Towing with a jk?

Has anyone here used a jk 2009-2014 4 door to tow a vehicle on a trailer?

I have a 2012 6 speed Sport. It is a terrible tow vehicle. Max (rated) tow capacity is 2000lbs. The most the 4 doors are rated to is 3500lbs (max tow pakage). I believe the max tow package has 3.73s, LSD, higher rear spring rates and maybe a cooler for the automatics.

What car and how big of a trailer?

I have a 2012 6 speed Sport. It is a terrible tow vehicle

In what way? Nothing you said after this ^ actually addressed why you think it is a terrible tow vehicle.

I've never towed with a Jeep, but I'd take a wild guess and say that the short wheelbase and high CG are probably not helpful.

Wheelbase for the 4 door is almost identical to my durango. With the helper per air bags it does pretty well. I saw that the rating was 3500 for the jk but wasn't sure why it was so much less than the durango.

In reply to Vigo:

Short wheelbase, terrible gearing (3.21 open diff), and horrible aerodynamics. Wind and hills are your enemy.

I like the Pentastar though. 285hp/240lb ft moves it quite nicely (or it did until I put 33" tires on it). I'm going to fix the gearing when I get some monies (4.10s and a Detroit Truetrac).

If he was going to pull a small utility trailer or tent camper I think he would be fine. But I wouldn't pull a car on a trailer unless the combined weight was less than 3500lbs.

Full disclosure: I towed a small teardrop style camper filled with my crap from Tampa, FL all the way to Boise, ID. The camper weighed 940lbs empty but I didn't weigh it after I filled it up. I'm guessing it was right around 2000lbs. It pulled it OK but the constant crosswinds were a pain. Hills required at least 2 downshifts (gearing!). I spent most of the trip in the slow lane haha

If I were to do it again, I'd definitely spring for the 4 door max tow. Much better utility with only a small loss in offroad capability.

Vigo wrote:

I have a 2012 6 speed Sport. It is a terrible tow vehicle

In what way? Nothing you said after this ^ actually addressed why you think it is a terrible tow vehicle.

Well, if the OP is wanting to tow a vehicle on a trailer, he'll be towing 3000-4000+ lbs (unless he's pulling a Miata on a lightweight aluminum trailer). So if the JK towing ratings are only 2000-3500lbs, I would consider that to be a "terrible tow vehicle" for the OP's requirement.

EDIT: just saw he said that...

Does anyone know what specifically sets a vehicles tow rating?

Ok. Little web crawling says combination of engine power, cooling capability, brakes, suspension loading, and frame structure. Since my current vehicle has 30 % less horsepower and only about 15% more torque I'm guessing that is not the Jk's limiting factor. It also has arguably better brakes since it has the same size rotors/calipers in the front and actual disk brakes at the rear. It seems to me that cooling and suspension loading can be assisted with the right application of aftermarket parts. So unless the problem is structural in nature I'm thinking the jk should be at least as capable as my current hauler. Anyone have any suggestions about how to figure out what limited the rating to 3500 for this vehicle?

Lawyers probably have more to do with the limited tow rating, so the automakers set safe limits to protect themselves. Unfortunately, nothing you do to the vehicle will get that rating changed as far as the DOT (and automaker) is concerned.

I'm not much of a lawyer up and sue kinda guy. If I decide to tow 3600 lbs with a JK on load leveling bags I'm not suing anyone when it goes bad. And Ii can't really think of a circumstance to DOT would have to weigh an SUV towing a race car. I just don't want to break something unnecessarily because I didn't think about that part or system.

The whole reason I'm considering it is because my current truck is getting long in the tooth, isn't as capable off road as a JK, and doesn't have a convertible option. Modifying the Durango to be better offroad ( the convertible option would be way too much effort) would likely be an equal issue for the lawyers and beirocrats

In reply to itsarebuild:I'd bet it's the short wheelbase. Under braking the weight shifts to the front of vehicle. This always unweights the rear tires. (Think driving a short bed pickup with an empty bed in the rain.) With a short wheelbase the pendulum effect is much more in play. Between the rise of the rear and the corresponding rise from the trailer at the bumper hitch. You might easily unweight the rear tires enough to spin the whole rig out. Or worse yet unweight the rear enough to have no traction at all. HUGE JACK KNIFE!

Side loads affect a short wheelbase tow vehicle much more. Your trailer's wheelbase is the distance from the Jeeps rear axle to the trailer axle. So the shorter the wheelbase is of the tow vehicle is, compared to the towed wheelbase. The more the trailer and its' weight will steer the Jeep than the other way around.

Weight, horsepower, and brakes are obviously considerations. But the wheelbase differential tow vehicle to trailer and the mechanical advantage of the trailer can be deadly.

And yes I know semis have a huge differential. They are also 5th wheel rigs. With a short wheel base you'd be much better off if the weight and side loading of the trailer happened in front of the rear axle. You can probably safely pull well over 3,500 pounds, provided you have a 5th wheel trailer attached in front of your rear axle.

