will a dodge 360 motorhome pull my xj

[jonn]

Looking a purchasing a 1980 dodge 26 foot class c motorhome. it has a rebuild dodge 360. My question is will it have enough power to flat tow my lifted xj? my xj is about 40% of the gvwr of the motorhome so i will not need aux brakes to be legal, although i might get them to be safe. has anyone towed an xj with a similar rv?

 

[Johnnie Walker]

Should be fine, my uncle used to pull full size cherokee with his.

 

[jonn]

thanks for the reply johnny. did he use a braking system on the jeep?

 

[stewie]

what kind of braking systems are available?

 

[desync0]

Motor wise it should pull it just fine, you won't win any races, and you'll get real friendly with the gas station attendants, but otherwise you'll be ok.

I towed my xj home on a uhual trailer with my 02 ram with a 360 and it pulled just fine, got the same mileage running 55 with the jeep as i normally get empty in the city lol

 

[jonn]

maybe if i paint some racing stripes on the side of the motorhome i will be able to go faster?

 

[stewie]

naw, you would need a NOS sticker too!

 

[seanR]

I wouldn't do it.
It won't pull hillls very good at all.

 

[Carol.92124]

My ex-husband and I had (now just he has) a 1977 Dodge 19.5' 8800GVW Class C motorhome that we got in 1989. She has towed any number of things, but never been happy about it, especially uphill (even after a Carter 4BBL AFB on an Edelbrock smog-legal intake replaced the stock 2BBL, and the Thorley headers, and the roller rockers, and...).

But... she has towed:
22' Daycruiser Jet Boat w/Ford 460 weighing it down
Ford XCab pickup
Dodge XCab p/u
various XJs
19' Bayliner boat w/outdrive
Trailer full of quads & bikes

These days the front suspension & bushings are so worn it feels like she's drifting down the road, so I won't tow with her anymore. Feels too scary for me.

If the one you're looking at is bigger, you might want to hold out for one with a bigger motor... or plan on putting an under/overdrive on it.

 

[bjoehandley]

Wonder what it would take to put a healthy 440 in their instead:laugh3:

 

[Carol.92124]

A REALLY big shoehorn. You can actually change spark plugs & exhaust manifolds fairly easily with the 360. Prolly not so easy if you swap in a 440!

 

[$700later]

i've towed my xj (and the last xj i had) with my '98 ranger 3.0. the ranger has 285/75/16's that slow it WAY down and is suppose to be 155hp. so thats around 7,000 total with 155hp. about 1 horsepower for 45 pounds! but honestly i've towed all day at all speeds and it doesn't bother me but other people would go crazy and some people even don't believe that it even works for me! here's what i would do, if that rv will go 70 or 75 without having to break a sweat on level roads, then it should do fine at 65 or 70mph with your xj behind it. if that 360 has problems then it must not be running right! ....wow i'm embarrassed at how long my post is

 

[Glenn B]

You do understand that BC Canada (OP's location) and many other places have MOUNTAINS, not HILLS like a lot of people may have? That makes quite a difference in both going up & down.

I always get a laugh out of the people here on the East Coast that talk about going to "the mountains" and they take me to hills. Much of the south is the same, though usually they know better than to call those hills "mountains".

In other words.... what may work in Tn may not work in other areas.

i've towed my xj (and the last xj i had) with my '98 ranger 3.0. the ranger has 285/75/16's that slow it WAY down and is suppose to be 155hp. so thats around 7,000 total with 155hp. about 1 horsepower for 45 pounds! but honestly i've towed all day at all speeds and it doesn't bother me but other people would go crazy and some people even don't believe that it even works for me! here's what i would do, if that rv will go 70 or 75 without having to break a sweat on level roads, then it should do fine at 65 or 70mph with your xj behind it. if that 360 has problems then it must not be running right! ....wow i'm embarrassed at how long my post is

 

[$700later]

You do understand that BC Canada (OP's location) and many other places have MOUNTAINS, not HILLS like a lot of people may have? That makes quite a difference in both going up & down.

I always get a laugh out of the people here on the East Coast that talk about going to "the mountains" and they take me to hills. Much of the south is the same, though usually they know better than to call those hills "mountains".

In other words.... what may work in Tn may not work in other areas.

true, the biggest mountains i've towed in are the smokies. if anyone else wants to get a laugh then head for how i compared a cute 'lil v6 truck to a big heavy rv. :doh:

 

[Glenn B]

true, the biggest mountains i've towed in are the smokies. if anyone else wants to get a laugh then head for how i compared a cute 'lil v6 truck to a big heavy rv. :doh:

hahahahaha, a Ford Ranger is cute? Next thing you will be telling me they are like a Mazda.

