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Can a 4.0XJ flat tow a 2.5YJ

Diablito

NAXJA Forum User
Location
San Diego
My girlfriend is getting an XJ pretty soon and I was wondering if a 4.0 xj withthe tow package could flat tow my 2.5 YJ out to a trailhead 120miles away?What if the XJ was wearing 31"tires and didn't have a ring&pinion change, could it still do the job?My YJ is street legal and registered and is normally driven out to the trailhead,I was just wondering.Thanks for all feedback. :confused1
 
Yes it can, I towed a toyota car all the way down to Mississippi cuising at 80 mph with 31" XTerains with ease, at first it will be a seam to be sluggish on take off but it will move faster once you are rolling, My XJ seamed to adapt to the weight on the trip...
 
Just be very aware that you're trying to stop double the weight. Basically it's unsafe to tow that much weight with an XJ without brakes on the towed vehicle.
 
On a small tow dolly its possible, Thats how I did it, but like it was mentioned you need to have good brakes or stop sooner.. With a trailer I would recommend electric brakes and possibly some over load or leveling coils... $20 at Auto Zone..
 
How big is your hitch, if its the stock tow package its questionable, I have a class 5 so I had now problem.. I have a 98 XJ..
 
Flat Towing an XJ with an XJ is a bit over the top. Exceeding the maximun tow weight of the rig by a good margin. I've towed a couple XJs and one YJ with my XJ when I had the 36s and 3.54s. No power what so ever.
 
Granted I towed a YJ with 36s and 3.55 gears and yes it sucks but when I had 31s and a 5 inch kit it wasnt that bad...
 
It is reasuring that it can be done.I would probably only tow the YJ if it was made undrivable due to damage on the trail. This would let me drive a bit more aggressively on the trail with out worrying too much about being stranded in the desert. The extra strain on the brakes is good to keep in mind. :gee:
 
i dragged my 87 with my 99 150 miles home last year.. wheel dolly and some magnetic lights... just remember NO OVERDRIVE when towing..
mike
 
Getting going is not the problem...stopping is.

In my never to be humble opinion, towing ANYTHIng over 2K Lbs with out brakes on it is asking for trouble.


Rev
 
We had a member who for years towed his BIG XJ behind a 4.0/AW4 MJ (that was 8" on 35" with 4.56:1) He did have a 2 axle hauler that had trailer brakes though.

Ask One Ton about flat-towing an XJ with a Yota pickup (4 Runner?).

I suppose a YJ on a towbar behind an XJ is do-able in a pinch, it's just not particularly safe.
 
woody said:
We had a member who for years towed his BIG XJ behind a 4.0/AW4 MJ (that was 8" on 35" with 4.56:1) He did have a 2 axle hauler that had trailer brakes though.

Ask One Ton about flat-towing an XJ with a Yota pickup (4 Runner?).

I suppose a YJ on a towbar behind an XJ is do-able in a pinch, it's just not particularly safe.

I have to agree with Woody and RevDen. The fact that someone did it, is not necesarrily an indication that it's a good idea. I have towed a camping trailer out to Moab with my XJ and on the way there I had a problem with electrical brake controller (it didn't pick up the signal from my brake pedal, although it worked on the manual override) and it felt really squirrely (btw, the trailer weighed only about 3K lbs).

On theo ther hand if you use a trailer that has electric brakes and you add it's weight to the weight of the XJ that you're towing, you really getting up there in weight, and I'd make a bet that you're probably exceeding (or at least close to) the 5K lbs limit. Even with electrical brakes at that point, stopping will be an adventure :)
 
towing

Like everyone else said, it is doable. I've towed a 75 cj5 with my grandmas xj (same year make and model as mine go figure) with not too much of a problem. I wouldnt recommend towing for long distances with a lot of hills though, it tends to put a lot of stress on your tow package and brakes, not to mention your tranny, transfer cases, engine, and everything else involved!

kristen
 
Thanks

Thanks for all the input folks. Looks like I am going to buy a lightweight trailer with electric brakes and see how it runs I am only looking for about 155 mile trip one way. I could always hack off some of the "Extra" body material to reduce weight.
 
I flat towed an '86 Ford Ranger Ex. Cab 2wd for 350 miles with my XJ. That was fun. Plenty of power, not nearly enough brakes, not enough tow vehicle weight. The Ranger weighed as much as my XJ so it was a little squirly on the freeway. however I would imagine that a 4 cyl YJ would be lighter than a V6 Ranger. I say try towing it around town and on a short (10-20 mile) freeway drive and see how it feels. If it feels fine then go for it!
 
Diablito said:
My girlfriend is getting an XJ pretty soon and I was wondering if a 4.0 xj withthe tow package could flat tow my 2.5 YJ out to a trailhead 120miles away?What if the XJ was wearing 31"tires and didn't have a ring&pinion change, could it still do the job?My YJ is street legal and registered and is normally driven out to the trailhead,I was just wondering.Thanks for all feedback. :confused1

I have towed a 4500# trailer with my XJ. The hardest part is stopping without the help of Electric brakes(I had them on the trailer). They do sell some packages that you can "tap" into the tow vehicles hydrolic lines to activate their brakes when flat towing..
 
EMTJeepers said:
I have towed a 4500# trailer with my XJ. The hardest part is stopping without the help of Electric brakes(I had them on the trailer). They do sell some packages that you can "tap" into the tow vehicles hydrolic lines to activate their brakes when flat towing..

Is that a tap that taps into hydraulics on the tow rig and uses its hydraulics to drive the towed vehicles hydraulics?? if so, I don't think that that would work too well in the case where an XJ is the tow rig.
 
what I got from all your responses is that the XJ can tow the YJ in the event of vehicle breakage, but it is not good to make towing a common thing.Thanks for all your feed back, it has been very helpful.I think I will buy a tow bar for the YJ.
 
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