question about towing a 2016 jeep wrangler

Late model Jeep JK's make great toads.
Transmission: Park.
Transfer Case: Neutral.
Ignition / Key: Keep it with you. No steering wheel lock.

I tow a 2015 Wrangler Unlimited with 2011 Duramax to the
dealer for service. Works well!

klutchdust wrote:

FIRE UP wrote:

jgkeeto wrote:
we bought a 2016 jeep wrangler 2 door and today we got it back from the shop that put on the base plate. we got all the wires done plus the supplimental braking system.

here's my question, i am reading the jeep manual and looking on line and youtube and it looks like the jeep doesn't have the locking stearing wheel. so when i put everything together and am ready to tow, will the front tires turn when making a turn or do they just stay straight and wear out the tires. and if they do turn, then what keeps the tires from turning when you are going straight down the road?

one other question, here in PA we are very well known for having horrible roads, so if i am pulling my jeep along and there are dips in the road, that shows up unexpectidly, will the tow bars hold ok.
it is that a lot of the roads are very bumpy and going at 60mph there isn't time to slow down, so just curious if anyone experienced this and how they felt about it.



thanks again for all the comments, they are greatly appreciated.

jgkeeto,
First off, Jeep disconntinued the locking steering wheel in around '08-'09. There were a few stragglers in the assembly line but, after those left, there have been no locking steering wheels in any Wrangler up to and including the '17 model. With that being said, when you hook up your Jeep, it will follow you where ever you go, turn, stop, go straight etc. And, as far as your PA roads are concerned, we just finished a 6,400 mile trip yesterday here in Lake Havasu City AZ.

It included 20 states, and PA. By far Pal, your roads don't hold a candle to Michigan's. It didn't matter what turn pike, freeway, back country road, county road etc., they ALL are in terrible shape. I'm surprised that we still have cabinets mounted on the walls in our coach. I was never so glad to leave a state as we were when we crossed the border of MI and OH on I-75 south. It was like we went from 65 mph off road rock crawling to, water skiing on a glass lake. And, as far as if your tow bar will handle those "killer roads", yeah, no issues there. It's not good on them for sure but, they're built good enough to handle what's thrown at them. We can attest to that via 6,400 miles of the junk roads we encountered and, all the mileage on all the trips preceding this one. We've had this Blue Ox Aventa II for quite a few years and, it's towed our previous Jeep, our present Jeep, and our truck for mile after mile. Its still in great shape.

Anyway, after owning and towing 9 Jeeps in a 35 year period, we've got plenty of Jeep experience, both towing and off road. Any questions, PM me if you'd like.
Scott

Scott, my 08 was delivered on 01/01/08 and it has the locking steering wheel. A non chipped key is the ticket. There is a clock spring issue with the jeep, i already replaced it but they want to do it again, think Ill leave the locking mechanism out.

Yep, even in todays world, in the '17 Jeeps, there's issues. I appreciate the kind comments. I do what I can to help here. There's been quite a few that have disabled the locking mechanism. Normally, it's notched ring and a pin that enters any one of those notches, when the key is placed in a certain position, namely OFF.

I personally have not done the disablement 'cause I've not needed it. But, if I had a vehicle that needed the key ON, which, included activating some electrical components but, unlocked the steering wheel, I'd do the disable lock thing, in a heartbeat.
Scott

bob_nestor wrote:

klutchdust wrote:

bob_nestor wrote:

klutchdust wrote:
After hooking up and being sure it is in neutral just go. I always check everything each time i stop and just before i get into the coach. Of course plan ahead as you cannot back up. Did you ever ride your bicycle with no hands on the bars, same principle.

Put the transfer case into neutral, NOT the transmission - leave the transmission in Park (for automatic).

Well of course, my comment was made assuming the poster knew the sequence of events that need to occur before towing to reach the neutral status. As I said, put it in neutral.

Didn't intend to make you feel like an idiot, but if the poster knew the sequence of events that need to occur before towing (from reading the owner's manual), why would he need to come here asking for advice? All the information I needed to know about towing my 2011 Wrangler I found in the Owner's Manual and I doubt that's changed for 2016.

The advice they were seeking was about the tow bar and the steering, they didn't mention anything about the neutral position. So when they read this let me be clear, you need to follow the sequence of events stated in your owners manual to achieve neutral. Being corrected or asked for clarification doesn't make me feel like an idiot. we are all here to help one another, no offense taken.
Like scott said, if you need advice about towing a jeep he is the one, he personally helped me a few times posting photos and tech advice, one smart dude.

klutchdust wrote:

bob_nestor wrote:

klutchdust wrote:
After hooking up and being sure it is in neutral just go. I always check everything each time i stop and just before i get into the coach. Of course plan ahead as you cannot back up. Did you ever ride your bicycle with no hands on the bars, same principle.

Put the transfer case into neutral, NOT the transmission - leave the transmission in Park (for automatic).

Well of course, my comment was made assuming the poster knew the sequence of events that need to occur before towing to reach the neutral status. As I said, put it in neutral.

Didn't intend to make you feel like an idiot, but if the poster knew the sequence of events that need to occur before towing (from reading the owner's manual), why would he need to come here asking for advice? All the information I needed to know about towing my 2011 Wrangler I found in the Owner's Manual and I doubt that's changed for 2016.

