LAUNCHING WITH A JEEP WRANGLER??

ANYBODY USE A JEEP WRANGLER TO LAUNCH THEIR BOAT?
I HAVE A MALIBU VLX AND A 2001 WRANGLER WITH A 6 CYL ENGINE. I ONLY GO ABOUT 2 MILES TO LAUNCH.

4WD? Auto? I used to tow with a manual Ranger; 4x4 low was a must to get the boat up all ramps. I hate the smell of clutch in the afternoon.

I can do without the clouds of white smoke, too.

all wranglers are 4X4. Should be just fine to tow it. I towed a Nautique with one.

The marina I work for tows Malibu's with them all the time. They just limit the boats to under 22 ft that they tow with the jeep, if you have a ton of lead or weight I would be careful towing with it since th eframe is not heavy duty. It will tow it jsut fine. The shops jeep only has the 4 cylinder in it and tows fine, you just have to remember that you pretty much can't stop...for a 2 mile trip you will be fine...

I use a Jeep wrangler to tow my X-star it has the 4.0L 6 cylinder motor. As Swass stated above it helps to throw it into 4 wheel at the ramp, I usually use 4High.

My driveway is super steep and I need to put it in 4Low to get it up to the road and that is the hardest part on the jeep other than backing it back down. No surge brakes in reverse and the jeep's brakes and leaf springs arn't designed for that kind of weight. You really work the vehicle and are pushing it to it's limits with that amount of weight.

I would recomend another vehicle to tow if possible, otherwise expect excessive wear and tear unless you are perfectly flat from home to the boat launch.

My better half is not ready to give up the Jeep, so as soon as affordable a truck with some tow capacity is in our future. I would highly discourage long trips with any changes in elevation. The short wheelbase, although great for parking and launching, is a threat at high speeds.

Good Luck...My boat and trailor weight in at about 4600lbs if that is any assistance.

By the way nacidude...no need to yell...we can hear you just fine in lower case.

good luck with the jeep. they are hard to give up but don't make great tow vehicles

Um, what’s going to happen the first time that you have to do an emergency stop or sudden lane change? The Wrangler might pull the boat but I would really worry about trying to stop that much weight. Yes, the trailer has brakes, what happens when those lock up and literally push the Jeep forward?

I had to do an emergency stop/avoidance maneuver last summer while towing. It was a bit nerve racking, but very controllable towing with a heavy vehicle (3/4 ton Suburban). I can not imagine what would have happen if I had a small car.

Just food for thought.

I would hate to have to try to perform what Sean describes above with the boat and Jeep. The trip to my launch is less than a mile around the perimeter of the lake and the speed limit is a crawl to begin with.

I would not take mine on a highway, infact I don't think I've even been over 30mph ever with the Jeep.

Good Luck

I live about 3 miles from the local launch. 1 mile from home I got cut off by a car running a red light. You just never know.

there you have it nacidude...most accidents or near accidents happen within a 1 mile radius of your home.

Sean's example would be hazardous and an accident probably unavoidable with a jeep wrangler with that amount of wieght in tow.

As I stated before jeeps are hard to give up (I hope Kim reads this post) but they make poor tow vehicles.

We are all at risk with things we do (Come on, were Wake Boarders!!) so only you can decide if your distance travelled is worth the risk and the expensive maintenance bills on the Jeep.

If you have an alternative...I would recomend it!!
Cheers,
Todd

ok well thanks for all the input,i dont want the wear and tear,so now i will try to think of something else

I bought my truck with the intention of pulling a tow boat, I bought the truck in November 0f 99, the boat this week, I will be tripping the big three holidays, and at least once a month, I would never dream of pulling that w/o my F-250 PSD, just a monster, towing mileage only goes down a little, power and torque are awesome, of course the chips, and Banks exhaust help a little. The only time I use 4wd is when I am putting my duck boat in the water off a steep, muddy, river, channel.

I used to pull a prostar 190 with my 4cyl jeep just fine if it was a short distance. One thing all you guys forgot is launching. If you get a little sideways launching at a slick ramp you might hit the dock if they have one. I have a vlx and on wet ramps or dirt ramps it will sometimes drag me, and that is with a jeep grand cherokee. If you don't have to worry about docks or other vehicles you will be ok. If there are things in the way make sure you get it straight before you back down. Buy an old beater v8 pickup for $500 would be my suggestion.

Old beater!
Great idea. Nothing beats seeing a '75 oldsmobile with a 454 pulling a $35k boat. I asked a guy what was up with that, he said he had to prioritize and now has a boat to pull his boat

ain't nothin wrong with an old car, most of the older vehicles have alot bigger engines than the newer ones, my brother's '77 jeep wagoneer has a bigger engine than my dad's '94 chevy 3500, plus in Texas you don't have to pss emitions in a car that is older than 25 years, ohh and he only paid 500 for the wagoneer, great deal. I am personally planning on buying a '72 k/5 blazer.

I LIKE THE THRASER IDEA, IM GOING TO FIND ME SOMETHING LEAVE IT HOOKED TO THE BOAT AT THE LAKE HOUSE,NO INSURANCE,NO PAYMENT,READY TO GO AT ALL TIMES. THANKS TO ALL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I have a Jeep Cherokee and used to have problems sliding when backing down the ramp. Jeeps don't have the best brakes to begin with, and unfortunately the front disks will lock before the drums even start to slow down.

I learned a trick that works from a brake shop - pull your parking brake up a few clicks when you start backing down the ramp. Keep your hand on the brake in case you need more stopping power. Puts some pressure on the drums, and I have not slid since.

Good idea amcvay, I personally like having other people back up the car while I am in the boat. They get to the slick ramp and they get scared when they start getting drug toward the water, they think it is going to pull the whole car in. They don't realize once the boat starts to float the weight is gone. That one is a classic I will never get tired of

I am very familiar with the emergency brake trick since I had to use it while driving amcvay's Jeep! Like Matthew said "eventually" the Jeep stopped!

Disclaimer: the ramp was covered with sand and no the Jeep did not even come close to going in the water.