tow bar pulling a waggy

[gmarblestone]

Is it even close to safe to tow bar pull a wagoneer with a 2000 F150 extended cab? I would need to tow it about 45 miles on highway.

description:
towbar made of 2" square tubing with 3/8" and 1/4" wall material used once, dont need it anymore, this thing is one serious towbar, you will never break it, I think its for a 2" ball, I used it to flat tow a m1008

Thanks,
Grant

[J4GRAND]

I towed my 78 Cherokee almost 200 miles with a chevy p/u. Just make sure everything is secure and the bumper mounts to frame are strong.

[gmarblestone]

what did you use for tow lights? Did you make your rig work?

Thanks,

Grant

[tkiller13]

I towed my waggy with a towbar a couple of miles home no problems.. As long a you have all your lights in order and good working brakes you should be fine.. My wag had a winch with a aftermarket bumper so mounting was no problem.. How does yours attatch?

[aerocorey]

Are there any tricks to flat towing any FSJs? I'm thinking about flat towing the J4000. It's a TH400/D20. I know there are some Jeeps that have driveline oiling problems with flat towing, but I seem to recall that it's only with one manual tranny.

[Elliott]

what did you use for tow lights? Did you make your rig work?

Thanks,

Grant

If you split your tail light wire harness where it joins just below the firewall block you can run a plug from your trailer harness and put some spade clips on the Jeep end... just plug them into your harness.;)

[skeletor]

i'm pretty sure if the jeep has a bw1339 you will do some damage towing it, thats why ya gotta disconnect the driveshafts.

[tkiller13]

Are there any tricks to flat towing any FSJs? I'm thinking about flat towing the J4000. It's a TH400/D20. I know there are some Jeeps that have driveline oiling problems with flat towing, but I seem to recall that it's only with one manual tranny.

Ya driveshaft disconnect depending on tcase, and making sure the steering isnt locked or you will have fun turning.

[gmarblestone]

So if i have a np229 727 combo, do i need to do axel disconnects?

Thanks,
Grant

[gmarblestone]

Not sure how it attaches... a guy is selling a pretty beefy one and i need to tow mine about 45 miles, so i figured maybe?

How did you attach yours?

Thanks,

Grant

I towed my waggy with a towbar a couple of miles home no problems.. As long a you have all your lights in order and good working brakes you should be fine.. My wag had a winch with a aftermarket bumper so mounting was no problem.. How does yours attatch?

[grand_wag_85]

I flat-towed my J10 over 300 miles with the XJ so 45 miles with an F150 should be fine. You should be able to get away with just the hazzard lights on if your battery is charged up.

[uplandhawaii]

I flat towed my second waggy 40 miles with my tow bar and my Tahoe. I attatched it to the front spring hangers. I took off the drivehshafts and it towed fine at speeds of 55-65mph. Some of that was over some pretty bumpy back roads too.

[aerocorey]

Ya driveshaft disconnect depending on tcase, and making sure the steering isnt locked or you will have fun turning.

Which t-cases? Does anyone know which trannies it's a bad idea to flat tow with? I think it's fine with my TH400/D20, but I'm sure there are people who are following the thread that have different drivetrains.

[tkiller13]

corey if tranny and tc in N you should be fine.

[aerocorey]

Cool, but what about others? I'm still trying to remember which manual tranny it is that you can't flat tow with without doing an oiling mod. Also curious if you can flat tow with a 229 with driveshafts in.

[uplandhawaii]

Mine has the 727/229 combo, I took off both shafts just in case.

[jaber]

Cool, but what about others? I'm still trying to remember which manual tranny it is that you can't flat tow with without doing an oiling mod. Also curious if you can flat tow with a 229 with driveshafts in.
Had a boss that would flat tow his '88 GW behind his motorhome. It was a 727/NP229 and with motor running he would put it into 4wd first, then put the floor lever into Neutral and turn off motor and leave steering unlocked. The Q-trac is the one that needs the drive lines pulled.

[tgreese]

As I recall, you only get into trouble with the BW1339 (the real Quadratrac) with tow trucks - ie two wheels in the air. Then you must disconnect the driveshaft of the axle on the ground.

