Towing a lifted Jeep on 35's?

rctoyguy wrote:
I have a 14 Wrangler Unlimited - stock right now but planning a small lift and up to 35" tires this spring. Also considering using it as a toad for a class-c. (Don't have the camper yet so can't be specific.)

How negatively will the lift and bigger tires affect towability?

I'm already nervous thinking about towing my daily driver but might be better option than buying a dedicated toad in addition to the RV.

rctoyguy
Well Sir, there's no need to be nervous about towing your Jeep. Jeeps (wrangler style) have been towed for decades without any issues. And that includes lifted ones with or, without larger tires. We've owned 8 Jeeps and towed all of them. And, all of them were and are lifted and, ALL of them had larger tires.

The last one, an '04 Rubicon, had 6" of lift and, was touting 35s. WE towed that all over the western U.S. and, no, there's no concern with prematurely worn ANYTHING in those front ends. We sold that Jeep with just as solid a front end, and all it's components, as it had when we purchased it.

If you're planning on having a company (whatever 4WD specialties outfit of your choice) do the lift, if they've got any form of good quality work, they'll set the Jeep up with proper front end geometry and toe when it's (the lift) is all completed. So, you'll have proper tracking of the Jeep behind whatever you want to tow it with.

All this **** about accelerated tire wear is HOGWASH too. None of our Jeeps showed any accelerated tire wear, due to towing. Again, if they (the company that may be doing the work) have a clue as to how and properly setup a Jeep after a lift, tire wear is no more a problem then a bone stock Jeep being towed which, IS NOTHING!

Scott

We've towed our '13 Wrangler Unlimited with 37s and 3" lift often with no issues. I'm not sold on the idea that towing with a lift and larger tires will necessarily kill ball joints, or unit bearings will fail more quickly.

Lot's of JK owners have complained about the ball joints that don't tow them, and I wonder if it could also be their driving style. Many folks I see in parking lots crank the wheels while parked to get into or out of parking spaces. If the wheels were rolling even a tiny bit while those wheels are being cranked, the friction on the tires and stress on the ball joints and bearings would be greatly reduced.

Just a thought... I've got almost 60K on stock bearings, joints, and steering linkage.

We towed my TJ last year. In medium tight parking lot turns the wheel locked sideways so I would have to run along side and hold the wheel. This was due to low caster because of the 6" lift.
It really depends on your vehicle setup which includes the suspension, tires and tow bar. The amount of lift and how the caster is set effects it's tracking. A sloppy, loose tow bar and receiver will add to the darting back and forth that can happen.I shimmed the receiver and that helped. An extra HD steering dampener also helps. In the end should be able to roll ok on 35 to 37's without issues. It took a few test runs to get our setup just right. Years ago we towed an old YJ on 31's, it towed like a dream. Good luck.

I toad one with 37's.

Big tires kill ball joints and front wheel bearings quickly, be prepared for that.

Used to do it all the time with my '90 Wrangler. Pulled just fine. Going around turns wears on the front tires, so plan on rotating them more often then usual to avoid cupping, especially with mud terrain tires. I use a flat bed trailer now because of that.




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Towing a lifted Jeep Wrangler must not be a issue. I saw several being towed while staying in Quartzsite, AZ. Some looked to have tires larger than the 35's.

If you have enough caster that the steering returns to center after a turn and your tow bar can be close to level you will be fine.