Flat Tow Setup on 4th Gen Tacoma Done

[Graham_BPT]

Nice truck and nice Isata 5 rig! Thanks for making this post!

I have an Isata 5 RV as well (the 30FW) and figured out how to flat tow our 5th Gen 4Runner. I ended up adapting some tow plates and a cross bar for an SR5 to fit on our TRD Pro without rubbing and then did the driveshaft disconnect from Superior Driveline (who happens to be local me in Iowa interestly) and it was a great setup. We towed it 1000s of miles. For that I figured out you had to leave it ACC mode, leave it in neutral and leave the Fob in the truck in order to have the steering stay unlocked and not beep constantly (hence the Fob inside). To deal with avoiding battery drain I simply added the iRV battery trickle charger that works off the hitch plug power. We use the iRV brake system also - very slick!

Anyhow - we just traded in the 5th Gen for a new 6th Gen 4R TRD Pro. We LOVE it, BUT its time to get it setup for flat towing and I found your post here which is super helpful. I have some questions for you though if you don't mind.

I like the idea of using the shackle kit you did. Due to how it mounts, how it is constructed and that it is designed for single point recovery, I 100% trust its more than enough to handle flat towing forces which are actually quite minimal outside of taking off from a stop which even then aren't much. I ordered the same kit and I hoping it can fit the 4Runner with little to no cutting but we'll see. They don't seem to currently have one specific to the 4R.

Here is what I am wondering about that I cannot work out from your post:

1. Where are you connecting the safety chains?

2. The mount is 1/2" thick but the smallest tow bar D-link end adapters I see are 3/4" so what did you do to handle the gaps?

3. Steering lock - you said there doesn't seem to be one which is great. To confirm how you tow - you simply hook up, disconnect the driveshaft, leave the gear selector in Park, turn the truck completely off and you tow like that?

4. Locking the truck - are you able to lock the truck while flat towing and not have any issues with an alarm, etc? I'm not clear yet on what the new 4R has for OEM alarm behavior when locked. In the 5th gen we'd leave the Fob in the truck and lock the door manually with the key and then unlock it when we were done flat towing. We usually have gear in the truck when its being towed so we like to keep it locked.

I think all else should be good to go, even with the hybrid. As far as I can tell, the hybrid add-on will have no impact with the driveshaft disconnect. Its integrated outside the transfer case and in the trans bellhousing area. I also checked and confirmed the front shaft off the T-case free spins just like the 5th Gen meaning it locks in at both at the T-Case and front diff the same way.

I do have a friend who works for TRD. He is doing some digging for me just to be sure anyway.

Thanks again!

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[Sammamish]

I just completed the work for flat towing my 4th Gen tacoma. I used Remco driveline disconnect system but my new truck has a locking rear differential which prevents the hoops over the differential to be used. Remco attaches the mechanism using the three lower bolts on the front of the differential. Take one off at time when installing the adapter.

The problem for me is that I am the first to actually install it. It did not fit, not even close. The bolt holes for the adapter plate were off. The plate which attaches to the differential is too narrow and the flanges hit the driveshaft/differential flange attaches points and lastly the arms holding the fittings that reach up to the driveline are too short.

I told Remco about the problems and it took them 2 months to rework it but the new unit was worse.

I eventually ground the flanges down to clear the driveshaft flange, realigned the holes for attachment to the differential and fabricated new longer and taller arms to reach the driveshaft. I test it yesterday for the first time and it worked fine.

I am not completely confident of the 3 bolts holding the mechanism on the front of the differential though as it puts the bolts in bending stress and that does fatigue well. I think I can put a hoop over the top of the differential like the standard version with a spacer between the attach plate and the front of the differential to minimize stress on the bolts.

Remco is working with a shop in Stockton, CA on these same issues and it is not going well. If you have a locking rear differential I would make sure they have worked out the issues as it took me about 40 plus hours to install the disconnect fitting and make parts.

I expect Remco to provide me the correct hardware once they figure it out.

 

[Graham_BPT]

Kudos to you guys for doing the linkage install. I didn't bother with it and just slip under the truck and disconnect myself. Other than if it happens to be pouring rain, it hasn't bothered me much lol.

 

[Leo319]

Nice truck and nice Isata 5 rig! Thanks for making this post!

I have an Isata 5 RV as well (the 30FW) and figured out how to flat tow our 5th Gen 4Runner. I ended up adapting some tow plates and a cross bar for an SR5 to fit on our TRD Pro without rubbing and then did the driveshaft disconnect from Superior Driveline (who happens to be local me in Iowa interestly) and it was a great setup. We towed it 1000s of miles. For that I figured out you had to leave it ACC mode, leave it in neutral and leave the Fob in the truck in order to have the steering stay unlocked and not beep constantly (hence the Fob inside). To deal with avoiding battery drain I simply added the iRV battery trickle charger that works off the hitch plug power. We use the iRV brake system also - very slick!

