Towing question.

I need to get a non-running J truck (full size jeep pickup) from Eugene OR to Boise ID. I’m thinking it weighs in at 4000 lbs or something. My options are, flat tow it with my 87 manual with lift and 33’s, borrow another guy 98 with auto tranny and no lift and give him $150, rent a real tow rig(full size truck) for $400 plus and borrow my friends flat bed.
So guess the question is, how will my truck do pulling that big a load? My engine is not the strongest and with the lift and all it won’t handle well. But it’s only 425 miles and I think there are only a few hills. The other question is how much better will the 98 with an auto be? It would sure suck to have to buy the guy a new tranny at the end of the run.

a j truck would slap an XJ around like a little bitch.

I towed a 78 scout traveler (not quite as big/heavy as a J truck) for only FIVE MILES, and that was five miles of white-knuckle driving. NO FAWKING WAY I"D DO THAT FOR 400MI!!!!!!


rent a real tow rig.

Flat towing should be no problem for your XJ. Inflate the tires a little more in the rear for less sway. Take your time with the 4000 lbs behind you. Do not follow close to anyone because you need a ton of room to stop. I towed over 6000 lbs behind my '96 with a 5sp and it was a trailer not flat. I was stupid to do it and the trip was over 1000 miles. I pulled into a CAT certified scale just to see how much I wieghed. I was 9600 lbs total. What an idiot I was. You are flat towing. That is better. Much easier on the Jeep. You buddy's auto is no advantage except it is newer. If you want to save wear and tear use his. You won't have to buy any new parts for him. It isn't a hard tow really.

The right way is the full size truck really, but $400 is a pile of loot. If it was me, I would tow behind my XJ because it is a flat tow. Not that hard on the Jeep, if you take it easy.

Curt

Hay CheapXJ did you have the scout on a trailer?
My truck has the factory tow package and the hitch says it’s good to 4500 lbs with a weight-distributing hitch. I figure that flat towing is better than a weight-distributing hitch. On the other hand I now have big squishy tires and a taller CG. The advantages to the other guys rig would just be that I's stock and had a newer motor. I don't know any other comments?

Personally, I would not borrow a friend's Jeep to make a tow I didn't want to make with my own Jeep. That's just me -- seems like bad juju somehow.

What size tires does your friend have? Stock? Why not swap tires with him for a day. Stock size tires will drop you down a bit as well as give you effectively more gear to make the tow easier on your engine and tranny (and clutch).

I would not even consider it without electrical brake controller.... remember, your biggest concern should not be starting to move, but stopping. XJ brakes are somewhat adequate for what it is, but if you have bigger tires, and you add MUCHO weight behind you, well, stopping will be a major problem.

So the question is not: "Can I do it, will the jeep make it?" but "Can I do it safely?" and I think that the answer to that is no.... Btw, aren't the roads to ID from OR potentially icy right now??

To add something real quick..... towing it on a trailer if it's under 5K lbs with electrical brakes might be an option.... but otherwise then that, a fullsize truck does sound like a good idea.

Thanks Bronco

Lotsa good options
Turns out Peter's truck is somewhat iffy for getting the truck to Eugene and that he has no access to a trailer for doing it....so you would prolly have to go the whole way to Oregon City.
That sux.
I am still exploring options on this end...waiting for the owner of a 1 ton diesel to knock on my door and axe me if I wanna go on a road tripo to Oregon City.......
Wish me luck

I know a guy here in Idaho that does this for a living. I don't know what he charges, but I think it would be quite a bit less than $450.

If your interested PM me you e-mail address and I'll send you his number.

Lincoln

I towdolleyed a mustang and it was fine, but a J truck would weigh a lot more.

Btw what tires did you end up getting bfgoodtears?

I've been trying to tow my boat (3,200 lbs) with my XJ, but can't seem to do it without overheating and boiling over. It runs at 230* at highway speeds, but immediately boils over in traffic/city streets. The manual tranny is probably better than my AW-4. I have bigger overheating problems, though.

FYI... oficially the manual tranny is supposed to be able to pull 2000lbs or something like that. Quite a few people have discussed it already, and noone has really a clue as to what is the real limitation, but my geeling is that it's gears....

On the other hand, if youre overheating while towing, you have other issues that you need to addres.....

Kejtar said:

FYI... oficially the manual tranny is supposed to be able to pull 2000lbs or something like that. Quite a few people have discussed it already, and noone has really a clue as to what is the real limitation, but my geeling is that it's gears....

