FLAT TOW A 200??? ARE YOU CRAZY??? I AM!

[Matt Phelps]

Hey RyanR,

It’s great to hear you’ve started down the road of flat towing a 200. I’ve got a 100 and have flat towed it about 10k miles without any issues. Have thought a lot about moving to a 200 series, but didn’t want to be a pioneer in the flat towing space. I’m interested in how it plays out.

Regarding diodes got your tail light wiring look at the Roadmaster diode kit. I used this kit to wire into my tail lights and it prevents any backflow of current.

https://www.etrailer.com/Accessories-and-Parts/Roadmaster/RM-792.html

Good Luck,
Matt

 

[4gotalot]

Attn RyanR, please take this info about the Tranfer Case Neutral trick over to greasing the front or rear drive line page. A bit off topic but I want to give credit were credit is due. I used this method to grease the front drive shaft with just the front left wheel off the ground. That was after an hour of frustration trying to get the right angle of the dangle and not having enough floor jacks to raise three tires off the ground.

I then remembered your neutral trick and on my second try it worked great. The tire rotated and the drive shaft lined up at the only know angle to access that u joint. Done in two minutes.

Thank you,
Mark in BZN

Edit - ref to Page 4, #74

 

[RyanR]

So I finished up my electrical setup for flat towing the 200.

I ended up picking up some very small, but quite bright, single white LED's and using the red reflector housings in the rear lower bumper. They are easy to remove and clearly setup to have a bulb inside and function as an actual reflector housing. I drilled out the back of the housing to insert the bulb. Wired both to the front of the vehicle where I now have a flat 4 connector. I use the 7Pin to 4Pin adapter that came with the Lexus and a 4ft 4 flat extension cable to connect the Lexus to the coach. (Each side has a positive and a ground that home runs back to the harness. I wanted the towing electrical system 100% isolated from the stock electronics, so no chassis grounding)

I now have turn signals and brake lights that are powered by the coach trailer harness as well as the stock running lights AND brake lights that are actuated by the ReadyBrute brake system. The lights in the rear bumper light up instantly when I apply the brakes in the coach and the factory brake lights follow a moment later as the surge brake system applies the brakes on the Lexus. The two-stage brake light system is very noticable. Turn signals are nice and bright. Very pleased with how things turned out.

When I have a moment I'll try to snap some photos and maybe even try to grab a video of the brake lights in action next time we relocate. In Moab wheeling right now. Lexus is still happy 2k+ miles of flat towing later. Been mountain biking and wheeling every day for the past couple weeks.

Side Note: I still haven't tested whether or not the steering column remains unlocked when you put the vehicle in the ON position then pull the battery terminal off.

Since I am using the stock running lights/brake lights I just leave the vehicle in the ON position with a key fob in the car whenever I am towing. I turn off all other electronics, heat, etc in the vehicle so the battery is only powering the lights. So far the longest tow has been about 7 hours and the battery was still strong. I long ago converted all interior and exterior bulbs to LED's so that helps keep consumption low.

 

[RyanR]

Well this is certainly a bittersweet post for me.

Like everything else I have asked of it the LX has been an absolutely flawless flat tow rig. When we make it back to CO we will have over 5k miles towed 4 down. Zero indication that the transfer case minds it one bit.

We are returning to CO to close on the sale of our home in Denver and then we’ll be truly rootless and full timing it. These past few months our business has grown even faster than we were striving for and we have realize we need a dedicated office space. So the class A rig will be up for sale and we’ll be picking up a toy hauler (the garage will be our office) and a dually. Unfortunately that means the LX no longer has a place in our plans and without a home base I do not want to pay to store it.

If anyone is looking for an LX570 ready for the trails and ready for flat towing I will be posting ours up for sale shortly. We will be back in Denver in about 2 weeks and that is where it will be located for any prospective buyers.

Whenever we stop traveling full time there will definitely be another LX570 in my garage but for now it is time to say so long.

 

[mtnracer]

Well this is certainly a bittersweet post for me.

Like everything else I have asked of it the LX has been an absolutely flawless flat tow rig. When we make it back to CO we will have over 5k miles towed 4 down. Zero indication that the transfer case minds it one bit.

We are returning to CO to close on the sale of our home in Denver and then we’ll be truly rootless and full timing it. These past few months our business has grown even faster than we were striving for and we have realize we need a dedicated office space. So the class A rig will be up for sale and we’ll be picking up a toy hauler (the garage will be our office) and a dually. Unfortunately that means the LX no longer has a place in our plans and without a home base I do not want to pay to store it.

