For sure. So many people act like you need a 1 ton dually to tow more than a little trailer. Obviously you can get crazy, but if you have some sense and practice you can safely tow a fair bit with something like that.
The sketchiest tow I ever did was with an XJ.... I was moving from Calgary to Vancouver and rented the biggest enclosed trailer that U-Haul had and I stuffed it! And I stuffed the Jeep! Then I took whatever wouldn't stuff inside of the Jeep and trailer and strapped it onto the XJ's roof rack. The load likely outweighed the Cherokee 2:1! So during a winter blizzard, I set off into the Rocky Mountains... the minute I got above 80kph, the tail started wagging the dog and I thought that my life was over. It was nuts! I crawled my way west, up steep passes at a walking pace, and down with the brakes burning red... 16 hours later we emerged from the mountains unscathed. I couldn't believe that I was alive! The XJ got me there though, a true testament to its greatness.
I had a 1992 XJ with the tow package and the HO police package. It towed a 4000 lb trailer (20 foot bass boat with a 51 gallon gas tank , 3 batteries, big motor) through your neck of the Tennessee woods for years with no trouble at all. I still thank the Secret Service for ordering that Jeep with those specs!
The key to any tow rig set up is keeping the tail from Wagging the Dog. You have a good trailer that allows you to shift a lot of weight where you need it, and that's the primary key to this whole set up. IMO you will be just fine with all this, with what you are doing with it.
The Cherokee can tow a moderate load, go slow and take back roads when necessary. Most classic Mopars that you might tow aren't too heavy. There are a bunch of upgrades to consider.
I have a 99 xj . I have the 8.25 rear end I did a rear disk brake conversion on it using a 98 grand cherokee brake parts including the guts from the proportioning valve . It was a big improvement I highly recommend doing it especially if you are going to do some towing.
A friend of mine used to use his front wheel drive Chevy Corsica to haul his 17 foot inboard 4 cylinder boat out to the lake and back. People used to start standing around just to see if the car would actually pull it out of the water, and the car wouldn't even break a tire loose doing it.
My dad had a 93 cherokee two door that he towed everything with. I would be broken down on the side of the road with my crappie Volvo 240 waiting for my pops to come save me. It could have towed a house. All in the comfort of ac or a heater that would melt your face. My Volvo broke down all the time. It did get pushed around a bit when we were towing through a blizzard and my dad couldn't tell if we were still on the road or not but we made it no problem.
Been driving xj's for 20 yrs. and towed lots of overweight stuff. Keep it in top shape: good tranny and diff. lube, brakes, tires. Add air to tires to stiffen them up and drive accordingly.
If you need to fabricate a hitch. Try to install it as close to the rear axle and equal level (when loaded) with the driveshafts. Ideal would be inside the diffrential. Trailer doesnt push on the corners, nor make a weight transformation while braking. As an example you can look at tractors, where their hitches are. Weld the ball to the axle-diffcover 😂 (some atvs do)
Heck, move the rear axle backwards , so that the axle is inline with the gascap and bolt coilovers to a heavy duty offroad bumper. Then have the towpoint welded on the axle . An ultimate tow thing, would look funny but it would be purpose buit .
My buddy used to tow his 17 foot boat with a 1996 Dodge Avenger.😅 It did good except for the two transmissions he had installed under the extended warranty. He had to reconnect the odometer and take the hitch off when he brought it in for warranty work.
Anything can be a tow vehicle. It all depends on what you are "towing". That said, my 2014 Durango R/T with the 5.7 Hemi and 8 speed torqueflite is a great tower. It has plenty of power, but the tranny is the key. It has enough gear ranges that it can find its comfort zone no matter what you're towing. Also, an equalizer hitch really helps for heavy tongue weight.
My car trailer and my cor dolley both have hydraulic surge brakes. It works good for me, I sometimes tow w a light vehicle, just accelerate slowly and start slowing early.
When we had to tow our' Airstream Classic31 (about 9k lbs @ 31ft), I bought a Ford F250 Crew Cab Diesel and it pulled fine. When we towed our Coleman 17B Travel Trailer (17ft & about 3,300 lbs), I used my 2012 Ridgeline which was rated for 5k tow capacity. On both I utilized a weight distribution hitch which made a world of difference in keeping the weight even on the front wheels and well as working as anti-sway due to the triangulation of the weight distribution hitch design. So as others have said, get yourself a weight distribution hitch. Many different brands from Reese to "Equalizer". I used the "Equalizer" hitch and it was great quality and worked wonderfully, and would highly recommend it.
I’ve had a couple 98 and 2000 vintage and although bags of grunt the rear leaf springs are too long and the arse end tends to sag over time , you can get a beefier set up after market, that the lads who off road know all about
SSssssure you can do it Tony, I have seen an equal amount of dually towing wrecks along the interstate in my 45 years of truck driving as I have of passenger vehicles towing little UHaul trailers. There is a video out of a 1/2 ton pickup towing a 45 ft semi trailer with a tow dolly which had the trailer landing legs resting on the tow dolly and tow ball hitch on the back bumper towing down the street. You may have to change your underpants a few times before you get to the track but you can do it. Your jeep will suck at it, but for the two or three times you go to the track a year, no problem.... I think
I get your point, I have a 1977 f150 4x4, so my 81 c10 have 5x139.7 wheels, and mi TJ too, all of them with battery posts, gm power steering pump and alternator in my ford, hei distributor in the ford too
@@jakdosen2165 I'm a Blue Oval guy. I watch because it's Tony. But, how many Mopar cars does he have that he's no longer making content on? To be honest, I think he's lost interest in them, or is bored. There's little content with his expertise in the '60's, '70's, cars out there, and tons of stuff on crappy Jeeps. I'll stay subscribed, I'll check in. I'll look for something interesting. 👍
Please build the stroker. The head cracked on my 2000 right between the 2 exhaust valves that meet up between the 3 and 4 cylinder. Replaced it with a TUPY head and runs great. Anyway that was my original plan to build a stroker. Please build the stroker
We would all like to see something a little " closer to home " such as a Ramcharger or Trailduster build , VS the XJ . That said , you already have the XJ , and as long as everything is in good shape , you should have little problem towing with it . I have had a bunch of them and they were all solid dependable tow rigs .
