I bought a 40' motor home with a 400 Cummins and a 10,000 lb hitch. I would like to be able to flat tow my 04 F-350 crew cab, short box behind it.. I have the Roadmaster 2 blackHawk all terrain 10,000 lb tow bar. My problem is the truck has no neutral in the transfer case electric shift. and it is an automatic trans. Is there a pump circulation kit i can install? or am I limited to pulling the driveline every time which would be a huge pita. or trading off the truck? Any ideas would be greatly appreciated.

 

I don't know of any "easy" way to do what you want. You need to disable the steering lock of course and you'll need a braking system on the truck (legally and safety-wise) and lights, it might be possible you could pull the transfer case shift motor and manually put the xfer case in neutral? Make sure the front hubs are in Auto too. Nothing simple...

I'm in the middle of setting up my Jeep to tow behind our MH, and it is made for flat towing and still is a hassle. For you: how about a flat bed trailer, or does that defeat your purpose 'cause now you have a trailer to deal with everywhere you go...? Or, get another toad...

 

Diesel Dan; Yes a number of things to figure out. I have the Air Force One system for the braking and the lighting system too.They are currently on the Explorer.But we don't like the abuse it takes on the fall fishing trips with the muddy roads and gravel roads dinging things up. It was much nicer with the big truck handling those conditions.That is why I bought the heavier tow hitch. In hopes I would find a driveline disconnect or a pump system or something...I guess I may have to trade off the truck for a different tow friendly type of truck..
In my searches I have read some folks had their power steering units puck oil out the pump from the front end being yarded around without the pump running .. Found a company in Winchester Bay Ore. that makes a heavy duty tow dolly (7,000 lb cap.) that I might be able to tow the truck with. I would have to back it on the dolly and unload some tools and empty the extra fuel tank and then weigh the truck to see if it is in the limits... Thanks for the input. Doug.

 

As you know, what's killing your plan is the ESOF transfercase. You could get a t-case and floor shifter and convert it over to manual. It isn't a lot of work and you'd only have to do it once. Then all you would have to do is put the t-case in neutral and tow.
Also I don't know how far you're towing but if it's only 100 miles or so in a pinch you could just let the truck idle in Neutral while towing. This would keep the transmission lubed.
Just throwing out ideas.

 

I'm not sure if the transfer cases are even different from the electronic vs manual (please don't quote me), I think it's just the mechanism that turns the shafts that is. You could try removing the shift motor (looks like 2 or 3 bolts) and turn the shaft by hand till you find the neutral position. It could be your cheapest option however maybe the biggest pain in the *** cause you'd have to crawl under the truck each time.

 

Dang if that is true it would be nice if an aftermarket co. would make a kit for all the fords to do this. I think there would be enough demand. But I guess there isn't since they haven't done it yet... I put a lot of money in this truck and have it set up the way I want it..But it looks like I may have to trade it off on a truck with the tow capability.

 

I believe there is an aftermarket transfer case shift replacement. I saw it when I was helping a friend with her esof on an F150. It did require you to crawl under the truck to manually throw the switch though. I had completely forgot about that....

On edit: it was called "the Shiftster" -- sorry, don't know much more about it and I have to run...

 

The input for the shift selectors are different between the 2 cases. You would have to dismantle the case entirely and change out forks, detent shafts and bunch of other parts. Not worth it when you can find a manual case and floor shifter from a boneyard and bolt it in and be done. The floor of your truck already has the cut out. It is as simply as removing screws and the block off plate.
The "shiftster" was for f150 and older Explorers with the rear mount esof motor. I don't believe they made it for the larger case. It was a small **** that was a manual lock that you pulled out then turned the larger **** to select range.
The other issue with the esof case is there is NO NEUTRAL. There's no detent to hold it in between 4wd H and 4wd L.

 

Would you know the model number of the manual transfer case. and what years they were used..We have a large wrecking yard in Spokane and several smaller ones in local towns...Thanks for info... Sounds like this is the best way to go...Doug.

 

NP 271F Manual shift
NP 273F Autoshift

Match the same year as your truck. There are variences between the years concerning spline count on the input shaft.

 

Thanks 87 Crewdually; If my research of the two types is correct. The NP271 is the one I want to install. And the NP 273 is what I currently have.(a sotf) is that correct? Thanks again for the advice..

 

Mmmhhmm. That's right. I confirmed by crawling under my manual tcased SD. New Process 271F

 

Ford and dodge used this case if i recall. Why not just get a decent car hauler trailer. It will save a bunch on wear items, it will solve brake problems and i bet youll find uses for the trailer in the off season. It to me seems like the best of both worlds.

 

When you camp and stay at a campground or "Resort" most will charge for the flatbed. Plus, you're worrying the entire time that it doesn't get stolen because the storage area is usually off or out of sight. On top of that you have 4 trailer tires, brakes, lighting, and bearings to maintain more often than you would on the truck. And of course the added cost of a trailer that can haul 8k pounds (truck + golf car in the truck bed is about 850lb)
These are just a few reasons why I wouldn't want to be bothered.

 

Pretty much like 87 Crewdually said; We back in a lot of the campgrounds we like staying at. So I would have to unload the truck then park the trailer somewhere before I park the MH. I have lots of big trucks and equipment trls. on the farm here so I really don't need another trailer to lic, and maintain.
That was the main reason for buying the heaviest tow bar to drag the truck around once I found a safe way to tow it, I have considered a tow dolly because that would be easy to move around by hand, but I believe my truck wt is too heavy for all the dollys made. I do believe I could unload a lot of the tools and stuff I carry in the truck but again what a pain..
I do appreciate the idea though...Doug