jdwillys Posted August 17, 2018 Share Posted August 17, 2018 I might be towing a cj5 golden eagle,304ci. It has a tow bar. Or would it be better using a dolly? But the real question is, should I not do it at all?? My truck is a short bed, 4.0, ax15, 4x4, 3.73 gears, Dana 44, dual diaphram booster, 35" tires. Front suspension, brakes, steering are new. One hour drive up, then back mostly flat driving. Please let me know what you think. Thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeep Driver Posted August 17, 2018 Share Posted August 17, 2018 Yes your truck is more than adequate. Just make sure your tow bar is flat or the CJ ain't gonna be happy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jdwillys Posted August 17, 2018 Author Share Posted August 17, 2018 Thank you Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gogmorgo Posted August 17, 2018 Share Posted August 17, 2018 I just pulled an MJ on a trailer (~5500lbs) 300 miles over and along the continental divide with my ZJ. 4.0/Ax-15, 3.55's. I could've used deeper gears or more power on the hills, but on the flat it wasn't too bad. Ive also dollied an '01 Jimmy behind my MJ for about the same distance you're headed, stock brakes, and it did okay too. I'm not the biggest fan of the flat-tow myself, but it's a thing that works. I'm assuming your CJ will be set up properly for flat towing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FrankTheDog Posted August 17, 2018 Share Posted August 17, 2018 If it rains slow down or even better stop because it’ll push the rear of that MJ right around like nothing on a turn. There is no weight in the back of an MJ. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete M Posted August 17, 2018 Share Posted August 17, 2018 I've flat towed a handful of times and I just don't like it at all. the towed rig fights the tower far more than any trailer of dolly I've experienced. having said that, I've done it successfully. slow way down before every turn. I mean, like a lot. try not to brake at all during the turn if you can help it. a tow dolly will put some weight on the back of the MJ and some of them have brakes it's my preferred method. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jdwillys Posted August 17, 2018 Author Share Posted August 17, 2018 Thanks you, very good info. It's my buddy's cj5. There is a Jeep show this Saturday in Yardley PA,( Jeeps at the Farm). His F250 broke down so he can't tow his Jeep. I will tell him we'll grab a dolly. That's the route I will do. The only prior experience I have with flat towing was years ago with my Chevy k20, and my cj2a on the back. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FrankTheDog Posted August 17, 2018 Share Posted August 17, 2018 CJ 5 weighs a lot more than a CJ2. MJ weighs a lot less than a K20. No comparison. I’ve flat towed a lot with to light of vehicle and you have to be very careful. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jdwillys Posted August 17, 2018 Author Share Posted August 17, 2018 Yes, that's my concern exactly. I barely noticed the 2a behind that full size truck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FrankTheDog Posted August 18, 2018 Share Posted August 18, 2018 Proof of my insanity. Do not try this at home folks.4500 lb VW + 500? Lb dolly behind 3600? Lbs of 1998 XJ. The 4.10 gears and manual trans plus the load range E tires helped. Knoxville TN to Winsted CT. Never went over 50 mph stayed mostly just above 45 minimum speed on the interstate. 30 mph up the hill on I-81 between Pine Grove and Rausch Creek. Good thing that was around 1:00 am.This one jackknifed me going around a downhill corner in the rain. I managed to drive out of it without any damage or ending up in the ditch. The vehicles were nearly 90 degrees to each other. Dragged this one from Dale City Virginia to Winsted CT with no engine or transmission in it so it death wobbled at anything over 41 mph. Imagine driving up I-95 at a max speed of 40 mph on Sunday of Labor Day weekend. 7.5 hour trip became 14 hours. I never got pulled over on these or several other hauls. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HOrnbrod Posted August 18, 2018 Share Posted August 18, 2018 8 minutes ago, FrankTheDog said: Proof of my insanity. Do not try this at home folks. No worries - I won't. Still have the van? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FrankTheDog Posted August 18, 2018 Share Posted August 18, 2018 Wasn’t mine, daughters boyfriend swiped his grandaddies bus and went to Bonaroo music fest with her and several other knumbskulls and it died in the rain in Knoxville. Garage told him it was a blown motor. His folks told him he couldn’t leave it down there so he had to sell some of his prized possessions and haul it back. Knumbskull me offered to do it for him. (For the adventure) We get to Knoxville and UHaul wouldn’t rent me a dolly because of the weight difference. I had no idea they weighed so much. So we went to a music shop that rented UHauls and told the dude we were towing an 81 Rabbit and went on our merry way. All the bus needed was a cap and rotor and plugs and wires. Blown motor, nope. It cost him $1000 to get it back with storage and my cost. I just hauled it to our local VW expert and his cost was under $500. I still have that XJ, it has 457K on it now with the original engine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HOrnbrod Posted August 18, 2018 Share Posted August 18, 2018 Knumbskulls - . I do know how much they weigh - that's why I asked. That XJ's a keeper. