Jeep Wranglers as tow vehicle

I am considering selling my Denali - a lot of scratch for something I only use sat and sun to tow the boat to the lake.
Does anyone use or recommend Jeeps as tow vehicles? I have heard rumors of the short wheelbase being an issue with towing. Is that all - I would assume the tranny would hold up well - what do you guys think?

your standard wrangler is only recommended to tow 2000 lbs with a factory installed hitch, 2500lbs if you get the unlimited.

With that said I used to tow my 18ft bayliner with a regular wrangler, it can get a little loose and will push you around if you are not careful and paying very close attention.

I sold the wrangler after getting the new boat, like yours, too big to be pulled by the wrangler safely, even for short trips.

I now sport a commander as a tow vehicle and it is awesome!

If you were pulling a small boat and not towing a long distance, you would probably be ok. A Wrangler will absolutely not do the job. It would probably pull it, but there is no way it will stop it or be capable of towing safely at over 20mph.. I guess that is the thing about having big boats, you need a larger SUV or truck to pull them safely. Hope I didn't bust your bubble. A Wrangler just can't be a good idea.Good luck.

I saw in your profile that you have a Wakesetter. You would be crazy to try and pull with a Wrangler. It would probably pull it, but it would not be able to stop especially on hills. IMO, sell the Denali and get a older F-150 or Chevrolet 1500. You can pick up a decent used one for less than $10K.

the new 4 dr wrangler is rated at 3500 lbs now, but i drove it and with the new motor felt gutless and i am sure would have a hard time towing the boat. not to mention it would not be too safe.
i have considered the same, but decided against it

yeah, until the offer the deisel in the 4 door forget about it.... its like towing with the liberty... it has the power but the auto tranny just isnt geared for it... power was never a problem with my inline 6 wrangler!

I have an 02' Jeep Grand Cherokee (4.0L six-cylinder with the factory tow package) and tow a 98' Reinell 184 BRXL. As much as I would like to get a larger boat (>20') the Jeep would not be able to handle the additional weight safely. On flat roads towing is not a problem but there are several passes that we travel over to reach some lakes and towing the boat, toys, camping gear, etc. pretty much maxes out my Jeep and as mentioned earlier stopping could be an issue if you're not careful and paying attention. So unless you're gonna trade down in a boat I would not recommend a Jeep.

Jeep Wrangler? Two words...hell no.

We used to tow our Mastercraft 205 with a Jeep CJ7. Granted it was a little different but that little booger with the inline 6 could pull that boat in 4WD Lo like nothing. It was fun towing with a manual tranny. Hell my dads friend tows his identical boat with his Wrangler, the farthest they go is 10 miles though. It can be done but is not ideal.

Do what Byrd said, I found a super nice 2002 Chevy 2500 w/ 40k miles on it for $12,500. If I wasn't broke I'd have been all over it.

I have had a 99 Jeep Wrangler Sport with the 4.0 for 7 years now. I have towed ski's and box trailers, I would not put more than a Direct Drive on a single axle behind mine, because its lifted, and it is only running 3:73 gears. I have a customer who tows his 2005 Tige 22V, which is not a light boat by any means. His is stock, and he says it does just fine. I personally feel that towing with a manual transmission is a pain in the butt. The short wheel base, its quick, backup slowly. But all around having a jeep, its the best. My bolt on tow package is rated at 3500lbs.

I tow my PS 190 with an 04 Wrangler with the 6cyl engine. It wouldn't be my first choice as a tow vehicle (had an older Chevy to tow with but lost it in the cane). It actually tows well, but stopping is the problem. Make sure you leave plenty of distance between you and the car in front of you, and don't tow in the rain!

I was almost hit by a guy towing a boat with a Wrangler one time. He was starting to lose it and the trailer was loose and pushing him from one lane to another down a hill on a two lane road. After I saw that, I wouldn't tow with one, but there are alot of curves and hills on the way to our river place, I would think it would depend on how far you are towing and what kind of roads you are towing on.

I've never towed with one, but in my driving experience I have seen three Wranglers that were towing something the size of a boat on the freeway wrecked with body bags laying around them.

Votes in - Wranglers out. That Chevy 2500 sounds good though. I just had a Wrangler years back and I miss it, thought it might be a good idea, but you guys have confirmed the rumors. I'm shopping for a truck. Anyone looking for an 2004 Denali 60,000 miles on it...?