4:55 Tony, I wouldn't dismiss a weight distribution hitch as an option if you can install one on your car hauler. Properly set up with loaded spring arms, such a hitch should actually lessen the load on the rear axle, putting more weight back on the trailer axles and on the front steering axle of the XJ. Overall I like your plan - get it running and driving, make sure everything is mechanically sound, get it low, get it level, put in a trailer brake controller and just try it out towing your typical trailer setup.
Tranny cooler helps along with doing ZJ or KJ rear rear disc swap onto the 8.25 and even doing the WJ knuckle/brake swap. Towed a few little trailers and cars behind my XJ’s with no issue. Don’t overdo it and keep your distance behind others. Another good cheap swap is ditching the stock axle for a matching ratio 8.8 from an Exploder.
I have been down this road. With several variations. It wasn't so much a power issue as size. They tend to wag quit a bit but with a good respect and an alert driver it works. Not as good as a 1 ton dually obviously which is what I moved to later, but hauling my 1955 Oldsmobile with small Suv was about the limit. Hard to keep that setup from wanting to pull it right into the ditch.
I bought parts from a Guy who had raced a 1972 Cuda and used an Aspen (SLANT 6)station wagon, he used the solid triangle tow Bar and had a place to chain down slicks on it, he used Lock out tow hubs. it was ok when i used the tow bar on My 4 Speed 1984 Dodge Van 100 (slant six)when i bought those , all but sharp turns, i pulled straight through when i raced my cuda at Capitol raceway back in late 1980s
I tired to tow a 21' cuddy cabin boat with an XJ. Towed fine but trans got too hot and puked fluid. Bought a WJ Overland and it did great. Towed my Z06 to Leguna Seca 1000 miles away, for example. 13+ years later, I'm still using the WJ to tow light loads with my utility trailer even though I own a Cummins dullie now.
I remember my Scout Master had a super clean XJ that overheated towing a trailer. All black with a tan leather interior. I've been debating trying to tow a car with my 4cyl Tacoma
I've been using a Ferd Explorer to tow all kinds of things including horse trailers, car trailers, cabin trailers and anything I could hook on to. Doing that for 16 years without a problem. Ya, it's a 4.0 liter just like the Jeep.That nice" tow package looks like a class III hitch. (I could be wrong) but they are only rated for 3500 pounds. Be careful how much weight you pull.
I have a fleet of 5 vehicles, all different for my family’s daily drivers. 2 Chrysler products, 2 Toyotas,and a Hyundai. I regret the Hyundai as it is engineless in the driveway, but it led me to this channel since I am fool enough to attempt an overhaul before shelling out $5k for a reman engine. It is swinging on the cherry-picker right now and hope to transfer it to a stand tomorrow, then cracking it open to discover why it was knocking (fingers crossed it was a piston skirt). I appreciate the first-time engine build playlist, but have to admit a little bummed about the cliffhanger ending.
The XJ has a great aftermarket parts availability and not the Dana 35 but the much better 8 3/4 has excellent alloy axles and outer bearings and anything else under the sun. First thing I did on my 2001 was to add frame stiffeners to offset the weak unibody structure. You will find the U Joint's will be a weak link addressing this with reversal slip-yoke drive line kit is advisable even with an un-lifted XJ. Getting the bigger U,s. will help. If you are mostly on street towing, then a minimum slip dif will help. I installed ARB locker front Dana 30 and the rear. With the 2.0 Atlas transfer case you will not need a reversal slip yoke if you choose to add this. After adding a stroker crank I now run a GEAR Vendors Overdrive and boy will you be surprised at the improved milage at speed.
We ordered a brand new black 1998 Cherokee with the straight six and factory 5 speed manual transmission,$19,800. We sold it several years later to a dealership mechanic who wanted it specifically for towing a trailer. He had killed his previous tow vehicle ,something. with an automatic. The reason we sold it was that it had a low back back seat (no head rests) in the rear, no good for adults or growing children.
I had a '97 XJ (auto.) W/tow & off road package. The little thing pulled like a bulldozer. The only limitations I had were its own weight - sometimes just too light for traction, even on dry pavement, and the load capacity of the rear springs - again, too light. The off-road package used a different cam (for '97 there was a listing) in the 4.0, and came with 3.55 gears - Again, that thing pulled like a beast, way beyond what one would expect.
I have a 96 Jeep XJ. I love it. Bought it with 140k miles on it and bad clutch. I was amazed that there was no rust in the doors, roof rail, and back door. Bad clutch turned out to be the pedal mount. LOL, whole floor was rusted out! I'm guessing they thought the clutch needed to be rebuilt so they left it and the bottom rotted sitting above grass. I have a new floor welded in for the driver and passenger area. Next step is a new floor in storage and need a new gas tank. A lot of people wonder why I have put money into a 1996 run of the mill vehicle. Well a couple reasons. First the repairs beat a modern day car payment. It's a solid built vehicle that is easy to work on. Lastly, because I like it! Don't be ashamed of a vehicle you like.
Oh and my first Jeep XJ was a 98, I think. I bought it new. When it was 4 years old and 200k plus miles, I would haul my 21' Searay boat. Mercruiser 300 hp engine in the boat. Yeah I had to put my Cherokee into 4 wheel to pull the boat out of the water, but it did it! One day I will pull apart my current XJ and rebuild it. I'm looking forward to it and will re-watch your engine tear down and rebuild Tony. Thanks much!
I use my 99 XJ to pull a lawn mower and some equipment on a 5x10 trailer. Around 2500 lbs. The brakes are a little light for any more than that. These also run a little hot anyway. If you pull 5000 lbs it will probably run hot. I would recommend putting better rear springs and shocks on it. Great vehicle. Have fun with it 😊
Some states consider it to be a criminal offence to exeed the gvwr on passenger vehicles. If you tow a trailer rated at 10,000 with a 5000 gvwr vehicle, you can be fined even if the teailer itself is empty! You will lose in court. Dont ask, it was expensive.
