Does anyone tow their boat with a jeep wrangler. I have an older malibu that weighs in at 2800lbs. my tow package can handle 3500lbs. just wondering if the light weight of the jeep will give me alot of problems while I'm going over and especially down mountain passes. Thoughts?

Yes it will give you problems due to. <BR>1. Short wheel base(the boat is gonna push you around especially on turns going downhill) <BR> <BR>2. The brakes on the wrangler with a tow capacity of 3500 lbs is meant to stop that safely MAXIMUM. Count in trailer, gas, gear, you're way over the mark. <BR> <BR>3. Even if it has the 4.0l High Output(+10hp additional) you would be hard pressed to yank 3500 lbs up any kind of grade. <BR> <BR>I would look at a new tow vehicle but thats me. just one guys opinion <BR> <BR>Just noticed you're also at a pretty high elevation, meaning your engine is going to work way harder and have less power due to high elevation with thinner air. Engines need lots of air to perform to the max. <BR> <BR>(Message edited by tyboarder03 on June 20, 2007)

I agree with Tyler. You'd probably be fine going a few miles to the lake on flats, but Mountain passes with 2 tons dragging or pushing you is not gonna be that fun and frankly, pretty dangerous if you need to stop quick. <BR> <BR>Just because the manual states it can be done does not mean you should do it. I am from the school of overkill and safety, I tow with an F250 Diesel. <BR> <BR>I'd say 1/2 ton truck with a big V-8 minimum and make sure your trailer brakes are frosty.

I am scared to pull my boat, same weight roughly, any further than down the block to the launch with my jeep grand cherokee with a V8. I'm sure I could do it if I had to, but it is border line at best with the jeep because of the wheelbase. I have felt thrown when stopping. I also have a 1/2 ton chevy truck, pulls the boat no problem. Depending on how far you are pulling and why, I would suggest a different tow vehicle. You might be able to make it work if it is only a few blocks.

I tell this story every time somebody asks this. I had to swerve off of the road by a Wrangler coming toward me that lost control of its trailer, and it was only a utility trailer with much less weight than 2800 lbs. The trailer will start controlling things at some point due to the wheelbase.

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I towed a 19 foot bayliner 4 cyl I/O (not that heavy) with a wrangler once. Was coming down a hill and put the brakes to the floor and blew right through the red light at the bottom, really didn't even slow down much. <BR> <BR>Luckily nobody was at that intersection. I don't know what year wrangler you have, but those mid 90's wranglers had insanely small drums on the rear.

I sold em dont even dream of towing with one at 2800lbs I wouldn't put anything more on them than a set of PWC's. The wheele base is way to short and the breaks are way to small to tow at 55mph. Sorry man.

i tow with a frontier its, a little skechy

I pulled a SAN 210 around for 2 years w/o any problems. It wasn't ideal, but it worked. My jeep is an 03' w/35's on it. The furthest I pulled it was around 150 miles, but w/o any mountains.

shayn, I am thinking that if you tried to tow with that wrangler over Eisenhower or some such pass, you might get to try out those runaway truck ramps.

We have a new 4runner and that gets bounced around a ton going to 10 miles to the dealership. I wouldn't even think about it with anything smaller.

I put my boat in and out with a 99 Wrangler 4cyl but that being said I only tow the boat from the garage 300ft maybe to the boat ramp! I would never take the boat on a real road above 30mph!

The 4.0L is a very capabile engine and in the grand cherokee can tow 5500#. Your prolbem is going to be the wheelbase. It will get very twitchy when going hwy speeds. <BR> <BR> I tow my MB with my wifes Grand Cherokee. Its got the 4.7L V8. I love the way it tow's, the short wheel base makes it a breese to back up, and the engine goes like crazy. The biggest drawback is the fuel milage. 13.6 with out the boat, 10.4 with. Yuck....

Dude...my 97' Grand has 200k on it 4.0 engine and it pulls my 89'/Supra around 4000 lbs...you can do it, but you have to a pro driver and be ALERT!!! You cant stop fast. I wouldn't let any one else pull my boat with it because Its like a jet fighter pilot, it can go wrong REAL FAST!! Dont be scared...Jet

i towed a malibu sunsetter across the us with a liberty. haha. it was an adventure.

thanks for all the input, and I did think about having to use those runaway truck ramps!! I was thinking of going really slow and just creeping down the passes in 4wd. I wouldn't go more than 50mph, but I would need to go about 4 hours. This is a one time tow. I just need to get it here this weekend and don't have another vehicle available. I'll look for something else, otherwise I'll post my adventure. Thanks for the input.

take the doors off so you can stop it flintstone style if you need to. <img src="http://www.wakeworld.com/MB/Discus/clipart/biggrin.gif" border=0>

Shayn, if you abolutely have to do it and have to go over Eisenhower and vail pass, please be careful is all. I would not even do 50, keep it real slow and make sure your brakes are not getting hot. You are also gonna heat up your tranny pretty good pulling up and keeping it in low gear going down. Don't be afraid to pull over at the top or anywhere in between to let it cool down. <BR> <BR>If your brakes go mushy you are in deep doodoo. Definitely make sure the trailer brakes are in working order. <BR> <BR>I am just cautious as heck and I know those passes pretty good if you are going from Aspen to the front range on 70. Maybe see if you can rent a big SUV or pickup with a hitch for the day, don't tell em you are towing with it and take the full damage waiver. A hitch setup is cheap. <BR> <BR>I am pretty sure those passes are about as tough a tow as it get's on the interstates in the US. <BR> <BR>Good luck!!

I personally would not risk it, spend the money and rent a Pick-up from U-Haul. If not you are putting yourself, your boat and other riders at risk.

I unfortunately had to tow with a one of my old boats(Old 85 Malibu Sebring I/O) with my Wrangler(truck broke down) ...never again. the motor was fine pulled like a champ. Uphill wasn't an issue either, little slow, but it worked. Downhill was another issue The thing actually push me through and intersection. I nearly **** my pants. <BR>Only tow short distances with that thing.

just to let you know how it went... I ended up trading out my Wrangler for a co-workers new 4Runner for the day and it went smooth all the way from Limon to Aspen. Thanks for all the advice.

Did you go over Independence Pass?