Pulling a jeep

[Komfort_23TS]

I am going to pull a jeep ranger behind my class C for the first time. Do I need to turn the key on?

[packnrat]

if your handy with basic hand tools. you can remove a steering wheel locking ring and or the locking device from the steering colume.
just make sure your T case is flat towable as some are not. you would burn up the rear bearing.

[Cider]

Post to original question about key in ignition. I believe, but not positive, that 2009 was the last year that the steering wheel lock was involved. I may be wrong, but best bet is to check owners manual, or, take key out of the ignition and turn steering wheel lock to lock to see if it locks up. If so, need to leave key in ignition and may also have to disconnect battery as part of flat towing the rig. Our is a 2008 JK and we use a "dumb" key to keep wheel unlocked with a built in battery disconnect switch installed. Hope this helps you on the original question.

[klutchdust]

Tom/Barb wrote:

smj wrote:
Blue Ox makes / made a surge type brake system, also. It fits in between you receiver and tow bar. It works very similar to the Ready Brake. I have both but have never used the blue ox. ( I bought it when I needed a replacement quickly for my ready brake . The ready brake was repaired very quickly, so I didn't need to rework my setup to use the blue ox. It's still in the box).
I use the ready brake to flat tow my 4 door jeep rubicon on 35" tires, about 5000 lbs. It works really well. I have towed over and within the Sierras and the Rockies many times. The jeep brakes aren't applied when using only engine braking down a long grade. They don't activate unless you apply moderate or strong braking of the tow vehicle. I think its a great solution and doesn't require extra parts to be installed in the driver's floor area every time you tow. In fact its a very simple mechanical device with very few parts to fail, no electronics at all. Only special consideration is the tow bar must be within 2" of being level when the rigs are on level ground. This prevents binding of the brake mechanism.

As far as OP, I have a 3.5" lift and 35x12 tires with no wear problems from towing over 10k and 30k+ on this set of tires- KO 2 .
good luck,
Stuart

We use one of THESE

I like this idea ,it requires air brakes and the average "C" lacks that.

[Tom_Barb]

smj wrote:
Blue Ox makes / made a surge type brake system, also. It fits in between you receiver and tow bar. It works very similar to the Ready Brake. I have both but have never used the blue ox. ( I bought it when I needed a replacement quickly for my ready brake . The ready brake was repaired very quickly, so I didn't need to rework my setup to use the blue ox. It's still in the box).
I use the ready brake to flat tow my 4 door jeep rubicon on 35" tires, about 5000 lbs. It works really well. I have towed over and within the Sierras and the Rockies many times. The jeep brakes aren't applied when using only engine braking down a long grade. They don't activate unless you apply moderate or strong braking of the tow vehicle. I think its a great solution and doesn't require extra parts to be installed in the driver's floor area every time you tow. In fact its a very simple mechanical device with very few parts to fail, no electronics at all. Only special consideration is the tow bar must be within 2" of being level when the rigs are on level ground. This prevents binding of the brake mechanism.

As far as OP, I have a 3.5" lift and 35x12 tires with no wear problems from towing over 10k and 30k+ on this set of tires- KO 2 .
good luck,
Stuart

We use one of THESE

[smj]

Blue Ox makes / made a surge type brake system, also. It fits in between you receiver and tow bar. It works very similar to the Ready Brake. I have both but have never used the blue ox. ( I bought it when I needed a replacement quickly for my ready brake . The ready brake was repaired very quickly, so I didn't need to rework my setup to use the blue ox. It's still in the box).
I use the ready brake to flat tow my 4 door jeep rubicon on 35" tires, about 5000 lbs. It works really well. I have towed over and within the Sierras and the Rockies many times. The jeep brakes aren't applied when using only engine braking down a long grade. They don't activate unless you apply moderate or strong braking of the tow vehicle. I think its a great solution and doesn't require extra parts to be installed in the driver's floor area every time you tow. In fact its a very simple mechanical device with very few parts to fail, no electronics at all. Only special consideration is the tow bar must be within 2" of being level when the rigs are on level ground. This prevents binding of the brake mechanism.

