Towing Home My New Mj With An Xj, Dolly? Or...

[mndiesel]

Yeah! I found my project MJ, it's a 1986 2.5L 4x4. It has a blown engine, I'll have to tow it for 250 miles.  I have a 2001 XJ 4.0 AW4.

 

From reading it looks like I can use a dolly if I disconnect the rear drive shaft and keep it under 55.  Is this my best option? I do have monroe self leveling shocks all around the XJ.  My hunch is car trailers are too heavy for my XJ.  Looking for your guy's tips who have towed their Comanche's home.  So glad I'm finally about to be part of the club! Will be posting all my build pics etc here!  Thanks for any advice

[earl*t]

Welcome Diesel!!! I, or my wife, drove all three of our MJs home. I have however towed our pop-up with our XJ many times. Also towed a trailer from West Virginia to Texas with in-laws Grand. I'm of the opinion you should be fine. Take your time and watch the gauges.

[87manche1]

You will be fine with a dolly trailer ur really pushing it watch braking

[ParadiseMJ]

Make sure the MJ's rear diff has good fresh oil in it.  I'd think you'll likely leak some fluid out of the transfer case if you remove the rear shaft,  but the t-case won't be turning, so you should be OK.  As far as "can the XJ do it".  Yes, but:

• Dollys don't back up well, so be aware of that, just sayin'
• The braking power of the XJ will be your only brakes, make sure they're up to snuff. 
• If you don't have an external tranny cooler, consider one.
• If you can get away with stick on lights (a towing kit) do that instead of relying on the MJ lights wired into the XJ.

Congrats on the MJ, and welcome.

[mnkyboy]

Be extra careful, go slow and steady and pray you don't have to make any sudden maneuvers.

 

I used to tow with my XJ a lot till one day it bit me,the wife was towing a small sports car on a dolly when she lost control.

 

 

I now do all my towing with a 3/4 ton truck, IMO an XJ is not an ideal tow rig whether its rated for it or not.

[darkside383]

All I can say is good luck. I towed a 78 Malibu with my YJ it was not to bad just really pushy. Just an FYI u haul won't rent you a dolly because the tow vehical does not weight enough. Been there tried that.

[mvusse]

 

• If you can get away with stick on lights (a towing kit) do that instead of relying on the MJ lights wired into the XJ.

Not needed. The tow dolly itself will have lights.

 

In my opinion it can be done. Also in my opinion it is not safe. The MJ weighs more than the XJ, add in the weight of the dolly and you have way over double the weight your brakes are rated for. If you had a brake controller and electric brakes on the dolly it would be better, but the fact still remains that you will have more weight behind you than you do on your own wheels.

 

Even though it will most likely be beyond the rated limit of the XJ, the safest way would be on a trailer, with trailer brakes and a weight distributing hitch.

 

If it were 30 miles or less I would say do it, take it slow, stay off busy highways. 250 miles is too far with what I consider an unsafe setup. Either borrow a full size truck or van to tow it behind, or rent a u haul truck to tow it home behind, either on a dolly or a trailer.

 

As far as losing fluid from the transfer case with the drive shaft removed, it's not an issue. You may lose a bit of liquid (fraction of an ounce) when you first remove the shaft, but all the fluid will be in the bottom of the case, not anywhere close to the rear output. The transfer case has an oil pump run off the rear output that circulates the fluid when the vehicle is moving. Without the rear driveshaft the pump won't run, the fluid will stay in the bottom of the case.

[JeepcoMJ]

250 miles is a bit far,

 

but, Correy has borrowed my tow dolly and towed his MJ's both to MO, around that far away, with his xj.

 

went well enough for him.

 

basically, keep it at or under 55mph, plan on at least a couple pit stops to let the xj have a minute to cool down, stay in the right lane, and don't use overdrive. Don't brake hard (unless the situation calls for it), but rather let your foot off the gas extra early so the jeep has a chance to slow itself down

 

If you have a dana 35, go very light on the gas pedal leaving stop signs.

 

I have towed 3 liberties with my 99 xj 4.0 5 speed 4x4 and 8.25 rear. never had an issue

[Akula69]

I tend to be risk adverse when it comes to towing - seen too many rigs get away from folks and end up in pieces. It is a bit far, so I agree with Mvusse...use a full size truck.  

 

In any case, welcome and good luck!

[JeepcoMJ]

You can rent a uhaul truck and full trailer for a day for a very good price.    or find a buddy with a truck to pull.