If anyone is looking for an LX570 ready for the trails and ready for flat towing I will be posting ours up for sale shortly. We will be back in Denver in about 2 weeks and that is where it will be located for any prospective buyers.

Whenever we stop traveling full time there will definitely be another LX570 in my garage but for now it is time to say so long.

Thanks for all yours posts and info. What kind of work do you do?

 

[casper9292]

Well this is certainly a bittersweet post for me.

Like everything else I have asked of it the LX has been an absolutely flawless flat tow rig. When we make it back to CO we will have over 5k miles towed 4 down. Zero indication that the transfer case minds it one bit.

We are returning to CO to close on the sale of our home in Denver and then we’ll be truly rootless and full timing it. These past few months our business has grown even faster than we were striving for and we have realize we need a dedicated office space. So the class A rig will be up for sale and we’ll be picking up a toy hauler (the garage will be our office) and a dually. Unfortunately that means the LX no longer has a place in our plans and without a home base I do not want to pay to store it.

If anyone is looking for an LX570 ready for the trails and ready for flat towing I will be posting ours up for sale shortly. We will be back in Denver in about 2 weeks and that is where it will be located for any prospective buyers.

Whenever we stop traveling full time there will definitely be another LX570 in my garage but for now it is time to say so long.

If you haven’t sold it. I need it. If you have sold it I need your help on how you were able to flat tow your 570. I feel like I skipped the post giving those details. Thanks Ryan

 

[grinchy]

If you haven’t sold it. I need it. If you have sold it I need your help on how you were able to flat tow your 570. I feel like I skipped the post giving those details. Thanks Ryan

The parts are on the previous page
Blue ox tow bar
Ready brute braking system
A couple other things
4 pin Lights (in the rear fog location)
Much earlier in the thread is the shifting combination to put the tranny in neutral.
He was towing with key ‘on’

 

[RyanR]

If you haven’t sold it. I need it. If you have sold it I need your help on how you were able to flat tow your 570. I feel like I skipped the post giving those details. Thanks Ryan

The LX we had setup for the motorhome is gone but details are all in the thread. LX was an awesome Toad. I would do it again in a heartbeat. The only thing I would MAYBE consider changing is possibly trying an electronic brake controller. The ready brute system is stupid simple and works great... you just can't back up with it because it will lock the brakes. Wasn't really a problem for us, its super fast to drop and reattached the vehicle over months over travel this caused me maybe 10 minutes of hassle so I can't really complain.

 

[casper9292]

The parts are on the previous page
Blue ox tow bar
Ready brute braking system
A couple other things
4 pin Lights (in the rear fog location)
Much earlier in the thread is the shifting combination to put the tranny in neutral.
He was towing with key ‘on’

Thanks so much. I’m going to fly up to NJ this week to pick up a black 570. Excited. I just purchased a 470 a week before learning I could flat tow and now I MUST upgrade lol

 

[evergladesrover]

Hello all! I have read this thread forwards and backwards 20 times and have followed the instructions to the T but have no luck getting my 2011 LX570 into neutral like @RyanR did successfully...

Has anyone successfully followed the steps on a different year (2011)?

I am hoping to flat tow behind my pusher coach. PLEASE oh PLEASE don't make me buy a JEEP!!

 

[RyanR]

Hello all! I have read this thread forwards and backwards 20 times and have followed the instructions to the T but have no luck getting my 2011 LX570 into neutral like @RyanR did successfully...

Has anyone successfully followed the steps on a different year (2011)?

I am hoping to flat tow behind my pusher coach. PLEASE oh PLEASE don't make me buy a JEEP!!

I have a 2013 now (The LX we flat towed was a 2008)... I have not had a need to flat tow it so I haven't tried putting it in neutral but I'll try it out and see if the procedure is any different.

 

[evergladesrover]

I have a 2013 now (The LX we flat towed was a 2008)... I have not had a need to flat tow it so I haven't tried putting it in neutral but I'll try it out and see if the procedure is any different.

Thank you Sir!! I really appreciate it!

 

[RyanR]

Thank you Sir!! I really appreciate it!

Interesting. I just tried this on our 2013 and the same procedure does not work. In neutral, shift to 4Lo and immediately throw the transmission into park and it just completes the shift into 4Lo. I tried doing the same and throwing it into Drive instead of park and again, same thing, just shifts into 4Lo. If there is a way to access Neutral to flat tow on the 2013+ I do not know how to do it.