 

[DrMoab]

A REALLY big shoehorn. You can actually change spark plugs & exhaust manifolds fairly easily with the 360. Prolly not so easy if you swap in a 440!

It's isn't as bad as you think. My father had a 79 Class C motorhome with a 440 in it.

For the OP. See if you can find one with a 440 instead. They made tons of them and even though the mileage would be worse empty I would bet it would be close to the same loaded because you won't work the engine so hard.

I towed my XJ inside of an enclosed 22 foot Haulmark that alone was heavy as hell and it did the job just fine.

Another thing to consider with those older motorhomes is the fact that they had a regular 3 speed non-overdrive transmission with no lock up converter. You WILL NOT be going very fast unless you plan on over-reving the engine which will reduce the life by half. IF you have the money consider putting an aftermarket OD system on from someone like Gear Vendors. My dad had one on his, it brought the mileage up from sub-8 MPG to over 12 with no load on.

 

[robert2008]

Motor wise it should pull it just fine, you won't win any races, and you'll get real friendly with the gas station attendants, but otherwise you'll be ok.

I towed my xj home on a uhual trailer with my 02 ram with a 360 and it pulled just fine, got the same mileage running 55 with the jeep as i normally get empty in the city lol

Pulling a car with a truck that weighs around 7,000 pounds versus a motorhome that I'm guessing weighs well over 10,000 pounds is apples and oranges.

I think you'll be underpowered personally. I'd avoid the mountains with that setup.

I have towed cars behind motorhomes for years, and I'd suggest you use a brake system on your "toad". I use a blue ox system that is adjustable and stays on the floor of your toad while it attaches to the brake pedal. It's a simple system that could save a life and well worth the money. Different states have different laws concerning brake systems for trailers. Some say brakes are required for any trailer over 2,000 pounds.

This is the system we use:

http://www.blueox.us/Brakes/apollo.htm

I've towed Wranglers and Cherokees. They make excellent toad vehicles as they don't weigh too much and are fun once you get to your destination.

 

[jonn]

seems like its a split decesion , but there is a general consensus that it will work but i won't be breaking any speed records. i think i am going to try it out i will post results in a couple weeks. does anybody know if a 440 bolt up to the transmission thats in the motorhome.

 

[bjoehandley]

A REALLY big shoehorn. You can actually change spark plugs & exhaust manifolds fairly easily with the 360. Prolly not so easy if you swap in a 440!

It's isn't as bad as you think. My father had a 79 Class C motorhome with a 440 in it.

For the OP. See if you can find one with a 440 instead. They made tons of them and even though the mileage would be worse empty I would bet it would be close to the same loaded because you won't work the engine so hard.

I towed my XJ inside of an enclosed 22 foot Haulmark that alone was heavy as hell and it did the job just fine.

Another thing to consider with those older motorhomes is the fact that they had a regular 3 speed non-overdrive transmission with no lock up converter. You WILL NOT be going very fast unless you plan on over-reving the engine which will reduce the life by half. IF you have the money consider putting an aftermarket OD system on from someone like Gear Vendors. My dad had one on his, it brought the mileage up from sub-8 MPG to over 12 with no load on.

I was under the impression that pre-bailout 1.0 Chrysler offered the 440's in their full size trucks, vans, and motorhomes and IIRC Rich P. even had one of teh BIG Dodge Tradesman vans that was so powered.

seems like its a split decesion , but there is a general consensus that it will work but i won't be breaking any speed records. i think i am going to try it out i will post results in a couple weeks. does anybody know if a 440 bolt up to the transmission thats in the motorhome.

If I was going to try that swap, I'd look at putting a very healthy and purpose built TF727 with a GV OD unit behind any B/RB motor in something that big and heavy.

 

[DrMoab]

seems like its a split decesion , but there is a general consensus that it will work but i won't be breaking any speed records. i think i am going to try it out i will post results in a couple weeks. does anybody know if a 440 bolt up to the transmission thats in the motorhome.

It will but not exactly. The motor mounts are different and the bell housing is different. You could easily get a new bell housing for the tranny that should bolt right up to the 440 but the motor mounts I'm not sure of. I don't know if you could buy something that would work or if you would have to fabricate new ones.

You are going from a small block to a big block motor.