Flat Tow - What do you think?

awa0728

New Member
Joined
Apr 14, 2005
Location
Charlotte, NC
My budget is running out and it looks like the trailer is going to have to wait a while.

I have an Ford Excursion, what do you think of flat towing a TJ? What do I need to watch out for? What tow bar works the best?
 
A tow bar is easy enough to make yourself. That's not the problem. Control is the problem. Flat towing is at the least dangerous. You can't drive very fast. The smallest bobble can send you 'round and round. My advise is don't
 
I flattowed my 91 yj with spring over, 35s and streched to 100 in and full widths behind my 02 frontier crew cab 4x4 for a couple years and never had any real problems other than having to disconnect the driveshaft at the rear axle. I had hubs in the front. You HAVE got to be careful on wet roads, that is the only time I have had any odd towing experience with flat towing. Now that money allows I have a cummins pulling an 18 ft trailer and wouldn't do it any other way but I remember the cheap days.
 
I flat tow a XJ with 3" lift and Detroits on both ends with a Suburban, the only thing you need to watch is the Jeep likes to push the rear of the tow rig out in a turn. If you still have the stock TC read the owners manual for towing it will be fine. I made a towbar for my bumper.
 
we flat towed my Roommates TJ with both driveshafs disconnected with a Long wheelbase 2wd F-150 and it towed really well, but im sure the wheelbase helped alot... Had to load the truck to the gills thought to get the truck to have enough weight over the rear axle to actually stop, otherwise the jeep would just push the truck around with the brakes locked down... Somthing to think about....
 
Some folks have towed all over the world with that kind of config and no issues. Biggest risk is if you are in an emerg braking situation, will it cause a wreck?

(and what turns INTO an emerg brake situation based on the combined weight now...)

My experience with it was awful.. "had" to take a turn a bit faster than desired due to stupid bicyclist on the road... (will try to stay off soapbox)

Short story is...braked hard...then made the turn at say what would be a normal speed non-towing, YJ pushed back end of ZJ around, heading for jacknife. I gassed the ZJ hard to yank the YJ back in place and avoid wrecking myself.

Never flat towed since....continuing on with story, I bought a tow dolly and had ZERO issues, logging 5,000 miles with it. (ZJ pulling YJ)

THEN...watched a buddy wreck his Waggy, towing his XJ using that same tow dolly. XJ swayed and whammy.

So...diff setups seem to work for diff rigs... Since you have an excursion...save up $800-1500 and buy a nice trailer, you will use it all the time once you have one. (or $4-600 for a dolly if you want to try it)

Personally, I now have the excursion, towing a 18' trailer with the YJ on it...

Sam
 
I probibly see a dozen flat tow set-ups on the way to the beach every year. Big ass RV flat towing a TJ or something similar. Of course it's stock.


(nothing really adding to the tech, just making an observation)
 
RVs flat tow all over the country. The towed vehicle doesn't have enough weight to push the RV around. I flat towed a truck from texas to nevada and back and wrecked twice. Both on turns having to brake. If you are going to be rock crawling and locked, then flat towing isn't a great idea. It is very easy to cave a suspension arm or mess up an axle and then you can't flat tow. Depending on how big you are going you might consider a dolly. Then you can get two wheels off the ground and if you break the front axle, you put it up there and vice verse. IMHO a trailer is a must if you are getting into serious crawling, but it is a nice option for other riding. The main problem is that a TJ is heavy. This means a bigger trailer and tow rig. Keep your ear to the ground, you can find trailers for cheap if you look around.
 
I dont have any experience with flat towing. But back when I was looking for a trailer for my F-250 I found a TON of trailers that a jeep would fit on for around five hundred bucks. Most of them needed some work, a new deck baord here and there or something simlar, but a trailer can be found for a resonable price. It seems to me for that kind of money the peice of mind is worth it.
 
flat towing jeeps

I have flat towed my jeep (with 33s) at least 10,000 miles behind my RV. No problems. I have a brake buddy that sits on the floor of the jeep and is connected to the brake peddle. When it senses the jeep slowing down it uses air pressure to push on the brake peddle. It is adjustable for sensitivity and pressure. I don't have a problem with it. I had a lockrite locker in the rear for about 8,000 miles and now have Rubicon axles and still no problem. The brake buddy is highly encouraged because it is probably a law now that you have to have break away braking on something that heavy. I am going to go to a trailer just in case I break somehing I can get it home easily.
 
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