They may have pulled one over on you. GVWR is for total vehicle weight itself. Towed weight is a different thing. Many vehicles can tow more than they can weigh.
@@NBSV1 it was a 25,000 lb boat trailer, empty, behind a 2500 chevy. I forget the actual charge but the dot pulled me over, then fhp pulled in. I asked why he was there and he said, "to keep you from killing the dot officer when you see that ticket". I went to court, lost, had to pay the lawyer on top of the fine. It was north of $8,000! It was quite awhile ago, i hope they changed it by now.
@@robertdinicola9225 Ah. At that point you're getting into the edge of commercial DOT laws. Generally 26,000lbs is where things start needing a CDL. And, around that point they start going off the rated capacity of things because they make the assumption you were hauling that much before they happened to catch you empty. If it was "only" a 10,000lb rated trailer you're pretty much under their radar and they don't often care what you're doing. I'd still say the DOT officer was being a jerk. They tend to get on power trips and try to make examples of people. There's a good chance you could have fought it and won, but likely would have spent about the same amount in the end.
It's a large size Station wagon K-car. Why not a tow truck ? It's heavy enough, it's strong enough, plenty of power. Why not? Depending on the load weight, or course! Nice content.
Provided your tongue weights aren't silly, you could tow with this completely stock and have no issues. I have often towed a Mazda E2000 van on car trailer _with my stock Mazda E2000!_
I'm pretty sure the tow package XJs have the optional rear sway bar, its a common delete because its so impotent in the first place. I wonder if you could figure out a way to set a beefier rear sway bar for some stability under load. Park that sucker on uneven ground and see if you can open and close the tailgate. maybe frame stiffeners are in order for that old un.
rear swaybar makes stability when towing worse. run early 2wd dakota overload leaves on the bottom of the pack instead. my towpack 89 with the factory D44 didn't have a rear swaybar, I added it and deleted it again after ONE trip towing just a dolly with a VW rabbit on it. just beef up the front one using a Limited front swaybar.
I towed a small 4x8 teardrop trailer. It did well. Trans cooler w/fan and a gauge added. Then went up to 6x10 cargo trailer. Mountain passes sucks. Even small hills with wind . XJ towing limit is 1500lbs only That's it. The AW4 trans is tough but engine couldn't handle it. 6 cylinder.
Legit - steal the overload leaves out of a 2wd late 80s early 90s dakota and pop them on the bottom of your rear leaf pack. I used to use a 2dr XJ as a tow rig and this little mod was a GAME CHANGER. just do it dude.
now this was an 89 w/ the tow pack including the factory D44 non c-clip rear... but good luck finding one of those. oh, get a stupid huge stacked plate trans cooler as well, and throw the rear swaybar in the trash also, XJ Limiteds have a larger diameter FRONT swaybar. grab one of those and switch to 96-98 V8 grand cherokee endlinks.
I had a 2000 XJ I bought new off the lot. Had it for 15 years. Back in 03 I was leaving work and remote started it. When I got to the jeep to drive home, the oil pressure light was on. When I gave it gas, the light would go out. I drove the jeep home parked it in the garage for 3 years. I bought a motor off the internet and pulled my original motor out, and installed the new to me motor. I have since sold the jeep,but I still have the 4.0L and I am thinking that it might have been the oil pressure sensor. I have heard that is a common issue and the motor only had 26k it and ran like a top. Too bad UTG is so far from me, I only want $400 for the engine.
I put 1999 Ford Explorer aluminum teardrop wheels on my 1999 Cherokee. a good 4 inch overall wider track. Looks a lot better and I used a hole saw to cut the ford logo out of the center caps and glued in smaller chrome jeep center caps. Definitely confuses some people because the caps look stock, but they ask, "isn't that a Ford wheel?" I jokingly tell them they are Jeep secret prototype wheels! 😁
My experience towing has been that also one should consider the wall construction of the tires. 8 ply tires “E” rated tends to help keep track from wandering. BFGs wall construction seem to me one of the best out there. Plus keeps the handling happy when you slightly removed air during towing for that plush ride I usually tow between 35-38 psi in my Landy.
I'm an upstater too, but i just came across the seat belt from the passenger side of my old rabbit pickup i had when I lived in ohio. I was coming back from training in Indy when I broke a cv joint just west of Cincinnati, and I was headed to Cleveland. This was like 99-00 or so and I had a cell phone to call the wife,and she drove the 3-3.5hrs down. Looked in the trunk, coulda swore I had a rope 🤷♂️ Man it was short with that seat belt, I don't think there was 18" between us but we never hit. Yeah she got there around 830pm and we got home close to 1. 55mph was about the most to push it. Tow bill woulda been insane on that. We did have a cop cruise next to us a while but he moved on. Haha dude thanks for the memory! 😂😂
Dump the rear lift blocks, make up some traction bars to stop the spring wrap, and run air shocks in the back. Drive it to town on 10 psi, haul a trailer at 60 psi.
I’ve owned half dozen or better of these Jeeps in my life. I think they tow fine just stay in that 500/5k range and no problem. But what I wouldn’t do is put wide offset wheels on it. It will handle like crap and wear out wheel bearings. You will destroy your front scrub radius and it will want to wander back and forth. I always ran those same factory Jeep Canyon wheels with load range C tires on all mine. I had no problem towing my lifted 95 Wrangler on a 16’ car hauler to go off roading in the PNW.
I used my 98 XJ Sport 4x4 with the 4.0 auto to tow my 99 Sonoma 4x4 on a car dolly with no problems. The Jeep had 300k on it. Now I didn’t take it out on the highway or try to drive 70 with it, but it did just fine.
Larger brakes would be advised. Or you will most likely just warp the rotors. Don't forget the weight of the trailer. You will be over quite a bit more than your calculations. If you are going to be on the freeway or any highway with grades, You could lose your brakes. And climbing grades is not going to be easy on the drivetrain. Just put a Hemi in it with a bigger trans and rear. Up rade the springs and brakes. Good to go.
