Does the 1500 lb. limit include any and all RV's? Those big diesel pushers with air brakes still need supplemental toad brakes?
How to properly tow your Jeep Wrangler TJ
- Thread starter Alex M.
- Start date
Elkhartjim
New Member
I tow either my 2005 TJ or my 2016 JKU behind my 44,000 pound diesel pusher motorhome. I'm legally required in most states to have auxiliary braking on the toad (Jeeps). I use the M&G Engineering proportional braking system which operates off my motorhome air brake system. Those of you that are towing and think its not a big deal, well, short story - a friend was towing w/o auxiliary braking, was involved in a wreck where he was rear ended and was pushed into the car in front of him. He received a ticket even though he was pushed but because he didn't have a braking system. Thats not the end of the story, his insurance would not pay for his vehicle or the vehicle he hit and the insurance for the vehicle that hit him would not pay. He is being sued personally from both parties and he is suing his insurance company, so a $500 braking system really sounds good to him right now.
On the transmission position when towing: On my automatic TJ the transmission is the Drive position, key is in the on position because of the locking steering wheel, on my 2016 JKU the transmission is in the Park position and the key is off and in my pocket. The transfer case is in neutral. Go by the owners manual.
On the transmission position when towing: On my automatic TJ the transmission is the Drive position, key is in the on position because of the locking steering wheel, on my 2016 JKU the transmission is in the Park position and the key is off and in my pocket. The transfer case is in neutral. Go by the owners manual.
I have an 05 LJ and my manual says to tow in Park, I have done so this past year with no issues.
Thanks and others responding. Do any of you use this? When I look at the diagram it really looks pretty Rube Goldberg. The hitch extension compresses and pulls on a cable attached to the brake pedal? That scares the dog water out of me. Tell me it's better than I make it sound (or the diagram looks)
Correct. What concerns you? I have one but have yet to install it. The only "negative" I found was getting the cable tension correct could be a bit time consuming.
Guinea pig....
Probably after the new year. Have too much going on the next couple weeks. Stay tuned...
BendLarry
TJ Addict
There’s nothing to “the cable thingy” and it’s less likely to have a failure due to a much more complex electronic system hang up.
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I get the simplicity of it, and that in itself is attractive. I just don't want a cable thimble sticking out of my front bumper like a dongle. I also am thinking about getting a first gen Liberty to tow when I'm not towing the jeep for off roading, so having a unit I can move from vehicle to vehicle is attractive.
BendLarry
TJ Addict
One of the reasons I went with the Ready Brake system was because I have a friend that had a brake system similar to the brake buddy and he had a failure going down a steep grade. The electronic setup applied the brakes to hard and locked them up. He didn’t feel it until all 4 brakes were totally ruined. He had been using the same setup for several years without a problem. The manual surge brake system is much more fool proof.
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Can't argue with you on that. It definitely is a more fool proof setup. I tow with a smaller Class C coach, so I bet I'd feel it if the toad locked up like that. Not so much with a big diesel pusher I bet.
BendLarry
TJ Addict
I tow with a class C as well and my friend was towing with a class C. He didn’t feel the lockup until he started to try to accelerate after the decent. He said the instant he touched the gas pedal, he almost came to a stop. At that point his Jeeps brakes and tires were all shot!
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BendLarry
TJ Addict
My only complaint with the Ready Brake is that it only applies the brake when you have a sudden hard braking situation. I have a dash light in my motor home that is connected to the Jeeps brake light switch. I know instantly when my Jeeps brake pedal moves. If I slam on my motor homes brakes it pulls the Jeeps brake pedal and does what it’s designed to do, but it does very little if anything going down a steep grade. I may try to fiddle with the internal spring to see if i can kind of tune it for the weight of my Jeep.
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BendLarry
TJ Addict
He was never able to determine what caused it to go to full pedal depression. He never used it again.
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Sadly, short of installing one of those fancy control boxes that taps into the master cylinder/booster, our TJ's brakes don't work so well when the brake booster is not assisting. Ever try to stop if your jeep shuts off while you're rolling? Don't work so good.
BendLarry
TJ Addict
You are right about that! When investing supplemental braking systems, I finally decided that there was not a perfect solution that didn’t cost more than I was willing to pay. I just wanted something that would be legal and help in a hard braking situation.
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