Would you tow this with this?

[chambers1517]

Here is my 94 wrangler, ford axles,6cyl,auto and my boat is a 05 caravelle 207 5.o MPI. This is a pretty good load but the jeep handles it surprisengly well. I am over the tow rating for the jeep but it is modified. I tow about 3 miles all back roads and and 30 mph max. So would you do it or be afraid?

 

[nlain]

Re: Would you tow this with this?

That short wheel base is not the best tow vehicle, as long as you do what you are now doing and not try to get up to highway speeds you probably will be ok, just be real careful with that load behind you cause you never know when some knothead will pull out in front of you. Don't make the jeep work any harder than it has to, that is a heavy load for what you have and if it is 4X4 I would use low range on the ramp.

 

[windsors03cobra]

Re: Would you tow this with this?

Sure 3 miles at 30, I would.

Nice Heep & sweet boat.

 

[78ImperialT]

Re: Would you tow this with this?

heck...i wouldnt think twice about it. i pull a 28 gooseneck with 4 horses with my half tom dodge...every weekend...65mph.

check out my signature...pulling that big bayliner...like its not back there...

you have nothing to worry about...just anticipate all your stops.

 

[IVAZ]

Re: Would you tow this with this?

No, I wouldn?t want to tow that boat with a wrangler. Sometimes I tow my boat with my full size Bronco (the official jeep recovery vehicle btw) and I can tell the short wheelbase affects it. The bronco is much heavier than the jeep also and it still makes for a crappy tow vehicle. The fact that you?re overloaded can end up causing you legal issues as well.


(I?m just joking about the recovery vehicle comment)

 

[another toy]

Re: Would you tow this with this?

No, I wouldn?t want to tow that boat with a wrangler. Sometimes I tow my boat with my full size Bronco (the official jeep recovery vehicle btw) and I can tell the short wheelbase affects it. The bronco is much heavier than the jeep also and it still makes for a crappy tow vehicle. The fact that you?re overloaded can end up causing you legal issues as well.


(I?m just joking about the recovery vehicle comment)

towing is not the problem stopping is.And insurance companies are always looking for a reason not to pay

 

[salty87]

Re: Would you tow this with this?

i probably would keeping it slow as possible. i'd probably be puckered the whole time too.

 

[another toy]

Re: Would you tow this with this?

sorry for the miss placed reply. I wouldn't towing is one thing stopping is another. And insurance companies are always looking for a reason not to pay

 

[chambers1517]

Re: Would you tow this with this?

Thanks guys, everyone pretty much has all the thoughts I have been through. I have ford axles under the jeep. 4 wheel disc and the brakes are strong. The trailer brakes help. My biggest concern is having to swerve to miss someone and going into a spin. I park the boat in my garage and there is about 3 inches on each side as I back through the door. I don't think anything can position a boat like a jeep.

 

[swordfish25]

Re: Would you tow this with this?

I would do it if the breaks are good on the trailor. Like he said stopping is the important thing. You would not stop it with just the jeep if you had to stop suddenly.If it gets swaying, you are in trouble with a light vehicle. Good luck

 

[cpubud]

Re: Would you tow this with this?

be very very carefull, all it would take is 1 accident your fault or not and someone else will own everything you do.

 

[zebrex]

Re: Would you tow this with this?

a wrangler has a towing capacity of 2000 pounds a grand cherokee has a towing capacity of 5000 pounds. both have the same engine and drive train. the heaver axles are not the issue the short wheel base is. if you try to slow down quickly while turning the (even with trailer breaks) the boat will push the jeep and spin it around causing a jackknife. I might use the jeep to move the boat around the yard but thats it. one panic stop and its all she wrote.

 

[H20Rat]

Re: Would you tow this with this?

3 miles and 30 mph... yeah i wouldn't think twice about it, no problem towing. some people rank towing a boat about the same difficulty of moving the space shuttle to the launch pad! use common sense, give yourself plenty of space and drive extremely defensively. you won't have a problem.

 

[IVAZ]

Re: Would you tow this with this?

As some of the other posters noted, the stopping is also very important. After the boat is loaded with all required gear it will weight as much or more than the jeep. The upgraded brakes cant compensate for that. Three miles is not a real far distance but, most accidents happen near home.

 

[Pontuned]

Re: Would you tow this with this?

As some of the other posters noted, the stopping is also very important. After the boat is loaded with all required gear it will weight as much or more than the jeep. The upgraded brakes cant compensate for that. Three miles is not a real far distance but, most accidents happen near home.

Most accidents happen near home because.........that is where you are the majority of the time.

If you stick to your "routine" and do not exceed 30 mph and keep distance between yourself and the vehicle in front of you, you should be OK. It is not the ideal vehicle for moving the boat around but if you are cautious you should do fine, IMO.

 

[PolishPrince]

Re: Would you tow this with this?

Three miles at 30 MPH or less, sure. But as some of the posts already have pointed out, litigation or an insurance adjuster looking for an out will be the real problem
Stopping that load from 30 MPH is no problem when your not in hills. Braking is simply absorbing horsepower and turning it into heat. Now the guy pulling 4 horses can probably tell you about hot brakes. If he can't, his front pads can!
The engineers that designed that Jeep put that tow rating on there for a reason. It's more than towing and braking. It's cooling, it's stress on the driveline and u-joints, stress and heat in the transmission, heat in the engine and more. But again, take it S L O W and easy..........and start looking for an old F150 with a V8 and an automatic.

 

[shorts&chanclas]

Re: Would you tow this with this?

Yeah I would. I just had no idea you could put a class III receiver on a Jeep. But you did take the spare off to lighten the load.

 

[LIQUID PROZAC]

Re: Would you tow this with this?

sometimes we don't care what happens to us but think about others around you and their safety--would not take that chance

 

[TBarCYa]

Re: Would you tow this with this?

There are no modifications you can make that will increase your towing capacity. A larger engine or taller gears can make it easier, and 4-wheel disc brakes will make it stop better, but the frame is only designed for a particular load so you are putting yourself and others at risk.

When you combine the fact that the boat probably weighs more than the Jeep with the short wheelbase, you've got a recipe for disaster. If you're smart about it, you can be safe towing this way, but it is by no means a safe thing to do.

Also, I can't tell from the pics if you have a hitch or an aftermarket bumper with a receiver, but if it's the aftermarket bumper check with the manufacturer about it's ability to be used for towing. Most aftermarket bumpers include the receiver for offroad recovery only and they are not rated for towing.

I currently have two Wranglers (a TJ and a YJ) the older of which is heavily modified and never touches the street. Having fabricated the suspension and done extensive work on the frame, I can tell you from first-hand experience that it's not designed for towing and the 2000lb rating that they give the Wranglers is optimistic at best.

 

[chambers1517]

Re: Would you tow this with this?

One reason I do it is I don't have a truck plus the road I live on is secluded. I may pass one vehicle and normally pass no one going to the highway. A gas station is directly across from my road so I go straight across. Then I travel about 100 yards down the highway and turn into the park. I have gone through a roadblock check and nothing was mentioned by the police. Oh yeah my wife really want's me to trade the jeep for a truck. She says the jeep is just a big toy. Maybe I will but I hate to.