I did this with a '98 XJ for a few years until one of the vehicles I towed was a '84 XJ with no floors and I saw how thin the subframes and mounts are. Considered putting a 4.7 stroker into various small trucks though, I often got ~15mpg towing with mine riding the bumpstops.
just a thought , would you consider air bags in the rear like the dodge trucks instead of leaving the 2" lift in place .... 😎✌🖖👍👌🤓 you might be able to find the parts in a salvage yard & with some modification pop it in place ... 😎✌🖖👍👌🤓
Tony pulling the front spring spacers and not the back will give you two different spring rates from front to back. Very stiff in the back and stock in the front. They may not play well together in windy and bumpy conditions. I like your approach to get it ready with a brake controller and test it out and see. Also offset rims is way better than wheel spacers. Good choice. Cheers 🇨🇦
How do coil spring spacers or leaf spring blocks change spring rates? The springs aren’t being compressed or extended any from stock with or without them. Center of gravity is being altered here, that’s about it.
Hell, I towed 3300 pounds plus with a 2011 VW sport wagon TDI six speed manual and get almost 28 miles to the gallon down on the highway and I have a couple diesel trucks and an all-wheel-drive 1500 Chevy van that I could be using.
The size wouldn’t worry me so much. For the drop, I would drop the front and leave the rear at stock height, so when loaded up it sits level. Also an electric trailer brake controller is mandatory when towing on the limit. Honestly I think the trans and rear are going to be the weak link, but other than a good external trans cooler, I wouldn’t worry about either of those unless or until you start blowing them.
I towed my car trailer lots with Ramchargers. Can't be that different. My only thing with towing is that when you have 5K behind you and have to do a quick lane change at 60mph because of a deer or whatever you need to know your rig isn't going to get pushed out of the way by the trailer. If you have a low deck trailer with drop axles it will help tons.
Glad to see you'll be running trailer brakes. Remember this: it'll save your ass! When you load up with not a lot of tongue weight because you're using a little vehicle and the trailer starts dancing going down a hill. ONLY APPLY TRAILER BRAKES! Then maybe you won't end up on a Tic Toc dashcam video. Yeah, this is a bad idea. But you know that already.
Hay tony idk if that’s a 2wd or not but if it is? Id put a 4x4 transfer cace in it so you have 4low capacity. For hill starting. The tyranny’s are week points in the jeep . So a cooler and a transfer wold be a great idea.
The Powerstop front rotors for this are drilled and slotted for added cooling. I added them to my 99 for that reason since I plan on towing as well. I'm very interested in this project.
Ive towed more than i should ive offroaded a ton ive even overheated the shit out of my XJ countless times and its still going. They are tough! Im sure with your mechanical skills being better than mine youll be able to get the most out of it as a tow vehicle.
Tony, as long as you're changing the wheels you may want to go wider as well as offset. What first comes to mind when you say you're towing 5K with this vehicle isn't it's ability to pull. I'd be concerned with it's ability to stop. Wider tires with more rubber on the road is going to help.
A 4.6L stroker makes the most sense for what that truck is, and what you plan to do with it. Spend as little time and effort as possible ron junk you know you're going to replace anyway.
XJs are common tow rigs down under. Guess we just don't have the same expectations, they get the job done ok. Or to put it another way, we've never had the mindset drummed into us, that you need a monster truck to tow a dingy 😆
Down here, before they started clamping down on over-regulating us, we used to tow a Valiant on a trailer with.... a Valiant. Pulling 1.5 times its own weight, and thought nothing of it.
UTG you do you man ill watch what ever you want to teach us and we thank you for all the knowledge Alex out in northern Cali Ps I’ve always wanted a xj
I towed a small hybrid camper with a 96 for years. Extra Trans cooler, trailer brake system, anti sway hitch - worked great!
For sure. So many people act like you need a 1 ton dually to tow more than a little trailer. Obviously you can get crazy, but if you have some sense and practice you can safely tow a fair bit with something like that.
You keep missing the main point. Weight towed vs weight of tow vehicle.
Point taken my camper was 2800 lbs so a good bit less then Tony’s rig.
The sketchiest tow I ever did was with an XJ.... I was moving from Calgary to Vancouver and rented the biggest enclosed trailer that U-Haul had and I stuffed it! And I stuffed the Jeep! Then I took whatever wouldn't stuff inside of the Jeep and trailer and strapped it onto the XJ's roof rack. The load likely outweighed the Cherokee 2:1! So during a winter blizzard, I set off into the Rocky Mountains... the minute I got above 80kph, the tail started wagging the dog and I thought that my life was over. It was nuts! I crawled my way west, up steep passes at a walking pace, and down with the brakes burning red... 16 hours later we emerged from the mountains unscathed. I couldn't believe that I was alive! The XJ got me there though, a true testament to its greatness.
I agree, those xj's are above and beyond tougher and more capable than anyone gives them credit for! They'll surprise you every time you test them.
I had a 1992 XJ with the tow package and the HO police package. It towed a 4000 lb trailer (20 foot bass boat with a 51 gallon gas tank , 3 batteries, big motor) through your neck of the Tennessee woods for years with no trouble at all. I still thank the Secret Service for ordering that Jeep with those specs!
The key to any tow rig set up is keeping the tail from Wagging the Dog. You have a good trailer that allows you to shift a lot of weight where you need it, and that's the primary key to this whole set up. IMO you will be just fine with all this, with what you are doing with it.
The Cherokee can tow a moderate load, go slow and take back roads when necessary. Most classic Mopars that you might tow aren't too heavy.
There are a bunch of upgrades to consider.
I have a 99 xj . I have the 8.25 rear end I did a rear disk brake conversion on it using a 98 grand cherokee brake parts including the guts from the proportioning valve . It was a big improvement I highly recommend doing it especially if you are going to do some towing.
A friend of mine used to use his front wheel drive Chevy Corsica to haul his 17 foot inboard 4 cylinder boat out to the lake and back. People used to start standing around just to see if the car would actually pull it out of the water, and the car wouldn't even break a tire loose doing it.
Weigh distributing hitch will take weight off the rear and put it on the front. When its set up rigjt the front and rear sag perfectly even.
