Towing 4 Down Jeep Wrangler

[booty51]

This just happened the other day and has happened twice before. Has anyone had the steering wheel lock while towing, 4 down, causing jeep wheels not to "float" causing jeep to tow erratic,due to wheels not in correct position! I have had this happen when making tight turns at slower speeds on narrow roads and in a parking lot. Had to stop dead in my tracks and get out and start jeep reposition wheels and reset key to tow.

[BobGed]

Have you by chance had your Wrangler lifted and put on larger wheels and aggressive off road tires? The other thing I would suggest is to check all steering and suspension components and have the front end realigned.

I would think if your key somehow switched to the locked position while underway, you would see that as soon as you got in the Jeep after towing. It certainly wouldn't magically switch back to the unlocked position when you stopped.

[booty51]

I understand Lostdogs question , could be a problem although I do not think I have a heavy key ring just a housekey and another jeep key to my sons jeep was it too heavy ,if it's swinging and moves the ignition key position, uhh don't know. Will go to just a single key in ignition, but I know that I have had just a single key in ignition on other trips with lock up. I like removing the lock in ignition, and I know about the white rag on steering wheel have done that before and yes you can see it in the camera. but when you are driving and turning you are looking in the direction you are turning and not constantly looking at the camera. But the camera and my mirrows is how I knew lockup had occurred due to jeep position behind the RV and or seeing the wheel position on the jeep, in my mirrors as I completed the turn.

[mowermech]

lostdog wrote:

booty51 wrote:
OK to clear some questions up its an 06 Wrangler, key was set in first click position to allow steering wheel to turn per towing proceedure, rough roads and maybe sweeping turns in tight areas is where I have experienced lock up.Will look into removing steering wheel lock.

Do you have a lot of heavy "stuff" hanging of the key ring? General Motors is going thru this right now. If you have a lot of keys on the key ring it can get to swinging while going down the road and turn the key to the lock position. Just a thought.

That was my first thought when I read the OP. Actually, this is nothing new, it has been a slight problem since they took the ignition switch out of the dash board and put it in the steering column! I remember reading about it years ago. The recommendation back then, as now, is to NOT have a big mass of keys (and other stuff) on your key ring.
The best bet is to have just the ignition key in the switch, with nothing hanging on it.
I, too, have never had this problem with my '06 Wrangler.

[Trackrig]

Yes, I had it happen on a 2002 Wrangler. I had four new tires installed for the trip. The steering wheel locked up in Canada and scrubbed the tread off of the front right tire after they didn't straighten out. Since the other three tires were still new I wanted to find another. They were BF Goodrich 10X15 All Terrains that were hard to find until I got to Kelowna in southern Canada. Everyone was willing to order them, but I didn't have a week to wait for one.

The locking pin can be pulled out of the steering column. You need a "security" Torex bit that has a hole drilled in the middle of it. You can go to HD and buy a set of them. On You Tube you'll find videos on how to remover the pin. I didn't find a video exactly for a Jeep, but other videos were close enough.

I found that if you wrap something white around the top of the steering wheel when it's straight (the tires are pointed straight ahead) you can see it in your rear camera. Watch the white spot and make sure it comes back to the top after going around a sharp corner. I found that white "sheet" off of a lint roller worked well as it stayed in place and could be removed easily.

Bill

[lostdog]

booty51 wrote:
OK to clear some questions up its an 06 Wrangler, key was set in first click position to allow steering wheel to turn per towing proceedure, rough roads and maybe sweeping turns in tight areas is where I have experienced lock up.Will look into removing steering wheel lock.

Do you have a lot of heavy "stuff" hanging of the key ring? General Motors is going thru this right now. If you have a lot of keys on the key ring it can get to swinging while going down the road and turn the key to the lock position. Just a thought.

[booty51]

OK to clear some questions up its an 06 Wrangler, key was set in first click position to allow steering wheel to turn per towing proceedure, rough roads and maybe sweeping turns in tight areas is where I have experienced lock up.Will look into removing steering wheel lock.

[wagonmaster2]

I've towed our 2001 Wrangler some 70,000 miles since new and never had a problem like this. Always thought I was doing everything correct when getting set to tow but now this has me really concerned. Has anyone ever gotten a good explanation as to how this can happen? Wonder if it ever happens while the Wrangler is being driven? Some fun that would be.

[Berner2]

Not sure if you mean you made a turn with the steering lock disengaged and the wheels did not straighten out after the turn, but, instead stayed in the full right or left turn position.
This can be helped with an alignment or I have heard of people using a bungee attached to the bottom of the steering wheel and then to the seat or something to help the wheel return to straight ahead.

If you mean the steering wheel lock engaged and wouldn't let the steering wheel return to the straight ahead position then you can go in and remove or grind off the lock pin. I ground off the internal lock pin on my '08 Wrangler to eliminate the need to have my key in the ignition and to eliminate the possibility of it engaging accidentally.

[zman-az]

If required, I assume you had the key installed in the ignition and in the correct position?

If you have a 1997-2006 Jeep Wrangler you can remove the steering wheel lock device. This will prevent this from ever happening again and you can tow without the key in place. Google it and you will find lots of information, even some videos on how to do this. Very easy mod to do.

[JnJnKatiebug]

Mid year 2008 Jeep stopped putting steering wheel locks in the Wrangler. Before that, even with the key on they have been known to lock if the key gets turned during towing (hitting a pothole can move the key). Mine is a 2007, it had a lock. I removed the ignition and took the lock out. Problem solved for me.

[rk911]

booty51 wrote:
This just happened the other day and has happened twice before. Has anyone had the steering wheel lock while towing, 4 down, causing jeep wheels not to "float" causing jeep to tow erratic,due to wheels not in correct position! I have had this happen when making tight turns at slower speeds on narrow roads and in a parking lot. Had to stop dead in my tracks and get out and start jeep reposition wheels and reset key to tow.

yes. we had that happen on our 2003 wrangler. and the steering wheel was unlocked with the key at the time. some friends who were traveling with us said the jeep hit a large chuckhole on the expwy (we never saw or felt it) and soon after the front wheels locked up. we were 10-mins from our campground in Nashville. I changed the one tire that was completely shredded but ended up replacing all four. that was the only time that happened.

[summerhouse]

We towed a 2010 Jeep Wrangler for 4 years with no problem whatsoever. The steering wheel doesn't lock at all, ever.

What year jeep are you towing?