Towing ? and yeah I searched

Even though the Jeep is for sale I might need to do some towing with it before it gets sold.... I know its rated for 5k lbs.... And I know stopping is the main issue.....here's the scenario.......any input?

96....auto.....just under 6" of lift......4.56....33s......8.8 in the rear with disc brakes......

Whats being towed...... 21 foot Mako CC (hull weight 2100...motor 500....trailer 1000....total around 3600 lbs) on a dual axle trailer. Trailer has surge brakes on both axles........ trip will be 185 miles..... flat ground....


Yes, No, Maybe so..........I was hoping the discs on my 8.8 would help with the braking along with the surge brakes on the trailer.

Boats are easy to pull- long, aerodynamic and relatively light weight. Take it easy and pay attention, you should be fine.

An old trick I learned about pulling a trailer that likes to whip. Hold the steering wheel at the bottom. If your hands are at the top, intertia of the whip causes you to turn the wheel slightly and make the whip worse. Holding it at the bottom tends to help cancel it out.

Also, air up your tires a bit. A low pressure tire has more sidewall flex and less control. In other words, it can get squirrely:jester: .

I was thinking... if you have a swaybar, you might want to connect it for the purposes of this mission.

Other than that, air the tires up and don't be hasty if you can help it.

Although the gurus have chimmed in... anyone else towed something like this..........


ANd the horizon MIGHT be getting brighter..... still teetering on selling her but the chance of keeping her is still there... slight but still there....

I'm on about 5.5 inches of lift on 33" MTRs and have towed 100+ miles a few times. I Keep it out of OD, and just take it easy. The xj is by far the BEST backing vehicle I have ever backed a trailer with.

I tow a 19' bass boat on a weekly basis, it weighs 3100# and I live in the mountains of VA. I've got 4" lift and 31" tires with 4.10 gears(about 2800 rpm at 60 mph). The trailer has surge disc brakes and is a single axle. I have no problems with the exception of long steep grades(now I know how truckers feel) but it really does good otherwise. Just use drive, don't follow too close. Make sure you are keeping that AW4 cool, I run a 30,000 gvw Hayden tranny cooler(overkill) and a B&M tranny temp guage. My temp never gets higher than 160, on a 90 degree day.

Well, a few years ago, I pulled a 3000# box trailer from Atlanta to San Jose without too much trouble in my 89 Limited.

Concur with holding the wheel near the bottom - it's easier to control whip that way. Responding to whip is going to be largely directed by the situation - sometimes you slow down slightly, sometimes you speed up slightly - you'll figure it out pretty quickly.

Since you're pulling a boat, aerodynamic drag won't be as much of a factor, and with the enhnaced braking, you shouldn't end up with the trailer driving you (the 89 Limited is a stocker on 30's.)

Take it easy, don't be in a rush - you've got a trip in front of you that can be done in an afternoon/evening, or leave after breakfast and be home around dinner.

Since this a single-shot deal for you, I'd plan to shop about halfway out for a snack or so - take about a half-hour - and if you're coming home "light," there's no reason to stop. Keep it under 60 - not just because of the speed regs, but because even with the better brakes, there's no reason at all to hurry.

5-90

I forgot to add: I'm not running the rear sway but I do have the OME heavy constant load springs in the rear that don't sag(my tongue weight is 200#) and keep the sway minimal.