What to tow???

'07Blacktruck,
Well, again, Ford in it's infinite wisdom, was lacking when it came to flat towing in the Ford Ranger division. The two wheel drives, stick versions, may or may not be towable, you'd have to really talk to either Ford Transmission tech or, a good transmission shop to see what they say. You see, there are some stick trannies that are not as well lubricated in main bearings, shafts etc. when the input shaft from the engine, IS NOT TURNING. Just because the rear output shaft is, doesn't mean all the correct shafts etc. in the inside are which means, it might not be properly lubing itself. I'm not knowledgeable enough to give you qualified info on that subject.

But, as far as the Ford Ranger 4x4 is concerned, yep, Ford screwed up again. However, there are what's called "NTK" or, Neutral Tow Kits" available. They were discontinued for a while but, I think they are available again. As I understand it, it's really a nothing more than a plastic bracket that is mounted to the dash, that houses an LED with writing on the bracket that states, "OK to tow" or, something to that effect.

But, the second part of that NTK is, Ford (local dealership) has to re-flash the ECM to tell the transfer case to go into NEUTRAL. When that's accomplished, it will send a signal to that new little LED that's been mounted on the dash. And, as I understand it, that little LED and bracket, and the re-flashing of the ECM, will run you somewhere between $350 and $400. I've never had the pleasure of having to do it so, much of this is from memory from other threads on the subject.

The Chevy Colorado and the GMC Canyon don't need any NTK or, anything else. They're ready to flat tow, RIGHT OUT OF THE BOX.

I too, WILL NEVER MAKE ANY MODIFICATIONS TO ANY VEHICLE for intentions of flat towing it. I'm one of those that will look for one of hundreds that are flat towable, from the factory. That includes lube pumps and drive shaft disconnects etc. It especially includes ABSOLUTELY NEVER, NEVER, EVER, will get under a toad, to disconnect a driveshaft or, re-install it. I'll quit RVing if it comes to that.

Now, as far as your question on "Removing the key" when I'm done prepping the truck for towing. Well, following the short few steps it takes to get it ready, the last one is, removing the key. Well, that's kind of self explanatory. I mean, if you're INSTRUCTED to remove the key, it stands to reason that the steering will still remain FREE.

Now, again, this applies to not only my year but, I'm pretty sure also a 2012. But, if I'm not mistaken, the 2013 GMC trucks need the negative battery cable removed after all the correct prep is done. That sucks. There's ways around it but, it still sucks.

But, we're very, very happy with our '11 GMC Sierra 1500 4x4 Extended Cab. The bed is a 6.5' bed. The Rampage sticks out about a foot or so. No bid deal at all. Now, as far as the weight of the Rampage, well, to me it's not all that heavy, not at all. Heck, I'm 63 and can still lift one end of it, which is quite enough to load it and unload it from the truck.

Another buddy on here travels with a Rampage too and, he's got friends that either meet him and his wife at campgrounds or, they travel with him. And, if they're going to be at a campsite for a few days, he does like I do and, has that Rampage ready to remove in about 1-2 minutes and, he's got some portable, folding metal saw horses that he sets up right at the camp site. He and a buddy just slide it out and, on to the saw horses.

Now he's got his truck again, for his wife or himself to use as needed. That Rampage is steel. Yep, it's a bit heavy but, surely manageable with two normal sized gents. As far as the price is concerned, they're normally around $3,000.00 new. But, my ever diligent wife, was cruising Craigslist and found one, USED TWICE, for $1,750. Well, it was 315 miles from us at the time so, a phone call and a bit of negotiations and, we struck a deal for $1,500. It's the same as a brand new one. I've seen them many times on CL or ebay for good deals. You have to be ready to jump on one if the price and time is right for you.


