Towing a 2019 Lincoln Nautilus

[jerome w]

Just purchased a 2019 Nautilus to tow behind our DP motorhome, owners manual says it can be flat towed but every where else I check say no. It has the 2.0 turbo front wheel drive. Called Lincoln the concierge and they say go ahead, but all the baseplate manufactures don't make a base plate for it. Guess for the time being I will use a tow dolly until I can get a definitive answer.

[gandl2]

Info should be in owners manual. I believe one engine/trans combo is towable and the other is not.

[theroc]

I can see why you might be confused. I just took a look at your manual and unless you study it and kind of piece the information together so it makes sense, it can appear unclear as to what they are conveying.

What the manual is doing is breaking into two models ...one being the 2.0L where it clearly says that you cannot recreational tow, and two being the 2.7L where it clearly gives approval for recreational towing.

I've taken screen shot of page 277 and 278. Since you have the 2.0L, you don't have to go any further than page 277. The circle in yellow is for the 2.0L.

Page 277 goes on to address the 2.7L and continues on page 278 telling you that the 2.7 is approved for flat-towing ...again, page 278 is for the 2.7L so you can disregard that entire page as it does not pertain to your Nautilus.

Therefore, unfortunately, the 2.0L is not allowed to be flat towed ...but 2.7L is approved.

Here are the pages for both Blue Ox and Roadmaster base plates ...notice how both address the 2.7L only:

Blue Ox, 2019 Lincoln Nautilus

Roadmaster, 2019 Lincoln Nautilus


.

[arcaguy]

Originally Posted by theroc

Therefore, unfortunately, the 2.0L is not allowed to be flat towed ...but 2.7L is approved..

From what I read the Nautilus you have cannot be RV towed at all, even on a dolly. It clearly says to tow with all four wheels off of the ground except for the very limited circumstances discussed in the second paragraph. Bummer!

[theroc]

Originally Posted by arcaguy

From what I read the Nautilus you have cannot be RV towed at all, even on a dolly. It clearly says to tow with all four wheels off of the ground except for the very limited circumstances discussed in the second paragraph. Bummer!

Correct ...for the 2.0L and that's what the OP says he owns.

But the 2.7L V6 is allowed to be towed behind a motorhome (recreational towing) and that's addressed on page 278.

But you do bring up an interesting scenario that I didn't delve into initially.

The OP (jerome w) says his 2.0L is FWD but when I read the brochure for the 2019 Nautilus, it shows that the 2.0L is AWD and the 2.7L is FWD. Something doesn't jive.

jerome w, are you sure your Nautilus is front-wheel-drive (FWD)??? The tech sheet from the brochure seems to indicate that it's all-wheel-drive (AWD).

If the brochure is correct and your Nautilus is AWD, then you can't even use a dolly and will have to put it on a flatbed trailer.

Are you sure it's a 2.0L and not the 2.7L V6?

I'm hoping for your sake it's the 2.7L as it can either be flat-towed 4-down or dolly towed. If it is the 2.0L, then you're "screwed" as you won't be able to do either.

If you can clarify that for us. Then we'll know for sure.



I've attached the PDF page from the brochure's spec sheet so you can see what I'm referring to:

[jerome w]

My owners manual has the info on pg 280, is says to use the stay in neutral mode and do not exceed 70 mph.

[theroc]

Okay, proceed at your own risk.

Like I say, if you in fact have a 2.0L, from what I can tell, it's NOT flat-towable

NOR can it be towed on a dolly.

If you have a 2.7L V6, you are good to go and can flat-tow or dolly tow.

But if your interpretation is different than mine, I hope you're right and I'm wrong. Best of luck with it.

[theroc]

I didn't mean to sound snarky in my last response.

As I look around further online, I'm seeing lots of things that I may be wrong about.

That tech spec sheet I posted may not be correct ..??

I say this because I now see both on this forum and on other RV forums that the 2.7L does come in AWD and that imay be the only one that can be towed 4-down. It can't be dolly towed so disregard my bad information I previously posted.

However, one thing that is consistent in all the research I am going through is that:

1. ONLY the 2.7L V6 is flat towable

2. The 2.0L is NOT flat towable

I may be confused as to which one has AWD and if it's an option or not, etc. It is apparent that I'm wrong about the 2.7L being able to be both flat-towed or dolly towed because if only the AWD is flat-towable, AWD vehicles typically will not be able to be dolly towed.

So again, if yours is a 2.0L, you will not be able to flat-tow. If it is, in fact, FWD, then it probably can be dolly towed.

ONLY the 2.7L V6 is able to be flat-towed 4-down that is referred to in your manual as "recreational towing."

My apologies for the conflicting information. And again, best of luck with your Nautilus no matter how it turns out.

[jerome w]

Originally Posted by theroc

I didn't mean to sound snarky in my last response.

As I look around further online, I'm seeing lots of things that I may be wrong about.

That tech spec sheet I posted may not be correct ..??

I say this because I now see both on this forum and on other RV forums that the 2.7L does come in AWD and that imay be the only one that can be towed 4-down. It can't be dolly towed so disregard my bad information I previously posted.

However, one thing that is consistent in all the research I am going through is that:

1. ONLY the 2.7L V6 is flat towable



2. The 2.0L is NOT flat towable

I may be confused as to which one has AWD and if it's an option or not, etc. It is apparent that I'm wrong about the 2.7L being able to be both flat-towed or dolly towed because if only the AWD is flat-towable, AWD vehicles typically will not be able to be dolly towed.

So again, if yours is a 2.0L, you will not be able to flat-tow. If it is, in fact, FWD, then it probably can be dolly towed.

ONLY the 2.7L V6 is able to be flat-towed 4-down that is referred to in your manual as "recreational towing."

My apologies for the conflicting information. And again, best of luck with your Nautilus no matter how it turns out.

I'm going to use the tow dolly until I can find out 100% of my owners manual is correct. Thanks for the help from everyone, it very appreciated w

[Rbwiii]

I am looking at a 2021 Nautilus to flat tow behind my motor home. My dealer said that the 2.0 liter can be flat towed as long as its AWD, which is a option. Looking for tow bar base plate, they only show availability for 2.7 V6.

Was the 2.0 liter previously available in FWD only?

[bradford3454]

Double check the flat tow on the 2.0 liter. I think the 2.7 was the only one that would flat toe.

[Rbwiii]

Confirmed in writing from Lincoln on the Nautilus.

2.0 liter Awd or Fwd NO flat towing

2.7 Liter YES on flat towing

[Firefly 2]

I am towing a 2.7 nautilus. It is a fairly simple task to get going although, if I hit the brakes real hard the parking brake engages and you have to manually push the button to release it. Not fun on 294 in Chicago middle lane. I am number one according to a few drivers.
This was the 3rd time it happened the other times were in parking lots.
Has anyone else had this issue?
I contacted Lincoln and they told me to talk with a tech.

[Rbwiii]

Setting up the vehicle to tow power has to be disconnected before you tow...does the EM brake engage without power?