Did you see the same results on your 2011?

 

[evergladesrover]

Interesting. I just tried this on our 2013 and the same procedure does not work. In neutral, shift to 4Lo and immediately throw the transmission into park and it just completes the shift into 4Lo. I tried doing the same and throwing it into Drive instead of park and again, same thing, just shifts into 4Lo. If there is a way to access Neutral to flat tow on the 2013+ I do not know how to do it.

Did you see the same results on your 2011?

Yes. Exactly the same thing happens to me on my 2011.

I follow the procedure to step 9 and switch from L4 to H4 while throwing it into Park. I can't get it into Neutral...it just completes the transition.

I have done some research and cannot find what changed from 2008 to 2011...I mean they are the same truck, right??

 

[RyanR]

Yes. Exactly the same thing happens to me on my 2011.

I follow the procedure to step 9 and switch from L4 to H4 while throwing it into Park. I can't get it into Neutral...it just completes the transition.

I have done some research and cannot find what changed from 2008 to 2011...I mean they are the same truck, right??

Interesting... @4gotalot above has a 2011 and it seems he was able to access Neutral. I wonder if there was a ECU update that changed this behavior vs a mechanical change?

 

[evergladesrover]

Interesting... @4gotalot above has a 2011 and it seems he was able to access Neutral. I wonder if there was a ECU update that changed this behavior vs a mechanical change?

That sounds like a very feasible explanation... @4gotalot did you do anything different?

Thank you @RyanR for looking into this today!

I am really bummed because I just bought this coach and I was so excited to take the LX with us. The only car I own that will be able to flat tow is my 1996 Land Rover Discovery (manual trans).

 

[linuxgod]

The transfer case in the LC changed in 2013. IIRC Toyota switched to one made by Borg Warner. So it's entirely possible the sequence works in 2008-2011 models but doesn't work in 2013+ (or works slightly differently)

@RyanR got this working in his 2013 LX, so it seems plausible that it should work, it's just that the procedure is implemented slightly differently in the BW 2013+ TC. See FLAT TOW A 200??? ARE YOU CRAZY??? I AM! - https://forum.ih8mud.com/threads/flat-tow-a-200-are-you-crazy-i-am.947498/page-4#post-12933953 for the "trick"

 

[evergladesrover]

The transfer case in the LC changed in 2013. IIRC Toyota switched to one made by Borg Warner. So it's entirely possible the sequence works in 2008-2011 models but doesn't work in 2013+ (or works slightly differently)

@RyanR got this working in his 2013 LX, so it seems plausible that it should work, it's just that the procedure is implemented slightly differently in the BW 2013+ TC. See FLAT TOW A 200??? ARE YOU CRAZY??? I AM! - https://forum.ih8mud.com/threads/flat-tow-a-200-are-you-crazy-i-am.947498/page-4#post-12933953 for the "trick"

Ok good to know about the TC change.

Yeah, I have done that sequence sooooooo many times and still nothing. It still just goes back into H4.

I am thinking maybe there was some sort of update to a component from 2008 to 2011 that made it not work.... I am still grasping at straws here.

 

[RyanR]

The transfer case in the LC changed in 2013. IIRC Toyota switched to one made by Borg Warner. So it's entirely possible the sequence works in 2008-2011 models but doesn't work in 2013+ (or works slightly differently)

@RyanR got this working in his 2013 LX, so it seems plausible that it should work, it's just that the procedure is implemented slightly differently in the BW 2013+ TC. See FLAT TOW A 200??? ARE YOU CRAZY??? I AM! - https://forum.ih8mud.com/threads/flat-tow-a-200-are-you-crazy-i-am.947498/page-4#post-12933953 for the "trick"

Nope. Does not work in my 2013. Worked on my previous 2008 LX, no dice on the 2013. Shifts between 4Hi and 4Lol are MUCH faster and from what I can tell there is no ability to hit T-case neutral. It just continues to shift even if you take the truck out of Transmission neutral.

 

[evergladesrover]

Nope. Does not work in my 2013. Worked on my previous 2008 LX, no dice on the 2013. Shifts between 4Hi and 4Lol are MUCH faster and from what I can tell there is no ability to hit T-case neutral. It just continues to shift even if you take the truck out of Transmission neutral.

Mine is the same...just went out and tried it again but still nothing! UGH!

Well I guess I will be selling my super clean 2011 lol...

Thanks for trying.