Cars that can be towed 4 down will usually have a section in the owners manual explaining it. Even some standard transmission are not towable.

Point of interest on GM cars with automatics. Look under the hood. If you find a transmission dip stick it is probably not towable. Lack of a dip stick says you probably have the Saturn transmission and if so tow away. This was true thru the early 2000s when I quit caring. Now I check the owners manual.

Things change over the years. Honda is a case in point. They used to all be towable. Then the started to disallow towing most models. But they left the CRV and Fit. Never understood why I could not tow an element when they had the same drive train as the CRV.

Trivia. Almost all early automatics could be towed as they had a rear pump. That way you could pull one to start it. Then the mfgers found out they did not need the rear pump and saved some money. Saturns and Hondas both HAD rear pumps that allowed towing. Chrysler mini-vans could be towed, but Chrysler denied it. In this case due to design the torque converter would drain back into the main unit, thus overfilling the transmission.

But back to the Cavalier, it is not towable 4 down. Read the owners manual.

Gary, the owners manual says no 1996 Cavalier is towable 4-down. Not automatic, not standard, nothing. But GM did say that the standard transmission was towable 4-down. But then they said look at the owners manual for the automatics. Go figure.

That's very interesting Kevin. What a cool trick. Never would have guessed that would work. Learn something new every day. It makes sense why it would work. Just never thought of it that way. Very cool..

I wonder how many people have learned the Hard way before that became a rule of thumb?

Cheers
Meric

quote:

FMCA has good comprehensive lists of what can be a toad 4 down.

I posted it FEB 9

Some vehicles must have the computer reprogrammed to allow neutral towing. A lot was written about the technique (and the neutral towing "kit") for the Ford Explorer four wheel drive, for example:
http://www.irv2.com/forums/f85...lorer-4x4-84270.html

Project Samurai has begun. Hopefully it's just what I need. Time will tell.

Got that right. I worked for Honda. So I was surprised. But by priming the trans system and letting the coach do the pulling is a fantastic idea. I wonder who had the nuts to be the first.

Cheers
Meric

2001 Honda CRV pulled with a RoadMaster Sterling tow bar,(bought used off Craigslist for $400.00). The car has an automatic tranny. Shift through the gears ending up on "D",(from "N" not "R"), let in run for 3 minutes in "D", and then turn the key one click to the left,(unlocks steering wheel), and then go! Never had any battery drain-down problems. We use a set of magnetic lights positioned on the top-rear of the car.

As a manufacturer you want to reduce liabilities. The CRV has remained towable and shares drivetrain with other models. Curious. I think I am going to call some friends at Honda and see what the deal is..

Cheers
Meric

So I just got off the phone with Honda. It's merely a liability and a warranty claim issue. What they recommend and what's possible are two different things.

One interesting note from the tech was all you have to do to tow a Honda is start the vehicle put it in drive then reverse. The reason why is because when you first start the vehicle in park it's actually using the reverse rear. So going from park to neutral will only leave the trans in a reverse "neutral" gear. You will burn up reverse if towed.

If you go straight from park to drive then neutral you have activated the forward gears.

Damage towing a Honda comes from towing the vehicle in Reverse "neutral" gear.

Cheers and now we know.

They say what they say for Warranty purposes.

Meric

Hmmm, seems to be a lot of opinions here about the proper procedure towing a Honda CRV

CRV towing

It appears that most all RV towing CRV owners (from various forums) sign up for this procedure of cycling thru all gears first and then shifting from drive to neutral before shutting of the engine.

Interesting this information is DIRECTLY from the a 2013 CRV Owner's manual.

2013 CRV owners manual page 235

Don't know why this information is so mysterious. The information is clear and there is no hint of liability issues with Honda!

Of course I intended on saying,"shift from "D" to "N", never "R" to "N", and our CRV is AWD. Sorry for any confusion that I might have caused.

It's a mystery because working for Honda the only vehicle recommend towing is the CRV. There was a period of time where all Hondas were towable according to Honda. They had a Warranty problem and decided to only allow one vehicle to be towed and still covered under warranty. The CRV.

So I wanted to know why? Now we know how and why. It's not mysterious just curious.

Cheers
Meric

I got started with a tow dolly primarily due to cost but flexibility is a nice plus up also. You can pick up a used one with brakes for about $1000 and then you can tow almost anything especially with all the front drive vehicles out there. It is more work than a flat tow but so much cheaper. Brake systems for a flat tow vehicle are in the $5000 range and the tow bar and plate can run another $2000. To me, brakes are a necessity. I also tow the dolly with other vehicles and find it very useful.

Frank I tend to agree with your argument. A tow dolly and a front wheel drive car made the most sense to me as well. Sturdy reliable and keeps miles off the trans. I was originally going to do that but found a fun unique inexpensive 4 down toad. A Suzuki Samurai... What a fun ride..!

I think I will grab a tow dolly and see which one rides better. The car with a car dolly or the Tin Top Toad?

Bubba Barth and the Tin Top Toad. Has a certain ring to it. Compared to the Barth the Sammy looks TINY..! it's hilarious... And Uni Q

Cheers
Meric

So I tried a few combinations. What I think is going to work best for me is a 6x10 or 12 single axle 5k lb axle enclosed trailer for the Samurai. Seems to ride the best and I could back up in I needed to. I have also looked at old horse trailers to convert.

Cheers
Meric