? about flat towing

I will be moving to colorado in a few weeks and need to flat tow my XJ there. It is a 1200mile trip and my tow rig is a Chevy 2500HD diesel. I have two questions:

1) Can I leave the T-Case in Neutral and the Trans in Park or should I pull Both D-Shafts? (non front disco)

2) when I hook the Jeep up to the truck should I have the Towbar perfectly level or angled up/down?

BTW- 1990 XJ 4.0 AW4 NP231 D30/35 2in BB and 31s

Thanks in advance for your help!!

I think both should be in neutral. If it were me, id definatly pull both shafts. Taking out 12 bolts vs. possible damage? Id pull the shafts.

Leave the T-Case in Neutral and the Trans in Park and the ignition turned so the steering is unlocked.

I hook up as close to level as I can but usually that means slightly angled down due to the limitations of a lifted Jeep and my various receiver hitches.

If I tow at over 65, I notice the T-case gets pretty hot (I make a point of topping it off before I start). I make a 500 mile run pretty regularly.

Since It is usually after midnight when I need to unhook it and drive it the last 45 min of unmaintained dirt road, I've just left them hooked up (RV'ers have towed 'em like this for years) but, I'm seriously considering pulling the shafts loose to save the wear and tear next time.

PULL THE DRIVESHAFTS!!!! If you have an AUTO Trans which you say you have the AW4 I encourage you to disconnect both shafts. The Trans can over heat even in neutral due to the fact the tranny cooling lines will not be flowing since the vehicle is off. You may do as little damage as burning the ATF fluid up or worse by Nuke'n internal parts. I have already seen one guy do it on an XJ and he paid dearly for it. You'd rather unbolt a dozen or so bolts and feel warm and cozy then wonder... Hmmm whats that smell! Good Luck on the trip though! hahaha

Yeah Im kindof thinking along the same lines of pulling the shafts...20min work once isnt worth the risk of grenading the T-case. I towed it last weekend to go wheelin, about 120mi round trip and just put the T-Case in Neutral and the trans in park. the bar was angled slightly down. I figured that if I had to slam on the brakes then I would rather have the Jeep pushing down on my truck than lifting it up.

Trans in park, t-case in neutral. The rear output has the drive for the t-case oiler, so it will get oiled. The tranny will not, so it can't spin. Pull the front shaft, leaving the rear in won't do a thing. If you want, you can pull it...but you really don't have to.

cco175ranger said:

PULL THE DRIVESHAFTS!!!! If you have an AUTO Trans which you say you have the AW4 I encourage you to disconnect both shafts. The Trans can over heat even in neutral due to the fact the tranny cooling lines will not be flowing since the vehicle is off. You may do as little damage as burning the ATF fluid up or worse by Nuke'n internal parts. I have already seen one guy do it on an XJ and he paid dearly for it. You'd rather unbolt a dozen or so bolts and feel warm and cozy then wonder... Hmmm whats that smell! Good Luck on the trip though! hahaha

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SPOBI

Trans in park for auto, trans in gear for manual...t-case in neutral. It is impossible to burn up a transmission with the transfer case in neutral. This is the very reason Jeeps are the most popular tow-behind vehicles for the RVers.

The jeep owners manual says t-case neutral and tranny in park for an auto. Don't know on the manual. For a long tow, it the difference in price between a two bar and a tow dolly is not that much, the tow dolly with its brakes is a lot nicer to tow. I have one for my rig and love it. The down side is you need to pull one of the driveshafts for use on a dolly.

Yeah I wanted to buy a 18' trailer to tow it on but the funds wont allow. I already have a towbar and a uhaul dolly is like $350 and it doesnt have brakes.

old_man said:

The jeep owners manual says t-case neutral and tranny in park for an auto. Don't know on the manual. For a long tow, it the difference in price between a two bar and a tow dolly is not that much, the tow dolly with its brakes is a lot nicer to tow. I have one for my rig and love it. The down side is you need to pull one of the driveshafts for use on a dolly.

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Why must you pull one drive shaft when using a tow dolly?

The 231 in stock form doesn't have a true neutral. It disconnects from the tranny...but the front and rear are locked together. Get a 2lo kit and the problem is fixed.

JeffsJeep04 said:

The 231 in stock form doesn't have a true neutral. It disconnects from the tranny...but the front and rear are locked together. Get a 2lo kit and the problem is fixed.

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I've read that's only true for older 231's, that it changed at one time to a true neutral. Don't really know.

What I do know is that tranny in park, TC in neutral, will get you there just fine with all your parts intact. You will not burn your tranny up, it won't be spinning as the output will be locked still. The TC will be lubed by the rear driveshaft spinning. Don't waste your time worrying about the driveshafts.

I try to flat-tow with the towbar as level as possible, it's worked out the best for me. I had to flip the receiver to get the ball higher but it's worked out fine.

I flat towed my 97 Dakota 4X4, with a 231HD, for years behind my motor home before buying the 01 Cherokee two years ago. The Cherokee is preferable because it is lightweight and has superior off-road capabilities.

There are thousand of RVers who pull Jeeps because nothing special needs to be done to them. Slip the transfer case into neutral, transmission in park and unlock the steering column; that's it. The 231 has a built-in oil pump, driven by the rear output shaft, which lubes it while being pulled. Most transfer cases do not have this ability. I do not know about the older 231s but both the Dakota and Cherokee have 'true neutrals'; the driveshafts are definitely disconnected and spin free.
Tow bar manufacturers recommend that the bar is level or within a couple of inches of level.

I have an after-market braking system in the Jeep that is activated by the motor home’s brakes so braking is a non-issue. It makes a big difference in hard or panic braking situations.

Whose aftermarket braking system are you running and how much did it cost?

[font=Arial, Helvetica]I have an SMI Four-wire, Model FW0603SIP

[/font]http://www.smibrake.com/fourwire.html

When I bought it 18 months ago, It cost about $750.00

We got the system to avoid legal issues if an accident occurs and to comply with Ford’s E-450 chassis requirement, that towed vehicles, over 1500 lbs., must have brakes, controlled by the towing vehicle. Many states and several Canadian Providence’s require braking system on towed vehicles.

This model has a vacuum operated cylinder, mounted under the Cherokee’s dash, that activates the brake pedal. The controller sits under the driver’s seat and can be left in place or quickly removed. While traveling, we leave it in place but remove it when we home. Quick disconnects make this easy.

While traveling, hookup and disconnecting is quick since all the control wires and towing light wires are contained in a 7-wire plug. I wired a second set of lights inside the Cherokees rear tail light assembly to simplify the wiring.

Inside the motorhome is a pendulum-type brake control, mounted under the dash. The only visible items are a light that shows when the Cherokees’ brakes are activated and a button for testing or manually operating the Cherokees brakes. Once installed, it is a very clean looking and easy to operate system. You can adjust when the brakes are activated and how much braking force is produced. This model has a single level of braking. More expensive models have two level of braking pressure. Since the Jeep is so much lighter than the motorhome (3700 lbs. vs. 12,500 lbs.) I opted for the single level. A lighter tow vehicle might benefit from the two level system.