If it was this one, or something like it, I would! One ton axles with a wheelbase sitting well over a 100"

Ted, you can go wrong with a 2500. Here is mine...

When did you take all the rainbow stickers off? LOL

Nice, but it should be pulling a Malibu

I would just keep the Denali. I use my Chevy Tahoe LT and it tows like a champ.

I also have an 06 Nissan Frontier NISMO 6 speed. Its rated for 6300lbs and can tow my boat, but it feels a bit more sketchy on the road when towing a big load.

The Jeep Wrangler is rated to tow 2000 lbs in its SWB model. The same engine, transmission, and rear end can be found in a Jeep Cherokee (NOT Grand) that weighs less than a Wrangler but can tow 5000lbs. The issue isn't anything but the wheelbase and its a serious enough issue to knock 3000lbs off the towing capacity. It is worth noting that along with the new 07 Unlimiteds the TJ Unlimited (2005 and 2006 models) can also tow 3500 and they get the almighty 4.0L instead of the 3.8L minivan engine. If there's a rig I wouldn't be afraid to push full capacity on, the TJ Unlimited would be it.

Ted,
The starter went out on my 1500 at the ramp, so I had to use my 98 Wrangler to tow an 01 Tige' home one night. It has the 4.0 pulled, like a champ to get the boat off the ramp in low. Towing home was another story, Kept it slow and was very careful on how close I was to to the traffic in front of me. It was only 10 miles flat, but the next morning I picked up a starter and put it on my truck. no more of that

yikes.

So this is a 1500HD not a 2500, with my '06 VLX. That what you're talking about, Ted?

Yep, thats better. I like the color scheme. Thats a 1500 HD huh? I though HD was only 2500? Learn something new everyday.

HD it is. I don't recall the numbers off-hand axle weight limits are substantially higher than the regular duty. Fisher told me I could put a 10 foot snow plow on it. 8-lug wheels, short bed, cavernous interior. I'll stick to the other H-D as much as possible for the better fuel economy, though!

Oh, yeah. I know a lot of you will squawk about the single axle trailer. I go about a mile twice a year on the trailer. It's fine. Plus the single is easier to turn in the tight confines of the gravel driveway...

When I was buying mine, I could not find a 1500HD. Around here they are rare, so I got the 2500HD. It's overkill, but what the hell....

(Message edited by byrd on October 20, 2006)

I think you see the problem with using a Wrangler. The LJ (The Unlimited in non-Jeep speak) is much better suited to towing, but I would never try more than 5K lbs, and even then I would add some additional coolers to the tranny (if auto). I have built a number of TJ's, YJ's and CJ's. You might look for an old CJ-8, the Scrambler. They are hard to find and somewhat expensive, but they can tow as well as a half ton truck. Especially the AMC 360 versions.

I am not sure why you want out of the 04 Denali. You will loose your shirt selling it now. The value of those things is in the toilet. You certainly do not save anything in size going to longer pick-up. So what are trying to accomplish?

Ted,

I had an 83 Scrambler and I would never tow your boat with it. It did not have power steering or power brakes. Great for backing down the steep hill after the engine dies..not so great for towing and stopping. Besides you will end up working on it all day rather than riding. After I got sick of fixing old 4x4's (83 Scrambler, 87 4-Runner, 90 Bronco) I got a brand new Dakota Quad cab and have been happy ever since.

You can make due with a 1/2 ton truck but would probably be happier with a 3/4 ton for towing.

Later

Troy

I'd have to second not ever towing with a CJ8. I had to tow a boat 2 miles with one and found it a very scary experience. If you're really looking to dredge up a CJ to tow with, go all the way and find yourself a CJ10 at your local airport scrapyard. If you actually want to spend more time wakeboarding than working on your Jeep, seek other options.

(Message edited by hal2814 on October 20, 2006)

Just looking at other options. The blue book on the Denali is over what I owe, so it would not be hard to sell. But I love that Denali and I have not found any truck out there that compares yet.

hahahahah did u say jeep??? hahahahaha

The Jeep M-715 tows pretty good.

Jeep wrangler as a tow vehicle? Seems a little overkill, might want to look at something with a little less wheelbase, and possibly a smaller engine. Maybe a VW Bug?

Tackle i was thinking that but i also thought of a dodge neon?? anyone else?

Tackle i was thinking that but i also thought of a dodge neon?? anyone else?

You could pick up a used Yugo for around $350.00

Thanks for the sarcasm, I have a total of a 15 mile pull - 30 round trip.
Sticking with the Denali for all you haters - besides, it matches the boat.

