer case shifting from neutral into gear, wrecking a whole lotta stuff. If you can afford it, convert ot a full floater rear with locking hubs. easy to turn the hubs and away you go. Cabelas sells a poly-bushing ball mount which can reduce slams and bangs. theirs is rated at 10,000 lbs. As for towing in the peoples rebublic of California, a vehicle on the road surface must be properly registered and "road drive able" so you can't tow atv's or other non highway vehicles. vehicles on a trailer do not have to be registered. If they are not registered, they are subject to being impounded by the law. Any towed vehicle or trailer over 3,000 lbs must be equipped with brakes. That's why alot of RV'ers us a "toad" breaking system. towed vehicles must have functing rear lights. Hope this helps.

 

The T Case must be in Neutral, the Tranny really doesn't matter if it's in gear or not. And remember, if you pull the driveshaft and you have a transmission brake for an emergency brake, it won't hold the vehicle until you reconnect the driveshaft. This becomes really important if you have to disconnect the tow bar on an incline. Don't ask me how I know!

 

The rental rv we had had a 7 pin plug and some screw down pins for connecting bare wires. No worries or charges to tow. Cruise America. (Which is ironic since we took it to Mexico )

 

I've said it before and I'll say it again. If you flat tow it without removing the drive shaft and do not have a full float conversion, tow it with transfer case in NEUTRAL and transmission IN GEAR or if an automatic then in park. The reason is the oil splashing up from the gears driven by the transfer case output (read rear driveline) can sometimes hydraulically drive the output shaft of the transmission from the oil splashing against the output gear. This happens in much the same way a torque converter in an automatic trasmission works, kind of a fluid coupling. When the output shaft of the transmission is driven this way the pocket bearings between the input shaft and output shaft are starved for oil and can burn things up. I know some people have done this without problems, but I have literally had to throw away over 100 transmissions over the years that were burned up this way. A couple of them seized up so solid that they would not turn or could not be disassembled and had to be thrown away complete. Best bet is to remove drive shaft, trailer it, or ff it. Barring this, put trans in gear and transfer case in neutral. It's a small thing and will help keep expensive damage from happening and minimize wear and tear. Nickmil.

 

Nickmil, is what you describe only for the 18 xfer case or the 20 and 300 also?

 

What if you have the OD? Can just the OD be put in neutral and have the same effect as the t-case in neutral? I hope so, 'cause that's what I did! Don't seem to have any problems...yet.

 

The overdrive should be in neutral just like you had it. The whole idea is to keep the output shaft of the transmission from being driven by the transfer case. The Dana 20 and 300 are an animal to themselves. I'd recommend pulling the drive shaft. The problem is the rear output on these are out of the oil and are not being oiled when driven by the drive shaft unlike the 18 that the output is literally sitting in the oil. There was a company several years ago, forget who, that would actually tig weld paddles on the shift sleeves of the 300 to splash oil around as it was being towed. Seemed to work ok. The other choice would be to lock in the front hubs if you have a model 20. That drives the front output and splashes the oil around just like in the 18. This also creates a lot of drag and can cause towing issues if you have a locker in front. I've seen people with a powerlock in front just lock in one hub so there is independent movement between the front tires but still oils the transfer case. Seems to work ok. This is primarily for the 20. Don't think it'd help on a 300 as on a 300 when in neutral, only the shaft is turning, not the gears, and the gears are what splashes the oil up. The best bet on the 300 or 20 is to remove drive shaft, ff it, or trailer it. Nickmil.

 

Nickmil- Does it matter what manual trans? I have a Munci that I've always kept in neutral along with the tcase and OD.
What gear should it be in?
Thanks

 

Hey all-
Thanks for your input for towing. I ended up flat towing the Jeep by pulling the drive line. It was towed with a 24' Winnebago for over 2200 miles. I had no problems with towing. Only swaying across the Nevada desert from the wind.

I did, however, get pulled over by a NPS park ranger in Yellowstone, in the Jeep, with my family for not having a front license plate . It was the first time my wife had ever been pulled over, or with someone who was.

Overall my trip was great and my family still likes each other.

 

What a chickens@#% ticket. I know, I got before too.

Glad to hear the trip was good.