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Thread: Towing with a Zj

  1. #1
    PghOffRoad Forum Addict! cjw94xk's Avatar
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    Towing with a Zj

    Just thought I would ask and see if anyone has towed with a grand? I am not towing anything big, just a 6x12 uhaul trailer.

    Reason I ask is I have never towed anything with a rear coil setup. Anything I should expect like swaying etc?

    Thanks
    Jamie

  2. #2
    Official PghOffRoad Post Whore!
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    i've heard the V8 WJ's are very comfortable to tow with.
    taking unsafe rigs to a whole other level

  3. #3
    PghOffRoad Forum Addict! cjw94xk's Avatar
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    I am doing some searching on jeep forum and other sites. Seems like it will tow but I need an aux tranny cooler. Looks like I will be towing somewhere around 3500 lbs so it should be interesting.
    Now I just need to decide whether I will be taking 70 or the turnpike back out here.

  4. #4
    Less posting, more wheeling! gonecheenin's Avatar
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    I've towed with my 93' 4.0 ZJ

    bought the heaviest thing I ever pulled behind me was my bluggy chassis on a single axle trailer, I figure it was about 18-2000 lb

    Did fine, even on power but the ZJ just felt nervous the whole time so I never got much over 50 mph with it

    Pulls approx a 1000lb fine though (Polaris Scrambler on the same trailer)

    As for the trans cooler, I put a big one on just for normal driving with this dang 42re, so yeah with towing that would be a important upgrade
    _________________________________________________________________________
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  5. #5
    Less posting, more wheeling!
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    Make sure you get the tongue weight of the UHaul trailer correct. I helped my friend move this past weekend and I misjudged the tongue weight when loading everything in (what I thought was going to be the heaviest stuff wasn't...). Was not a fun drive and I was towing with a Ram 1500. Needed to stay below 50 for it to feel "safe".
    Last edited by SirFuego; 03-05-2008 at 01:06 AM.
    [URL="http://www.pgh-offroad.com/forum/showthread.php?t=7670"][/URL]

  6. #6
    Premium Supporting Member OverkillZJ's Avatar
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    the WJ's tow much better than the ZJ's, but the ZJ's will haul something that light just fine, but it should really have surge brakes on it.

  7. #7
    Less posting, more wheeling! JeepSteeler's Avatar
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    I tow with my 95zj 4.0 on a regular basis. The heaviest thing I tow is a quad on a 4x8 trailer, however. I did install a heavy duty radiator and mine already had a trans cooler. IF you are pulling a heavy load, you want to make sure you turn off your overdrive, if equipped, or you will over-stress the tranny on all the hills. If the load is lighter, you can use OD periodically on the highway without much problem.

    Swaying is not an issue, and i have pretty old springs (for now). The 4.0 pulls plenty strong and I cruise at 70 to 75 pulling the quad without a problem.

    Just make sure you check and triple check all of your connections, chains, and tire pressures. The State Police do random stops and will inspect your setup.
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  8. #8
    I've towed with my zj before and it behaved great, even with a car and trailer. The most important thing to consider are brakes. Mine never stopped that good, so planning ahead was important!
    lame

  9. #9
    Trail Leader
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    I towed a car with my parents zj v8 from pa to North Dakota with out any problems.. and they towed there Boat which was 3600lb almost every weekend for 3-4 years and when the sold it with 130k tranny still shifted smooth!
    93xj - best $200 dollars I ever spent
    91Xj - 33inch TSL's - Some Lift -- Trailer Queen- sold
    87xj - 33's 5 inch lift toy - sold
    99xj - 31's 4 inch lift to nice to beat so I sold it
    01xj - offroad bumpers lift n tires soon

  10. #10
    PghOffRoad Forum Addict! cjw94xk's Avatar
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    thanks for the input guys. One dumb question, the trailer I am renting does have surge brakes but what in the hell are they?

  11. #11
    Premium Supporting Member OverkillZJ's Avatar
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    Haha, it's a braking system that you don't need a brake controller or anything for. When you slow down, the inertia of the trailer activates a piston, which activates hydraulic brakes. They actually work pretty well!

  12. #12
    PghOffRoad Forum Addict! cjw94xk's Avatar
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    Sweet... I wasn't sure if it was that or something that worked off of the 12v brake wire or I was gonna have to put a brake controller tomorrow. As you can tell I am well prepared for this trip (sarcasm)

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