tow with all wheel drive?
Our 94 Suburban cracked a head so were looking for a newer Suburban. Many of them seem to be all wheel drive, can you tow with those?
Forum Discussion
I think some of the confusion here is in what people are calling 'AWD'. My definition matches what is described on wikipedia:
"Particularly in North America for several decades, the designation AWD has been used and marketed - distinctly from "4X4" and "4WD" - to apply to vehicles with drive train systems that have permanent drive, a differential between the front and rear drive shafts, and active management of torque transfer, especially following the advent of ABS."
To me that means if you have a switch to select 2WD, you don't really have an "AWD" vehicle.
Since at least 1999, GM has offered an 'AUTO' mode which is really a conventional 4WD system with computer-controlled shift on the fly. Some vehicles like the Yukon I have offer 2WD,Auto,4WD and others have 2WD,Auto,Neutral,4HI,4LO. My '05 pickup has 2WD,Neutral,4HI,4LO like the old days which I assume is still available at least on the pickups.
There was also an actual full-time AWD option in 1998 called AutoTrac. Some version of that was likely still around in later years.
Any/all should be fine for towing if the vehicle is rated for it.
"Particularly in North America for several decades, the designation AWD has been used and marketed - distinctly from "4X4" and "4WD" - to apply to vehicles with drive train systems that have permanent drive, a differential between the front and rear drive shafts, and active management of torque transfer, especially following the advent of ABS."
To me that means if you have a switch to select 2WD, you don't really have an "AWD" vehicle.
Since at least 1999, GM has offered an 'AUTO' mode which is really a conventional 4WD system with computer-controlled shift on the fly. Some vehicles like the Yukon I have offer 2WD,Auto,4WD and others have 2WD,Auto,Neutral,4HI,4LO. My '05 pickup has 2WD,Neutral,4HI,4LO like the old days which I assume is still available at least on the pickups.
There was also an actual full-time AWD option in 1998 called AutoTrac. Some version of that was likely still around in later years.
Any/all should be fine for towing if the vehicle is rated for it.
