Towing an Escalade

A hitch? (snarl) OK, juvenile humor aside,

What is the issue with towing the Escalade?

The issue is. According to Cadillac they cannot be "Flat Towed". If I could, I wouldn't be asking the question. DUH

Yeah, the device is called a trailer.

(it is a lot easier than disconnecting driveshafts/auxiallary transimission pumps/couplings/etc....)

I made the assumption that you have a 4WD and not a 2X4, is that correct?

Yes

Thanks.....man it's nice when you get a simple answer and not a bunch of wasted time, simple mind answers that Bozzo hasn't even read the question properly.. This is what I found on that site. Looks like there's "no way" to "Flat Tow" it.

2007 - 2009 Cadillac Escalade

Engine: ALL Drivetrain: AWD Transmission: 6L80E Application NotesSix speed automatic transmission must be towed on a trailer.

Thanks again.

I would never say "no way"... my guess is the vendor in question does not offer a disconnect for the front driveshaft. Not sure about AWD on Escalades, but i would think a driveshaft leaves some sort of transfer case and carries drive power to front differential.

Someone in the know on these vehicles might be able to (bad pun alert) steer you in the right direction.

Maybe just remove the front driveshaft completely? or get a tow dolly, and a rear driveshaft disconnect, and put the front wheels on the dolly.

like I said, never say "no way"!

I have to agree. Without the engine running the front pump in the transmission is not working, so no fluid to lube and cool the transmission. Most newer automatics should not be "flat towed" for more then 25-30 miles and at no faster then 45 mph. Unless you just like replacing expensive transmissions To me removing the drive shaft, while fairly simple is not something I would want to have to do. The other option is what I have a 4x4 Jeep with a manual transmission. Manual transmission vehicles can be "flat towed" with no problems.

If the Escalade has a 2WD/4WD selector switch, maybe you could remove the rear drive shaft before the rv trip and tow it in the 2WD setting. I think that when it's in the 2WD setting, the front wheels might turn freely and not be "connected" to the transfer case/transmission. When you get to the RV park, you can then drive around in the Escalade with it in the 4WD setting. I wonder if this might be a way to do it. Better check with someone more familiar with the Escalade than I.

At times, I have had to tow my son's Honda CRV. It has 4 wheel drive, and an automatic transmission. I have removed the rear end of the driveshaft, and tied it aside, while carrying the front wheels on a simple tow dolly. This works well, but it is a bit of trouble to keep playing with that bolted flange, every time we switch from driving it to towing it. The better solution is to use a tow dolly, and leave the driveshaft at home. You only have a 2 wheel drive tow-behind, but that suffices for us. In the case of the CRV, the rear end free-wheels fine. The auto trans sits completely idle. The front differential (with the CRV shifter in Park) keeps the car from wanting to roll off the dolly under hard braking or accelerating. I keep chains between the frame and the middle of the dolly, and between the dolly and tow vehicle. This should translate well to a GM 4 wheel drive system, if there are flanges at both ends of the driveshaft.

Try going to experts like Camping World, or some of the RV websites.

There are freewheel hubs made by Warn, that disconnect the front wheels from the front axel shafts.

There used to be freewheel hubs sold for flat towing drag race cars. They had a set of bearings that would allow bolting the hubs directly to the rear wheel mounting surface of the rear brake disc. Then the rear wheel would bolt to the flange on the outside of the hub. This effictively allowed the rear wheels to roll without turning any other driveline parts.

Beyond this, I was told there are 12 volt electric oil pumps that can be connected to the transmission to allow oil to criculate whils being towed. This would allow lubrication to the transmission while being towed.

Look further. There are answers to your problem out there. Good look.

Why worry about towing it in the first place.

Take bicycles instead!

Much healthier and also better for the environment too!

GA on the bicycles rather than an Escalade.

For those new to towing, I shall share my experience with many variations.

Tow trucks can also lift the dead car by its frame or body until its front wheels are off the ground. This was the most popular technology from 1920 to 1980. Tow trucks can slide the dead vehicle onto an inclined flat surface, which is then lifted onto the truck (tilt-bed). One of the best ways is by forming a steel frame around the front tire-contact patches, then hydraulically lifting by the bottom of the front tires about 5 to 10 inches. Commercial towing is simple for the customer, reliable, often very damaging to the towed vehicle, and rather expensive for a long trip.

