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Old 04-13-2010, 09:15 AM   #1
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Flat Towing a Vehicle

Hey all... when thinking of buying a tow bar, and flat towing a second rig, does the vehicle being towed have to be a manual transmission? Would it work if it were an auto, and put into neutral?

I thought I've heard that if the rig in tow is an auto, it can be damaging to the drive train, but I don't have any experience with the idea.

Thanks

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Old 04-13-2010, 12:02 PM   #2
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Re: Flat Towing a Vehicle

I inquired about this before. As far as I know, for automatic transmissions (2WD) you would need a tow dolly. For manual trans, you can flat tow it while in neutral.

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Old 04-13-2010, 02:36 PM   #3
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Re: Flat Towing a Vehicle

Several auto transmission cars can be towed. One is the Chevy HHR.
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Old 04-13-2010, 10:00 PM   #4
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Re: Flat Towing a Vehicle

Some manuals cannot either. There are many years of Jeeps are good from the factory, manual or automagic.

Really you have to check each make/model/year specifically, and if it's popular there is usually an aftermarket part you can use to lubricate the transmission or fix whatever makes it not work.

Search for flat tow under my name... some of my first posts were about that!
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Old 04-14-2010, 07:02 AM   #5
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Re: Flat Towing a Vehicle

If you tell me what your towing I can tell you what you can and cant do with it.

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Old 04-16-2010, 06:25 PM   #6
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Re: Flat Towing a Vehicle

My van can be flat towed - put the transfer case in 'NEUTRAL'

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Old 04-16-2010, 07:12 PM   #7
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Re: Flat Towing a Vehicle

Quote:
Originally Posted by Ford_6L_E350
My van can be flat towed - put the transfer case in 'NEUTRAL'

Mike
Mike, is it safe to assume you have an Atlas t/c? Advance Adapters recommends only flat towing a vehicle with an Atlas for 300 miles before it should be driven around.


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Old 04-16-2010, 10:12 PM   #8
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Re: Flat Towing a Vehicle

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Originally Posted by BroncoHauler
Mike, is it safe to assume you have an Atlas t/c? Advance Adapters recommends only flat towing a vehicle with an Atlas for 300 miles before it should be driven around.


Herb
Herb, I have Ford t/c. I hope I never again have to be towed. The first 50 miles passed easier for the van than it did for me.

Mike
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Old 04-19-2010, 07:53 PM   #9
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Re: Flat Towing a Vehicle

Quote:
Originally Posted by BroncoHauler
Quote:
Originally Posted by Ford_6L_E350
My van can be flat towed - put the transfer case in 'NEUTRAL'

Mike
Mike, is it safe to assume you have an Atlas t/c? Advance Adapters recommends only flat towing a vehicle with an Atlas for 300 miles before it should be driven around.
My understanding is the Atlas vehicle needs to be started and put in transmission gear to lubricate the Atlas every 300 miles, not because it wouldn't survive beyond this but because AdvanceAdapters has never tested it further. If you really have to unhook and drive around I need to know, because I basically just fire it up at every stop before removing the key (which I don't like to leave in the ignition while away from the rig).

The Ford T-Case may well be towable, but I don't thing that having a T-case is a guarantee that a vehicle can be flat towed.
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