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

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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).

I move the selector and shift the way RyanR described and it works in my rig. My 2011 LC has a production date of 10/10.
 
50D113D1-4604-4D4E-ADD7-331044DB3871.jpeg


So I’ve been flat towing the lx, lx570 currently using wireless led lights til mine come in the mail. Only issue I’m having is the battery dying. I’m trying to decide what’s the solution


About 2 hour into the drive the battery dies. Doesn’t lock the wheel which is great. So I’m wondering can I just add a battery disconnect and tow with the steering wheel unlocked and everything disconnected. Would this be bad for anything? Obviously I would do the normal steps to place the t-case into neutral. I’m just trying to figure this out while on road.


I purchased new battery and in two hours. Same
Results. I wonder if Ryan used an agm battery

I tried usually a battery charger and the smaller ones didn’t work



I can wire in a 12v off my rig or use a product RVI sells but on the lx470 that same product lasted 3 months before not responding so I can purchase it again if the battery disconnect is a no go.


I asked lexus and they said why not. But they also don’t really say you can even flat tow. Thanks in advance
 
View attachment 2867908

So I’ve been flat towing the lx, lx570 currently using wireless led lights til mine come in the mail. Only issue I’m having is the battery dying. I’m trying to decide what’s the solution


About 2 hour into the drive the battery dies. Doesn’t lock the wheel which is great. So I’m wondering can I just add a battery disconnect and tow with the steering wheel unlocked and everything disconnected. Would this be bad for anything? Obviously I would do the normal steps to place the t-case into neutral. I’m just trying to figure this out while on road.


I purchased new battery and in two hours. Same
Results. I wonder if Ryan used an agm battery

I tried usually a battery charger and the smaller ones didn’t work



I can wire in a 12v off my rig or use a product RVI sells but on the lx470 that same product lasted 3 months before not responding so I can purchase it again if the battery disconnect is a no go.


I asked lexus and they said why not. But they also don’t really say you can even flat tow. Thanks in advance
I would wire 12V from the RV and use that to power the vehicle. If you have a 7 pin connector for towing the pin 4 wire should be +12V aux. You'll need to see how many Amps the circuit is rated at but if you turn off the A/C, seat heaters, headlights, etc I would think the overall draw would be low enough that you'll be OK. Worst case you could run a separate 12V cable... I'd just use maybe 6 or 8ga and an Andersen quick connect.

(FWIW I can run my electric trailer jack off the 12V in my truck and the jack has its own 30A fuse)

1639775159350.png
 
I would wire 12V from the RV and use that to power the vehicle. If you have a 7 pin connector for towing the pin 4 wire should be +12V aux. You'll need to see how many Amps the circuit is rated at but if you turn off the A/C, seat heaters, headlights, etc I would think the overall draw would be low enough that you'll be OK. Worst case you could run a separate 12V cable... I'd just use maybe 6 or 8ga and an Andersen quick connect.

(FWIW I can run my electric trailer jack off the 12V in my truck and the jack has its own 30A fuse)

View attachment 2867955
Yes I’m familiar with this process I did it last time on the LX for 70 the problem with that is a device that I was using is the RVI battery towed charger and that thing fried out in about three months so now with the 570 I can’t just leave it on because it better drains way faster than in the four-seventies I’m wondering if I can just install a battery disconnect on the 570 And avoid having to use the seven pin connector in wiring anything I don’t use lights from the LX even for breaking I have wireless LED lights that I use
 
View attachment 2867908

So I’ve been flat towing the lx, lx570 currently using wireless led lights til mine come in the mail. Only issue I’m having is the battery dying. I’m trying to decide what’s the solution


About 2 hour into the drive the battery dies. Doesn’t lock the wheel which is great. So I’m wondering can I just add a battery disconnect and tow with the steering wheel unlocked and everything disconnected. Would this be bad for anything? Obviously I would do the normal steps to place the t-case into neutral. I’m just trying to figure this out while on road.


I purchased new battery and in two hours. Same
Results. I wonder if Ryan used an agm battery

I tried usually a battery charger and the smaller ones didn’t work



I can wire in a 12v off my rig or use a product RVI sells but on the lx470 that same product lasted 3 months before not responding so I can purchase it again if the battery disconnect is a no go.


