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Flat-towing a car - that is, towing it with all four wheels on the ground, transmission in Neutral - is bad practice unless you know your vehicle was designed for it.

That isn't necessarily common knowledge, but it's the truth: pulling a vehicle along, both axles on the ground, turns the wheels. Those wheels turn the half shafts, which transmit torque through the entire drivetrain, including vital transmission components. If the vehicle is an automatic, or if it's a manual that relies on an engine-driven pump for proper lubrication, those components are spinning and they aren't getting the lubrication they need, causing accelerated wear.

Why are we telling you all this? It's setup for what follows: the 2021 Ford Bronco Sport has not been designed for flat-towing.

That may sound trivial, but it's not. There's a lot of overlap between camping and overlanding, and flat-towing a smaller vehicle behind a big, honking recreational vehicle is a popular thing to do, lest you have to drive said big, honking RV around town every time you leave the campsite.

Motor1 reached out to Ford for the low-down on the situation with the Ford Bronco Sport, and the outlet was told flat-out that the new unibody off-roader was not designed for flat-towing. No doubt that will ruffle a few feathers in the RV community. According to the automaker, their research shows "relatively few customers plan to tow Bronco Sports versus [Broncos]."

We don't doubt that more Bronco owners than Bronco Sport owners will flat-tow their SUVs, but that doesn't help the Bronco Sport customers who do wish to pull their vehicles. Fortunately, though, there are auxiliary pumps available on the aftermarket that can be used to keep the lubrication flowing even while the vehicle is off, making it possible to flat-tow just about anything without running the risk of premature drivetrain failure. We can't promise, however, that it won't void the warranty.

But Ford also noted that it's listening closely to customer feedback, which means that if enough RV life-stylers make their concerns known, Ford might be moved to come up with a solution. There's already evidence that they are indeed listening, as the automaker relented to manual-loving customers and just recently announced that the Ford Bronco's Sasquatch package would, in fact, be available with a 7-speed stick.

You know what to do.