Anyone towing a boat with one of these

[Dom]

Here is a pic of my newest toy it is a 98 jeep wrangler TJ Sahara it has the dana 44, 5 speed, 4.0 straight six. It is getting 4in suspension lift,33x12.50 dick cepek crusher tires and micky thompson classic lock rims,flow master exhaust

I had to get somthing better on gas my truck was costing me 120 aweek to get to work from Tracy to Modesto . Plan on buying a 17-18 foot fiberglass boat to tow anyone else towing with a jeep TJ? If so how does it work out?

[allbelac]

I have a 2002 Liberty with the 3.0 6 cylinder. I tow a tracker 2-3 times a month and have towed big ski boats with no problems. Keep up on the rear end service, even without towing it will more than likely need work around 100,000 miles.

[markscolwell]

Your gas mileage is not going to be very good if you lift the jeep and put oversized tires on it. Maybe 12-14 miles/gal on the highway down hill with a tail wind.

I also use a 6 cyl to pull my 19' G3 from time to time. It does fine but its' much much easier with my v8.

[Dom]

Thanks Yall it has plenty of power so I did not think the power would be a problem more worried about the short wheel base.

Dont plan on towing far 10 min to dels and local lakes as for the gas milage its all in how you gear it

33' tires with a tall gear ratio like 4.88 will give you towing and raw power but terrible gas milage

3.73 gears will give you great highway driving and good gas milage

4.11 gears is a happy medium my dana 44 has Superior brand 4.11's now we installed em last week.

Thanks

And yes this is fishing related gotta have gears to get the boat to the lake

[Hipster]

Dom,

I have a 2007 Rubicon, towing is not a problem, Now Stopping is another story altotgher. Give your self plenty of braking room and make sure you have trailer brakes.

[snapitoff2002]

Make yourself feel better Dom- I'm putting 520.00 in diesel every 2 days into my transfer truck.... This country is messed up right now...
I feel like buying a hybrid- except I already put the dough in my fuel tanks

[Randy Yeager]

Don't be buyin no hybrid, the manufacturers are really stretching the big mileage claims.

I commute from Clearlake to Sacramento so I thought I would go hybrid for the drive to work. Ended up with a Honda Civic Hybrid, they claimed I would get 51 highway on regular, BULL, the best I can get if I drive really nice and keep it super tuned by the dealer is 33.

It's been parked for quite some time, Anybody want to buy it?, I'll sell for blue book.

[mcsanders]

Dom,

I had a Wrangler automatic w/ dana 44, 33's and 3.73 gears.

Pulled my old skeeter and then my ranger with no problems. Pulled every weekend for several years.

But as stated, stopping can be a challenge w/out trailer brakes because the boat will push the jeep due to its light weight.

good lookin' jeep you got there

[brambo0311]

All right so what we do is cut it and stretch it to about 102". We throw on some dana 60 with air lockers, get some line locks on there. Throw in a Lt1 pump it up to about 600hp, get you a turbo 400 tranny and a atlas tranfer case. Snorkel kit and 44" tires. Then you use that on the rubicon and go get a dodge to tow your boat. But hey you saved 100 bucks a year on gas. Seriously I have towed a 15' gregor behind my 53 jeep. It swayes all over the place. Gets really dangerous. But mine is allot shorter than yours. I tow with a ranger with a 4.0 v-6 now. It stuggles with my friends 17' ranger but it gets us there.

[MIKE TREMONT]

I'll chime in with the safety concern as well, depending on the weight of the boat, you may be at risk.

I know one thing, if the worst happened while towing, and one of those attorneys got hold of you, it wouldn't be pleasant.

Nice looking ride.

[Dom]

Thanks Yall for the info. I was worried about the brakes might have to brake down and get a big brake kit. As for running the rubicon not gonna happen, I asked every one to be my winch man but every said I was crazy So Will have to stick to the low lakes and lunch ramps

Thanks
Dom

[brambo0311]

Yeah I dont run it anymore either. Used to go up every weekend and hardly see a person. Now there is a traffic, it can take hours just to get to the rookie filter. Plus 10 to 20 grand a year on broken axles, drive lines, trannyies, lockers, U-joints ECT.... I just stick to fishing now, I like it more and it is cheaper.

[Hollywood]

If you are going to stretch the wheelbase to 102 inches you can squeeze in a Turbo 700R4 tranny, might as go stronger with an overdrive!

All right so what we do is cut it and stretch it to about 102". We throw on some dana 60 with air lockers, get some line locks on there. Throw in a Lt1 pump it up to about 600hp, get you a turbo 400 tranny and a atlas tranfer case. Snorkel kit and 44" tires. Then you use that on the rubicon and go get a dodge to tow your boat. But hey you saved 100 bucks a year on gas. Seriously I have towed a 15' gregor behind my 53 jeep. It swayes all over the place. Gets really dangerous. But mine is allot shorter than yours. I tow with a ranger with a 4.0 v-6 now. It stuggles with my friends 17' ranger but it gets us there.

[brambo0311]

the 700 wont fit unless you go with a short block, and that beast is heavy. But I have seen guys with them on the rubicon. I always tried to stay as light as possible. That LT1 alum 350 was lighter than the f-head I had in it. But I put the f-head back in when the lt1 blew up. I didnt need the power 538's were stock in the dif for that 1953 m38 A1 and with 2 t-18 transfer cases in line I was 500 to 1 in 1st gear. You could leave it in gear get out set up a tent, walk 2 steps and get back in. Man I am glad I gave that up. Money, money, money. And everything breaks, no matter what it is. Plus the rubicon gets more washed out every year and tougher. And it is way to crowded up there anymore, everyone has a wheeler these days.

[Hollywood]

they do fit, trust me...... a drive shaft that is short is all. but they do fit... pick your transfer case carefully with the 700r4 though. Might not be able to squeeze in a Dana 300 with that long tranny.... for me. I had a 69CJ5 with a 383 stroker, muncie 4 speed and dana 18Tcase with twin sticks as well as 44's front and rear with detroits... that was my high school ride. built for the sand dunes.... and speeding tickets!

[brambo0311]

My buddy had a simular set up and went to a chevy short block out of a van. His rear drive line was so short it pulled out when he articulated. But he was all buggy framed at that point with no fenders. Had hydrolic forced suspension and rear steer. I guess everything will fit eventually with enough welding. Hollywood you ever weld a drive line with batteries and a handfull of nickles eyes closed. I did mine a few years back on four dice trail. and it actually came out balanced at highway speed. Talk about a miracle, its still under the jeep.