Brother I like the way you problem solve. Great thought processes. You analyze and break things down so most of us can understand. 👍
My dad had a 93 cherokee two door that he towed everything with. I would be broken down on the side of the road with my crappie Volvo 240 waiting for my pops to come save me. It could have towed a house. All in the comfort of ac or a heater that would melt your face. My Volvo broke down all the time. It did get pushed around a bit when we were towing through a blizzard and my dad couldn't tell if we were still on the road or not but we made it no problem.
Been driving xj's for 20 yrs. and towed lots of overweight stuff.
Keep it in top shape: good tranny and diff. lube, brakes, tires. Add air to tires to stiffen them up and drive accordingly.
I have a 96 with 250K. Parts are cheap. The inline 6 is BULLETPROOF... just an UNSTOPPABLE vehicle.
You are correct, it’s a terrible idea.
But I love the idea that you are going to try and see if you can make it work.
If you need to fabricate a hitch. Try to install it as close to the rear axle and equal level (when loaded) with the driveshafts.
Ideal would be inside the diffrential. Trailer doesnt push on the corners, nor make a weight transformation while braking. As an example you can look at tractors, where their hitches are.
Weld the ball to the axle-diffcover 😂 (some atvs do)
Heck, move the rear axle backwards , so that the axle is inline with the gascap and bolt coilovers to a heavy duty offroad bumper. Then have the towpoint welded on the axle . An ultimate tow thing, would look funny but it would be purpose buit .
My buddy used to tow his 17 foot boat with a 1996 Dodge Avenger.😅 It did good except for the two transmissions he had installed under the extended warranty. He had to reconnect the odometer and take the hitch off when he brought it in for warranty work.
Anything can be a tow vehicle. It all depends on what you are "towing". That said, my 2014 Durango R/T with the 5.7 Hemi and 8 speed torqueflite is a great tower. It has plenty of power, but the tranny is the key. It has enough gear ranges that it can find its comfort zone no matter what you're towing. Also, an equalizer hitch really helps for heavy tongue weight.
They also have a factory tow package on Durango RT called Tow and Go and can tow 8,700 lbs..
@@mypronouniswtf5559 I'm not sure if it has that package, but it has the factory hitch and light/brake plugin.
My car trailer and my cor dolley both have hydraulic surge brakes. It works good for me, I sometimes tow w a light vehicle, just accelerate slowly and start slowing early.
Xj Good. Tony smile when playing with Xj
Tony Happy
When we had to tow our' Airstream Classic31 (about 9k lbs @ 31ft), I bought a Ford F250 Crew Cab Diesel and it pulled fine. When we towed our Coleman 17B Travel Trailer (17ft & about 3,300 lbs), I used my 2012 Ridgeline which was rated for 5k tow capacity. On both I utilized a weight distribution hitch which made a world of difference in keeping the weight even on the front wheels and well as working as anti-sway due to the triangulation of the weight distribution hitch design. So as others have said, get yourself a weight distribution hitch. Many different brands from Reese to "Equalizer". I used the "Equalizer" hitch and it was great quality and worked wonderfully, and would highly recommend it.
I’ve had a couple 98 and 2000 vintage and although bags of grunt the rear leaf springs are too long and the arse end tends to sag over time , you can get a beefier set up after market, that the lads who off road know all about
SSssssure you can do it Tony, I have seen an equal amount of dually towing wrecks along the interstate in my 45 years of truck driving as I have of passenger vehicles towing little UHaul trailers. There is a video out of a 1/2 ton pickup towing a 45 ft semi trailer with a tow dolly which had the trailer landing legs resting on the tow dolly and tow ball hitch on the back bumper towing down the street. You may have to change your underpants a few times before you get to the track but you can do it. Your jeep will suck at it, but for the two or three times you go to the track a year, no problem.... I think
I get your point, I have a 1977 f150 4x4, so my 81 c10 have 5x139.7 wheels, and mi TJ too, all of them with battery posts, gm power steering pump and alternator in my ford, hei distributor in the ford too
Put the biggest trans cooler you can fit in there.
I remember, wayyy back, when this was a Mopar channel. 🤔
Jeep IS MOPAR (since 1987 anyway)
@@barto6577 And like the name Chrysler, I'll just go elsewhere.
This channel has changed dramatically. I miss the carburetor throwing Tony
@@jakdosen2165 I'm a Blue Oval guy. I watch because it's Tony. But, how many Mopar cars does he have that he's no longer making content on? To be honest, I think he's lost interest in them, or is bored. There's little content with his expertise in the '60's, '70's, cars out there, and tons of stuff on crappy Jeeps.
I'll stay subscribed, I'll check in. I'll look for something interesting. 👍
@@barto6577 AMC engine, Aisin(Toyota) transmission, DaimlerChrysler electronics.
The only thing mopar in that is the rear axle dude.
Please build the stroker. The head cracked on my 2000 right between the 2 exhaust valves that meet up between the 3 and 4 cylinder. Replaced it with a TUPY head and runs great. Anyway that was my original plan to build a stroker. Please build the stroker
Man mine always perform air shock's are a must
We would all like to see something a little " closer to home " such as a Ramcharger or Trailduster build , VS the XJ .
That said , you already have the XJ , and as long as everything is in good shape , you should have little problem towing with it .
I have had a bunch of them and they were all solid dependable tow rigs .
4:55 Tony, I wouldn't dismiss a weight distribution hitch as an option if you can install one on your car hauler. Properly set up with loaded spring arms, such a hitch should actually lessen the load on the rear axle, putting more weight back on the trailer axles and on the front steering axle of the XJ.
Overall I like your plan - get it running and driving, make sure everything is mechanically sound, get it low, get it level, put in a trailer brake controller and just try it out towing your typical trailer setup.
Tranny cooler helps along with doing ZJ or KJ rear rear disc swap onto the 8.25 and even doing the WJ knuckle/brake swap. Towed a few little trailers and cars behind my XJ’s with no issue. Don’t overdo it and keep your distance behind others. Another good cheap swap is ditching the stock axle for a matching ratio 8.8 from an Exploder.
