towing

hay

i was just wondering how much my mj can pull

i have a havey duty bumper that ties into the frame.

if yes do you think it will pull my built up cherokee

on a 2 axle trailer

thanks

jon

IMO don't do it, you really need a heavier truck to pull a car on a trailer.

IMO don't do it, you really need a heavier truck to pull a car on a trailer.

i agree. i think it's amazing, but very dumb what a dealership here does. they (a vw porsche audi mercedes dealership) use a vw toureg to pull a car trailer all over the us to pick up vehicles (it had a mercedes m500 on it the other day). towing a trailer with a car on back with something like that is crazy. i can't beleive the vw holds up to the punishment. with a big trailer i'd be scared it would push the little vw around if it got a little squirelly. by the way, i am a huge vw/audi guy so nothing against the vw.

ONCE ... in a pinch, to help out a NAXJA friend, I towed a stripped XJ shell on an aluminum (as in, lightweight) two-axle trailer about 50 miles.

NEVER AGAIN!!!!! Very VERY bad idea.

According to the manual, tha max towing capacity is 5000 pounds, but requires the following equipment:

Class III hitch

Equalizing hitch (also known as weight distributing hitch) for tongue weight over 350 pounds

4.0 litre engine

Automatic transmission with cooler

Heavy-duty cooling system

Heavy-duty axle (AMC 20 or Dana 44)

Trailer brakes

Without all that, the capacity is 2000 pounds.

I don't know what you mean by a heavy duty bumper, but the stock step bumper can safely tow a wheelbarrow and that's about it. (Log splitter, cement mixer, etc.)

Even so, you'd be hard pressed to stay below 5000 pounds with a Cherokee on a trailer.

Borrow a buddy's full size pickup or SUV.

I once pulled a XJ 50 miles on a tow dolly with a MJ 2.5, 5speed. It was a case of had to, not wanted to. Lack of power was very noticeable, Lack of brakes was really noticeable. Stayed off the interstate using frontage, back roads and stayed under a self imposed speed limit of 45mph. Wouldn't do it again.

I flat towed a Ford minivan ~30 miles,

with two passengers

(one next to me, and one under the camper shell out back, since he was afraid to sit in HIS towed vehicle :???: ).

89' 4.0L/4spd w/ 31's & 3.07's :ack:

Friend was in need,

but it wasn't much fun.

how about a 1472 Kg yj ?

and does a dolley or a flat bed (1 or 2 axle) make a difference on the weight distribution for the truck??

Weight distributing on a dolly is pointless. And dollies with brakes are few and far between.

YJ weighs about the same as XJ.

YJ + trailer is most likely > 5K pounds(2270 kg).

I've used a tow dolly without brakes on a built MJ for quite awhile...never again.

now, I have brakes to install on the dolly...just in time to trade it towards a clean fsj wagoneer that will become my tow rig.

I'd upgrade to a different tow rig. my dolly plus a cherokee caused me to rear end someone in slightly slick road driving conditions...skidded 20 feet.

I tow my TJ behind the MJ quite often. I know I am over the weight in the owners manual. I have a home made trailer made for either the TJ or MJ that weighs 1800#,s. The TJ is 4200# so I am around 1000# over. My MJ is set up with a Dana 44, disc brakes, large transmission cooler, and the hitch is made to use all the factory bolt hole which have been drilled through and have spacers on the inside. The truck is set up with an electric brake controller and when I built the trailer I used extra large brakes for the size. With the brake gain turned up it works fine just stay out of over drive.

J B Cuz

thanks, sounds like i would be in way over my head trying to tow my xj

with a stock mj

the only reasen i asked was because i don't have a factory manule

and all the writing on the door was gone. :nuts:

Meh, we flat towed my Comanche with a M/T XJ when I bought it for 80 miles (30 of that in stop and go traffic). I want to make it CLEAR that it was NO fun... but the weight didn't seem to be too much of an issue.

I've never heard of a MT XJ.

What was the difference between it's springs and non MT ones?

I've never heard of a MT XJ.

 

What was the difference between it's springs and non MT ones?

Sorry, didn't mean to confuse, I was being shorthanded for Manual Transmission (AX-15 in this case), it was by no means a special model.... come to think of it, it sounds kinda cool.

Gotcha!

I was thinking Metric Tonne, as in the optional MJ package.

Gotcha!

 

I was thinking Metric Tonne, as in the optional MJ package.

Yeah, that would be a rare, and a pretty cool beast in XJ form, if they existed. Not that it couldn't be done, but wouldn't wanna waste the Comanche to do it. ;)

I have heard some VERY credible claims of factory model 20 rears in early XJ's.

I have never seen one.

The parts books do not list it,

but I believe. :yes: