Flat Towing the TJ

c_bronson

c_bronson

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Jan 23, 2019
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Location
Amarillo, Texas
I'm going to open myself to a lot of criticism here but I'm genuinely curious.

I recently asked in a local Facebook group what people thought of flat towing/trailer towing my Jeep TJ behind my Grand Cherokee. I understand, legally I would need supplemental braking. I've towed quite a lot of trailer loads in my life but unfortunately, not much vehicle towing.

Anyway, I got pretty lambasted for even considering it. My TJ weighs right at 4200 lbs. The Grand Cherokee has a 7200 lb limit. So I figured especially flat towing the TJ would be fine and I'd have a pretty decent safety margin. I can see where a trailer and the TJ would be questionable but flat towing I'm curious why I got so much hate for that. People said the GC was WAY too undersized and they wanted pictures to post in Pirates "Big Dumb Load" forum thread.

Doing some online searches I saw several pictures and experiences of Grand Cherokees towing old heavy trucks on auto haulers and similar loads.

Again, I feel like I've always been a responsible tower and understand how to safely tow and what's not acceptable. But if I'm missing something I genuinely want to learn.

The trip would be about 4 hours from North Texas to the southern part of Colorado.
 
If your Grand has a 7200 pound towing capacity, you should have no problems flat towing your TJ. Especially after you add the supplemental break. TJ's are normally lifted, so the only other challenge is getting the tow bar as flat as you can. Make sure you have the correct hitch on the Grand too!
 
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All I will say is that without a supplemental braking system you will not be covered by insurance should something happen. Even if it's not your fault your insurance company will refuse to pay out any claims and you will be wide open for liability lawsuits. Just sayin'
 
I have no experience flat towing but my buddy used to tow his XJ (about 4,000lbs) behind his 04 Ram 2500 Diesel and he said he hated it, constantly pushing the back of the truck around.
Have you considered renting a 2 wheel dolly that lifts one set of wheels on the Jeep? The one’s I’ve rented in the past also had it’s own brakes and towed great.
 
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I have flat towed jeeps for many, many years.

The maximum towing capacity of a Grand Cherokee isn't the only factor to consider. The wheelbase of a Grand Cherokee is too short to safely flat tow a TJ and braking will be inadequate without a supplemental braking system in the jeep.

Also, how do you know that your TJ weighs 4200#? Did you have it weighed? Curb weight of a stock TJ could be as high as 3,800#. Add modifications and gear and a TJ could weigh considerably more.

Have you confirmed that the total towing capacity for your Grand Cherokee is actually 7200# as your vehicle is equipped. The published range is 3500# - 7200# depending upon equipment. Does your Grand Cherokee have a rear axle with sufficient capacity? Does that rating require a stabilizing hitch? Do you have one?

There is a reason that you have been discouraged from flat towing your TJ with your Grand Cherokee. It isn't safe. Please don't do it.
 
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Vinman said:
I have no experience flat towing but my buddy used to tow his XJ (about 4,000lbs) behind his 04 Ram 2500 Diesel and he said he hated it, constantly pushing the back of the truck around.
Have you considered renting a 2 wheel dolly that lifts one set of wheels on the Jeep? The one’s I’ve rented in the past also had it’s own brakes and towed great.
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This is the option I would go with, especially a dolly with braking capability. A GC (I'm assuming 5.7L) can easily tow a TJ, but you want to have good brakes. As you know, pulling 4,000 lbs and stopping 4,000 lbs are two very different things.
 
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Vinman said:
I have no experience flat towing but my buddy used to tow his XJ (about 4,000lbs) behind his 04 Ram 2500 Diesel and he said he hated it, constantly pushing the back of the truck around.
Have you considered renting a 2 wheel dolly that lifts one set of wheels on the Jeep? The one’s I’ve rented in the past also had it’s own brakes and towed great.
Click to expand...

Something is wrong with your buddies setup. I flat tow my TJ behind my F-250 diesel and other times my 10,000 pound bumper tow travel trailer and you can't even tell they're there.
 
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Mr. Bills said:
I have flat towed jeeps for many, many years.

The maximum towing capacity of a Grand Cherokee isn't the only factor to consider. The wheelbase of a Grand Cherokee is too short to safely flat tow a TJ and braking will be inadequate without a supplemental braking system in the jeep.

Also, how do you know that your TJ weighs 4200#? Did you have it weighed? Curb weight of a stock TJ could be as high as 3,800#. Add modifications and gear and a TJ could weigh considerably more.

