Towing Question

[JERRY88GW]

Hey guys,

I just bought another GW for parts. It will run, but I don't want to risk the chance that I will be stuck on the NJ Turnpike driving it 300 miles back home. I'd rather take my GW, which is fairly reliable and tow it.

What kind of towing mechanism should I use? It's 300 miles away, will my jeep make it towing another GW?

I do know that I have a tow package on my GW, but I'm not real sure what kind it is. I do have a transmission cooler/radiator. Does that mean that I have the 'heavy duty' tow package? If not, how can I tell the differance between the tow packages?

Thanks Guys

[AcelaTech]

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by JERRY88GW:
Hey guys,

I just bought another GW for parts. It will run, but I don't want to risk the chance that I will be stuck on the NJ Turnpike driving it 300 miles back home. I'd rather take my GW, which is fairly reliable and tow it.

What kind of towing mechanism should I use? It's 300 miles away, will my jeep make it towing another GW?

I do know that I have a tow package on my GW, but I'm not real sure what kind it is. I do have a transmission cooler/radiator. Does that mean that I have the 'heavy duty' tow package? If not, how can I tell the differance between the tow packages?

Thanks Guys<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

I may be able to help ya out some. I have an 18' long flat-bed Utility Trailer that you may be able to use. Would have to know when ya need it..I am not to far from Falls Church...I work in DC and live close to Gettysburg. Let me know if I can help.


ps. if you wanna use the trailer..you will need a 2" ball on your GW



[This message has been edited by AcelaTech (edited August 28, 2000).]

[JERRY88GW]

AcelaTech,

Hey, thanks a million for the offer, that's very generous of you. My only concern is the added weight from the trailer. I think I read in the TSM somewhere that the average jeep GW ways 6,200 pounds. 3.1 tons! I'm just worried about my GW pulling that much plus a 1,000 pound trailer.

I'm thinking about renting one of those Tow Dollies from U-Haul. That's probably safer anyhow. I had a friend that was using one of those trailers and had the car he was towing miss-proportioned on it. He went right off the road doing spins.

I'm praying that my GW will be able to do this haul. I'm changing the radiator, fan clutch, maybe a cooler thermostat before I go. Want to keep that think cool.

Again, I'm not totally sure which tow-package I have. If anyone can tell me, I'll really appreciate it.

Thanks

[porkchop]

If you don't already have one, you might want to think about installing an auxillary tranny cooler. They are easy to put in. Heat will kill an auto tranny. Towing all that weight you will need one. Just an after thought.

------------------
'67/'79 Wagoneer mix
"Old Timer"
Body of a 33 year old
Heart and legs of a 21 year old.
Spirit of a 1 year old.
360,TH400,QT,D44's F&R
32X11.50's

"I regret that I have but only one paycheck to give to my Jeep."

[joe]

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by JERRY88GW:
I think I read in the TSM somewhere that the average jeep GW ways 6,200 pounds. 3.1 tons! I'm just worried about my GW pulling that much plus a 1,000 pound trailer.
<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>


Nah Jerry, that's GVWR(Gross Vehicle Weight Rating). That's what the entire rig "is allowed" to weigh counting the rig, fuel, driver, passengers, cargo blah blah.
Unless you have BIG tires, winch, lotsa tools etc the curb weight(driver/fuel tank full) of a later Wag is about 4600-4800 lb. It varies somewhat but that's a pretty good est. for most Wags from the "everything electric" GW era http://www.cs.colostate.edu/~zeimet/ubb/wink.gif
-joe

[JERRY88GW]

Thanks Joe and porkchop.

Joe, Oh didn't know that. http://www.cs.colostate.edu/~zeimet/ubb/wink.gif

Porkchop, my gw allready has a transmission cooler. Are you saying I can install another one?

Jerry

[porkchop]

If you are saying that your GW has the one that is built into the radiator, then yes you should install a second one. The instructions that come with them will show you how to do this. If you have an external one from the radiator then you should be good.

------------------
'67/'79 Wagoneer mix
"Old Timer"
Body of a 33 year old
Heart and legs of a 21 year old.
Spirit of a 1 year old.
360,TH400,QT,D44's F&R
32X11.50's

"I regret that I have but only one paycheck to give to my Jeep."

[JERRY88GW]

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>If you have an external one from the radiator then you should be good.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Yeah, it sits right infront of the radiator. Looks like a miniture radiator. Is that the transmission cooler?