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FrankTheDog Posted August 18, 2018 Share Posted August 18, 2018 5 minutes ago, HOrnbrod said: Knumbskulls - . I do know how much they weigh - that's why I asked. That XJ's a keeper. Yeah, I’m the 2nd, 4th 8th and 10th owner of it. I owned it from 209k until 395k and got it back at 425 and had it to 455 then got it back again at 457. I’m not parting with it again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gogmorgo Posted August 18, 2018 Share Posted August 18, 2018 UHaul's policies are a bit off sometimes. Sure it's to protect themselves from liability, but it frequently leads to people just lying about what they're putting on the dolly/trailer, which will probably cause worse problems when something totally inappropriate goes onto them. The latest BS is that they won't let you pull anything when the tow vehicle weighs less than 80% of what the loaded trailer weighs, with some arbitrary weights from their system that don't necessarily reflect actual vehicle weights, and rated towing capacities just go straight out the window. They wouldn't even let me put my five-speed ZJ on a dolly behind my Jimmy because of that, despite the fact that the Jimmy weighs more than the ZJ and dolly combined. I showed up just before closing at the only place with a trailer within 200 miles, and wound up going away with a 15' box truck to pull it with, at no small expense. I threw the Jimmy on the trailer when I went to drop them off, just for a ride home, and couldn't believe how much heavier it felt. After that runaround... This has got to be the sexiest 2010 Yaris out there. I know that because of how many thumbs up I got on the way home, from people standing beside the highway, too! And it still pulled fine up to 65mph, it just took a bit to get to that speed. Also if UHaul's so concerned with liability, they should figure out a way to keep the @$$ end of the vehicle on the trailer tied down. With no way to tighten it, that safety chain doesn't do $#!& to stop it from hopping around. After watching the ZJ moving sideways every time I hit a bump, I brought extra straps for the back of the MJ. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jdwillys Posted August 19, 2018 Author Share Posted August 19, 2018 Thank you to everyone for the towing advise/tips. Ended up not towing the cj5, my friend decided not to take his Jeep,and insisted that I use his ticket for my MJ. So I washed it down this morning, drove it to the show. Came home with a trophy! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete M Posted August 19, 2018 Share Posted August 19, 2018 nice! steps for winning a trophy: 1: show up in an MJ 2: nope that was it, just the one step Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Me&my86MJ Posted August 19, 2018 Share Posted August 19, 2018 Congulations on the trophy and nice mj too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jdwillys Posted August 19, 2018 Author Share Posted August 19, 2018 Thank you! I never win anything! And yes Pete, I was the only MJ there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HOrnbrod Posted August 19, 2018 Share Posted August 19, 2018 On 8/18/2018 at 10:12 AM, gogmorgo said: This has got to be the sexiest 2010 Yaris out there. I know that because of how many thumbs up I got on the way home, from people standing beside the highway, too! And it still pulled fine up to 65mph, it just took a bit to get to that speed. 2010 Yaris - I had to look it up. Never heard of one. It won Motortrend's "Ten Slowest Cars We Tested In 2010" competition. https://www.motortrend.com/news/ten-slowest-cars-tested-2010-20289/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gogmorgo Posted August 19, 2018 Share Posted August 19, 2018 Did they not sell it down there? They're pretty ubiquitous here. Obviously there wasn't a Yaris on that trailer in the photo. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HOrnbrod Posted August 19, 2018 Share Posted August 19, 2018 12 minutes ago, gogmorgo said: Did they not sell it down there? They're pretty ubiquitous here. Obviously there wasn't a Yaris on that trailer in the photo. I looked it up - yes they do sell them here, but I've never heard of it until you mentioned it. Obviously I'm not interested in them.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Minuit Posted August 19, 2018 Share Posted August 19, 2018 In my head I know they must be fairly common, but it's been forever since I remember seeing one. Just another bland white or silver box that blends in. As a side note, I'm sad that silver is such a common boring appliance color these days. Damnit, my truck was silver before it was cool! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sir Sam Posted August 24, 2018 Share Posted August 24, 2018 Been there done that too: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FrankTheDog Posted August 25, 2018 Share Posted August 25, 2018 That’s cool! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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