"Dinghy Towing guide can be incorrect!

FIRE UP wrote:
Ladies and gents,
We're on a quest for pickup-toad so we can haul our motorcycle in the back and have a toad. We're presently using the Hydralift for that purpose and while it has worked flawlessly, due to certain reasons, we're changing our approach to this situation.

Well, we're considering a few different trucks. We really liked the F-150 4x4 and have for years but, it seems Ford doesn't have a clue in the fact that the F-150 4x4 is NON TOWABLE.
the 2013 and later F-150 electronic transfer case is towable, as it has a neutral position. The 2012 and older do not.

But, just for grins, we drove down to a local dealer that had a 2010 Chevy Silverado, 4x4 Z-71 for sale. Well, it was a semi-nice truck. It had been smoked in and no matter how much dealer "foo-foo" they attempt to clean and install in those cars, we can smell smoke, yuck! Anyway, according to the 2010 Dinghy towing guide, that truck, IS FLAT TOWABLE, WITH AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION. Well, sort of. It, and ANY 4x4 truck/vehicle is flat towable (with certain exceptions) if the transfer case has a NEUTRAL position in the gear case and, an indicator on the dash.

But, what we found out was, this truck, as well as many newer 4x4 trucks and vehicles, is electronically shifted, in the transfer case. This means, there is no "shift lever" on the floor with all the positions on the shift knob or accompanying the position of the lever on the floor stating what position you've shifted to.

So, this Silverado Z-71 4x4 has a little round dial on the dash, just to the right of the steering wheel. It has four icons on it. 2UP, AUTO, 4UP, and 4down. Now, when I say "up", the icon on the knob is actually a "2" with an arrow pointing up. And, Auto means it (the transfer case itself) decides if four-wheel-drive is needed or not. The 4 up means, four wheel high range and the 4 low means four wheel drive, "low range".

But, there is NO "N" on the knob. And, in the drivers manual, it has instructions for towing that truck. The manual IS for that truck. It has a couple of pages dedicated to towing it. Well, it specifically states" Place the shifter for the transfer case in "N" for towing the truck. Well, guess what, THERE IS NO "N" ON THAT KNOB! There's no place on it where a possible "N" used to be or, even should go.
Do not know if you had a salesman with you, but that truck is flat towable and DOES have a N indicator. Turn the selector knob all the way to the right and HOLD it for 6-10 seconds. The N indicator will light RED meaning it is in neutral. This is true of ALL GM 4x4 electronic shifters since at least 2003 through 2013.

So, in my opinion, the Dinghy Towing Guide for 2010 is wrong, the Chevy Silverado, 4x4 Automatic, is NOT FLAT TOWABLE. Just like the Ford F-150. I wonder how many other of those vehicles in that towing guide are inaccurate. No biggie. I just found this one.

Now, I haven't checked out a Dodge 1500 yet so, I'll have to look at it. But, please don't suggest a dolly or a trailer or any other means, I know all about those and will not use them, period. I am in need of a truck for multiple reasons which, include towing behind our coach. What seems to be is, the manufacturers, in their quest for better looks, ergonomic operations, cleaner appearances, possibly cheaper cost to build, have essentially eliminated the towing of many of the popular trucks. Toyota, a very, very popular truck, any version of it, is also not towable, at least according to the Dinghy towing guide anyway.

The Nissan pickup, if it's called the Frontier, is towable in the manual trans only.

So,

So, what may have to happen is, if we don't find a Ford Ranger Automatic 4x4 that suits our fancy, and then manage to acquire the particular part that's needed for the Neutral Tow Kit, I guess we'll have to settle for the stick version. Yuck! We'll just keep looking.
The Ford salesman must not know anything about his product. Ford put the neutral tow kit back into production and it is available through their parts department for around $300 and the install plus computer flash will run in the neighborhood of $160.......
Scott