Have you confirmed that the total towing capacity for your Grand Cherokee is actually 7200# as your vehicle is equipped. The published range is 3500# - 7200# depending upon equipment. Does your Grand Cherokee have a rear axle with sufficient capacity? Does that rating require a stabilizing hitch? Do you have one?

There is a reason that you have been discouraged from flat towing your TJ with your Grand Cherokee. It isn't safe. Please don't do it.
Click to expand...

A GC 5.7L is rated to tow 7200lbs, but how does wheelbase change whether it can or not? I agree that it can tow 7200 when properly equipped (braking, stabilizing hitch, trans cooler, etc) but 7200 is 7200 regardless of what the wheelbase of the vehicle is. If it couldn't handle that they wouldn't spec it that way.
 
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I've flat towed my TJ for thousands and thousands of miles. One thing that gets overlooked about flat towing is that there is no effective tongue weight. There's just the mass and rolling resistance of the vehicle you're flat towing. From a power point of view, your cherokee should have no problem towing a TJ.

On the other hand, are the Cherokee brakes up to the job? Unless they've been rebuilt into "big brakes," I would not trust my life on it. Buy or borrow a supplemental brake with a dashboard controller and tow it to your heart's content. Applying the brakes on the towed vehicle is an effective way to regain control of a swerving or fishtailing towing setup.

I stopped flat towing and got a trailer a few years ago. Many reasons for that but the main reason was wear and tear on the drivetrain while flat towing. There was a lot of tread wear on my expensive 35" tires after long trips.
 
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jeepguy03 said:
This is the option I would go with, especially a dolly with braking capability. A GC (I'm assuming 5.7L) can easily tow a TJ, but you want to have good brakes. As you know, pulling 4,000 lbs and stopping 4,000 lbs are two very different things.
Click to expand...
A dolly (with brakes) is what I'd use.
 
jeepguy03 said:
...but 7200 is 7200 regardless of what the wheelbase of the vehicle is. If it couldn't handle that they wouldn't spec it that way.
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Towing studies have shown that longer wheelbases make consistently more stable towing/towed combinations. With the TJ's short wheelbase, it will make a more squirrely towing setup. Towing capacity of 7,200 lbs? Yes. Towing stability at 7,200 lbs? Depends on the wheelbase.
 
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CodaMan said:
Something is wrong with your buddies setup. I flat tow my TJ behind my F-250 diesel and other times my 10,000 pound bumper tow travel trailer and you can't even tell they're there.
Click to expand...
I agree with this comment, I flat tow behind my 2015 Yukon Denali and it does not push the rear end around at all. Now this could be that we are towing with larger vehicles. I have this happen with I put it on a trailer and don't have the jeep in the correct spot on the trailer and it effects the tongue weight then it can cause this. Once you move the jeep on the trailer to get it in the sweet spot that goes away.
 
You mentioned you have always been a “safe tower”. There is no reason to stop that practice now. When it comes to the safety of you, your family, and friends, do what you know is right.

As others have suggested, get an auxiliary braking method; rent a dolly with brakes, buy a brake buddy, or my personal favorite a SMI Stay n Play (weird name) and be done with it.
 
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Stinkbug said:
You mentioned you have always been a “safe tower”. There is no reason to stop that practice now. When it comes to the safety of you, your family, and friends and everyone else on the road, do what you know is right.

As others have suggested, get an auxiliary braking method; rent a dolly with brakes, buy a brake buddy, or my personal favorite a SMI Stay n Play (weird name) and be done with it.
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Fixed it ^^
 
Grant Lasson said:
Towing studies have shown that longer wheelbases make consistently more stable towing/towed combinations. With the TJ's short wheelbase, it will make a more squirrely towing setup. Towing capacity of 7,200 lbs? Yes. Towing stability at 7,200 lbs? Depends on the wheelbase.
Click to expand...


Oh a longer wheelbase is 100% better for towing, my point was the other post hinted at the GC being incapable of it due to the wheelbase. Something like a 3/4 or 1 ton truck would certainly be better, but the GC can absolutely handle it if properly equipped and caution is used. I've personally towed the limit (7200) with my Dad's 2013 GC 5.7L with towing brakes and a dump trailer. It handled it perfectly fine, but I've also been towing since I basically had my license (worked on a farm) and exercise caution when towing such a large amount and close to the limit. Contrary to popular belief on RV boards and such, not everyone needs a dually cummins powered 1-ton to tow.
 
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Have towed my TJ thousands of miles as well and as far as I know you can't dolly them, either front or rear. Just double checked the owners manual again and it states that doing so will damage the transfer case...however that is the limit of my knowledge. In addition, most states/provinces require braking over 3000#. Even if yours doesn't, the areas you are driving through rules apply, not where your vehicle is licensed.
 
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