Anyhow - we just traded in the 5th Gen for a new 6th Gen 4R TRD Pro. We LOVE it, BUT its time to get it setup for flat towing and I found your post here which is super helpful. I have some questions for you though if you don't mind.

I like the idea of using the shackle kit you did. Due to how it mounts, how it is constructed and that it is designed for single point recovery, I 100% trust its more than enough to handle flat towing forces which are actually quite minimal outside of taking off from a stop which even then aren't much. I ordered the same kit and I hoping it can fit the 4Runner with little to no cutting but we'll see. They don't seem to currently have one specific to the 4R.

Here is what I am wondering about that I cannot work out from your post:

1. Where are you connecting the safety chains?

2. The mount is 1/2" thick but the smallest tow bar D-link end adapters I see are 3/4" so what did you do to handle the gaps?

3. Steering lock - you said there doesn't seem to be one which is great. To confirm how you tow - you simply hook up, disconnect the driveshaft, leave the gear selector in Park, turn the truck completely off and you tow like that?

4. Locking the truck - are you able to lock the truck while flat towing and not have any issues with an alarm, etc? I'm not clear yet on what the new 4R has for OEM alarm behavior when locked. In the 5th gen we'd leave the Fob in the truck and lock the door manually with the key and then unlock it when we were done flat towing. We usually have gear in the truck when its being towed so we like to keep it locked.

I think all else should be good to go, even with the hybrid. As far as I can tell, the hybrid add-on will have no impact with the driveshaft disconnect. Its integrated outside the transfer case and in the trans bellhousing area. I also checked and confirmed the front shaft off the T-case free spins just like the 5th Gen meaning it locks in at both at the T-Case and front diff the same way.

I do have a friend who works for TRD. He is doing some digging for me just to be sure anyway.

Thanks again!

Cool! I think I might have come across one of your videos detailing the towing setup with the 4runner. Silver scheme Isata and greenish 4runner?

Don’t mind the questions at all. I’m sure it is helping others. Here i go...

1. The safety chains are connected to tow hooks that are installed on the shackles; coincidentally, the eyelets for the bolts are identical. I don’t recall where I sourced them, but they are pretty generic. I got this pic for Harbor Freight, and it looks identical. All fits nicely and tucked.

2. I think you are confusing the ½ thickness of the plate for the diameter of the shackles. The pin diameter of the shackles is in fact 7/8”, and I used the blue OX adapter kit with 7/8” pins. They fit like a glove. Let me know if this is what you’re referring to, or if I misunderstood your questions.

3. Corrrect, no steering disconnect. Just like you said, simply hook up, disconnect the driveshaft, leave the gear selector in Park, turn the truck completely off, and you tow like that. JUST REMEMBER TO TURN OFF THE AUTO PARKING BRAKE FEATURE OFF, I always leave mine off, but I double-check if I haven’t towed in weeks/months.

4. Yep, no issues at all. Lock the truck, keep the keys with me, just like leaving it in a parking lot.


I agree with your comments regarding the hybrid difference, understanding T-case is the main thing.

I’ve got good 3-4k miles of towing it the way I mentioned, no problem whatsoever. Hope this helps, and happy to help!

 

[Graham_BPT]

Yup! That is my video I did. I figured after putting in the work to get it right, it was nice to show others how it could be done.

Thanks for the extra info on the safety chain connection. We are eyeballing the CBI bumper which has D-rings also so we may end up towing off that and return the RC mounts but we'll see.

Good to know on locking it, I assume the alarm system much not include any kind of shock/vibration sensing so that's good.

Maybe I am a bit confused on dimensions and need to measure but I am referring to the width of the D-ring and the width of the adapter "fingers", not the pin diameter.

For example, I am looking at these adapters for my Road Master Tow bar:

https://www.etrailer.com/Tow-Bar-Base-Plate/Roadmaster/RM-035.html

The specs say:

• D-Ring Mounts Usage: Directly attaches to 3/4" thick D-ring bumper mounts, no base plate needed.
• Adapter Pins Included: Fits 7/8" and 1" diameter mounting holes using included sleeves.

So I take that to mean the D-ring itself should be 3/4" thick with a 7/8th diameter hole but it seemed like the ends on the RC mounts are only 1/2" thick so you'd have a bit of a gap between the "fingers" and the D-ring part on the mount.

One more thing - if you have an info on what you used for the tail light connection and wiring color that would be helpful too.

Thanks!

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