Jerry

[porkchop]

That could be your AC. Look to see if the AC evapaorator is conected to it. Or if there are two hoses that run off of it and back to the tranny.

------------------
'67/'79 Wagoneer mix
"Old Timer"
Body of a 33 year old
Heart and legs of a 21 year old.
Spirit of a 1 year old.
360,TH400,QT,D44's F&R
32X11.50's

"I regret that I have but only one paycheck to give to my Jeep."

[Ralph]

This is what you should have:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/aw-cgi/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=415561146

[JERRY88GW]

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Ralph:
This is what you should have:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/aw-cgi/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=415561146 <HR></BLOCKQUOTE>


Yeah, that's it. It's 12 years old. Is there a way to clean this thing?

[Aaron]

It will be fine, I tow cars and heavy boats with my 79 all the time. If I were you I would take up the offer on the trailer, but if you rent a dolly, make sure to remove rear driveshaft of your new parts truck.
-Aaron

[JERRY88GW]

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by AcelaTech:
I may be able to help ya out some. I have an 18' long flat-bed Utility Trailer that you may be able to use. Would have to know when ya need it..I am not to far from Falls Church...I work in DC and live close to Gettysburg. Let me know if I can help.


ps. if you wanna use the trailer..you will need a 2" ball on your GW

<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>
AcelaTech, Are you still offering? I'm very interested. http://www.cs.colostate.edu/~zeimet/ubb/smile.gif

[Thomas DeBusk]

I'd grab the trailer, but the dolly is OK, too. Can't back up with a tow dolly. Friend of mine decided taking out a 4 x 4 post at a hotel was easier than unloading a car on a tow dolly for that reason. Got to make sure you do the right thing with the towed vehicle's tranny when using a dolly, too. For instance, TR7's & TR8's have a tranny oil pump that runs off the input shaft & you'll destroy the tranny if you just put it in neutral and tow with the rear wheels on the ground. Many have died this way.

The key to safe towing is 1)proper equipment and 2)proper loading. I've towed lots of vehicles on our 16' flatbed. We have a load-leveling hitch and an anti-sway bar. Even empty, those two items do a much better job of keeping the trailer back there and settled down where it belongs. And that was behind both a '71 Kingswood Estate wagon (great tow-car) and a '78 Blazer (OK tow-car, but burned out the tranny twice, once towing the J10 pickup.)

The problem with the TH350 tranny in the Blazer was we never had a SEPARATE tranny cooler. We relied on the one in the radiator. Bad idea.

As far as loading goes, somewhere between 200-400 pounds tongue weight is sufficient. Rookies often load without considering tongue weight, winding up with a load way out of kilter. Very bad when towing cars. Too much weight will lighten the steering wheels of the tow vehicle, and too little will make the tail of the trailer throw the back end of the tow vehicle around, and pull up on the ball. The coupler wasn't designed to resist that kind of force either, so you encourage a separation.

The proper way to load? PAY ATTENTION to VEHICLE HEIGHT! Visually mark the height of the back of the tow vehicle before you start to load (look at the hitch ball, or the clearance between the wheels and rear fenders). As the towed vehicle moves SLOWLY forward of the center of balance on the trailer, the back of the tow vehicle will start to drop. When it goes about the same amount of distance as if 1-2 large men were sitting in the cargo area, stop and tie down the load. It really isn't that much weight.

Caveat: Rookies also often load vehicles by visually centering the towed car on the trailer, either in relation to the wheels (bad) or the bed (really bad). Most vehicles are front-heavy (engine: heavy!). When I towed the J10, the bed of the truck was hanging almost 2 feet off of the trailer! Looked funny, but that's where it balanced.

Another caveat: It's best to put the engine in front even on a trailer, if you can. You'll still balance the load the same, but the mass of the engine behind the rear wheels of the trailer creates a mass/momentum condition very different from what you're used to.

Drive a few miles and re-position the load if need be. It's more embarrassing to spin off the highway than to spend some extra time re-loading.

Trailering can be tricky because most of us are not used to dealing with twice the mass/momentum involved, especially in unusual/emergency conditions. If you follow the above advice, your rig will behave in emergency conditions more like it normally does than it would if it were poorly equipped and haphazardly-loaded. That will give you the best chance of avoiding and surviving emergency situations.

Safe towing!

[JERRY88GW]

Thomas
DeBusk,

Thanks for your insight! I have yet to tow it back, but I hope it will be in the near future.

Jerry