I have been down this road. With several variations. It wasn't so much a power issue as size. They tend to wag quit a bit but with a good respect and an alert driver it works. Not as good as a 1 ton dually obviously which is what I moved to later, but hauling my 1955 Oldsmobile with small Suv was about the limit. Hard to keep that setup from wanting to pull it right into the ditch.
I bought parts from a Guy who had raced a 1972 Cuda and used an Aspen (SLANT 6)station wagon, he used the solid triangle tow Bar and had a place to chain down slicks on it, he used Lock out tow hubs. it was ok when i used the tow bar on My 4 Speed 1984 Dodge Van 100 (slant six)when i bought those , all but sharp turns, i pulled straight through when i raced my cuda at Capitol raceway back in late 1980s
I tired to tow a 21' cuddy cabin boat with an XJ. Towed fine but trans got too hot and puked fluid. Bought a WJ Overland and it did great. Towed my Z06 to Leguna Seca 1000 miles away, for example. 13+ years later, I'm still using the WJ to tow light loads with my utility trailer even though I own a Cummins dullie now.
I remember my Scout Master had a super clean XJ that overheated towing a trailer. All black with a tan leather interior. I've been debating trying to tow a car with my 4cyl Tacoma
I've been using a Ferd Explorer to tow all kinds of things including horse trailers, car trailers, cabin trailers and anything I could hook on to. Doing that for 16 years without a problem. Ya, it's a 4.0 liter just like the Jeep.That nice" tow package looks like a class III hitch. (I could be wrong) but they are only rated for 3500 pounds. Be careful how much weight you pull.
I have a fleet of 5 vehicles, all different for my family’s daily drivers. 2 Chrysler products, 2 Toyotas,and a Hyundai. I regret the Hyundai as it is engineless in the driveway, but it led me to this channel since I am fool enough to attempt an overhaul before shelling out $5k for a reman engine. It is swinging on the cherry-picker right now and hope to transfer it to a stand tomorrow, then cracking it open to discover why it was knocking (fingers crossed it was a piston skirt). I appreciate the first-time engine build playlist, but have to admit a little bummed about the cliffhanger ending.
Thanks
COOP
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Glad you’re doing this, Tony! I’m setting mine up for the same thing, as my 61 wrecker is excruciating on a long trip!
Andrew Camarata on youtube used to tow ridiculous loads with his XJ when he was a young lad.
The XJ has a great aftermarket parts availability and not the Dana 35 but the much better 8 3/4 has excellent alloy axles and outer bearings and anything else under the sun. First thing I did on my 2001 was to add frame stiffeners to offset the weak unibody structure. You will find the U Joint's will be a weak link addressing this with reversal slip-yoke drive line kit is advisable even with an un-lifted XJ. Getting the bigger U,s. will help. If you are mostly on street towing, then a minimum slip dif will help. I installed ARB locker front Dana 30 and the rear. With the 2.0 Atlas transfer case you will not need a reversal slip yoke if you choose to add this. After adding a stroker crank I now run a GEAR Vendors Overdrive and boy will you be surprised at the improved milage at speed.
I know you dont like dyno numbers but a before torque and after would be really interesting
HOWdy U-T-G, ...
Thanks for the JEEP Content
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Main problems I’ve dealt with on those suspension wise are the tracking bar & the Death Wobble, which are easily fixed.
Easily not always
We ordered a brand new black 1998 Cherokee with the straight six and factory 5 speed manual transmission,$19,800. We sold it several years later to a dealership mechanic who wanted it specifically for towing a trailer. He had killed his previous tow vehicle ,something. with an automatic. The reason we sold it was that it had a low back back seat (no head rests) in the rear, no good for adults or growing children.
I had a '97 XJ (auto.) W/tow & off road package. The little thing pulled like a bulldozer. The only limitations I had were its own weight - sometimes just too light for traction, even on dry pavement, and the load capacity of the rear springs - again, too light.
The off-road package used a different cam (for '97 there was a listing) in the 4.0, and came with 3.55 gears -
Again, that thing pulled like a beast, way beyond what one would expect.
It's so weird, I'm the first guy to poopoo an idea like this, but I'm all in. Let's see what you can do!
I have a 96 Jeep XJ. I love it. Bought it with 140k miles on it and bad clutch. I was amazed that there was no rust in the doors, roof rail, and back door. Bad clutch turned out to be the pedal mount. LOL, whole floor was rusted out! I'm guessing they thought the clutch needed to be rebuilt so they left it and the bottom rotted sitting above grass. I have a new floor welded in for the driver and passenger area. Next step is a new floor in storage and need a new gas tank. A lot of people wonder why I have put money into a 1996 run of the mill vehicle. Well a couple reasons. First the repairs beat a modern day car payment. It's a solid built vehicle that is easy to work on. Lastly, because I like it! Don't be ashamed of a vehicle you like.
Oh and my first Jeep XJ was a 98, I think. I bought it new. When it was 4 years old and 200k plus miles, I would haul my 21' Searay boat. Mercruiser 300 hp engine in the boat. Yeah I had to put my Cherokee into 4 wheel to pull the boat out of the water, but it did it! One day I will pull apart my current XJ and rebuild it. I'm looking forward to it and will re-watch your engine tear down and rebuild Tony. Thanks much!
Go for it....i have 04 exterra i use for towing,,trailer,,, flat towing with a tow bar ect....ill hook it to just about any thing....
I use my 99 XJ to pull a lawn mower and some equipment on a 5x10 trailer. Around 2500 lbs. The brakes are a little light for any more than that. These also run a little hot anyway. If you pull 5000 lbs it will probably run hot. I would recommend putting better rear springs and shocks on it. Great vehicle. Have fun with it 😊
Some states consider it to be a criminal offence to exeed the gvwr on passenger vehicles. If you tow a trailer rated at 10,000 with a 5000 gvwr vehicle, you can be fined even if the teailer itself is empty! You will lose in court. Dont ask, it was expensive.
They may have pulled one over on you. GVWR is for total vehicle weight itself. Towed weight is a different thing. Many vehicles can tow more than they can weigh.