FIRE UP wrote:

jgkeeto wrote:
we bought a 2016 jeep wrangler 2 door and today we got it back from the shop that put on the base plate. we got all the wires done plus the supplimental braking system.

here's my question, i am reading the jeep manual and looking on line and youtube and it looks like the jeep doesn't have the locking stearing wheel. so when i put everything together and am ready to tow, will the front tires turn when making a turn or do they just stay straight and wear out the tires. and if they do turn, then what keeps the tires from turning when you are going straight down the road?

one other question, here in PA we are very well known for having horrible roads, so if i am pulling my jeep along and there are dips in the road, that shows up unexpectidly, will the tow bars hold ok.
it is that a lot of the roads are very bumpy and going at 60mph there isn't time to slow down, so just curious if anyone experienced this and how they felt about it.



thanks again for all the comments, they are greatly appreciated.

jgkeeto,
First off, Jeep disconntinued the locking steering wheel in around '08-'09. There were a few stragglers in the assembly line but, after those left, there have been no locking steering wheels in any Wrangler up to and including the '17 model. With that being said, when you hook up your Jeep, it will follow you where ever you go, turn, stop, go straight etc. And, as far as your PA roads are concerned, we just finished a 6,400 mile trip yesterday here in Lake Havasu City AZ.

It included 20 states, and PA. By far Pal, your roads don't hold a candle to Michigan's. It didn't matter what turn pike, freeway, back country road, county road etc., they ALL are in terrible shape. I'm surprised that we still have cabinets mounted on the walls in our coach. I was never so glad to leave a state as we were when we crossed the border of MI and OH on I-75 south. It was like we went from 65 mph off road rock crawling to, water skiing on a glass lake. And, as far as if your tow bar will handle those "killer roads", yeah, no issues there. It's not good on them for sure but, they're built good enough to handle what's thrown at them. We can attest to that via 6,400 miles of the junk roads we encountered and, all the mileage on all the trips preceding this one. We've had this Blue Ox Aventa II for quite a few years and, it's towed our previous Jeep, our present Jeep, and our truck for mile after mile. Its still in great shape.

Anyway, after owning and towing 9 Jeeps in a 35 year period, we've got plenty of Jeep experience, both towing and off road. Any questions, PM me if you'd like.
Scott

Scott, my 08 was delivered on 01/01/08 and it has the locking steering wheel. A non chipped key is the ticket. There is a clock spring issue with the jeep, i already replaced it but they want to do it again, think Ill leave the locking mechanism out.

bob_nestor wrote:

klutchdust wrote:
After hooking up and being sure it is in neutral just go. I always check everything each time i stop and just before i get into the coach. Of course plan ahead as you cannot back up. Did you ever ride your bicycle with no hands on the bars, same principle.

Put the transfer case into neutral, NOT the transmission - leave the transmission in Park (for automatic).

Well of course, my comment was made assuming the poster knew the sequence of events that need to occur before towing to reach the neutral status. As I said, put it in neutral.

klutchdust wrote:
After hooking up and being sure it is in neutral just go. I always check everything each time i stop and just before i get into the coach. Of course plan ahead as you cannot back up. Did you ever ride your bicycle with no hands on the bars, same principle.

Put the transfer case into neutral, NOT the transmission - leave the transmission in Park (for automatic).

jgkeeto wrote:
we bought a 2016 jeep wrangler 2 door and today we got it back from the shop that put on the base plate. we got all the wires done plus the supplimental braking system.

here's my question, i am reading the jeep manual and looking on line and youtube and it looks like the jeep doesn't have the locking stearing wheel. so when i put everything together and am ready to tow, will the front tires turn when making a turn or do they just stay straight and wear out the tires. and if they do turn, then what keeps the tires from turning when you are going straight down the road?

one other question, here in PA we are very well known for having horrible roads, so if i am pulling my jeep along and there are dips in the road, that shows up unexpectidly, will the tow bars hold ok.
it is that alot of the roads are very bumpy and going at 60mph there isn't time to slow down, so just curious if anyone experienced this and how they felt about it.

thanks again for all the comments, they are greatly appreciated.

jgkeeto,
First off, Jeep disconntinued the locking steering wheel in around '08-'09. There were a few stragglers in the assembly line but, after those left, there have been no locking steering wheels in any Wrangler up to and including the '17 model. With that being said, when you hook up your Jeep, it will follow you where ever you go, turn, stop, go straight etc. And, as far as your PA roads are concerned, we just finished a 6,400 mile trip yesterday here in Lake Havasu City AZ.

It included 20 states, and PA. By far Pal, your roads don't hold a candle to Michigan's. It didn't matter what turn pike, freeway, back country road, county road etc., they ALL are in terrible shape. I'm surprised that we still have cabinets mounted on the walls in our coach. I was never so glad to leave a state as we were when we crossed the border of MI and OH on I-75 south. It was like we went from 65 mph off road rock crawling to, water skiing on a glass lake. And, as far as if your tow bar will handle those "killer roads", yeah, no issues there. It's not good on them for sure but, they're built good enough to handle what's thrown at them. We can attest to that via 6,400 miles of the junk roads we encountered and, all the mileage on all the trips preceding this one. We've had this Blue Ox Aventa II for quite a few years and, it's towed our previous Jeep, our present Jeep, and our truck for mile after mile. Its still in great shape.

Anyway, after owning and towing 9 Jeeps in a 35 year period, we've got plenty of Jeep experience, both towing and off road. Any questions, PM me if you'd like.
Scott

After hooking up and being sure it is in neutral just go. I always check everything each time i stop and just before i get into the coach. Of course plan ahead as you cannot back up. Did you ever ride your bicycle with no hands on the bars, same principle.

I tow a 2016 Wrangler, no problems. Good tow bar, good aux brake (mine are all Blue Ox, but there are others just as good), you should have no problems, turns, curves, potted roads, etc. I also sometimes double tow with a trailer behind the Jeep, or with a kayak on the roof rack. Drive for the setup you have and roads you're on. All in a day's drive.