Towing A 4x4

sceptre · February 2, 2008

hey guys, wasn't sure where to put this, so feel free to move it

my battery died again as my truck was parked by work for 4 days and the temperature was in the range of -30 to -40 deg. I tried boosting it, but it was dead and frozen as far as I know....so i called roadside and had it towed to the dealer. The towing company was instructed to bring a flatbed as it was in 4x4 and could not be disengaged. I was heading out of town again and left the keys with a coworker. It turns out, towing company towed it by rear wheels with front wheels still on the ground. My co-worker said they did not see him hook up cables to disengage 4x4, but he may have. How should a 4x4 be towed? Is it okay to tow by rear wheels if 4x4 is disengaged? what if he didn't disengage it? Truck is still at the dealer so I have no idea whats going on with it. Should i call roadside to report it wasn't taken with a flatbed?

Thanks for any info

February 2, 2008

he prolly just pulled the driveshaft. we have to do it to tow almost any 4x4 truck with a wheel lift. thats why we always put it on the bed. you can tow it but its really hard on it and shouldnt be towed more than about 15 miles.

Woodcutter · February 2, 2008

For flat towing a 4x4: transmission in park and transfer case in Neutral. Not sure about which axle should be in the dolly, though. Speed at which the vehicle is towed is probably one of the most important things for avoiding damage to the tow vehicle.

svensk · February 2, 2008

What if you have the push button transfer case and you can't put it in neutral?

norsemanberg · February 2, 2008

How do you put your transfercase in neutral if you have push button 4X4. There is a neutral light on the panal

svensk · February 2, 2008

How do you put your transfercase in neutral if you have push button 4X4. There is a neutral light on the panal

I dunno I just asked that too.

exracer · February 2, 2008

call and make sure what they did...if they didnt disconnect driveshaft or use tow dollies under rear wheels......verifiy how it arrived at dealer...get everything in writing.

towing a new 4x4 without the proper equipment is a no no...especially when they were told to bring a flatbed

alaska511 · February 2, 2008

Hold the 2 hi and 4 low button at the same time...

norsemanberg · February 2, 2008

Hold the 2 hi and 4 low button at the same time...

Thank You!

cambo · February 2, 2008

Hold the 2 hi and 4 low button at the same time...

I appreciate that piece of information, but I have a really dumb question to ask. Why do we need to do that? And what happens when we do that?

alaska511 · February 2, 2008

Hold the 2 hi and 4 low button at the same time...

I appreciate that piece of information, but I have a really dumb question to ask. Why do we need to do that? And what happens when we do that?

To tow the vehicle

2000DV4.8 · February 2, 2008

Hold the 2 hi and 4 low button at the same time...

I appreciate that piece of information, but I have a really dumb question to ask. Why do we need to do that? And what happens when we do that?

The transfer case neutral disengages both driveshafts, so that the engine and transmission are no longer connected to the wheels (in simple terms). The purpose is if you're going to flat-tow the truck, like behind an RV or something. I know the transmission needs to be in neutral to shift the transfer case to neutral with the manual t-case, but I'm not sure about the pushbutton t-cases.

cambo · February 2, 2008

Hold the 2 hi and 4 low button at the same time...

I appreciate that piece of information, but I have a really dumb question to ask. Why do we need to do that? And what happens when we do that?

The transfer case neutral disengages both driveshafts, so that the engine and transmission are no longer connected to the wheels (in simple terms). The purpose is if you're going to flat-tow the truck, like behind an RV or something. I know the transmission needs to be in neutral to shift the transfer case to neutral with the manual t-case, but I'm not sure about the pushbutton t-cases.

I wanna go outside and do it just to say that I did.

Ranger · February 2, 2008

On the NBS trucks, the 4wd switch is a knob like a F-150 haha...I don't like it much, seems much slower in shifting than push button or manual stick. I got stuck in 4-LO one time when I was messing with it and had to pull over and wait like 20 seconds before it kicked back to 2wd.

svensk · February 2, 2008

On the NBS trucks, the 4wd switch is a knob like a F-150 haha...I don't like it much, seems much slower in shifting than push button or manual stick. I got stuck in 4-LO one time when I was messing with it and had to pull over and wait like 20 seconds before it kicked back to 2wd.

That's retarded.