Click to expand...

I pulled an XJ on a borrowed VERY long flatbed with an MJ, 5-speed w/ 31" tires and 3.73 gears. Lawn Cher' routinely flat tows his trail XJ all over the northeast behind an MJ 5-speed with stock gearing and big tires. I don't think gears are the problem, I think the factory assumed (probably correctly, for the general population) that towing heavier weights would take out a lot of clutches.

Kejtar said:

FYI... oficially the manual tranny is supposed to be able to pull 2000lbs or something like that. Quite a few people have discussed it already, and noone has really a clue as to what is the real limitation, but my geeling is that it's gears....

On the other hand, if youre overheating while towing, you have other issues that you need to addres.....

Click to expand...

The clutch is the weak link in a manual for towing, they dont like the heat, that is why i am putting a centerforce dual friction in my AX15 swap right now.

Ravi

<sigh> Clutches and heat? </sigh>

The biggest contributor of heat to a clutch is if it's slipping, either due to worn parts, or someone not knowing how to use a clutch. In normal operation, there is no relative motion between flywheel, clutch disk and pressure plate. Once the clutch is fully engaged, it won't see any heat produced.

My personal suspicion on the manual trans towing limit is that the manufacturer simply doesn't want to replace clutches, especially for the folks who don't know how to drive one (and those are the ones who replace them the MOST frequently.)

An automatic transmission heats up because of shear and pressure in the trans fluid. That's inherent in the design of the transmission.

Personally, I've never owned a vehicle with an automatic transmission. I replaced the clutch in my XJ last May, on general principles, when I had the engine and trans out. The difference in thickness between the used clutch disk and the new was barely perceptible. And the tooling marks were still visible on the flywheel. This was after 60,000 miles, and that includes 2 trips from Chicago to Moab towing a 1 ton pop-up.

Now that I'm awake more.

I used to pull around 3500 lbs all the time and never really had a problem. I did have sway control (no eualizer) and brakes on the trailer. I still tow my boat around and it's around 2K.

I also never had to go over the passes you need to. Just make sure if you try it to make be the beneficiary on your life insurance. Just in case.

Did you see what a U-haul trailer and pickup would cost to rent? You could even do it one way and fly back to Eugene. The last time I flew in there from Boise it was about $120 on horizon.

Good luck.
Lincoln

Towing 2 tons cross-country

It's one thing to tow a buddy home or be a good Samaritan and pull the stranded lady with 3 kids to the next exit to get serviced. But to consider towing something that weighs probably 500# more than you; for hundreds of miles without the proper equiptment ....is asking for trouble !
If you have stock brakes, you are already at a slight disadvantage in everyday driving....you won't like what happens when you double their load .
The only way that I would recommend towing this load is with a flatbed trailer, weight distributing hitch, and electric brakes. Otherwise, YOU run great risk of being the guy being towed, not to mention the added risk that you present to other drivers on the road .
The trailer is going to weigh-in at least 1000# + 4000# for the vehicle = 5000# ....ten % of it on the tongue means a vehicle that is squatting in the rear (unless you got your lift by adding extra leafs), which means less traction - less efficient braking up front.....90% of your braking is by the front brakes.
Only YOU know the mechanical condition of your vehicle. Are ALL the fluids, belts, and hoses up to par? Now I will stop talking to you like some over-concerned parent and wish you luck on your trip. :angel:
BLUTO

BTW....
Bring a fresh change of underwear!

Re: Towing 2 tons cross-country

BLUTO said:

Bring a fresh change of underwear!

Click to expand...

Bluto - sage advice, but that last little gem was priceless
LM(bag)O

The biggest contributor of heat to a clutch is if it's slipping, either due to worn parts, or someone not knowing how to use a clutch. In normal operation, there is no relative motion between flywheel, clutch disk and pressure plate. Once the clutch is fully engaged, it won't see any heat produced.

Click to expand...

I used to have an '88 with the crappy french 5 speed in it and while no heat is built up in the clutch when engaged, I figured out there's lotsa heat transfered from the exhaust manifold to the hydraulic clutch line.
What I realized was, when the clutch line was heated up, the pressure inside the line would go up and actually disengage the clutch ever so slightly and make it slip.
I ended up using a wire tie to tie back the line away from the exhaust. BAM! immediate results.
Of course, I may have just described something everyone already knew. Oh well, maybe it'll help.