Any tips on flat towing my TJ with a Class A motorhome?

Sandcrab

Sandcrab

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Well I purchased a 2005 Fleetwood with 24k miles on it . Looked to be in pretty good shape,but it had been sitting in RV park for about a year .
After doing the brake recall on it and a lot of maintenance oil and filter, hoses ,plugs ect it runs real good .
Purchased a Smittybilt tow bar to pull the Tj. This will be my first time flat towing,hope all goes good . Headed out for 10 days on the fourth. Any pointers on flat towing welcomed.

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You'd get more replies on flat towing if you put this in the general area.
I can move it if you'd like.
 
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Have it in the correct transfer case mode is my advice. Someone tried to flat tow a Rubicon in 4 lo once. It was catastrophic. Generated like 55,000 rpm.
 
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CowboyTJ said:
I have the same t-bar for my TJ behind my RV. No problems after 4 or 5 thousand miles.
If memory serves, I only paid about $55.00 for it. Some states require brakes on the toad but I never got cought.
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I'm going to pull it on a test run this weekend. I'm going to try it with no brake assistance. The motorhome weight is around 19k .
 
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I have flat towed mine about 40k miles now behind a 11.5k pound truck camper. I have aux brakes which work well but I have never towed without it to compare. Advice? Remember, you cannot back up more than four or five feet. Always be thinking about how you’re going to get out before turning into a lot, driveway, etc. Sooner or later you are going to run into a situation where you have to disconnect to get out of it.
 
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TurboTJ said:
I have flat towed mine about 40k miles now behind a 11.5k pound truck camper. I have aux brakes which work well but I have never towed without it to compare. Advice? Remember, you cannot back up more than four or five feet. Always be thinking about how you’re going to get out before turning into a lot, driveway, etc. Sooner or later you are going to run into a situation where you have to disconnect to get out of it.
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Thanks good advice Thing I'm not looking forward to is pulling through Dallas. Have to leave myself plenty of room for stopping. If you can really do that
 
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CowboyTJ said:
I have the same t-bar for my TJ behind my RV. No problems after 4 or 5 thousand miles.
If memory serves, I only paid about $55.00 for it. Some states require brakes on the toad but I never got cought.
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On the tow bar set up the spacer that goes in the hole in the bumper has some play in it. I thought the spacer would have been a snug fit to the hole. Was yours like that? Smittybilt said that is normal.
 
Sandcrab said:
I'm going to pull it on a test run this weekend. I'm going to try it with no brake assistance. The motorhome weight is around 19k .
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Good luck with your trial run/tow this weekend.

Sandcrab said:
Thanks good advice Thing I'm not looking forward to is pulling through Dallas. Have to leave myself plenty of room for stopping. If you can really do that
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It's the other guy you always have to look out for.

Stay safe and enjoy your new setup.
 
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All I can add is don't be in a hurry and inspect your hitch and your connections on the Jeep every day, have seen those towing eyes crack on the after market bumper right where they are welded to the thinner metal. I don't recommend backing up even a foot, if the Jeep wheels start to turn even slightly it puts tremendous stress on the setup and can bend/break stuff. I also wouldn't run without brakes but my MH only weighs 11,000 and we travel in the mountains all the time. Most states require brakes at around 2,000 lbs.YMMV.

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B1Toad said:
All I can add is don't be in a hurry and inspect your hitch and your connections on the Jeep every day, have seen those towing eyes crack on the after market bumper right where they are welded to the thinner metal. I don't recommend backing up even a foot, if the Jeep wheels start to turn even slightly it puts tremendous stress on the setup and can bend/break stuff. I also wouldn't run without brakes but my MH only weighs 11,000 and we travel in the mountains all the time. Most states require brakes at around 2,000 lbs.YMMV.

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Well I won't back up any. The bumper is tow rated,so I hope it's ok. Going to take base plates that came with tow bar just in case. Thanks
 
Most states require a braking system for the Jeep. If you get into an accident without one, and the cops show up, big fine. We used a Brake Buddy, best used with a direct connection to battery. But, easy to use. Towed our LJ on 35’s all the way to guadalajara, MX and back. No issues.
 
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I had a similar tow bar setup always had trouble keeping the four bolts on the coupler tight. I attributed it to sharp turns getting in and out of places. If you plan to tow frequently spent the cash and get a quality tow bar and brake system. With your current setup you’re gonna grow tired of having to remove the bolts every time you want to disconnect. Don’t use any style cotter pin or round loop style lock pin as my sons father in law had one pin come out and half his Jeep was in the rear view mirror.
 
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Rubeyu said:
I had a similar tow bar setup always had trouble keeping the four bolts on the coupler tight. I attributed it to sharp turns getting in and out of places. If you plan to tow frequently spent the cash and get a quality tow bar and brake system. With your current setup you’re gonna grow tired of having to remove the bolts every time you want to disconnect. Don’t use any style cotter pin or round loop style lock pin as my sons father in law had one pin come out and half his Jeep was in the rear view mirror.
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I don't unhook when I stop at campground, I stand it up straight and hook the chains to the bumper hooks and bungy cord to keep it from rattling. If the bungy breaks the chains will keep it from falling to the ground until I can replace it.
I know.....it sounds kind of redneck. Oh well.
 
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