 

I say you could do it with a cherokee, but would suggest a bigger vehicle.    I got a buddy to haul my orange KJ home with his 07 duramax for a case of beer, lunch, and $ for fuel used.   it was only around 5 hours round trip

[92tanMJ]

I picked up my MJ a few weeks ago. I was going to use my Xj but they were got of car dollies at uhual so  I rented a full car trailer and used my dads f250 to go pick it up and man can I say that I am happy I did that.

[AMCJeepMJ]

Rent a u-haul.

 

See pics above for overturned towing rig, and there's a great youtube video you should look up showing a BMW towing another BMW and having an incident during the course of their abruptly-ended journey. It can happen fast..

[92tanMJ]

Rent a u-haul.

 

See pics above for overturned towing rig, and there's a great youtube video you should look up showing a BMW towing another BMW and having an incident during the course of their abruptly-ended journey. It can happen fast..

 

I can't find this so called youtube video...

[mvusse]

[92tanMJ]

HOLY $#!& :eek:

[64 Cheyenne]

Wonder what language that is so I know how to say "Oh S*&t" in that language, gotta be what that guy is sayin in the video lol.

[mndiesel]

Wow, great information guys this is fantastic. I am definitely a conservative when it comes to towing and realized quickly using the XJ is not an option for me.

 

I have a 2005 Silverado a friend is loaning me. I will be getting a full trailer to bring it home on from Uhaul with that.

 

I'll post my story, and then a build thread to follow! Thanks again for all the replys!

[jimoshel]

That was just to much weight for a Beemer, or any small sedan.

[xjrev10]

Wow, great information guys this is fantastic. I am definitely a conservative when it comes to towing and realized quickly using the XJ is not an option for me.

 

I have a 2005 Silverado a friend is loaning me. I will be getting a full trailer to bring it home on from Uhaul with that.

 

I'll post my story, and then a build thread to follow! Thanks again for all the replys!

Good to hear.  I was gonna ask where the Jeep is and where it is going.  Sometimes I find myself in different places around the midwest with a empty trailer.

[JeepcoMJ]

That beamer obviously had the power to get it moving.

 

The problem was load balance and weight of vehicle towing plus speed.

 

You can tow anything with just about anything if you travel at the appropriate speeds.

 

Example:

 

no one batted an eye at a toyota pickup towing a space shuttle.

 

Just sayin.

[jimoshel]

:agree:  You can tow a trailer using a Harley Davidson if you want to. Just don't go up any steep hills. Don't go down any steep hills. Don't go over 5mph. Take it easy. :thumbsup:

[JeepcoMJ]

exactly.

 

 

If you watch, that beamer flipped because the idiot driving it was speeding up.  You don't speed up when your trailer starts to sway.  you slow down.

[87manche1]

Beamer vid; going to fast plus high center of gravity. Always slow down when trailer sways.

Iv towed lots of things. Worst is other drivers at on ramps. Towed a 78 monte carlo with an 86 s10 2 door 2.8 on a dolly over 2 hrs going 45-50 one and only thing scared me was other drivers

[mnkyboy]

Typically the last thing you want to do is slow down when the trailer starts swaying.

 

You accelerate to power out of the sway,once the trailer is back under control then you slow down.

A lot of times if you brake with a swaying trailer it makes the swaying worse.

[mvusse]

The one person I saw trying to power out of a sway flipped the trailer and skidded to a stop blocking all three lanes about 3 seconds after hitting the accelerator. He was driving the K30 I usually drove, I was following in a shorty school bus towing a 48' 3 axle trailer. Rest of the convoy was a K20 also towing a trailer, two vans and a speed limited 72 passenger bus probably about 10 miles behind.

 

I have had some minor trailer sway on occasion, and just coast down until it stops. Little pop up behind the Suburban I had no clue it was swaying until the truck behind me told me to watch my trailer over the CB.

 

The one close call I had almost happened too fast to save it. Trailer swung left, pulling my @$$ end with it, then swung hard right before I could even react, then left again and onto two wheels with the other two coming a foot off the ground. The weight of the trailer was throwing my 9000 pound van left and right taking up both lanes. I decided the slower I would be travelling when I flipped the better and slammed on the brakes. Luckily this was late at night and hardly any traffic. Somehow the van stayed upright, the trailer stayed upright, my truck stayed attached to it and after one more swing it quit swaying, last 5 miles to get home was 40mph on the interstate. Next day I replaced two trailer tires and rebuild the hubs just in case.