gbrawley

I am considering buying a GX 470 for 4 wheel flat towing behind my motor home. I know that Lexus officially does not reccommend but I have seen at least 5 doing it. I am wondering since I have not been able to interview anyone yet who is. What do you do to tow and have you had any problems. thanks Jerry

Capirato

I've read that some folks tow their GX's by putting the 4x4 lever in Neutral.

~ Cap

crubrexus

Hi Jerry,

You should call Remco first and check. See an earlier post I made:
https://www.clublexus.com/forums/sho...65#post1304665

These guys seemed honest to me -- they didn't try to sell me something I didn't need. I've even visited the factory, and they were glad to show me around.

Motorhome magazine publishes a list of towable dinghy vehicles (w/o modification), and they do say that most 4WD Trucks and SUVs can be towed with the transfer case shifted to neutral. I would check very carefully into this -- Lexus is very specific to say that all wheels should be stationary (lifted or riding on a dolly), when towed. Note also that there are no Lexus vehicles listed in the Truck/SUV category of the motorhome list, and the only Toyota truck/SUV listed as towable unmodified is the RAV4. You might already know this, but I've read that the transmission damage can take several thousand or even tens of thousands of miles to appear.

http://www.motorhomemagazine.com/din...ngs_p16_25.pdf

With a Remco driveshaft disconnect on a GX or a lube pump (whatever they recommend), you should be able to tow it four-down.

Pat

Capirato

Pat.....

Remco says, "Because the GX470 does not have a 2WD position in the transfer case you must tow this vehicle with front on a dolly".

~ Cap

crubrexus

Hey Cap, thanks for calling.

I was still confused that Roadmaster (www.roadmasterinc.com) sells tow brackets for the GX470 (which are for towing four-down), so I also called Remco to ask what was up with that. The support person initially told me that with a driveshaft disconnect, it could be towed four-down, but I mentioned that I had heard that without a 2WD position on the transfer case that a tow dolly would also be required. He put me on hold, then came back and told me that Remco's latest position is just as you found out -- disconnect + tow dolly required. He said that some people haven't had any problems with disconnect + four down, but some have had transmission failures with that setup. He said they are unable to determine why, and Remco's current position is to cover themselves from liability claims on transmission failures. He also said that they wouldn't be making a second disconnect for the forward driveshaft, as that would require climbing under the truck to engage or disengage the driveshaft.

So that seems to be the latest. I'm wondering if the people without failures were also shifting their transfer cases to neutral as a precaution? Another thought might be that maybe the people w/o failures were shifting the Auto transmission to neutral with the engine running, then shutting it off? I'm speculating that since I believe that the modern Toyota/Lexus auto transmission is controlled by electronics and servos, and there is no longer a direct mechanical link from the shift lever to the internal valves and mechanics of the transmission (aside from the park position which locks it up). If I'm totally wrong on this belief, please post here and let me and others know.

The bottom line seems to be that if you don't mind using a tow dolly, you can still use a GX as a dinghy with the Remco disconnect. Otherwise you either take a risk towing four-down, or you might have to find a different vehicle.

Pat