Towing capacity

Arty off-road

Arty off-road

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Pueblo, CO
Does anyone have any idea what the towing capacity looks like for a TJ with a 6” suspension lift looks like? It has coils on it instead of leafs, I found the factory towing capacity is 2k but I’m not sure if that changed with the change from leafs to coils. TIA
 
All TJs and later Jeeps (1997+) come with coil springs front and rear. YJs and earlier Jeeps (1995 and earlier) have leaf springs front and rear.

The safe towing capacity with the lift will depend on a lot of things. How compliant the suspension is, how good the shocks are, how resistant it is to tongue loading, how the trailer is built, how the trailer brakes are set up, etc.
 
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Seen a TJ last July, sitting on top of the Jersey Barrier in the middle of the Hwy. They had (was told with trailer) 1800 lbs behind the 4" lifted jeep TJ. If it were me with 6" lift would not want anything behind it and feel safe on the Hwy. If the weight is not adjusted where its right. And trailer starts swaying, your A$$ is going to find out what bad feels like pulling a trailer.
I have driven way to many miles with overloaded trucks, and jeeps. Never again not going to take the chance of killing a family. Not worth it to me. And I Drove a Semi for years all over the USA.
 
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The official tow rating is 2,000 lbs. The problem is that our Jeeps tend to get modified a lot, so that the Jeep itself weighs a lot more, and you need to be able to control, and stop, that weight + the trailer. If your brakes struggle to stop your Jeep then you need to upgrade them before towing, even if you're well below the 2,000 lb rating. IMO.

I also see a lot of Jeeps running around with shitty nearly bald mud terrains. Yeah, they're expensive. Don't we know it. But towing with them is a bad idea, particularly in the rain.
 
It's pretty common for people to build off-road trailers for the Jeep, but they have to be set up properly in order to be safe on-highway. They commonly match the wheel and tire choice of the Jeep, and have a comparable frame height to the Jeep, and often use torsion axles or axle-less suspensions. They are also quite small compared to normal trailers, usually measuring less than 5x8 excluding the tongue and fenders.

However, they need to be properly designed and used to be safe. They must have the correct tongue weight and loading. They cannot have unsecured loads that can slide around, or non-baffled water tanks. They should have electric or electric over hydraulic disc or drum brakes with an independent controller in the tow vehicle. They are often set up with sway control hitches. The trailer cannot have a large aerodynamic footprint.

The tow vehicle should have a sufficiently stiff sway bar setup, good shocks (adjustable shocks are great) and sufficiently stiff rear springs, or airbag helper springs.

It can be safely done. But it is not nearly as easy as throwing a trailer on a modern full size truck.
 
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Steel City 06 said:
All TJs and later Jeeps (1997+) come with coil springs front and rear. YJs and earlier Jeeps (1995 and earlier) have leaf springs front and rear.

The safe towing capacity with the lift will depend on a lot of things. How compliant the suspension is, how good the shocks are, how resistant it is to tongue loading, how the trailer is built, how the trailer brakes are set up, etc.
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Well I’m gonna be building a trailer; so, any tips for what to watch out for or be cautious of?
 
Copy all, thank you for the advice. I will be installing trailer brake controller and 7-pin connector to the Jeep, I’ll look into stiffer rear springs or airbags. Trailer will have electronic brakes, with similar height trailer frame, I’m debating same size tires or going slightly smaller not sure.... again I have 35’s and their not cheap kinda hesitant to having to buy 8, in total, new 35s so idk yet. No on board water tank, and I’m all about having your loads strapped down before exfil. I’m looking at an articulating off road hitch to go with, and already have my calculations down for axle placement and bed dimensions so that way tongue weight is appropriate.
 
Arty off-road said:
Well I’m gonna be building a trailer; so, any tips for what to watch out for or be cautious of?
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Check out the Air Lift 1000 Universal kits. They are air springs that go inside the coil spring to provide extra load support and stiffness.

Make sure whatever brakes you use are strong enough for the 35 inch tires. If you're building a 2000 lbs trailer, use 3500 lbs hubs and brakes. Good electric drum brakes are fine. If you want even better brakes, look up Kodiak disc brakes. You would need an electric over hydraulic brake system.

Your brake controller should be adjustable and capable of independently activating the brakes. The idea is that the brakes should be adjusted to the point just prior to tire lockup on the trailer. If you get into a sway situation, applying the trailer brakes independently will be your best bet for controlling the trailer.

Check out the Timbren Axle-less suspension. It requires a significantly stronger frame than a beam axle, but has great ground clearance. The 1 Tonne (2200 lbs kits) use 3500 lbs hubs and have the most compliant ride of any of the kits.
 
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True size and brakes are two of the biggest factors that determine tow rating. Add that extra height and the TJ's short wheelbase and I would expect the "SAFE" tow rating to be no more than half.
 
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billiebob said:
Post these so people can comment based on what you are doing.
One tip, make the trailer and/or track the same width as the TJ so you can see it in the mirrors when reversing.
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Will do, I’ll have to dig out the note book, since it’s currently buried in the Jeep under all the parts I’m working on replacing. And thanks I hadn’t considered the view in the mirrors.
 
Weld in the axle last, if possible. Build the trailer and load it as you think you will be using it. Then adjust the axle position to provide correct tounge weight. Books say 10%, I think 12-15% tracks better. Be sure the distance from the hitch to trailer axle is longer than the Jeep wheelbase otherwise it will be a 🤬🤬 for you to back up without it wanting to jackknife constantly.
 
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Goatman said:
Weld in the axle last, if possible. Build the trailer and load it as you think you will be using it. Then adjust the axle position to provide correct tounge weight. Books say 10%, I think 12-15% tracks better. Be sure the distance from the hitch to trailer axle is longer than the Jeep wheelbase otherwise it will be a 🤬🤬 for you to back up without it wanting to jackknife constantly.
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Longer trailer tounge length is also positive for trailer yaw stability.

A lot of off-road trailers use adjustable length tongues, where the drawbar slides inside a full length receiver tube. When off-road and slow speed, the trailer can be set to the shortest length so that it will track in the same tire ruts as the TJ. On-highway it is set to the longest length for trailer yaw stability and ease of backing.


For anyone who is engineering minded, this study is a great resource for designing for yaw stability of trailers:
 

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Steel City 06 said:
Longer trailer tounge length is also positive for trailer yaw stability.

A lot of off-road trailers use adjustable length tongues, where the drawbar slides inside a full length receiver tube. When off-road and slow speed, the trailer can be set to the shortest length so that it will track in the same tire ruts as the TJ. On-highway it is set to the longest length for trailer yaw stability and ease of backing.


For anyone who is engineering minded, this study is a great resource for designing for yaw stability of trailers:
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That is genius, thanks for throwing a wrench into what I thought was a great idea now I’m thinking of something additional lol. But seriously, love all the feedback!
 
Arty off-road said:
That is genius, thanks for throwing a wrench into what I thought was a great idea now I’m thinking of something additional lol. But seriously, love all the feedback!
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If I ever get around to building one, that is what I would do.

A lot of builds I've seen have a 2" (inside dimension) receiver tube run the whole length of the trailer from the A frame in the front all the way through the rear bumper. Then a long piece of very thick 2" stock slides through the front for the tongue with a couple 5/8 bolts holding it in. Then in the rear, you also have a very strong recovery point as well as an all purpose receiver for bike racks, cargo carriers, etc.

Attached is one example I've seen (photo from Google):

fc24ac1e1447c5dc44c8bfca76d7aeba.jpg

https://www.pirate4x4.com/threads/off-road-trailer-build.818289/
 
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