As far as OP, I have a 3.5" lift and 35x12 tires with no wear problems from towing over 10k and 30k+ on this set of tires- KO 2 .
good luck,
Stuart

[MDKMDK]

Thanks kd. I'll have a look.

Interesting methodology as described. I'll see if I can find a demo video. Website says it works on anything except old VW Beetles with the "mash it to the floor" brake pedal. Thanks.

Install video was very enlightening, too.

I'm using all Blue Ox hardware, and so far, so good.

[klutchdust]

MDKMDK wrote:

klutchdust wrote:
Ron asked: "Are you maintaining the stock wheels & tires for towing? "

To the original poster here is my 2 cents when outfitting your rig to tow. Do it right the first time, avoid stick on magnetic lights, get the proper wiring, the hitch, the braking system. I use a hydraulic brake actuator in my hitch. Going cheap means doing it again. RV'ing isn't inexpensive however it is more fun when you just hook up and go.
You will really enjoy having your jeep with you.......

Are you towing on a dolly? I've never heard of using a hydraulic brake actuator built into a hitch, except the forward momentum actuated surge brakes in a tow dolly's hitch/yoke.
How does your hydraulic brake actuator in your hitch work when towing 4 down? Sorry for asking, but I'm relatively new at the towing game myself.

I couldn't think of the brand name so I wrote that but it is called a "ready brake" It slides into the receiver of the RV then the tow bar slides into the ready brake. Check it out.

[MDKMDK]

klutchdust wrote:
Ron asked: "Are you maintaining the stock wheels & tires for towing? "

To the original poster here is my 2 cents when outfitting your rig to tow. Do it right the first time, avoid stick on magnetic lights, get the proper wiring, the hitch, the braking system. I use a hydraulic brake actuator in my hitch. Going cheap means doing it again. RV'ing isn't inexpensive however it is more fun when you just hook up and go.
You will really enjoy having your jeep with you.......

Are you towing on a dolly? I've never heard of using a hydraulic brake actuator built into a hitch, except the forward momentum actuated surge brakes in a tow dolly's hitch/yoke.
How does your hydraulic brake actuator in your hitch work when towing 4 down? Sorry for asking, but I'm relatively new at the towing game myself.

[Tom_Barb]

Always make your turns wide as you can, every little bit helps, start wide, turn wide, and end up wide.

never start pulling ahead with the steering wheel cramped over.

When turning left, I start the turn from as far right in my lane as I can cut the turn as short as I can and end up far right in my lane as I can.

every little bit helps.

When I know I'll be in many city type corners I'll put my Jeep up on the trailer, I often do anyway. I can back it up, and it saves wear on the jeep.

and as an after thought, the wear on your jeep is totally dependent upon the over hang of the coach, the longer that is the more your jeep will suffer.

[Tom_Barb]

Off Pavement wrote:
Our '97 Wrangler had 4" of lift and 35" tires and towed without any issues or abnormal tire wear at all.

We also tow a lifted (4") jeep with large tires (35.5"). and see no abnormal tire wear. we do rotate every 5 k miles. but see no accelerated wear.

we have about 40k miles on this set, and we have no wear at all. we have towed this set about 15k miles.

TOYO Open Country, 35.5 X 12.5 LT

[Olddud]

We tow a standard Rubicon (behind a Sprinter) as comes from factory, with proper baseplate and towbar. The Jeep is charged from the motorhome, and lights are wired to work off the motorhome.

Have never noticed any tire wear, heard any chirping, or witnessed any problems turning while viewing from mirrors. We have turned as sharp as possible several times and I have watched the tires, mainly to see if something isn't going right back there. Never saw anything that would make me worry, although I never knew there might be something like tire scrubbing. Just looked at the tires and there is no unusual wear, although Wranglers will eventually wreck the tires because they get out of round. It takes me about 20K miles before I hear a pronounced, repetitive tire rumble. Even rotate the tires, but it still shows up.

[Off_Pavement]

Our '97 Wrangler had 4" of lift and 35" tires and towed without any issues or abnormal tire wear at all.