Also, to be good off road a vehicle needs compliant suspension, and typically tall sidewall tires that conform well to obstacles. Both of these are exactly the opposite of the things that stabilize a towing vehicle.

itsarebuild wrote: I'm not much of a lawyer up and sue kinda guy. If I decide to tow 3600 lbs with a JK on load leveling bags I'm not suing anyone when it goes bad. And Ii can't really think of a circumstance to DOT would have to weigh an SUV towing a race car. I just don't want to break something unnecessarily because I didn't think about that part or system.

Its not you that they are worried about suing them, its the person(s) you hit that may sue them (and you). DOT would probably only weigh your setup after such an accident. Although I have had to go through weight stations in Nebraska before (going to Solo Nats), so you never know if you could be weighed.

A guy in my city uses his jk to tow a lawn equipment trailer for his business and I die out laughing everytime I see him because you realise how terrible it is at towing. Front end to the sky, barely moving under its own power, and takes forever to stop...

That said I dont believe you have stated what your planning on towing anyways.

The tires wouldn't be an issue. I would have 2 sets of wheels and tires for different purposes. More wheel/ less sidewall/ better pavement tread set for towing and long trips, smaller diam wheel/ taller sidewall/ mud tread for fun. Say bar disconnects at all 4 corners to latch down the suspension compliance and probably 2 way sdjustable shocks on the front at least to assist with differences in driving types. As I said, wheelbase for the jk is just about the same as the Durango and the rear axle to the first set of trailer tires is almost equal to the Durango wheelbase so that part doesn't worry me as much.

Towed rig is a spec e30 on a lightweight tandem axel steel Trailer. Deck width, length, and coverage were custom to my shorter race car so it is probably less than half the weight of most 16' trailers. It also has electric brakes.

You seem determined to do it, so have at it. As long as you are on flat ground in good weather by yourself on empty roads at 40mph it will probably be fine. If any of those change you may end up unhappy. Just please let me know if you plan on driving south of Atlanta so I can avoid you.

Not determined to do it. Just trying to get a handle on what is really involved and whether the idea has any merit. I can't afford the space or cash for a $50k crew cab dually to be a dedicated tow rig for my $7k track car set up and a dedicated trail rig for the king of the hammers. I'm just looking for the best compromise I can get for the 6 weekends a year I either tow or go to a mountain trail.

I tow with a $2500 79 GMC Dually, no need for an expensive new one. Pick up a cheap decent later model 1/2 or 3/4 truck for towing, then you can still have a trail rig.

You are right. I could get an older pickup. Probably not a very good one for $2500, but maybe $5k and then put some money into making it pleasant and reliable. And I may end up doing just that if it proves to be the best answer for a "do both" vehicle. But As one part of a 2 vehicle solution still wouldn't fix the space problem. a pickup of any year plus a jeep takes up more than one spot and I only have one to give.

It seems like you are looking for a compromise of tow vehicle and off-road vehicle, but are biasing it more toward off-road vehicle. I'm not an off-road guy, but I'd rather compromise toward having a safer, stabler tow vehicle than having a more capable off-roader. Especially if you are doing any long tows, like multi-state trips.

Tom_Spangler wrote: It seems like you are looking for a compromise of tow vehicle and off-road vehicle, but are biasing it more toward off-road vehicle. I'm not an off-road guy, but I'd rather compromise toward having a safer, stabler tow vehicle than having a more capable off-roader. Especially if you are doing any long tows, like multi-state trips.

How many hours are you spending off road? How much towing are you planning on doing? How important is your life or that of those you love? How much do you want to keep your home and/or garage and vehicles?

Maybe a good Tow vehicle that can occasionally go off road? Or a off-road motorcycle and a good tow vehicle? It seems either one would be a better real world compromise.

And no you won't get liability insurance coverage or at least claim payment for any over gross rated trailer related accident. Yes there's a very good chance you'll need it.

How about getting rid of your current trailer for a lighter aluminum one to help shed some weight? I may have missed it, but have you weighed your current setup to see if you'd be over?

I'll put it this way, as I recall, Uhaul won't officially rent anything to you. They just aren't built for it and anything that makes it better off road won't help it tow better.

Tons of cheap trucks and SUVs out there with a 5000lb+ factory rating.

In reply to Kenny_McCormic:

They won't rent anything to you if you have a soft top. If you have a hard top; no problem. In their eyes, soft top=convertible, even though it has a roll bar. It doesn't make a whole lot of sense because the hard top offers little to no roll over protection. It's just there to help keep people on the inside in the event of a roll over. The hard tops also don't stand up very well in a roll over either.

I forgot to also mention that the JK brakes are terrible. They haven't changed them since the JK debuted in 2007. That's been a sticking point for many owners for a long time. There are companies that make larger bolt-on kits but the stock brakes are E36 M3ty.