question about towing a boat--i've read past threads

hello all,

this is my first post but I've read the forums for a while and I appreciate the help from all.

I have a 93 sport inline, 4hi/4lo, 5spd. stock gears. Yesterday, my son surprised me with a birthday gift of a 17' ski and fish boat, an '86 galaxie granada with a 4 cyl. 170 horse in/out. my wife is passed so i spend most of my free time pulling perch and this boat is a beaut. the trailer does not have brakes though. I've read some past threads about max towing capacity and from what I've read, it sounds like my xj can pull something like this but that I should get a trailer with brakes. I was a bit worried about the chrysler-rated 3500lb max tow capacity until I read a thread from here about chrysler not installing class 2 hitches because of warrantied clutch replacements. that makes a lot of sense to me and even though i'm not real bright, i've driven sticks since 68. My problem though is I have no idea how much this boat/trailer weighs. It's 17' long, 7' beam but I can't do the displacement math because I don't know where the water line is--i haven't put it in yet to figure the cubic feet of water displacement. the only rating in the boat was that it would hold 7 people or 1200lbs. I pulled it home without any problems, though I did burn the clutch a little backing it into my driveway--it took a few tries because I haven't towed a trailer since I got married in 1974. It fit a 2" ball though.

Sorry, that was probly too much info, but my question is this--i'm confident in being able to pull this amount of weight and until i get a trailer with brakes, i'm pretty sure i can ease the strain on my brakes by driving slow and downshifting. my worry is more about other drivers on the road. if i were to get caught in a traffic jam on a grade, is it safe to put my jeep in 4lo in order to engage the clutch quickly? With 3500lbs+ behind me, switching from brake pedal to gas will still roll me back a foot. I remember in the 60's, you could get a button to put on the shifter that would engage the brakes, but I haven't seen one since. I'm 53 and my legs just don't move as fast as they used to. 4lo would be my best option should that happen, but if it isn't reliable/stable, I'm not going to risk the family behind me and I'll just save up for a year to buy a cheap old pickup.

i'm sorry for the long story, but this is the best present i've ever got and i'm itchin to try her out. i just would like some expert opinions before i go out and do something stupid. is 4lo ok to get her goin on a hill? or do you all know of a place that still installs push button brakes? that would help too.

if not, thanks for looking and have a great 4th.

On 4lo..... you really only want to shift from high range to low range (or back) at VERY low speeds, say 2-3 mph at most. So, no, that's really not an option. The tcase isn't designed to be used as a range shifter like an Eaton axle.

What I would do in your situation is to get brakes on the trailer first. The next thing I'd do is see about locating a couple of XJ axles in the junkyard from an automatic XJ, that's an easy regear from 3.07 to 3.55.

There's no reason your XJ shouldn't be able to pull the boat, though.

getting 3.55 from a junkyard. that's a great suggestion. i have a u-pull-it a couple miles away.

thx for the response. i know my son would get em for me.

i don't know how many of you are getting older, but with type 1 diabetes and neuropathy in my right leg, i need all the help i can get. I'd be a lot better off with a push button brake, but I guess those days are gone.

course, that's a small hill to climb considering what our sons and daughters are going through right now. I'm sure many people here have sons, or daughters, or grandsons or grandaughters, or fathers or mothers overseas and I am thinking about all of you right now. god speed and in flander's fields.

perhaps off topic, but on this morn, to all vets, thank you.

You should have no problems as long as you take it easy.

I have towed my buddy's 18' sea ray on a trailer with no brakes and had no problems.
Granted, I have an auto.

If you're really worried about rolling back, what I'd do is in those particular situations is just use the method they use when teaching you to use a clutch on a steep slope.... put on the e-brake.... get on the gas, then let off the e-brake.

The situations where you'll need to do this are probably going to be rare, but it'll help at those times.
Honestly I don't think brakes on the trailer are going to gain you anything.... because getting off the brake and going to the gas is getting off the brake and going to the gas... regardless of how many brakes are disengaging.

andreas970 said:

Honestly I don't think brakes on the trailer are going to gain you anything.... because getting off the brake and going to the gas is getting off the brake and going to the gas... regardless of how many brakes are disengaging.

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Brakes on the trailer will gain you a lot. There will be situations where the trailer starts to act "weird" due to wind, road conditions, steepness of hte slope and you'll wish you had the ability to slow down the trailer a bit and not the rest. And lests not even get into a situation when YOU REALLY have to stop. Those trailer brakes would be heaven sent!

I tow a 18' sailboat with my 96 sport 5 speed. I agree that in tight traffic the clutch gets a good workout, but still grabs good to me. The only time I use 4 low is when I am on the ramp pulling the boat out of the water.

Holding the brakes with the ebrake works for me as well and often times I use this technique. I would assume that your total weight would be no more than 3000 w/ the trailer, but that is a real ballpark guess

joeclay said:

i don't know how many of you are getting older, but with type 1 diabetes and neuropathy in my right leg, i need all the help i can get.

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I'm a Type II-D, with a little neuropathy in both feet, and a bit of retinopathy as well. I'll keep driving a stick until I'm in the ground.

joeclay said:

i don't know how many of you are getting older, but with type 1 diabetes and neuropathy in my right leg, i need all the help i can get. I'd be a lot better off with a push button brake, but I guess those days are gone.

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Check local speed shops or on-line at Summit Racing for a Line Lock (or maybe "Line Lok"). It's a toy for serious drag racers that does what you're talking about. You mount it on the shift handle. When you step on the brakes, you push the button and it locks the hydraulic pressure and holds it when you release the brake peddle.

Haven't thought about them in many years but I would be very surprised if it isn't still available.

Hadn't thought about the line lock. These are available in basic mechanical and electric versions. The mechanical requires that the brake line be plumbed to the device (probably inside the cabin,) the electric can be mounted just about anywhere. Unfortunately, the solenoid in the electrics do heat up, making them unsuitable (IMHO) as an e-brake.

http://www.summitracing.com has a few. One of the harvesters back on the farm used a Mico (http://www.mico.com.) One of the nifty features on that particular one is that it functioned as a check valve, i.e. trip the valve, then stand on the brakes. It wouldn't release until the line lock was released.

thanks for the all the replies and eagle and chijeff for the links. those will help me quite a bit. many thanks.

Kejtar said:

Brakes on the trailer will gain you a lot. There will be situations where the trailer starts to act "weird" due to wind, road conditions, steepness of hte slope and you'll wish you had the ability to slow down the trailer a bit and not the rest. And lests not even get into a situation when YOU REALLY have to stop. Those trailer brakes would be heaven sent!

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Sorry.. should've been more specific.
I was just referring to his complaint about how it was hard to get going from a stop on an incline without rolling back.
Trailer brakes won't help you there.

andreas970 said:

Sorry.. should've been more specific.
I was just referring to his complaint about how it was hard to get going from a stop on an incline without rolling back.
Trailer brakes won't help you there.

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ACtually not necessarily: you can keep the trailer brakes engaged while your start releasing the clutch and once you feel it pulling your release the brakes.

Don't forget about having to regear your front axle if you replace the rear with a 3.55.

alvarez919 said:

Don't forget about having to regear your front axle if you replace the rear with a 3.55.

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Hence my original comment about "a couple of axles."