Towing a project home

[Petescj]

Next weekend Im going to check out that CJ8 I posted before. Odds are pretty good Im gonna grab it. That brings me to getting the beast home. I was gonna get a buddy with a truck and trailer but Im thinking about having a frame mounted hitch installed on the Kia Sedona we have. Problem is the hitch is only rated for 3500 lbs. The Cj gvw is 3750. It has a one piece fiberglass front end so theres probably a little wieght savings there. Question is can I tow this thing home safely ( about 90 mi. ) on a dolly with this set up? Its a one time thing but am I asking for trouble? I know zip about towing.

Thanx Pete

 

[CJ]

Next weekend Im going to check out that CJ8 I posted before. Odds are pretty good Im gonna grab it. That brings me to getting the beast home. I was gonna get a buddy with a truck and trailer but Im thinking about having a frame mounted hitch installed on the Kia Sedona we have. Problem is the hitch is only rated for 3500 lbs. The Cj gvw is 3750. It has a one piece fiberglass front end so theres probably a little wieght savings there. Question is can I tow this thing home safely ( about 90 mi. ) on a dolly with this set up? Its a one time thing but am I asking for trouble? I know zip about towing.

Thanx Pete

Pete... Truck and trailer... Don't be a statistic!

 

[Rust Bucket]

Pete... Truck and trailer... Don't be a statistic!

Listen to CJ. I was a statistic. My F-AMC 150 had no problem towing my CJ5 two months ago. In fact, when I blew the back right tire on the highway, I didn't even realize it until sparks were flying 8 ft in the air from the wheel. The shredded tire was not only all over the highway, it actually wrapped around my tail pipe and pulled it through the back fender. A word of experience, check the back tires thoroughly before using a car dolly. Bring a set of spares if at all possible.

If your Sedona is can't handle 5k, I wouldn't even try it. Your story could be much different . Ask your buddy to help!

 

[Old Dog]

When it come to towing never push anything to the limits, your just asking for trouble. And could end up dead.

 

[elwood blues]

Pete... Truck and trailer... Don't be a statistic!

x3 Pete, ask for help with this one.

 

[Petescj]

Well I guess thats pretty much game , set , match then. Thanx for all the replies. Like I said I dont know zip about towing. Truck and trailer it is then. So when they rate hitches and such always err on the side of caution? I was thinking they would make the max rate under what it could actually handle so you wouldnt exceed it ? I guess my train of thought was wrong seeing as that was what I was going to try. The one bright spot of this is learned to de-code my vin # cause of it.

 

[CJ]

~~~So when they rate hitches and such always err on the side of caution?~~~

Nope - they greatly exaggerate the #'s... The listed towing specs are under 'optimum' conditions... It's up to the owner to correctly spec their towing rig...

When I tow, the trailer HAS to have brakes... There is no way in hell I'm gonna pull two ton's behind my truck with no way of stopping it!

Also - tongue weight is just a number - never tow something that is heavier then your tow vehicle (unless you properly set-up)...

 

[Rust Bucket]

Well I guess thats pretty much game , set , match then. Thanx for all the replies. Like I said I dont know zip about towing. Truck and trailer it is then. So when they rate hitches and such always err on the side of caution? I was thinking they would make the max rate under what it could actually handle so you wouldnt exceed it ? I guess my train of thought was wrong seeing as that was what I was going to try. The one bright spot of this is learned to de-code my vin # cause of it.

At least you asked and didn't assume like me!!!! Good luck with the tow!

 

[Old Dog]

Nope - they greatly exaggerate the #'s... The listed towing specs are under 'optimum' conditions... It's up to the owner to correctly spec their towing rig...

When I tow, the trailer HAS to have brakes... There is no way in hell I'm gonna pull two ton's behind my truck with no way of stopping it!

Also - tongue weight is just a number - never tow something that is heavier then your tow vehicle (unless you properly set-up)...

When I was young and dumb I tried to flat tow my dodge challenger (sp) with my CJ5 . I though I'm only going a couple miles to my buddies house I'll be ok. The first turn I came to the car pushed my jeep off the road. luckly I was going slow so no one was hurt.

 

[Petescj]

Ha Ha! Thanx. Your pics may have helped sway my desicion. Also the 3750 lbs. I stated was for a CJ7 . The CJ8 is 4150 lbs putting it way over. I towed a Saturn Sc-1 from Pa. to Az. once on a dolly behind a U-haul with only 1 issue. Seems there is a handle to lock the dolly down and keep the ramps up that I didnt know about leaving Pa. It was snowing when I left so you couldnt tell. People were telling us about the sparks that were flying from it all the way to Ar. where we were pulled over. The police officer showed me , laughed and sent us on our way. The ramps were considerably shorter when I turned that dolly in. Pretty lucky we didnt blow the dam car up.

At least you asked and didn't assume like me!!!! Good luck with the tow!

 

[Rust Bucket]

Ha Ha! Thanx. Your pics may have helped sway my desicion. Also the 3750 lbs. I stated was for a CJ7 . The CJ8 is 4150 lbs putting it way over. I towed a Saturn Sc-1 from Pa. to Az. once on a dolly behind a U-haul with only 1 issue. Seems there is a handle to lock the dolly down and keep the ramps up that I didnt know about leaving Pa. It was snowing when I left so you couldnt tell. People were telling us about the sparks that were flying from it all the way to Ar. where we were pulled over. The police officer showed me , laughed and sent us on our way. The ramps were considerably shorter when I turned that dolly in. Pretty lucky we didnt blow the dam car up.

LOL, well I found those handle locks without much of a problem (lack of snow in Georgia), but apparently it's important to have rear tires that are not dry rotted when towing. Go figure!

 

[CJ]

When I was young and dumb I tried to flat tow my dodge challenger (sp) with my CJ5 . I though I'm only going a couple miles to my buddies house I'll be ok. The first turn I came to the car pushed my jeep off the road. luckly I was going slow so no one was hurt.

LMAO!

Yep! The weight of the tow exceeded the weight of the towing vehicle!

Glad to hear you were OK, but that is great point...

The GVW is usually for both, you need to add all the weights together...

Pete! Happy to hear that your taking this serious... Most do not!

BTW - Congrats on the new rig!

 

[Petescj]

Having a sticky on how to properly tow your Jeep would be a good project for someone who knows what their talking about. Theres not much body left on this Scrambler , I dont wanna damage anymore of it. There are also very few things worth dying for and saving a couple bucks or having a hitch on a mini van are definately not anywhere near the top of the list.