In an emergency, one can use a flexible tensile element. A rope can break, but if its hooks are much stronger than the rope, and if it is protected from being cut by the lower edges of the car, it can get you out of a ditch. The towing vehicle should be as heavy as the towed one. If it is much heavier, it is easier getting unstuck.

Towing with a rope requires skilled drivers in both vehicles. Towing with a trailer, dolly, or tow bar does not require a person in the towed vehicle. If you go further with a rope, you must keep it tight, as vehicle speeds vary. This requires unique communication & teamwork by the 2 drivers. Application of braking by the towed driver, at just the right times, can avoid a slack rope. To allow slack is to invite rope breakage or vehicle damage if the rope is stronger than the connection points on the vehicles. Towing a motorcycle with a rope is more difficult and dangerous. Rope towing an open-wheel race car or a motorcycle is best with a turn of rope and the driver's gloved hand to keep tension on it. In this way, the towed driver can decide to 'let go' of the loose rope-end, and the towed vehicle is instantly freed of the towing one. If the rope is stronger than the hooks, they can fail and then you have a high-energy elastic which will fling the failed hook into one of the vehicles. This can be very dangerous. A hook can come flying through your windshield! If you use a chain or cable, the lack of elasticity puts a shock load on everything. If the chain or rope is threaded through a pipe, the rear vehicle still needs to be steered, but not braked as precisely. A chain in a pipe will not go slack.

For planned towing, one can use a trailer. These tend to be much heavier than the alternatives. A trailer can be backed into or out of nearly any situation, with enough skill and planning. Cross winds, wonky driving, and other factors can make trailers become unstable, and thus very difficult to drive safely.

A tow dolly is a special trailer that carries only the front wheels of the vehicle. It can have brakes and lights, or it can depend on the tow vehicle for both (not a big problem if towing a 2000 pound car with a motorhome). Brake, turn and night lighting is often by a light bar on the back of the towed vehicle, electrically connected to the tow vehicle. It is often better to also connect the two batteries for a long trip. In this way, the towed vehicle stays charged, and its parking/clearance lights can stay lit all through a trip in darkness/ rain/ snow et cetera. Most drivers forget that trailers exist when it gets dark. They will randomly crash into what you are towing, from the side, if its lighting does not make very clear that it is there. A tow dolly cannot be backed up far, or around corners. Better to plan your off-highway jaunts, like food and fuel stops, to minimize backing.

If a car is front-wheel drive, and is left in gear or 'park', it will tend to stay in mid-trough on that style of dolly. If the towed vehicle's wheels are strapped tightly to the dolly, the assembly will resist going around corners. This harms handling, and can break things. If the middle of the towed vehicle is connected to the middle of the tow dolly, with chain or cable, it will not fall off, and yet it can accommodate most turns, as the towed vehicle's front wheels roll a few inches forward and back.

A tow bar is a triangle that connects both sides of the front edge of the towed vehicle with the tow 'ball' of the towing vehicle. It is the lightest of the 'permanent' means of towing. It does not keep any of the towed vehicle's wheels off the ground. It can only be used with a free-wheeling towed vehicle, or one with a manual trans / drivetrain. In tighter turns, with a longish tow vehicle, the front wheels of the towed vehicle can be misled by the bar, causing the tow to go 'awry'. In normal nearly-straight towing, the tow bar and the tow dolly are stable, cheaper to own and operate and handle better than a regular trailer.

For vacation travel, many folks want local transport, for when the motor home is parked in its 'campground' spot. This can be bicycles, a motorcycle, or a larger vehicle towed behind. When one moves a small household to a new town, one can rent a truck, and tow one's car behind it. Truck rental places offer tow-bars, tow dollies and 2 axle trailers for this

Thank you for the very informative and accurate information. Perhaps that will become another option for the upper class of motor home builders in the near future. Just as the towing industry has developed specialized equipment to allow repo-recovery companies to have towing equipment that combines quick hook up without getting out of the towing vehicle, hidden appearance, and easy under truck mounting in a single package, perhaps they will develop a lifting cradle that could be attached to the trailer towing receivers that already exist on the RVs. The better receivers sold will currently allow towing up to 10,000 lbs with a proper weight distributing hitch. That should allow towing most vehicles. I should have checked with the Kris-Del corporation. They may already hold some of the patents on this product.

There is already a mercedes conversion that has a storage space for a car underneath.

The one I saw had either a Morgan or a Merc SL.