@@NBSV1 it was a 25,000 lb boat trailer, empty, behind a 2500 chevy. I forget the actual charge but the dot pulled me over, then fhp pulled in. I asked why he was there and he said, "to keep you from killing the dot officer when you see that ticket". I went to court, lost, had to pay the lawyer on top of the fine. It was north of $8,000! It was quite awhile ago, i hope they changed it by now.
@@robertdinicola9225I'd have appealed that. Sounds like DOT was just being a revenue generator for the state.
@@ElijahDecker i was not willing to spend any more $.
@@robertdinicola9225 Ah. At that point you're getting into the edge of commercial DOT laws. Generally 26,000lbs is where things start needing a CDL. And, around that point they start going off the rated capacity of things because they make the assumption you were hauling that much before they happened to catch you empty. If it was "only" a 10,000lb rated trailer you're pretty much under their radar and they don't often care what you're doing.
I'd still say the DOT officer was being a jerk. They tend to get on power trips and try to make examples of people. There's a good chance you could have fought it and won, but likely would have spent about the same amount in the end.
It's a large size Station wagon K-car. Why not a tow truck ? It's heavy enough, it's strong enough, plenty of power. Why not?
Depending on the load weight, or course!
Nice content.
Provided your tongue weights aren't silly, you could tow with this completely stock and have no issues. I have often towed a Mazda E2000 van on car trailer _with my stock Mazda E2000!_
I towed my Comanche on a trailer with my '96 Cherokee when I still had it. You'll be fine!
I'm positive the springs are worn out and should be replaced. The good thing is there is so much aftermarket support for them.
I AM HERE FOR THE STROKER 4.0
I'm pretty sure the tow package XJs have the optional rear sway bar, its a common delete because its so impotent in the first place. I wonder if you could figure out a way to set a beefier rear sway bar for some stability under load.
Park that sucker on uneven ground and see if you can open and close the tailgate. maybe frame stiffeners are in order for that old un.
rear swaybar makes stability when towing worse.
run early 2wd dakota overload leaves on the bottom of the pack instead. my towpack 89 with the factory D44 didn't have a rear swaybar, I added it and deleted it again after ONE trip towing just a dolly with a VW rabbit on it.
just beef up the front one using a Limited front swaybar.
I towed a small 4x8 teardrop trailer. It did well. Trans cooler w/fan and a gauge added.
Then went up to 6x10 cargo trailer. Mountain passes sucks. Even small hills with wind .
XJ towing limit is 1500lbs only That's it.
The AW4 trans is tough but engine couldn't handle it.
6 cylinder.
Legit - steal the overload leaves out of a 2wd late 80s early 90s dakota and pop them on the bottom of your rear leaf pack.
I used to use a 2dr XJ as a tow rig and this little mod was a GAME CHANGER.
just do it dude.
now this was an 89 w/ the tow pack including the factory D44 non c-clip rear... but good luck finding one of those.
oh, get a stupid huge stacked plate trans cooler as well, and throw the rear swaybar in the trash
also, XJ Limiteds have a larger diameter FRONT swaybar. grab one of those and switch to 96-98 V8 grand cherokee endlinks.
I had a 2000 XJ I bought new off the lot. Had it for 15 years. Back in 03 I was leaving work and remote started it. When I got to the jeep to drive home, the oil pressure light was on. When I gave it gas, the light would go out. I drove the jeep home parked it in the garage for 3 years.
I bought a motor off the internet and pulled my original motor out, and installed the new to me motor.
I have since sold the jeep,but I still have the 4.0L and I am thinking that it might have been the oil pressure sensor. I have heard that is a common issue and the motor only had 26k it and ran like a top.
Too bad UTG is so far from me, I only want $400 for the engine.
Where are you located if you want to sell it?
I put 1999 Ford Explorer aluminum teardrop wheels on my 1999 Cherokee. a good 4 inch overall wider track. Looks a lot better and I used a hole saw to cut the ford logo out of the center caps and glued in smaller chrome jeep center caps. Definitely confuses some people because the caps look stock, but they ask, "isn't that a Ford wheel?" I jokingly tell them they are Jeep secret prototype wheels! 😁
I towed my 63 Dart to the track for years with an 86 shortbed S-10, 2.8, 2WD, 4-speed. Trailer brakes and 60-65mph. No problem.
You also might consider a gear change on the axles.
My experience towing has been that also one should consider the wall construction of the tires. 8 ply tires “E” rated tends to help keep track from wandering. BFGs wall construction seem to me one of the best out there. Plus keeps the handling happy when you slightly removed air during towing for that plush ride I usually tow between 35-38 psi in my Landy.
You need a International XT...
It is Mopar related as it used a Dodge RAM bed...That my friend would be the intimate tow vehicle!!😁
Id like to port the head, and put in a shift improver kit and an oil cooler
Pulled home a 1941 ford from Vineland NJ with my 72 AMC Hornet. 19 mpg from NJ to up state NY. 😂😂
Did it have the 258 I-6 or 304 V-8?
I'm an upstater too, but i just came across the seat belt from the passenger side of my old rabbit pickup i had when I lived in ohio.
I was coming back from training in Indy when I broke a cv joint just west of Cincinnati, and I was headed to Cleveland.
This was like 99-00 or so and I had a cell phone to call the wife,and she drove the 3-3.5hrs down.
Looked in the trunk, coulda swore I had a rope 🤷♂️
Man it was short with that seat belt, I don't think there was 18" between us but we never hit.
Yeah she got there around 830pm and we got home close to 1.
55mph was about the most to push it.
Tow bill woulda been insane on that.
We did have a cop cruise next to us a while but he moved on.
Haha dude thanks for the memory! 😂😂
You're making me wish I had my Cherokee back.
Add backup lights to trailer will help at night
im so excited for this bigtime ! ty
Dump the rear lift blocks, make up some traction bars to stop the spring wrap, and run air shocks in the back. Drive it to town on 10 psi, haul a trailer at 60 psi.
I’ve owned half dozen or better of these Jeeps in my life. I think they tow fine just stay in that 500/5k range and no problem. But what I wouldn’t do is put wide offset wheels on it. It will handle like crap and wear out wheel bearings. You will destroy your front scrub radius and it will want to wander back and forth. I always ran those same factory Jeep Canyon wheels with load range C tires on all mine. I had no problem towing my lifted 95 Wrangler on a 16’ car hauler to go off roading in the PNW.
