Motor Coach Towing ??

[Casuall454]

Looking for experience or knowledge on towing four (4) wheels down. Need to know about pulling with gear box or Transfer Case in neutral. I know some year CJ's have oiling limits ( 200 to 450 mile tow limits ) then you have to start the motor and "idle" the gear box / Transfer Case to "pump / sling" gear oil into the bearings. Looking for feed back or others that have experience on this matter.

I have a tow dolly for my '77 CJ5 which is great for nice weather weekends and I use for short hauls <100 mile round trips. Next year I have two long drive / camping events scheduled and here is my excuse to get a CJ7 or CJ8 Scrambler that the local dealer has.

 

[Sasquach]

I flat tow my CJ5 , I set it up do so with rear full float axle with locking hubs to eliminate the driveline spinning so for me its everything in neutral with the hubs free and the steering unlocked and go. Use the correct offset ball mount to have your tow bar level and make sure your steering system is sound and returns to center following a turn, hands free.
Keep in mind you can't back up more than a few feet usually without unhitching the jeep so remember that when pulling into a gas station or ?

 

[Torxhead]

The way I see it, there is quite a lot to flat towing a CJ. The tow bar should be level as Sasquach mentioned or a bit up in front. This will help your tow bar from coming off in case you have to go hard on your brakes. Use chains on both sides criss-crossed and keep them as short as you can again for if you have to slam on the binders the ball can disconnect. The rear drive shaft should be disconnected as the spinning shaft can overheat the Transfer Case and have the front hubs unlocked. A little extra toe-in on the alignment can help along with the correct castor. One of those magnetic add on rear tow light setups are easiest, but some guys just hook into the existing CJ rear lights. This can be tricky to set up since you can back feed into the system. An easy way would be to disconnect the rear lights under the dash and tap into your rv rear light system. Attaching a tow bar to a front bumper can be a weak setup since there is not a lot holding it on. You are adding around 4000 lbs sometimes to you braking system. Feel free to ask questions, here is a pic of my setup with the tow bar mounted to the front spring shackles:

 

[Lumpy Grits]

I have been tow'n my CJ all over the western USA for almost 30 years.
I strongly suggest-- That you disconnect the rear D/S, at the axle's pinion and then just make sure the steering is unlock'd, and your GTG. Leave it in 2wd and tranny in "N".
I have lost count of the number of burn'd up D/300 t'cases I seen, from folks the followed what AMC said to do-
I just hang the D/S with a chain to a hook, and put an old sock over the u-joint so the caps don't fall off. This takes me less than 5 minutes to do--
My Jeep's lights are my tow lights and I use and 30 year old Smittybuilt tubular towbar.
More info here--
http://www.jeep-cj.com/forums/f7/flat-tow-bar-22445/

LG

 

[the chief]

I flat towed mine for years but trailer now. I got tired of tying up the drive shaft and getting in my eyes. Now I can back up, don't have to re-inflate, put it on the trailer and have it secured in just a few minutes, don't put extra wear and tear on tires, bearings, etc. But worrying about breaking an axel or folding a wheel in the middle of no where and not being able to drag it home is what really got me trailering

 

[Lumpy Grits]

I went the other way-
Sold the trailer(Featherlite)and now just flat tow.
LG

 

[007]

I went through this same conundrum this spring / summer prior to the Colorado trip.

I ended up flat-towing mine from Indiana to Colorado and back. Everything you read is true...flat towing is easy, flat towing is a pain, trailers are easy, trailers are a pain, worry about this, worry about that. I did what I did because it's what I could do at the time.

I have a QuadraTrac in my Jeep and as per various docs - you just put the TC in neutral and go. That's what I did and it worked out fine. 1300 miles there and 1300 back.

Would I do it again that far? Only if I had to. I would prefer a trailer for lots of reasons, but I wouldn't "not" flat-tow either - just take the precautions necessary as you see fit.

From what I've read, any TC other than a QT, you need to drop shafts but I'm sure some will argue that point.

I also bought a set of lights and strung the wires to my tow vehicle. Don't get cheap lights (cables are , dryrot in hours and break). Spend NO less than $50 on tow lights.

My 2cts.

 

[mstar]

After reading the posts I have to smile and say there are a lot true statements,
many false statements,several urban myths mentioned.Please know the FACTS be for you post or speak of YOUR OWN experience not what someone told you or worse yet what you read on the internet.mike

 

[Sasquach]

Care to break down the true and false for us? Might help to keep falsehoods here on the web from proliferating

 

[Lumpy Grits]

After reading the posts I have to smile and say there are a lot true statements,
many false statements,several urban myths mentioned.Please know the FACTS be for you post or speak of YOUR OWN experience not what someone told you or worse yet what you read on the internet.mike

Details on "many false statements" would be good here. I have made NONE!
I speak from almost 3 decades of flat-towing my CJ.
I have also rebuild many D/300 t'cases, that were burn'd up from flat-towing. That's why I stand behind my statement about disconnection of the rear D/S at the axle.
We all await your response-
LG

 

[Casuall454]

What to do, what to do ?? The tow dolly has worked fine <100 miles round trip with no concerns. Thanks to all for comments and thoughts, first trip in May so still time to decide. Merry Christmas to all.

 

[CJ]

Did you see this thread, it may help.
-->> http://www.jeep-cj.com/forums/f49/towing-cj5-17959/

and in particular this post?

-->>

Originally I thought getting towed with the hubs unlocked was like driving in two wheel drive.
So then I emailed the guys at TeraFlex the makers of the TeraLow Transfer kit. They explained it to me. Whenever you drive the jeep the input gear is always turning. This is rotating gears on every shaft. Even if they are not transferring power they are transferring oil throughout the transfer case. I made this gif to illustrate how the transfer case works. Any gear that is red is transferring power. Any gear that is blue is free-wheeling on it's shaft. Black gears are not rotating. When you shift a transfer case there are two gears you are sliding on their shafts. These sliding gears either lock themselves onto the shaft if they are moved to the front of the transfer case. Or if they move to the rear they mesh with the idle gear.
Four wheel drive low is confusing. Keep in mind the main drive shaft from the transmission is rotating faster than the out rear drive shaft. Power is transferred from the transmission gear to the idle gear and then back to the two drive shafts.
Many other gear driven transfer cases, such as the Dana 300, are made this way. This is why you should always have the front hubs locked when getting towed. Either the front drive shaft OR the transmission needs to be rotating the gears in the transfer case. The rear drive shaft can't rotate the necessary gears.
This dispels a common misunderstanding. Lock your hubs when getting towed.

 

[Lumpy Grits]

IF you just disconnect the rear D/S at the pinion. Then put the tranny in "N", you avoid ANY/ALL the other driveline issues with the D/300 t'case.
LG