romaneagle

I have a motorhome and am interested in purchasing a vehicle to tow "behind" it. I have seen a few campers towing the GX470. It has a transfer case, and other than Lexus "not recommending it" I can't find a valid reason WHY this vehicle can't be towed. The transfer case disconnects the drive train, just like Jeep or GM. Soooo why can't the GX be towed? Any help is much appreciated.

gsobol

As long as you set the transfer case and tranny to Neutral, you should be OK. I don't know of any car manufacturer that would say that it's OK to tow behind their vehicle. Also, keep in mind that GX is really heavy (around 2 metric tons) to tow behind. It can get really interesting during emergency breaking since your "trailer" doesn't have the breaks of it's own.

romaneagle

Thanks for the reply. You have joined 8 others with the same opinion. My motorhome is 43' with a Cummins 500hp engine. I won't have any trouble towing it. As for stopping. I also have a Roadmaster Auxiliary Brake Control that I use in my towed vehicles.

gsobol

GX brake system relies on the electric pressure pump to provide necessary boost for proper braking. I don't know how much braking you can get when the electric is off. Also, if the electric is on, GX has this 'ingenious' feature called Brake Assist. During emergency braking - and GX will decide when that happens based on the speed and pressure that's applied to the brake pedal - GX will apply additional braking pressure BY ITSELF. It's kind of a weird feeling when you kick the pedal and it's just keeps on going to the floor by itself until the anti-locks kick in. Scared the .... out of me the first time it did that. In any case, when that happens, GX will try to decelerate faster than your RV, and can possibly cause damage to itself, tow bar, or completely brake away from the RV. This is all hypothetical, of course.

Salvator

That happened to me shortly after we bought our GX... a deer was on the edge of the road, so I quickly moved my foot from the gas to cover the brake, slightly depressing the pedal in the process... Normally, I would have slowed slightly and been ready in case the deer went the wrong way... In this case, the GX applied full braking power, locking up the wheels and bringing us to a sudden stop... Fortunately no one was behind us... my wife wondered what my problem was, while I gamely tried to blame the car... fortunately (depending on your point of view) it has since happened to her as well, so now she beleives me!