Towing Capacity

zip04

zip04

TJ Enthusiast
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Apr 14, 2016
Messages
287
Location
San Diego, CA
I have a 2003 Wrangler X with 4.56 gearing and 33 spline chromoly rear axles. To save my buddy the mileage on his truck, I want to tow his trailer and quad 80 miles each way to the trails. I'm in FL, so the only inclines will be overpasses.


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2000 lbs, 200 tongue weight. You are obviously lifted so will need a drop hitch. Quads can be heavy if the big 4x4 type. If a "racer" type they are pretty light so would depend on the trailer being used.
 
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Thanks. It is the 4x4 type. My guess would be about 2500 lbs including the trailer.


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If you were to get into an accident while towing over the limit, you stand a good chance of not being covered by your insurance company. Do you have a brake controller for the trailer brakes in your Jeep? If not, then there's no way in hell I'd tow that load.
 
I'm not going to. I'll probably just ride with him and let him trailer his second quad for me to ride.


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Only way to know is to weight it. ..2500# seems heavy for a single quad and a trailer. Even if it's a big quad, maybe 800 lbs? A 1500 lb trailer is a big bastard, with dual axles. What does he have for a trailer? A single axle 8 x 12 is probably only 800 lbs or so too.
 
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Since I don't have a truck, I bought a trailer to haul stuff. The trailer is only rated to hold 1,000lbs. And honestly, I wouldn't want to pull more than that with my jeep.

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Alright, I looked up the trailer and quad he has. The trailer weighs 672 pounds and the quad's curb weight is 570.

So it looks like I would be good. I'll probably only get 10 miles to the gallon though [emoji23].
 
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zip04 said:
Alright, I looked up the trailer and quad he has. The trailer weighs 672 pounds and the quad's curb weight is 570.

So it looks like I would be good. I'll probably only get 10 miles to the gallon though [emoji23].
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Your TJ can pull that without any problem whatsoever. I tow a pop-up tent trailer that when loaded is probably 1700-1800 lbs. and I barely know it's even back there.

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Jerry Bransford said:
Your TJ can pull that without any problem whatsoever. I tow a pop-up tent trailer that when loaded is probably 1700-1800 lbs. and I barely know it's even back there.

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BS. What gears do you have?

Me pulling a 6x12 enclosed trailer with all my moving stuff in it felt like I was pulling a token trailer. With 33" tires and 3.73's.


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Nashorn101 said:
BS. What gears do you have?

Me pulling a 6x12 enclosed trailer with all my moving stuff in it felt like I was pulling a token trailer. With 33" tires and 3.73's.


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He has a lot better gears than 3.73 and 33's. Do you have a 5-speed 4.0? If so, your Jeep would have MUCH less trouble if you regeared to 4.56.

I've been reading Jerry's stuff for years now and haven't seen a lot of "BS" from him. [emoji4]
 
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Nashorn101 said:
BS. What gears do you have?

Me pulling a 6x12 enclosed trailer with all my moving stuff in it felt like I was pulling a token trailer. With 33" tires and 3.73's.
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You actually had the effing nerve to call bullshit on what I said? Pardon me but I'm not known for lying and I don't appreciate being accused of lying. :mad:

You are undergeared with 3.73 with 33" tires which is your problem.

My Jeep has 4.88 gears with 35" tires and I've been towing that trailer for 11-12 years now. I barely notice it so literally that I sometimes think it must have came loose and I have to look higher in the mirror to verify it's still there. Its profile is so low I don't normally see it in the mirror with a just quick glance.
 
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Jerry Bransford said:
You actually had the effing nerve to call bullshit on what I said? Pardon me but I'm not known for lying. :mad:

You are undergeared with 3.73 with 33" tires which is your problem.

My Jeep has 4.88 gears with 35" tires and I've been towing that trailer for 11-12 years now.
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Oh no. I wasn't being serious. I'm the complete opposite of serious! I am very sarcastic and I've noticed that sometimes I offend people who don't know me.

I've always respected and learned from your posts on Wrangler Forum (until we were blessed with such divinity as is Wrangler TJ Forum).

With such low gears, does your MPG suffer, respectively?

I've always liked that with 3.73 gears, I can assume I get better gas mileage on the highway. I'm curious though if it's not as much of a benefit as I make it out to be?


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Nashorn101 said:
Oh no. I wasn't being serious. I'm the complete opposite of serious! I am very sarcastic and I've noticed that sometimes I offend people who don't know me.

I've always respected and learned from your posts on Wrangler Forum (until we were blessed with such divinity as is Wrangler TJ Forum).

With such low gears, does your MPG suffer, respectively?

I've always liked that with 3.73 gears, I can assume I get better gas mileage on the highway. I'm curious though if it's not as much of a benefit as I make it out to be?


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You can throw that assumption out the window. I had 3.55 with 31's which is VERY close to 3.73 and 33's. I regeared to 4.10 and mileage went up a little bit. Which is why 4.56 is best for your 33's, not to mention you should be able to hold speed up hills too. It's the best ratio for your 33's and 5-speed for sure.
 
Brantley said:
You can throw that assumption out the window. I had 3.55 with 31's which is VERY close to 3.73 and 33's. I regeared to 4.10 and mileage went up a little bit. Which is why 4.56 is best for your 33's, not to mention you should be able to hold speed up hills too. It's the best ratio for your 33's and 5-speed for sure.
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Well there was a chart that @Chris posted up, that showed the factory Jeep ratios and which ones had the best efficiency with X size tires. 33" were matched to 3.73 gears - my memory could be wrong though.

It's just hard to imagine your MPG going up! I must not fully understand gear ratios. Unless, technically I could get better gas mileage than you if I drove slow as hell until I got up to 60 mph? (Where my overdrive and gear efficiency kicks in)


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Nashorn101 said:
Well there was a chart that @Chris posted up, that showed the factory Jeep ratios and which ones had the best efficiency with X size tires. 33" were matched to 3.73 gears - my memory could be wrong though.

It's just hard to imagine your MPG going up! I must not fully understand gear ratios. Unless, technically I could get better gas mileage than you if I drove slow as hell until I got up to 60 mph? (Where my overdrive and gear efficiency kicks in)


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It's because the charts are a load of BS, really. No chart can possibly put out a blanket statement that just because a certain ratio and tire size is used, mileage will go up. Which engine does that chart apply to? 4.0? 2.5? It can't apply to both, because they both live in completely different rpm ranges. Try running 3.73 and 33's on a 2.5, it will not get good gas mileage and it will be hell to drive.

So, you can't really rely on the chart to tell you how your Jeep will be best. Through the MANY amount of Jeep drivers that have tested 4.10, 4.56, 4.88 with all the different tire sizes, there are many of us who can say for sure that 4.56 works best with 33" tires on the 4.0 5-speed. They key is being properly geared. The engine will work much less, equating to some efficiency and much better power throughout the range. Lowering the RPM to the point of no power does NOT equate to better gas mileage.

To give you an example of my setup, I get 15-16 mpg going 75 at 2800 rpm. When I was on 3.55, I was doing about 2300 rpm and getting 14-15 on the highway. The difference? I have more power than I did and I gained a tiny gas mileage increase.

If you don't have the 5-speed manual, that all goes out the window. That is your setup, correct?

The main thing here is stop being worried about RPM and gas mileage, and you'll be confident with picking a better gear ratio and enjoying it. We will never recommend a ratio that will ruin your Jeep in any aspect. It's not a Honda Civic anyways, but we won't tell you do something that'll put your mileage completely in the toilet.
 
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