When we were looking for a nice truck to tow, we had to expand our search perimeter to find what we wanted. Well, as it turned out, we had to travel out about 100 miles to get our nice truck. That ain't the first time for that sort of thing for us and, I'm sure it won't be the last. It was June of '13 when we picked up our '11 with only 21K on the clock. Couldn't pass that one up.
Scott

I don't know if true of all vehicle manuals but the one with my 2012 Chevy Sonic spells it out very clearly; "towing behind a motorhome" and tells you what to do and that it is flat towable. I would start there.

I tow a Chevy Avalanche, which is the same as a Chevy or GMC pickup. It is 4x4 with a neutral position. You remove the key when your set to go. It has no steering wheel lock.

My Harley bagger goes in the bed with a Cruisercaddie lift. I had a Rampage, but it weighed too much to remove from the truck. I know others have made carts but I didn't want to do it. The Cruisercaddie is aluminum and all parts are very light. One person easily lifts each part out when not in use. It's much less expensive then the Rampage and a lot less scary when you're loading the bike.

WyoTraveler wrote:
Many of the new vehicles have smart keys and no lock steering. I see a lot of RVers towing Chevy 4X4 PUs 4 down.

I did not know that. I bought my last new truck in 06. It's the last of the Duramax without a DPF. Until this I had not thought of flat towing anything. That truck is probably a little big to tow. I really haven't followed the new trucks in many years. Thanks for that info. I had no idea they were that way.

Many of the new vehicles have smart keys and no lock steering. I see a lot of RVers towing Chevy 4X4 PUs 4 down.

"All the other makes, have already had that option in place, like stated, for years. You see, you need a 4x4 because, it's transfer case having a neutral capability, disconnects both the front and rear drive shafts so that when they spin, while you're towing it, they have no effect on the transfer case or, the transmission or, engine.

Now, I don't know what year you might be interested in but, in the Chevy and GMC, prior to 2013, all you did in prep for towing was, put the T/C in neutral, put the trans in park, release the parking brake and, remove the key. You're now ready to tow."
Fire up, another thought here sir.
When you remove the key, you lock the steering wheel. Am I reading this right? I have pulled trailers for a million miles but not a flat tow like this. Doesn't the front wheels need to turn (caster steer) as you pull it?

IMO, the first consideration should be the modifications you are willing to do. I am not willing to do any mods! No, not even a lube pump or drive shaft disconnect! If that is also your feeling, then you are pretty much limited to a 4X4 with a Neutral position in the transfer case. Then you must read the Owners Manual to see if it is towable. If the instructions for towing are not in the manual, you can check with REMCO to see what they say.
The second consideration is the configuration you want or need. Can you get by with a standard cab (hard to find), or do you actually need an extended or quad cab? Keep in mind that the bigger the cab, the heavier the truck. The same goes for the truck bed or box. Do you need a long box, or will a short box do the job? Again, longer is heavier.
Third is "brand loyalty". For me, it would probably be a Dodge (or Ram, these days). Some people don't care, as long as it will do what they want it to do.
Oh, and of course, don't forget color! I wanted a red one, but the one I found was over $6000. I found a green one(nearly identical) that I was able to make a deal on for $3700. So, I have a green truck.
Have fun shopping.

FIRE UP wrote:


07blacktruck,
Well Sir, we're doing EXACTLY what you're thinking of. We have an '04 Itasca Horizon, 36GD with the C-7 330HP CAT. We're towing an '11 GMC Sierra 1500 Extended Cab 4x4. In the bed of that truck is a Rampage motorcycle lift/carrier. In that carrier is an '08 Honda GL 1800 Goldwing.

Now, that truck, with a full tank of fuel is right at 5,300 lbs. The Rampage hovers close to about, 275 plus or minus. And the 1800 Wing, right close to 900 lbs.

So, we're dragging behind us, close to 6,500 lbs., plus or minus. Our coach handles that load very nicely. It's not a rocket ship by any means. On grades, it slows down a bit. No biggie, we'll get where we're going. The Rampage lift is the only way to go in this kind of situation. It leaves quite a bit of room in the bed if you still want to haul some things back there.

