Towing, Hitch, and a Pusher.

[George2]

Here's what you got, when your trailer is 100 lbs fatter than your Jeep:

6" hitch drop to match the lift, and that poor thing's busted the spot welds from the body @ the hitch, as well as left a 3" crack in the uniframe.

Ouch, 2800 miles, getting PUSHED up and down the east coast.
But in reality, it WAS kinda' fun, in a sick, sad warped way. Did I pay attention to all those RV websites I visited, and went to a "weight distributing hitch", or at least some kind of "sway bar"? Oh HELL no, folks. I ENJOY watching this dragged "behomoth" flirt with every 18 wheel boxtrailer, that blew by us.

From ME, to Disney. Lots of beer. Worth the repair time and effort.

Didn't see the class III hitch almost dragging the ground, until a gas stop just outside of NYC on the way back UP. Saw the cracks in the spot welds on the outermost sheetmetal, and the warpage of the uniframe, and flat freaked out.

We were SUPPOSED to stop in RI at a nice little campground, but I chose to drive all the way back to NH, constantly staring at the front yellow running light in the mirror, "marking" it place in my mind as just below the passenger's door handle, and praying all the way that it doesn't drop below that imaginary visual line.

The BEST part of the trip? Taking one, really STUPID wrong turn IN NYC, and ending up with this mess, underneath the very same elevated tram arrangement as in "The French Connection", minus the gunfire.

The folks in NYC were MOST congenial, and at worst, we got laughed at pretty badly. Even all the horrible drivers gave us LOTS of leeway, and right of way, probably because they thought we was just plain crazy- One old, bald dude, and 3 chicks, all with WIDE-EYED terror showing all over- and towing this rolling whorehouse.... Little white guy's got balls like churchbells, for bringing THAT S*IT up around HERE....

Thanks, NYC, for feeling sorry for us, and just letting us pass through.
WE appreciate it!

 

[MtnBkr]

One old, bald dude, and 3 chicks, all with WIDE-EYED terror showing all over- and towing this rolling whorehouse.... Little white guy's got balls like churchbells, for bringing THAT S*IT up around HERE....

Thanks, NYC, for feeling sorry for us, and just letting us pass through.
WE appreciate it!

Hilarious!!! Good visual!

Wow... sounds like a fun trip!

I'm getting ready to tow a 6x12' enclosed trailer cross-country myself. Your story is not making me too confident!

What do you figure your trailer weighs? (no, I don't know the exact weight of an XJ or I would just add 100lbs )

 

[rstarch345]

Yup, I know what you mean. I reinforced my frame where the hitch mounts due to stress cracks. No more problems, other than being pushed down hill.

 

[ColoradoXJ13]

I did a similar stupid thing with a 5x8 U-haul, way overloaded from chicago to Denver....damn thing kept trying to pass me every time I hit the brakes on a downhill...only way to get the whole shebang to stop fishtailing and bucking my jeep around was to accelerate, which made things interesting going 90mph downhill into traffic...last time I will every tow long distance with my jeep.

 

[BigG]

Although they won't give me one anymore, I have pulled a 6x12 u-haul from Austin, TX to Created Butte, CO and back several times with my 96 XJ. That's jumping two passes including the continental divide. The only problem I ever ran into was having to put premium gas in as i left Colorado heading south to balance out the octane. We did have a tranny cooler installed the first time. U-haul will only give me a 5x10 now. They give a different reason every time i try ranging from weight or length of the vehicle to my class 2 hitch(I wasn't the one who put it on). Funny thing is, they give a Wrangler a 5x10, too. Which is smaller and lighter than a XJ.

 

[MtnBkr]

Yeah, I'm moving from the Seattle area to Denver. I think I'm going to head through Wyoming so I don't have to deal with Vail pass.

I'm buying the 6x12 because the Uhaul will cost me $500 to rent and I will lose less than that by buying and selling the trailer. Plus it's bigger.

I have a manual so won't have to worry about the tranny cooler... just need to baby the clutch from a stop.

 

[George2]

MtmBikr- the listed GVWR for the trailer is 3300lbs, and the axle weight is 2068lbs- +/- about 100 lbs either way. Once we loaded it, we added another 2-300 lbs to the mess.

RStarch345- have you got any pics of your reinforcement? I'm going to have to DO something to this thing before our next journey, which will be nothing more than a "day trips"; no more long distances! I'd LIKE to weld some 1/4" thick plates to the sides of the hitch, and then seam-weld that to what's left of the uniframe, but several people have advised against welding anything to, or around a hitch- something about DOT legalities...

I'm still going to do a weight-distributing hitch, but I'd like to properly repair the nasty cracks, and the big bend of the boxes of the frame in the rear. I got the bend out of the boxes by jacking up the ball mount, but it'll just sink right back in, once I drop the trailer tongue back on the ball mount.

Don't let anybody kid you guys- they rate the cherokee at 5k of towing nuts, but the frame just won't take more than half of that, safely.
Motor, tranny, and driver are all up to the task- just be careful.

 

[Rev Den]

Just FYI, and I am sure you all know this already...

Do not be concerned with getting it going...be concerned with STOPPING it.

Here ends the lecture, before it begins.

Rev

 

[hadfield4wd]

Just FYI, and I am sure you all know this already...

Do not be concerned with getting it going...be concerned with STOPPING it.

Here ends the lecture, before it begins.

Rev

So true. The over speeding down hill can be remedied with functional trailer brakes. In my experience U-haul surge brakes are effective half of the time. To check them leave the engagement pin where the brakes will engage. Put your Jeep in reverese and back up. If the brakes engage you will feel it. There is a stopper for when you actually are backing up but this is just to test them. The best is electric brakes. When it over starts to sway just engage the brakes.

A weight distribution hitch will actually cause more stress on the hitch area and level out the Jeep. My Weight distribution on my Grand calls for a Class IV hitch. I also have sway control as well.

Matt

 

[Ray H]

George,
Do you think this happened because of the extra leverage the drop hitch puts on it? Do you use nutstrips or just the individual backing plates?
Id like to see exactly where its cracked if you get a chance.

 

[rstarch345]

RStarch345- have you got any pics of your reinforcement? I'm going to have to DO something to this thing before our next journey, which will be nothing more than a "day trips"; no more long distances! I'd LIKE to weld some 1/4" thick plates to the sides of the hitch, and then seam-weld that to what's left of the uniframe, but several people have advised against welding anything to, or around a hitch- something about DOT legalities...

Unfortunately I do not.

If you are familiar with industrial shelving, in particular the L shaped verticle channel with all the holes in it. Measures something like 2x1 1/2" and either 10 or 11 guage. That's what I used for the reinforcement.

Prepping the area was the biggest challenge since there wasn't much room to work with. All the stress cracks were welded first, then ground down. The channel was then cut to fit and the bolts holes in the channel was used for plug welds. I replaced the nut strip on the passenger side and made my own nut strip for the drivers side. They were easy to get in and out with the rear bumper off.

I would not weld the hitch either. Same reason many places won't allow welded tow hooks. You want to make sure you have a solid frame to mount the hitch to.

Good luck.

P.S. Even with good trailer brakes, you can still get pushed. Depending on the length of the hill, sometimes it's brake a bit then accelerate a bit, or if you have electric (like I do) use the manual brake control.

 

[xjtrailrider]

One year towing my bass boat and no problems yet. I'm running surge/disc brakes