Towing a toad

Alan_Hepburn wrote:

willald wrote:

Are you certain about this? Nearly all Wranglers have a transfer case that can be shifted into neutral for towing, which lets all 4 wheels spin freely, disconnected from the transmission. That being the case, I don't see why a Wrangler couldn't be towed on a dolly, if you wanted to. That is, assuming its not one of the (very rare) 2WD only Jeeps.

The way it was explained to me many years ago was that the way the transfer case worked was that shifting from 2H to 4H connected the front and rear drive shafts together; then shifting from 4H to N disconnected everything from the transmission, but did not disconnect the front and rear driveshafts from each other. I've never taken the time to investigate it further: the manual says don't do it and that's good enough for me!

I agree that if the manual says don't do it, then not a wise idea to do it, but your description here of how the transfer case works seems hard to believe.

If the front and rear driveshafts were connected together when transfer case is in Neutral for flat towing....You'd be binding up the driveshafts and axles very badly every time you went around a turn when towing. If that was the case, I don't think you could tow it more than a few miles on pavement before something would tear up.

Now it may be that they (front and rear driveshaft) are loosely coupled somehow when transfer case is in neutral. However, seems hard to believe they'd be locked together like is the case when in 4H.

I read on another forum that the Jeep transfer cases have an oil pump that is fed from the rear drive output shaft. That seems definitely more plausible and would explain why Jeep doesn't want you towing with a dolly.

My original tow set up was the jeep wrangler and blue ox. For me it was a good set up. However now I am using a tow dolly as the jeep became to hard for DW to get in and out of. Plus the dolly gives more car options.

I tried to find the lists of cars you can tow 4 down, but could not find. It seems to get harder and harder to find cars able to tow 4 down.

Good Luck, never did understand the rental thing

Great product - note check out weight of the tow bars - do not take it off and on very often but the bars very in weight 31-42 lbs

I towed assorted vehicles with a blue ox tow bar.. Good product very happy with it.

Make sure you get a good aux-brake system for the Jeep. there are several out there. But I'm going to drop them into 2.2 classes.

First is the Box in the driver's seat.. Like Brake Buddy.. They say "No installation required" but the fact is you need to install it every time you tow (They mean no drilling or cable routing) and it eats power off the towed's battery.... EVERY TIME YOU TOW.. it's a chance to mess up the install or to say "oh what the heck.... I"m only going a short distance. I'll just forget it"
Both are not good.

2.1 and 2.2 are installed systems Either electrically opeerated (.1) or if you have a diesel MH with air brakes (Or a gasser with an air compressor) air operated (.2) These systems are "invisible" far as the towed's driver is concerned. they are there full time and it only takes a couple seconds to plug it in and unplug it.. and in some cases not even that.. No motive to "oh forget it".

Very good systems.

Personally I've always preferred ready brute elite tow bars with built in surge brakes. No need to buy an additional braking system for the toad, it's mechanical so less to fail and super simple to hook up.

jeep and blue ox, a good start. for all prospective toads, be sure to check owner's manual for towing behind a motor home, recreational towing, etc.
bumpy

I tend to agree with craig7h.
I was in the automobile business for 30 years, so always had numerous options of what I wanted to take with us on a trip. So, I found that a Demco all-galvanized dolly with surge brakes fit our needs the best (plus I used it in my business extensively).
Although it limited us to a FWD vehicle, sometimes it was a small van, sometimes a very economical puddle-jumper, and sometimes our own personal Audi A4 convertible. We never had any issues with what to do with the dolly when we reached our destination, and with a drop-down front wheel added, although the dolly was heavy, it was still very maneuverabile.

You have undoubtedly figured out that there are two distinct groups here.
The tow bar group and the tow dolly group. Each method has its pros and cons.
I have towed my Jeep wrangler thousands of miles, 4 down with a tow bar with no problems.

As for auxiliary braking, I have a Brake Buddy Classic. It has failed on me two times. Applying the brakes and not releasing. I cannot recommend this product.
But for installation purposes, you simply set it on the floor, connect it to the brake pedal, then connect your power cable. That’s it.
My Brake Buddy has a power wire from the coach to keep the toad battery charged and does not drain my battery as mentioned above.
You have many options. Good luck and safe travels

If you don't want the size and weight of a Jeep Wrangler, Jeep Cherokee Trailhawk or a Grand Cherokee (4x4 wi6th proper transmission) are factory setup to tow. Add the Blue Ox and M&G or Air Force One braking system and you are good to go. It takes less than 5 minutes to hook up and be ready to drive away. It takes even less time to disconnect. I have done the dolly thing and will never go back.