We now tow a '13 Wrangler Unlimited with 3" of lift and 37" tires with more wheel offset than I towed before. Still no issues. Your alignment must be good, and no worn steering components to tow a modified Jeep IMO>

[klutchdust]

Ron asked: "Are you maintaining the stock wheels & tires for towing? "

My 08 wrangler has aftermarket wheels but stock size. The tires are the same size as stock, no lift kit. I forget it is back there and see it in my mirror when making a turn. Occasionally when making a left turn I get a little chirp out of the front wheels. The tires wear fine, my hitch is within specs. I watch it with the camera sometimes but haven't figured it out.

To the original poster here is my 2 cents when outfitting your rig to tow. Do it right the first time, avoid stick on magnetic lights, get the proper wiring, the hitch, the braking system. I use a hydraulic brake actuator in my hitch. Going cheap means doing it again. RV'ing isn't inexpensive however it is more fun when you just hook up and go.
You will really enjoy having your jeep with you.......

[MDKMDK]

ron.dittmer wrote:
I have a few questions for you who tow Wranglers.

Are you maintaining the stock wheels & tires for towing? If you installed larger tires with a wider wheel offset, how is your towing experience?

Yes. Stock wheels, and the tires that came with it (Bridgestone Dueler A/T)

ron.dittmer wrote:
Stock wheel/tire setup or non-stock, do any of you notice strange front tire wear on the outer edges of the thread from pulling your Wrangler through sharp turns with your motor home?

Honestly, we've only towed it 5,000 miles, and haven't noticed any odd wear on the outside of the tires.

ron.dittmer wrote:
We get that from towing our 2006 Jeep Liberty with stock wheels & tires. I try my best to avoid sharp turns with the motor home but cannot completely avoid the condition. I also inflate the front tires much higher to reduce outer edge front tire wear. I wondered if the Wrangler had similar challenges.

Sharp turns are hard to avoid sometimes, and we figured we were more likely to make gentle tow/towed vehicle contact at the corners of the vehicles. Tire wear didn't really come to mind in those situations. I run my Jeep's tires full to manufacturer's max cold inflation specs.

ron.dittmer wrote:
My cousin and her husband in north-east Illinois has for sale, a silver 2011 4-door Wrangler setup for towing but is equipped with a very expensive Stage-V Moab Industries Conversion. The tires are much larger than stock, the vehicle is lifted fairly high, and there are so many fancy things on it far beyond the needs for serious off-roading. Auto-retracting running boards is one such over-the-top feature. My cousin is new to motor homes, new to Wranglers, and new to towing. They recently bought the Wrangler in AZ when they bought their 2nd house in Prescot AZ to slowly transition to a retirement location but the mile high altitude had my cousin living with a constant headache that immediately went away at lower altitude. So the Prescot house and Wrangler they recently bought are both up for sale. The Wrangler is now at their IL house. I wonder how towing it would be. They are both oblivious to my concern. We met at a local restaurant and when they drove off, I could hear the tires loud to the road. Did towing the Moab Wrangler ruin it's tires?

Honestly can't help you there without seeing the Jeep. What are they asking for it? Depending on how high the lift is, you may already be into a horizontal receiver/shank misalignment issue when towing, which will require a vertical hitch rise/lower adapter. Front end mods may cause issues trying to get a standard Wrangler base plate to fit properly. Umbilical/wiring issues may have been created by other Moab mods. You could check with the manufacturer's of the Moab stuff to see if they could tell you. Lastly, I rarely if ever see anyone flat towing a Jeep Wrangler that's had some of the work you describe done to it. Maybe that's the answer to your questions? I have seen some pretty wild looking stuff towed on trailers. I think I'd look for a more stock Wrangler to pull, if it were me.
Ask your cousin what it would cost to uninstall/revert the Moab mods and suspension and tires back to stock. I'm guessing if it's really tricked out, and they ask a reasonable price for it, some local well to do post-adolescent will snap it up for weekends snowboarding or kite surfing. 🙂