Can You Tow A 4×4 In Neutral? (Beginners Guide)

The vehicle’s Four-Wheel-Drive (4WD) drive system rapidly gains popularity and widespread application.

A significant reason for this could be the added safety of the 4WD, which supplies equal acceleration to all four wheels.

Still, despite its power, a 4WD can fail you breaking down where you least expect it. So, if your last option is a tow, you might wonder whether flat towing is feasible even in neutral.

Let’s find out about that. 

So yes, you can tow a 4X4 vehicle in neutral. That is possible and safe because the engine and transmission are cut off from the rest of the driveline when the transfer case is engaged in N (neutral), leaving the vehicle free to roll. To successfully tow the vehicle, all four wheels of the car must now be on the ground.

Can You Tow a Four-Wheel Drive in Neutral?

As stated above, you can tow a four-wheel vehicle in neutral. But, of course, 4WD and 4X4 mean the same thing! The car can then be attached to the tow truck and hauled on all fours when engaged in neutral. 

However, please take the following precautions to ensure your vehicle is fully neutral before towing it.

• Halt the car, and shift the transmission to PARK.
• Switch off the ignition.

For vehicles with keyless Enter-N-Go, 

• Remove the keyless Enter-N-Go button and use the key fob to complete the procedure.
• Switch the ignition to the On/Run position without starting the engine.
• Hold down the brake pedal.
• Move the transmission to neutral.
• Using the point of a ballpoint pen or similar object, hold down the recessed transfer case NEUTRAL button for four seconds until the light behind the N symbol blinks, indicating a shift in progress. The light would stop blinking when the shift to neutral is done.’
• When the shift completes and the NEUTRAL light remains on, release the neutral button.
• Turn on the engine.
• Make a firm application on the parking brake.
• Change the transmission to PARK and take out the key fob.

CAUTION: Towing a 4×4 vehicle with only two wheels on the ground or the dolly is something you should never attempt.

In addition, I would recommend that you remove the rear driveshaft and tow the vehicle with the rear wheels on the ground.

True, there are different towing methods available to you. For example, your trailers keep all wheels off the ground and tow bars and tow dollies leaving only two wheels on the ground.

However, using a trailer that keeps all four wheels off the ground is the best option.

Using this method doesn’t matter whether the case transfer is in neutral, park, or drive. You just load it up and go.

Is it Safe to Tow a 4×4?

It is perfectly safe to tow a 4×4 when it’s in neutral or lifted unto a dolly with no wheels touching the ground.

However, I would advise that to prevent damage to the transmission; you should remove the rear driveshaft, then tow the vehicle with the back wheels on the ground. Never tow a 4×4 when it’s in ‘park.’ It should always be in neutral.

Two-wheel drive vehicles are very easy to tow, be it a front-wheel drive or a rear-wheel drive, since the engine only has to send power to two wheels instead of four wheels drive. 

For 4×4 vehicles, especially an automatic transmission, the lubrication pump for an auto tranny is driven off the torque converter nose and requires engine RPM to turn.

However, turning the output shaft would not spin the pump. Therefore no lubrication takes place, and that can damage the transmission.

How much weight is safe, though? A tow bar can handle weights ranging from 2,000 pounds for light loads to as heavy as 17,000 pounds.

Tow dollies can’t handle much weight, and tow dollies would not be able to support cars that exceed 3450lbs.

Trailers can handle around 10,000 pounds. Tow trucks can pull between 7,000 lbs and 11,000 lbs. Do well to consider the weight of your vehicle too before towing.

How Far Can You Tow a Truck in Neutral?

You can tow a vehicle as far as you want as long as it’s in neutral. The method used should be in consideration of the distance.

Tow trucks are better for short distances, dollies for not-so-far distances, and trailers that lift the vehicle completely off the ground for long distances.

You can’t reverse while using a dolly, tow bar, or flatbed. You can only do so using a trailer.

Further, you can go about 55miles per hour on a dolly, so consider distance when choosing a towing method.

How Do You Tow a Four-Wheel Drive Vehicle?

You can tow a 4×4 by putting it in a dolly or dragging it using a tow truck. However, safely towing your 4WD depends on whether it has an automatic or manual transmission. Here is how you go about both.

If you have a manual transfer gear, lockout hubs, and a manual transfer case gear, you can tow your 4×4 with all four wheels on the ground and sustain no damage. 

However, you’d have to consult the owner’s manual to learn how to properly disengage all these features to ensure that you do not damage any of your car’s components.

Towing an automatic 4×4 is a more sensitive procedure that you would not want to get wrong as it would cost you much more in the long run.

The best option for towing an automatic 4×4 is a tow dolly with the front driveshaft temporarily removed. 

When removing the rear driveshaft, the 4×4 essentially becomes a front-wheel-drive vehicle. Since the wheels will no longer connect to the engine, they’d roll without damaging the vehicle’s transmission. 

You can also use a tow bar, a rigid set of bars shaped like a triangle that connects the towed vehicle to the tow vehicle. This method allows all four wheels to touch the ground.

Because of this, you would need to take precautions to protect the driveline.

Nevertheless, be it an automatic or manual transmission, if you can afford one, the safest way to tow a 4×4 is to get it off the ground on a trailer.

When picking up a normal vehicle, the tow truck lifts it either by the rear or front wheel to lift the driven axle off the ground.

But lifting one end of a four-wheel-drive vehicle still leaves one of the drive shafts spinning. Therefore, that is not a good method for towing a 4WD.

Conclusion

Now that you know that a 4×4 can be towed when it’s on neutral keep in mind the precautions; towing a 4×4 is very different from towing a two-wheel-drive vehicle, as already established in the article.

Choose the best methods that suit your car type and the distance you’d cover.