I installed that lift with a system that makes it swiftly removable. I made a cart for that lift. the cart is 1" higher than the bed of the truck. So, when it comes time to load the lift, I remove the tail gate (it's not used when we're hauling the bike) and, roll the lift up to the back of the truck. Since the lift, on the cart, is one inch higher, it actually goes into the bed, about 1/3 the way.

I then lift up the rear half of the lift, the front is supported by the bed, and, the wife simply rolls the cart out of the way and, I finish sliding the lift, the rest of the way into the truck bed. The system I installed for installing the bolts is already and permenantly in place. the whole operation for installing that lift, takes me right at, 2-4 minutes.

When it comes time to remove it, it takes me about the same amount of time and, it's right back onto that cart. The lift is stored in the corner of the garage, out of the weather.

As for the truck and the coach, I use a Blue Ox Aventa 10,000 lb. tow bar and, I recently set the coach and the truck up with the M & G braking system. That's the slickest braking system on the market, by far. NOTHING is inside the truck, for application of the brakes. It has a unit that is positioned between the master cylinder and the power brake unit.

All that's between the truck and the coach is, a curely-que air line. It takes all of about 3-4 seconds to hook up and, you're ready to tow.

Now, as for what type of truck for your toad. Well, first of all, primarily only 4x4 trucks are flat towable WITHOUT ANY MODIFICATIONS. You can tow a two wheel drive truck but, not without doing extensive modifications.

With todays trucks, there's virtually almost "0" difference in mpg between the two. That is if, you were worrying about gas mileage of a 2x vs a 4x. Now, Chevy, GMC and Dodge 4x4 trucks have been flat towable for years. Ford, in it's infinite wisdom, was NOT FLAT TOWABLE until the model/year 2012. That's when they made a change to their transfer case to be able to put it into NEUTRAL, for flat towing.

All the other makes, have already had that option in place, like stated, for years. You see, you need a 4x4 because, it's transfer case having a neutral capability, disconnects both the front and rear drive shafts so that when they spin, while you're towing it, they have no effect on the transfer case or, the transmission or, engine.

Now, I don't know what year you might be interested in but, in the Chevy and GMC, prior to 2013, all you did in prep for towing was, put the T/C in neutral, put the trans in park, release the parking brake and, remove the key. You're now ready to tow.

But, in the 2013 models and newer, you now do all of what I just stated PLUS, you have to disconnect the negative battery cable. Not many fans of that at present. Lot's of guys trying to figure out how to make that a simple move. I've suggested a battery switch with a removable red key. Done it to a couple of Jeeps and, it works slick.

AS for the newer Ford F-150 4x4, as far as I know, you do this 5 or 6 step process in prep for towing and, you're ready to go with no disconnecting of any battery cables etc. I don't know about the Dodges. Someone might chime in here about those.

Anyway, hope I've enlightened you on your quest. Here's a pic or two of our setup.
Scott

Thanks all for the info. I will have to check the links shown. Fire up, you're doing exactly what I think would be the best for my travels. I have the 6.7 Cummins and really don't foresee a problem with power. Not being first to the top of a hill has never been a concern of mine. I will now have to focus my search on a decent used truck. Not needing a new one or even a full sized one. Just big enough to get me around and haul my bike. I know they are getting harder to find but what about an S-10/ Ford Ranger type with a manual transmission? What would be necessary to make one of those work?
I appreciate all the info. Newbie here to this world of towing a car like this.

remco might be a good place to start, but before buying be sure to check the owner's manual under either recreational towing, or towing behind a motorhome to confirm this. do not buy something that needs mechanical changes to tow, such as a drive shaft disconnect or tranny lube pump.
bumpy

Saw a rig this summer, big fancy high dollar DP. Anyhow the guy had a lift on the rear of the motorhome and then towed a dodge pu with a razor something in the back of it. Had all the toys being pulled with the MH. Not sure if that is what you want but it does leave the PU with an empty bed if needed by just driving the razor out and parking it. No lifts etc for putting a bike in it. OBTW it was a short bed pick up.