XJ Towing

I have a 97 XJ 4.0L Automatic with B&M transmission cooler. It is now lifted 3.5" with 31's and stock gears in the axles. During the summer months I use it to tow my Fleetwood camping trailer which can range from 3000lbs to 4000lbs in weight. The XJ tows pretty decent with this current setup, but I can tell it has to work harder than it should, especially up hills. I have aquired new axles (d30 front d44 rear with 4.56 gears) and a new lift (7" long arm).

I have not installed the new lift or axles yet and I am wondering if you guys could give me some advice on which size tires to go with. I am debating on 33's or 35's. I would think that 33's would give me extra gearing with the 4.56 gears that would be beneficial for towing. My thought process on 35's is that my current gearing current setup with 31's and stock gears (3.55) is way off and it tows just OK, so 35's with the right setup (4.56) would be a huge improvement and the XJ doesn't have to work so hard.

What do you think?

Sorry if this seems like a thrown together thread, but I have my two year old climbing all over me while typing this! :helpme:

(And for you guys that tow, I already installed a weight distributing hitch and it works great! But thanks for that would be advice anyway!) :thumbup:

You will want the 35's... Even if it tows a tiny bit better with the 33's!

Thanks for replying! I think the consensus of all my buddies here is "don't be a tard, get 35's!":rof:

Thanks for replying! I think the consensus of all my buddies here is "don't be a tard, get 35's!":rof:

While it may pull your trailer "OK" with your current set-up how well does it stop? Since you're sticking with a D30 I don't expect you're adding much stopping power to the already marginal (at best) XJ braking system. Adding 35's is going to make it a lot harder to slow her down unloaded, add a 4000lb trailer and I wouldn't want to be in front of you. Just something else to consider. Best of luck either way.

It brakes pretty good now, but I will be looking to upgrade the brakes. The trailer is equipped with brakes as well and the XJ has an electric trailer brake controller installed to control those trailer brakes. For those of you that tow and are considering a trailer brake controller and a weight distributing hitch, they are definately worth it! Both make a huge difference and are worth the investment.

I was just worried more about pulling power rather than stopping as I will be looking to upgrade brakes anyway. Thanks!

Mikey said:

I have a 97 XJ 4.0L Automatic with B&M transmission cooler. It is now lifted 3.5" with 31's and stock gears in the axles. During the summer months I use it to tow my Fleetwood camping trailer which can range from 3000lbs to 4000lbs in weight. The XJ tows pretty decent with this current setup, but I can tell it has to work harder than it should, especially up hills. I have aquired new axles (d30 front d44 rear with 4.56 gears) and a new lift (7" long arm).

I have not installed the new lift or axles yet and I am wondering if you guys could give me some advice on which size tires to go with. I am debating on 33's or 35's. I would think that 33's would give me extra gearing with the 4.56 gears that would be beneficial for towing. My thought process on 35's is that my current gearing current setup with 31's and stock gears (3.55) is way off and it tows just OK, so 35's with the right setup (4.56) would be a huge improvement and the XJ doesn't have to work so hard.

What do you think?

Sorry if this seems like a thrown together thread, but I have my two year old climbing all over me while typing this! :helpme:

(And for you guys that tow, I already installed a weight distributing hitch and it works great! But thanks for that would be advice anyway!) :thumbup:

Click to expand...

Are you still using this setup? How is your jeep holding up? I am thinking about getting the exact same trailer and then trying to pack on 2 stand up skis and a mini bike.