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increase towing capacity

5K views 61 replies 21 participants last post by  superj 
#1 ·
i have a 95 YJ 4cyl 5spd. i want to tow a boat with it. normally we use my wifes suv, but when she is out of town i can't use my boat. i know there is no capacity rating for this jeep. what can be done to ensure safe towing of the boat? i am only 5 miles from the landing and the boat is 2300lbs including the trailer.
 
#4 ·
We used to tow our 19 foot ski with an air cooled vw transporter with a 1.8 litre engine. We towed it four hours each way. I think if the vw could do it, the yj can do it
 
#5 ·
Everyone is stating to go ahead and tow it. They do not know what they are talking about, no offence to anyone.

Your brakes cannot handle another 2300 pounds. If someone stops in front of you fast, you will slide into them.

My 6 cylinder labors with 2000 lbs. Your 4cyl will be much worse.

If you have a bumper ball it is only rated at a few hundred pounds. If you have a separate receiver like I do, then take a look at how thick your rear cross member is. I welded a 1/4 piece of steel across the rear cross member because it is so thin.

Do what you want but my advise is do not pull anything. If you do and I have. It will be one hairy ride.

Edit: I just noticed that you are in S.C. which is a little hilly. I was speaking of experience on flat roads. Add in hilly roads and forget it....
 
#6 ·
Pasinbuy, first I have never seen a "bumper ball" on a YJ, secondly I am not sure what kind of hitch you have, if it mounts to the rear crossmember I have no doubts that it is a hairy job to tow. My hitch mounts to the frame, and I have pulled 1500# without issue. I drive slower, pay way more attention to the roads and other drivers. I also replace my brakes well before they need it so I have no issues with that. I would hope the o.p. also does frequent maintenance on his brakes.
 
#17 ·
I am talking about the ball that is mounted to the bumper that is really not designed to tow and comes with a warning concerning it. Why bumpers have the ball attached is a mystery to me. The only safe way to tow is with a separate receiver on all vehicles.

Second the cross member is the frame and what my hitch receiver is attached to. I would have to guess that is where your receiver is attached also. Or post a picture I would like to see how you may have attached your receiver.
 
#9 ·
I have pulled a 18 foot v6 boat with my 95 4.0 automatic to and from the local lake about 12 miles away. The Jeep can do it, it sure is a scary ride. Getting the darn thing to stop in a hurry is almost impossible. I would not advise it but I have done it. If it auto think of adding an aux tranny cooler.
 
#16 ·
Kind of. Your GVWR calculation needs to consider the tongue weight though. The weight on the trailer axles is not included in GVWR. The GCWR does include the weight your pulling, which I can't seem to find for the YJ. It may be limited by your license plate type?? Maybe someone can clarify.

You will be breaking the law, but probably not as bad as the Kid texting behind the wheel or the soccer mom putting on make-up. or the fellow heading home after a few beers from the bar. Pick your poison, we all break laws to some degree.
I totally agree. I speed every day on my way home from work. I just didn't want anyone to think that putting 1 ton axles and brakes on their YJ was going to make it legal to pull a 5,000 LB trailer.

It's a calculated risk you may be willing to take. I just don't want to be the person that gets into a crash that's 100% not my fault, but have an insurance company refuse the claim because I was legally overweight.
 
#13 ·
I'm going to get flamed for this again, but, our Jeeps are rated for 2000lbs towing. I take that as being your average utility type trailer, but with a decent hitch on the Jeep.
I routinely pull our 2500lb travel trailer with my Jeep and to do so I added a hidden hitch (bolts to frame not just the cross member) added an electric brake controller, and run a weight distributing style tow hitch in the receiver. Added to the "hard" parts, you have to throw in some common sense as well, if possible stick to side roads verses freeways (all roads here are side roads), leave plenty of stopping room between you and the car in front of you and don't forget to use extended towing mirrors so you can see behind you. Also, be sure to properly balance your load, no matter what you are using for a tow vehicle. Just for sh!ts and giggles I was looking through our owners manual for our 1998 Ford f150 supercab 4x4 with 5spd and 4.6l, turns out it's only rated for 1700 lbs towing. Yup that's a full 300lbs less than a YJ, and you see them towing all day everyday.
You will be breaking the law, but probably not as bad as the Kid texting behind the wheel or the soccer mom putting on make-up. or the fellow heading home after a few beers from the bar. Pick your poison, we all break laws to some degree.

A 2000# tow rated hitch adds that much to the GVWR.
Um, ..... No, it just means the hitch is rated to 2000lbs, your brakes etc. still remain the same and most definitely will not stop a 4000lb trailer with no trailer brakes, not to mention keeping the front wheels on the ground.
 
#14 ·
i tow all the time with mine. sometimes a lot of weight, sometimes just plywood. i have towed other jeeps with no issues so i think if you are careful and know how to tow, you will be ok.
 
