Tow a Jeep Wrangler

I've often wondered about this. Thanks for all the good info.

Thanks for all the information....I'm going to look into the front hub locks.
Happy Camping, bye Dennis

I have actually disassembled Jeep transfer cases and I want to clear up some mis-information.
The NV231 and NV241 (One or the other in all YJ, TJ, and JK Wrangles) transfer cases have a oil pump that is driven by the output shaft (rear drive shaft).

The only time the front and rear drive shafts are connected is when in hi or low four wheel drive.

I too have wondered why Jeep says not to tow on a dolly. The last time I had a NV231 apart I tried to figure out why. All I can figure is that the chain sprocket that drives the front drive shaft rides on the output shaft and does not have any bearings (hardened metal to metal). In normal operation the sprocket and output shaft turn the same speed if going straight. In four wheel drive they are connected together. But when the front is not turning (like on a dolly) the sprocket is stationary and the output shaft is turning at highway speed. Even though this connection is lubricated from the oil pump I guess the lack of bearings is why they don't want you to do the dolly towing. Anyway that's my guess...

For years Warn and other manufactures have been selling front hub kits for Wranglers which would stop the front drive shaft from turning just like a dolly would. There is no warning in their kits about this situation. I have friends with these hubs that have been driving around for years and never had a problem so I am assuming that the missing bearing is not really a problem.

Teebucket1313 wrote:
I bought a 2013 Jeep, it has a 5 speed auto and a 2 speed transfer. I know it can be flat towed....I want to use a dolly because I tow different vehicles other than the jeep. The question is....can this vehicle be towed using a dolly if I remove the rear drive shaft?

Thank you for your input.
Happy Camping, bye Dennis :)

the answer to your original question is still; YES, you can, IF you disconnect the rear drive shaft.

thanks for the input.....now I know why you can't dolly tow.....looks like a tow bar setup.
Bye Dennis

dub

Thanks for a little better info from dealer on 4WD towing. Not as up to date on last few years models. Like the pump being driven by front shaft. Just knew from experience that that rear wheels transmitting motion to front wheels won't work on a dolly. Especially a full time setup.

katysdad wrote:

dubdub07 wrote:
But if you can tow it four down without removing the driveshaft, you can tow it on a dolly without removing the driveshaft.

You can't tow a 4WD 2 down because the rear wheels are linked to the front wheels thru the transfer case therefor the front wheels are trying to rotate along with the rear wheels. Depending on the design of the transfer case differential, clutches /gears under normal driving conditions see very small speed difference between front and rear axle. Towing with the front shaft held stationary and the rear shaft rotating at highway speed will very quickly build exceesive heat and destroy driveline components.

SO here is the hypothesis to the research question. The driveshafts do indeed turn, at least on a 2012, when in neutral. I went into my garage and confirmed this and can prove it with video. The Jeep dealer stated that the internal pump is driven by the front driveshaft, therefore with the rear driveshaft turning in the transfer case there will not be sufficient lubrication while towing on a dolly. So the hypothesis is that a Jeep JK can NOT be towed with the front wheels in the air, or even with the rear in the air and the front wheels going backwards as the pump will not circulate fluid in the transfer case causing overheating.

dub

dubdub07 wrote:
But if you can tow it four down without removing the driveshaft, you can tow it on a dolly without removing the driveshaft.

You can't tow a 4WD 2 down because the rear wheels are linked to the front wheels thru the transfer case therefor the front wheels are trying to rotate along with the rear wheels. Depending on the design of the transfer case differential, clutches /gears under normal driving conditions see very small speed difference between front and rear axle. Towing with the front shaft held stationary and the rear shaft rotating at highway speed will very quickly build exceesive heat and destroy driveline components.

Thanks for the replies......right now I'll use the tow dolly.....I can see towbar and flat towing is in the future. The reason for wanting to use the dolly is I have one and I sometimes tow other vehicle. I didn't want to have both setups. But after the input I think I'll invest in the flat tow system.

Thanks again for all the input....I like to input from operators who have road time.

Happy Camping, Bye Dennis

mowermech wrote:
The owners manual flatly states that dolly towing or any other 2-wheel down towing (as in behind a wrecker) is forbidden. Presumably, having the rear drive shaft rotating while the front drive shaft is not rotating is not a good idea. However, as usual, they don't state WHY, they just say DON'T!
Personally, I think the folks who built the rig and wrote the book generally know more about it than I do, and I don't choose to argue with them.

x2