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Wildly unpopular thread about flat towing a 2012 Tacoma

Just unbolt the driveshaft. Simple. Free.

The atlas I have slid down the interstate after the double cardan in the rear driveshaft seized and broke the transmission tailhousing while being flat towed.
 
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Full float is a bad idea with a Toyota semi float housing. The housing is not thick enough to support the weight of the vehicle. There has been more than one person that ended up with a bent housing. The actual full float housings from Toyota are damn near twice the thickness.
 
Would expect he was going to replace the stock axle with a Dana or other narrowed axle from a 3/4 or 1 ton truck.

Or maybe not.


Aisin said:
Full float is a bad idea with a Toyota semi float housing. The housing is not thick enough to support the weight of the vehicle. There has been more than one person that ended up with a bent housing. The actual full float housings from Toyota are damn near twice the thickness.
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PAE said:
Would expect he was going to replace the stock axle with a Dana or other narrowed axle from a 3/4 or 1 ton truck.

Or maybe not.
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Had not planned on that, but it's not outside the scope since I'll have to pull the existing axle and redo the spring perches for a SUA anyways.

There are a lot of tacoma bros out there who haven't turned their rear axles into smilie faces yet despite attempting to drive like Ivan Stewart in the whoops every weekend, so I'm hesitant to go for that.

In my head it'll be doing a lot of this
1726266653119.png


and not this
1726266678989.png


So I figured I'd be ok with keeping the stock tacoma axle.


Reality is it'll probably just do a lot of this
1726266790736.png


or this
1726266836623.png
 
Aisin said:
Full float is a bad idea with a Toyota semi float housing. The housing is not thick enough to support the weight of the vehicle. There has been more than one person that ended up with a bent housing. The actual full float housings from Toyota are damn near twice the thickness.
Click to expand...

The housing supports the weight in semi float as well. So I’m not following this logic.
 
Sandy Johnson said:
I think all said and done it'd be in it over $4k to have a DD that occasionally sees dirt with an atlas in it just for flat towing. I could put some pretty cool other things on that taco for $4k. It would take a lot of climbing under and bolting/unbolting the driveline to justify that in my mind.
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last tcase you buy easily moves around to the next vehicle.

im lazy and dealing with the driveshaft at 1am as you roll into camp makes it seem like money well spent
 
Didn't read the whole thread, but....

Fwiw, there is a 2nd gen tacoma around here with a 14b rear, but still ifs. Like 33-35s.

Although, iirc, you can put kp60 hubs on them, but then you need $500 wheel hubs, double spline shafts, locking hubs, then figure out how to make it seal. Although I'd rather do that then dump the same money into the stock axle.

Or maybe grab an FZJ80 rear, bolt on aisin hubs and get some ~$400 axles made?
 
mobil1syn said:
last tcase you buy easily moves around to the next vehicle.
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I'm aware- I've got one with a very early serial number in my YJ. They're nice for sure, but not really what I'm gonna use this thing for. Besides, aren't yota guys just supposed to keep stacking yota t-cases until we run out of room back there? :flipoff2:
 
Maybe you said it, but Why are you hung up on flat towing it? Trailers aren't too crazy expensive, and have WAY more utility to most folks than an Atlas in a DD.
 
I’m increasingly liking the full float rear idea. Find someone to build you a fab’d housing that takes 6 lug Dana 60 front hubs and lockouts. Once it’s built, swap in your existing third. No driveshaft mods, so easy to switch to flat tow mode that your kids could unlock the hubs.
 
rockota said:
The housing supports the weight in semi float as well. So I’m not following this logic.
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It's counterintuitive, I had to think about it, but it makes sense to me. Since the axle shafts of a semifloater are carrying some of the vehicles weight, obviously the tube is going to be carrying less.
 
The weight is eventually carried by the axle housing even if its first point of weight is directly carried on the axle shaft it is ultimately carried by the axle housing there is no getting away from that.




tsomctl said:
It's counterintuitive, I had to think about it, but it makes sense to me. Since the axle shafts of a semifloater are carrying some of the vehicles weight, obviously the tube is going to be carrying less.
Click to expand...
 
PAE said:
The weight is eventually carried by the axle housing even if its first point of weight is directly carried on the axle shaft it is ultimately carried by the axle housing there is no getting away from that.
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I was thinking of the axle as being a lever, with the fulcrum at the spring, the force at the wheel bearing, and the effort at the other side. (For example, one tire hitting a bump while cruising). In this case, the housing of the full floater is going to see more force at the fulcrum point.
 
Was just thinking of load carrying capability nothing more than that.


tsomctl said:
I was thinking of the axle as being a lever, with the fulcrum at the spring, the force at the wheel bearing, and the effort at the other side. (For example, one tire hitting a bump while cruising). In this case, the housing of the full floater is going to see more force at the fulcrum point.
Click to expand...
 
tsomctl said:
I was thinking of the axle as being a lever, with the fulcrum at the spring, the force at the wheel bearing, and the effort at the other side. (For example, one tire hitting a bump while cruising). In this case, the housing of the full floater is going to see more force at the fulcrum point.
Click to expand...

Was thinking more like the SF axle shaft puts the fulcrum at the diff where the FF spindle puts the fulcrum at the flange.
 
YotaAtieToo said:
Was thinking more like the SF axle shaft puts the fulcrum at the diff where the FF spindle puts the fulcrum at the flange.
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There's multiple fulcrums, depending on what specific part you're analyzing and what the vehicle and road are doing.
 
tsomctl said:
There's multiple fulcrums, depending on what specific part you're analyzing and what the vehicle and road are doing.
Click to expand...

Agree, I just feel like when trying to compare a SF axle, to bolting a spindle onto a SF axle, that's the best way to explain why they can end up bending housings?

mobil1syn said:
full float opens a can of worms for brakes, ebrakes and the likes.
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Agree also. That's a good argument for just going with the FZJ80 rear
 
Maybe warn hubs thats what I had on my CJ5 rear axle.
 
mobil1syn said:
i wouldnt trust a toyota locking hub for this task
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If they hold up to shoving a 39" tire under a rock with 250:1 gearing. How would he have any problems?

If you are worried about it, you can upside the studs, and get chromo gears. They will hold up to a 30 spline chromo breaking, I can't imagine him having an issue.
 
Unbolt the driveshaft

I flat towed my Toyota without realizing I had a front hub lockout that was failed, in the lock position. Ended up getting to where I was headed and the [front] drive shaft had 1 bolt left and it was damn near failed :laughing:

It's really, really easy to pop the shaft. Bring some of the fancy ratchet wrenches
 
Less parts moving with caps on FF hubs.

Less chance of losing bolts, u joint caps, bearings.

No need to crawl under truck get dirty etc.

Just need a box or bag to store axles in.
 
Beat95yj said:
4spd atlas.

/thread
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From AA's web site;

The Atlas 4 speed should never be flat-towed without removing the driveshafts. The planetary unit, the additional
trust bearings, and caged needle bearings do not receive the normal oil flow as they would under normal driving
conditions and, therefore, damage will occur.
 
I'd pull the drive shaft for a few trips and see how mad it made me.
Get correct tools and a creeper mat.

Then dream up solution.

IMO swapping a T Case for this seems like a pain but also destroying my DD's powertrain on a supposedly relaxing camping trip isn't fun either.
 
Still with a FF axle but double spline ends on axle shafts with splined caps, axles secured with snap rings, when towing remove snap rings and push axles in and secure beyond where they would mesh with splined hub covers, replace splined hub covers with solid covers.

Or just locking hubs.
 
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