The Denali is a heck of a tow vehicle. Since you're right side up on payments, I wouldn't mess with it if you can afford not to. Besides, if you really want a Wrangler just to piddle around with, go to your local large university campus around late April to early May and pick one up cheap. Frat guys love the Wrangler and though they haven't been exceptionally cared for, most of the active life of a frat Jeep is driving 10-30MPH to and from class. They may put 4000 miles a year on it if that. Plus they usually want something nicer after graduation and try to part with them before they leave town. That means the market is flooded and on top of that the seller usually doesn't care what they get for it since it isn't their money that bought it 9 times out of 10.

I towed with a wrangler for about a year and it was sketchy at best. IT had plenty of power to get the job done, but if it wasn't for the trailer brakes it would have had a tough job stopping. We were only going 15-20 miles on country roads so it wasn't that big of a deal, but I had to take the interstate once to get it to the shop and it was pretty scary. Did fine until you hit about 65 and then got VERY wobbly. Needless to say, I traded it in and got a tahoe.

The life you save could be your own...

The short wheelbase of a Wrangler would make towing very dangerous. It's just not stable enough to take a big load behind it.

About six years ago my (ex) wife was towing a 24 foot travel trailer with my Grand Cherokee. It started to fishtail on I-5 and whipped around on her, jacknifing against the rear of the car, spilling its contents all over I-5, and blocking all lanes of traffic for an hour. What a mess. Luckily she and my daughter weren't injured. Even though it was well within the towing limits of the V-8 GC, the lack of wheelbase took away a significant amount of the safety margin. She now tows with a 3/4 ton Silverado.

Ted, you are probably making the right choice.

BTW - you would have had a hard time getting actual book value for your Denali. KBB has gotten extremely inflated over the past few years. The market just won't bear those prices.

Wow Eagle - thats a scary story.
Matthew - if you gotta be stuck with something - it may as well be the Denali

2500 HD Remington addition W/Allison tranny Git-R-Dooone..

Nice duffy. Remington edition? does it have a electric razor built in to the dash? LOL

Duffy, is that your new ride?

Wow retirement pays well I see.

Man I never get tired of that picture...

Ted, that is a great picture. Beautiful rig, beautiful boat, beautiful setting.

With the accident my (ex) wife had, she was not very experienced at the time towing. Apparently, the trailer started to wiggle behind her on the freeway. She did the natural reaction -- she slowed slightly, which caused the trailer to whip around and jackknife against the car. The car was totalled. The trailer looked like a mobile home park after a hurricane -- it was scary to see. Luckily they were all right; shaken but uninjured.

It's counterintuitive but the proper reaction is to stay on the gas. Just like when your 911 begins to oversteer 'cuz you're taking a turn too hot.

The primary cause may have been driver error, but a contributing factor was the short wheelbase of the Grand Cherokee for such a long and heavy load. We all make mistakes; it's good to have additional safety margin built in.

Eagle, I wasn't going to push the issue but since you brought it up again, what exactly does towing a travel trailer with a Grand Cherokee have to do with towing a boat with a Wrangler (other than the name stamped on the hood of each prospective tow vehicle)? The Wrangler and Grand Cherokee are completely different vehicles. While I do agree with your general conclusion (towing with Wrangler = bad), I have a hard time following your reasoning.

Grand Cherokee is not known for having a large wheelbase either.

Too small of wheelbase + too large of trailer = trailer steers tow vehicle (bad)

(Message edited by socalwakepunk on October 26, 2006)

Dante, my point is exactly as Tackleberry said. The GC has a short wheelbase, too, though not as short as a Wrangler.

too short of wheelbase + too long of trailer = trailer steers tow vehicle = danger!

Not a recommendation but I saw this at http://www.planetnautique.com/



(Message edited by bcruise1 on October 26, 2006)

Its just second nature to step on the brake when the trailer starts whipping. I have done it and learned real quick that I needed to actually power out of it. Im glad no one got hurt in your situation - except for maybe the bottom line.

I always knew it wasnt a good idea to tow with a short wheel base vehicle, just thought it would be interesting to see if anyone does it successfully -you know - like dating a fat girl. Not really a good idea, but it is possible...

My friend tows his boat with a duramax/allison 2500HD and we cant even feel the xstar behind it. He has just about the trickiest, longest drive way so we use a wrangler to back it up. The wrangler is so much easier to back with IMO.