You can flat-tow the BW1339 by putting the low-range in neutral. All 4 wheels must remain on the ground. If you have the BW1320 (no low range), then you must remove driveshafts.

I would double-check this with the owners manual, just to be safe.

Re the gear driven transfer cases, flat towing without removing the driveshafts is controversial. I think the manual says you can flat tow with the TC in neutral and the trans in gear. To be safe, I'd remove the rear driveshaft and unlock the hubs (or remove the flanges).

I don't know about the post-79 New Process cases. With a 208, I'd do the same as for the gear driven cases - remoce the rear driveshaft and unlock the hubs.

[grand_wag_85]

IF you decide to tow it with the TC in neutral you MUST keep the trans in park or you'll burn burn it up as the trans will still spin but the engine driven pump will not circulate any fluid. I've seen quite a few people do that:(

[J4GRAND]

If you have the BW1320 (no low range)
The QT without low range is the 1305.

what did you use for tow lights? Did you make your rig work?

Just turned the flashers on the Chero since most of the driving was on the highway. I don't understand what you mean by did I make my rig work but the Chero was just fine after the tow; followed the procedure in the manual- QT low range in neutral, tranny in park and it did just fine. If your asking if the tow rig was okay; yes, it did fine too.

[cyberbackpacker]

Reviving an old thread instead of a new one because related questions... and people always say to "Search"... so I searched and am asking another relevant question :)

My wife and I are having to relocate Dec. 1 and I am trying to think of ways to take the J20 with me. Shipping it is cost prohibitive, so I was thinking of a tow bar. However we will be going from SoCal to at least Illinois, and possibly as far as PA.

Uhaul out here won't rent me one of their moving vans with a auto transport and I do not have another tow rig. Driving it cross-country isn't possible either because I have to drive the uhaul.

The rig is a rust-free Cali J20 and if I can manage to take it with me, I think would be ideal.

Ideas, suggestions?

[spaulding]

We moved to NY from OH last month. I think Budget rentals will let you pull a carrier with your truck behind their 16' truck. Keep in mind though I've heard since 9/11 the scales want all commercail (including rental truck) to scale. Just make sure you not over gross on the trailer or you'll have to leave it there.

[grand_wag_85]

I flat-towed my J10 with my XJ, should go much, much better behind a Uhaul truck.

[x-RoofPrints]

Tow that sucker! I hauled my Grand Wag from Portland, OR to NE Washington (about 450 miles) with my 3/4 ton Suburban. I had no problems.

If you split your tail light wire harness where it joins just below the firewall block you can run a plug from your trailer harness and put some spade clips on the Jeep end... just plug them into your harness.;)

That's exactly what I did! In fact, I left about 10' of trailer wire with a flat plug on the end wired permanently into the Wag so I can pull it anytime without needing to rig it up again. It is pretty cool to use the towed vehicle's lights to be legal and safe, but not even need to have a battery in the rig.

Good luck with the trip, and keep that Jeep!

Jim Milner

[imiceman44]

Reviving an old thread instead of a new one because related questions... and people always say to "Search"... so I searched and am asking another relevant question :)

My wife and I are having to relocate Dec. 1 and I am trying to think of ways to take the J20 with me. Shipping it is cost prohibitive, so I was thinking of a tow bar. However we will be going from SoCal to at least Illinois, and possibly as far as PA.

Uhaul out here won't rent me one of their moving vans with a auto transport and I do not have another tow rig. Driving it cross-country isn't possible either because I have to drive the uhaul.

The rig is a rust-free Cali J20 and if I can manage to take it with me, I think would be ideal.

Ideas, suggestions?

I used to tow my waggy with a towbar, i actually had a foldable towbar (hidden hitch) permanently mounted to the frame where the bumper used to be, I towed it all over the places, I disconnected the driveshafts to be safe, and towed it behind my 3/4 ton chevy long bed.
I also towed a chevy longbed with the waggy and the same towbar, it did pretty good but I wouldn't do it again, it's much lighter than the chevy and if I went too fast it pushed me around. :eek: