Rokhound Posted March 21, 2007 Share Posted March 21, 2007 Here is a thought I want to make my new truck basically a trail rig or almost street legal meaning that it can be drove on the road “legally” but not to far like 10 to 20 miles or so. Do you think my stock 4.0 2wd with an upgraded rear end and gears could pull this for like 100 to 200 miles on a trailer would be my first choice. Or second and I am almost positive that it could flat tow this beast. But flat towing is not good if I broke and axle or something like that. I was going to go with the 8.25 or the D44 so I don’t have to think about the spacers and what weight they could hold and so on so I the 8.8 is out. What are your guys thought? Watson Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rejeep Posted March 21, 2007 Share Posted March 21, 2007 get everything out of your name and into your wifes, check your insurance policy, make sure you have a hitch and not the rear bumper mount... then go for it! I would flat tow before anything else.. trailer weight plus MJ.. i don't think so... I flat towed my YJ with my MJ with the stock rear bumper.. only about 10 miles to a shop.. the brakes were ok, but it was a bit scary Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rokhound Posted March 21, 2007 Author Share Posted March 21, 2007 yeah i was going to go with a class 3 hitch and disc on the rear. Like I said its just a thought. :nuts: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
feerocknok Posted March 21, 2007 Share Posted March 21, 2007 About a year ago this was discussed on here. The main thoughts against it were the braking system and the lack of weight that the MJ that will do the towing has. I wish I could think of the name, but you'll want to get a thing on the second Comanche that applies its brakes as the tower's brakes are applied. The concern with weight is that your towing Comanche won't be able to hold back the towee. If I was going to tow a Comanche with a Comanche, I'd have that brake thingy I was mentioning, an upgraded front braking system (something that requires 16" rims), a rear end that I wouldn't be worring about with some big drums, and a fully reinforced unibody, not as much for strength but more for extra weight, distributed through the entire truck. With that set-up I'd tow 30-40 miles. With a dually rearend and on a long box truck and somehow more weight and a larger motor, I'd be comfortable going farther. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JeepcoMJ Posted March 21, 2007 Share Posted March 21, 2007 i flat tow my wheeling truck 10 to 20 miles frequently behind my DD. BUT i wired the tail lights to a trailer connecter up front, and it will have an electronic brake thingy installed so my brakes in the DD will control it's brakes. that is simply because I don't have the money for a big truck, and while i do have a tri-axle car trailer, i wouldn't dare pull that beefy thing loaded with the wheeling mj behind my truck...not for more than a few miles. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rokhound Posted March 21, 2007 Author Share Posted March 21, 2007 Ok bad ideal that what I thought but as motioned before I don’t have the money for a suburban yet and trailer so I will wait until the wife gives me my allowance back and then buy and bigger truck of some sort. Thanks Watson Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jage Posted March 21, 2007 Share Posted March 21, 2007 J20! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rokhound Posted March 21, 2007 Author Share Posted March 21, 2007 J20! o hell yeah Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kenosha Warrior Posted March 21, 2007 Share Posted March 21, 2007 Fawk the J20... get a waggy or a Chero. That way.. when you come home with a totalled MJ and the words EXO-CAGE escape your lips.. you'll have a place to sleep :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jage Posted March 21, 2007 Share Posted March 21, 2007 Um.. truck cap? I used to sleep in the open bed of my comanche with the gate down (SWB) at work when I was working insane hours and had a break in the middle of the day. Nothing more comfortable! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jbhill Posted March 21, 2007 Share Posted March 21, 2007 i don't tow a trailer w/ out trailer brakes. they should be mandatory!!!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eagle Posted March 22, 2007 Share Posted March 22, 2007 Here is a thought I want to make my new truck basically a trail rig or almost street legal meaning that it can be drove on the road “legally” but not to far like 10 to 20 miles or so. Do you think my stock 4.0 2wd with an upgraded rear end and gears could pull this for like 100 to 200 miles on a trailer would be my first choice. Or second and I am almost positive that it could flat tow this beast. But flat towing is not good if I broke and axle or something like that. I was going to go with the 8.25 or the D44 so I don’t have to think about the spacers and what weight they could hold and so on so I the 8.8 is out. What are your guys thought? Watson You can do it. The question is if you should do it. I've towed farther than that, flat towing an MJ behind and MJ and again towing an XJ on a lightweight (yeah, right!) aluminum trailer behind an MJ. I survived, but it was painful. I would not flat tow again, because you don't have enough brakes. At least with a trailer you can run electric or surge brakes and have a slim chance of stopping in the same county as where you first stepped on the brake peddle ... but then you're towing the added weight of the trailer, so the towed rig significantly outweighs the tow vehicle. That's never a good combination, and it's pretty hard on the tow vehicle. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JeepcoMJ Posted March 22, 2007 Share Posted March 22, 2007 if you set up the rig correctly...meaning, with electronically controlled brakes on it and an electric controller on your towing truck, and tap into the brake light wiring on the trail rig with trailer harness. you'd need to tap into the trail rig's brakes as well with a trailer controller that has the capacity to operate the truck's brakes. it can be done. that's the goal with my mj...the only thing i don't like about it is that it will seriously take it's toll on the wheel bearings. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jage Posted March 22, 2007 Share Posted March 22, 2007 Consider your tires too. I flat towed my TJ from Indianapolis > Yellowstone > Indianapolis and when I got back my tires were SHOT. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete M Posted March 22, 2007 Share Posted March 22, 2007 I've flat-towed my MJ with various vehicles before and I buy junkyard tires that go on the MJ. It's a pain trying to carry all the 33' tires, but the trips destroy whatever tire I put on the front of the MJ and aren't much better to the rears. But flat-towing such a long vehicle also sucks. It's constantly fighting the tow vehicle and can be an eye-opening experience. Before my next trip anywhere, I'm going to find someone with a brake-assisted tow dolly to borrow. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jage Posted March 22, 2007 Share Posted March 22, 2007 Might as well look for a trailer. Tow dollies are a PITA. You can't back up and your rear tires are still on the ground, plus after all the hookup is a pain for what you get. I had to modify the stock straps to take 32" tires too. Plus it's easy to drive right over the ramps. :) that sucks! I still flat tow for camping or whatnot, but nothing beats a trailer with brakes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wildman Posted March 22, 2007 Share Posted March 22, 2007 if you set up the rig correctly...meaning, with electronically controlled brakes on it and an electric controller on your towing truck, and tap into the brake light wiring on the trail rig with trailer harness. you'd need to tap into the trail rig's brakes as well with a trailer controller that has the capacity to operate the truck's brakes. it can be done. that's the goal with my mj...the only thing i don't like about it is that it will seriously take it's toll on the wheel bearings. :hmm: How do you tie in a electric brake controller (from the tow vehicle brake lights) to the towed vehicle's hydraulic brake system??? Let's see, payload of a MJ about 750 pounds, towing anything bigger that a wheel barrow, I don't think so. U-haul will not even rent you a tow dollie for the MJ (I asked :oops: ) Car dollie = $39 /day, car trailer with surge brakes = $49/day. Yea, I think the $10 is worth it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CEThomas Posted March 22, 2007 Share Posted March 22, 2007 When towed rig significantly outweighs the tow vehicle and you add rain and trailer brakes that are overheated /go out and you are screwed :eek: Been there and got the sign :D Only takes one time on I-75 and someone cuts you off in the mountains after you heat up the trailer brakes and the towed rig starts pushing you and you know why you need a big tow rig :bowdown: Charles Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beaterjeep Posted March 22, 2007 Share Posted March 22, 2007 Man, I only wish I had pictures of when I had to use my 88 2wd MJ to flat tow my friend's 85 F-250 with 8" lift on 35's. Thankfully I only had to tow him for 15 miles, it toasted my front brakes and warped the rotors beyond belief, I wouldn't recommend it to any MJ owner to do. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jbhill Posted March 22, 2007 Share Posted March 22, 2007 heated up trailer brakes is from having to much of the controller on them. also proper tongue wieght(10% of the load on the tongue of the trailer) also makes a BIG difference in how your rig handles the wieght behind it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JeepcoMJ Posted March 22, 2007 Share Posted March 22, 2007 :hmm: How do you tie in a electric brake controller (from the tow vehicle brake lights) to the towed vehicle's hydraulic brake system??? answer; you place the the trailer controller (from a trailer with hydro brakes) in the brake system on the comanche to be trailered. by trailer controller i mean the part that's ON the trailer which controls the brakes by recieving the signal from the tow vehicle. i've seen this done on a pos chevy 1/2 ton that was being pulled by a duramax. worked flawlessly, the brakes didn't heat/warp and they experienced only normal wear on both vehicles. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wildman Posted March 22, 2007 Share Posted March 22, 2007 JeepcoMJ - are you talking about a brake Actuator (for surge brakes) tie into the towed vehicle hydraclic system. Or are you talking about a electronic brake controler tied in to the towed vehicle??? That would make sense by changing out the wheel cyls with serno (electric wheel cyls) Above for flat towed vehicles, that's what this topic was. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CEThomas Posted March 22, 2007 Share Posted March 22, 2007 heated up trailer brakes is from having to much of the controller on them. also proper tongue wieght(10% of the load on the tongue of the trailer) also makes a BIG difference in how your rig handles the wieght behind it. Yes, you are right. It's called Physics. That is why you need a large enough tow to handle the rig being towed. Trailer brakes are designed to work with the tow vehicle and not stop the trailer / towed rig alone. When I got my first trailer I had a S-15 Jimmy that pulled the trailer loaded great but to stop it without pushing the Jimmy I had to set the trailer up with a lot of controller. After one year of pulling like that I got a full size and could stop the trailer w/o using the trailer brakes if need be:D Charles Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CEThomas Posted March 22, 2007 Share Posted March 22, 2007 you place the the trailer controller (from a trailer with hydro brakes) in the brake system on the comanche to be trailered. What type of trailer did you get it off ? Of all the trailers I have had / pulled / looked at I have never seen anything but electronic brakes and surge brakes. This is something I would like to look into as I do not like electronic and would not own a surge brake trailer :chillin: Charles Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JeepcoMJ Posted March 22, 2007 Share Posted March 22, 2007 i will get the specs from my friend bill, he's the one who did it. but i must correct myself, it was not off of a trailer. he used a hydraulic brake controller in both trucks and rigged it to be a slave on the trailered truck. i usually get these things, but now i don't even get it :nuts: i still think with inginuity i could manage to do it. maybe Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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