I asked lexus and they said why not. But they also don’t really say you can even flat tow. Thanks in advance

I just had a stock size group 27 battery, but it was a fresh Costco flooded interstate. I just made sure I didn’t leave any lights on, turn nav screen off, dash on dimmest setting, climate control off, seat heaters/blower off, anything I could think of to minimize draw and never had a flat battery after towing for several hours. I think our longest haul in one go was about 9 hours and battery was still cranking over fine. All my internal and external bulbs were swapped to LED, including the running lights inside the headlight housing. I can’t remember what stayed on and what was off when in Accessory mode while towing. Other than losing all your settings every time a battery disconnect would work fine. I did disconnect the battery a couple times and tow just to verify that the steering column wouldn’t lock if my battery did go flat in tow. Setting up a 12v charge feed off the coach sounds like an easy fix too. In our class A the house and starting batteries where right at the back so it would have been easy to tap into that charge circuit.

Awesome to see another LX out there being flat towed!!

My guess is if there are any incandescent bulbs that remain on they are your culprits. We left the truck for 3 weeks once with a couple interior lights on and came back and it fired right up. I left a light on for 24 hours in my current 2013 before switching all the bulbs out to LED and had to use the trusty jump pack to start it.

Side note, before I put a new battery in I had the stock Lexus battery that was a decade old and barely held a charge. For the first few trips I towed the vehicle with it running. Not ideal but the fuel consumption at idle is pretty minor compared to the 6MPG or so of diesel our coach sucked down
 
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I'm willing to build a system that will use Aisin hubs on all four wheels. The front semi float bearings can be retained, or converted to full float. The rear will probably require a FF conversion. The issue will be price including R&D costs... I can crunch some numbers if there is serious interest.
Did you ever do serious looking at this?
 
I’ve taken a serious enough look to know it can be done, but never really crunched the numbers… 6 years later it’s bound to be a bit more $$$$.
DM me if you want. I'm very curious because because it's not like buying a trailer or a 3rd vehicle(jeep) is cheap either. Could be more cost effective than we think
 
Our 100 Series is set up for flat towing, I put in a 2nd battery, so that if the main battery is dead, I can just push a button and jump start from the Aux battery. I've got the 12v (7 pin from the RV) charging both batteries when we flat and on really long tow days, or if I forget to turn of the LC when we park for the night, the battery will be dead the next morning, I just jump from the Aux battery. I'm also running an RVi brake in the LC to tow. If I ever had to flat tow another LC, I'd put in an Aux battery for sure, just makes jumping so easy.
 
Here is a semi-float Tacoma/120/150 Series hub that is being set up for a larger CV joint w/ manual hub (for various reasons). The same process can be applied to the 200 Series hub, with something similar for the rear.
C58CBDBC-5AA2-47C8-BBF4-0F47063EF457.jpeg
 
Here is a semi-float Tacoma/120/150 Series hub that is being set up for a larger CV joint w/ manual hub (for various reasons). The same process can be applied to the 200 Series hub, with something similar for the rear.
View attachment 3373192

Oh dear . . .
 
Here is a semi-float Tacoma/120/150 Series hub that is being set up for a larger CV joint w/ manual hub (for various reasons). The same process can be applied to the 200 Series hub, with something similar for the rear.
View attachment 3373192
Is there a nut on the back of the hub to prevent the bearings separating?
 
Quick question as I have a new to me 2008 and want to try this - in the instructions it states to "turn the ignition switch on" are you actually starting the rig or just pushing it without foot on brake (not starting engine)? @casper9292 did you ever put in a battery disconnect or what did you do to keep battery from dying?? I want to use wireless tow lights not mess with the wiring. Thanks!
 
Quick question as I have a new to me 2008 and want to try this - in the instructions it states to "turn the ignition switch on" are you actually starting the rig or just pushing it without foot on brake (not starting engine)? @casper9292 did you ever put in a battery disconnect or what did you do to keep battery from dying?? I want to use wireless tow lights not mess with the wiring. Thanks!
Just on, don’t start
 
Oh My.... This is getting me excited!

I just assumed (we know what that does) that it couldnt be done...
 

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