I love this kind of testing step by step
Air shocks would give you some more lift in the rear
On one of my trucks I added Air Lift , Air bags on it.
Those really help for heavy loads
I used my 98 XJ Sport 4x4 with the 4.0 auto to tow my 99 Sonoma 4x4 on a car dolly with no problems. The Jeep had 300k on it. Now I didn’t take it out on the highway or try to drive 70 with it, but it did just fine.
Larger brakes would be advised. Or you will most likely just warp the rotors. Don't forget the weight of the trailer. You will be over quite a bit more than your calculations. If you are going to be on the freeway or any highway with grades, You could lose your brakes. And climbing grades is not going to be easy on the drivetrain. Just put a Hemi in it with a bigger trans and rear. Up rade the springs and brakes. Good to go.
I did this with a '98 XJ for a few years until one of the vehicles I towed was a '84 XJ with no floors and I saw how thin the subframes and mounts are. Considered putting a 4.7 stroker into various small trucks though, I often got ~15mpg towing with mine riding the bumpstops.
just a thought , would you consider air bags in the rear like the dodge trucks instead of leaving the 2" lift in place .... 😎✌🖖👍👌🤓 you might be able to find the parts in a salvage yard & with some modification pop it in place ... 😎✌🖖👍👌🤓
Tony pulling the front spring spacers and not the back will give you two different spring rates from front to back. Very stiff in the back and stock in the front. They may not play well together in windy and bumpy conditions.
I like your approach to get it ready with a brake controller and test it out and see. Also offset rims is way better than wheel spacers. Good choice.
Cheers 🇨🇦
The spring rates from front to back should be similar even with different weights on the axles. Spec'd rear springs is what I'm saying.
How do coil spring spacers or leaf spring blocks change spring rates? The springs aren’t being compressed or extended any from stock with or without them. Center of gravity is being altered here, that’s about it.
Keep posting xj videos
It comes down to safety! U have to do an emergency maneuver or stop ur gonna hurt sum 1 not near enuff weight to control a loaded car trailer!!!
Hell, I towed 3300 pounds plus with a 2011 VW sport wagon TDI six speed manual and get almost 28 miles to the gallon down on the highway and I have a couple diesel trucks and an all-wheel-drive 1500 Chevy van that I could be using.
The size wouldn’t worry me so much. For the drop, I would drop the front and leave the rear at stock height, so when loaded up it sits level. Also an electric trailer brake controller is mandatory when towing on the limit. Honestly I think the trans and rear are going to be the weak link, but other than a good external trans cooler, I wouldn’t worry about either of those unless or until you start blowing them.
Towed with my 89... Was not something I'd like to repeat. It was +4 lifted with the Edelbrock assisted 4.7 inline 6 (4.2 Crank ina 4.0 block)
Tug boats and road tractors Have a better weight to horse power ratio,
I towed my car trailer lots with Ramchargers. Can't be that different. My only thing with towing is that when you have 5K behind you and have to do a quick lane change at 60mph because of a deer or whatever you need to know your rig isn't going to get pushed out of the way by the trailer. If you have a low deck trailer with drop axles it will help tons.
More Jeep videos, the crowd demands it.
Glad to see you'll be running trailer brakes. Remember this: it'll save your ass! When you load up with not a lot of tongue weight because you're using a little vehicle and the trailer starts dancing going down a hill. ONLY APPLY TRAILER BRAKES!
Then maybe you won't end up on a Tic Toc dashcam video.
Yeah, this is a bad idea. But you know that already.
Hay tony idk if that’s a 2wd or not but if it is? Id put a 4x4 transfer cace in it so you have 4low capacity. For hill starting. The tyranny’s are week points in the jeep . So a cooler and a transfer wold be a great idea.
I'd rather see you put a fifth wheel in Bottle Rocket. It makes as much sense as Slag Hammer.
The Powerstop front rotors for this are drilled and slotted for added cooling. I added them to my 99 for that reason since I plan on towing as well. I'm very interested in this project.
We have built 4 of the XJs from 96 to 01 and i feel like the best part of the XJ is the 4.0L the rest can be tossed out. LOL
Ive towed more than i should ive offroaded a ton ive even overheated the shit out of my XJ countless times and its still going. They are tough!
Im sure with your mechanical skills being better than mine youll be able to get the most out of it as a tow vehicle.
Tony, as long as you're changing the wheels you may want to go wider as well as offset. What first comes to mind when you say you're towing 5K with this vehicle isn't it's ability to pull. I'd be concerned with it's ability to stop. Wider tires with more rubber on the road is going to help.
A 4.6L stroker makes the most sense for what that truck is, and what you plan to do with it. Spend as little time and effort as possible ron junk you know you're going to replace anyway.
XJs are common tow rigs down under. Guess we just don't have the same expectations, they get the job done ok.
Or to put it another way, we've never had the mindset drummed into us, that you need a monster truck to tow a dingy 😆
Right! (I tow with a Mazda E2000...2 litre 4cyl, very old. Works fine.)
The problem is that in 'Merica they expect the same acceleration if they are towing 20,000lbs or empty.
Down here, before they started clamping down on over-regulating us, we used to tow a Valiant on a trailer with.... a Valiant. Pulling 1.5 times its own weight, and thought nothing of it.
UTG you do you man ill watch what ever you want to teach us and we thank you for all the knowledge Alex out in northern Cali
Ps
I’ve always wanted a xj
Here in europe we tow with bmw 5 series or even smaller cars.
It depends on what you want to tow....
I think power will be a bit of an issue if it is the i6, the wrangler we have is gutless cant get out of its own way.
Tony, your 4 liter will stroke to 4.6 with a stock 4.2liter crank
Shortening the hitch will help. Maybe modify the bumper and shorten it more? Or a half ton pickup swap :).
Throw some air bags in the back. Then your good for the weight no matter what. Fully adjustable. XJ springs are weak and sack out easy.
Normally, I’m with you, but this is kind of a crazy idea. We’ll have to see how this turns out.😂