#15 ·
I tow my boat....maybe 1000 lbs....but in emergencies I've pulled car/trucks/jeeps. You find out real quick if your cooling system has any issues or your tranny needs a rebuild....just saying it can be tough on you jeep and your wallet.
 
#18 ·
It's a calculated risk you may be willing to take. I just don't want to be the person that gets into a crash that's 100% not my fault, but have an insurance company refuse the claim because I was legally overweight.
My experiences with the insurance companies has been that of getting screwed no matter what the cause or reason, they can afford way better lawyers than I can and are willing to do most anything to escape payment. I hate to say it, but if you're breaking any law or even bordering close to it, a good lawyer's going to shred both you and your wallet, sad but true. Politicians, lawyers, and insurance agents all fall into the same category in my mind and we used to scrape that out of the cow barns and into a pit back on the farm.
 
#20 ·
My experiences with the insurance companies has been that of getting screwed no matter what the cause or reason, they can afford way better lawyers than I can and are willing to do most anything to escape payment.
So true, but that is because too many roll over for these scum, after 6 years through the ringer the court of appeals ordered "flo" to write me a 7 figure check, I had better lawyers, but even more, I was right.
 
#22 ·
Pasinbuy, my receiver does not attach to the rear cross member, which is not frame it's a cross member which is thinner material. My receiver actually bolts to the frame rails via 6 grade 8 bolts on either side, the way it should be done. What you call a "bumper ball" is the type seen on pickup trucks, which I have never seen on a YJ.
 
#23 ·
Here is one of many receiver bumpers http://www.4wheelparts.com/Bumpers-...out&ppcfon=1&gclid=CPqW_JWmj7kCFWho7AodkzUAng This is what I was referring to, I may not have explained it the right way.

I have not noticed where a Yj had the receiver bolted to the side frame rails. Show me a picture of your setup.

Fyi; Your rear cross member is part of your frame. Yes it is thinner on our Yj that is why I beefed up mine to be more comfortable towing.
 
#24 ·
Yes the rear cross is PART of the frame, but is not in any way preferable to mount anything to. I can't take pictures of my set up as it's all up in the frame, kinda hard to take pictures of it without dropping the tank, and I am not doing that for some pics. I can tell you, again, that my hitch is BOLTED TO THE FRAME RAILS VIA 6 GRADE 8 BOLTS ON EITHER SIDE. Not sure how much more plain I can say that.
 
#25 ·
Besides, every single outlet that sells receiver bumpers say none of them are tow rated. You should do research and contact the manufacturer themselves and ask about tow rating. Even the cheap Smittybilt bumper is tow rated for 2000# towing with a 300# tongue weight.
 
#28 ·
Here is a picture of my rear cross member showing that I welded a 3/16 piece of steel to it . I templated the rear cross member with cardboard and took it to a welder who made the piece for me at a cost of $45.00. I then attached it by welding it in all the way around. You can also see in the picture the thickness of my hitch receiver that is a separate part from my bumper. With eight grade 8 bolts to the cross member/frame.
 

Attachments

#29 ·
Did that plate get welded to the frame as well?

The issue is the crossmember is only welded in a small spot on either side of the frame. About a 1.5in strip on either side. I had a spare tire carrier with a 35in tire and a hi lift and gascan and after a few months the welds were cracked on one side.
 
#30 ·
I looked at mine and I thought it looked pretty good. (Back then.) I will have to recheck it to see if I should do some added bracing.

Thanks for the heads up.

I do little to no towing with my Yj. I have a 1 ton, V10 for that. As stated towing with the Yj is dangerous. Our brakes suck.
 
#31 ·
I am with the do not tow more than you Jeep is rated for crowed, but they do offer actual hitches that attach to the frame:

http://www.amazon.com/eCustomhitch-...2&sr=8-15&keywords=jeep+wrangler+hidden+hitch

I have seen them cheaper than this but you can see it wraps around to bolt to the side of the frame and to the underside of the frame as well as the cross member.

If you are going to attach to the cross member they do make bumper cross member re-enforcements:

http://www.genright.com/ProductInfo.aspx?productid=RBB1100#.UhViHz9h9ck

These will at least tie the outside holes to the frame better.

I am planning on building a new bumper with a receiver in it, and between picking up the bolt holes on the bottom of the frame and the cross member tie-in plates (I will look at the cross member welds to the frame and add to that as necessary) and think that should be ok for small around town towing jobs.
 
#34 ·
Thank you for the links. The receiver that attaches to the frame looks a little weak to me. Two bolts total, one to the frame rai, the other to the cross member, and they say it is rated at 3500 lbs. I wonder about that? Also from the picture the receiver mounted to the frame is pretty low and under the cross member. That cannot be good since we are trying to raise our rigs for better ground clearance.

The rear frame tie in brackets look great and may be what I could use. Thanks again for the link.
 
#32 ·
Pasinby my intention was not to yell, as I have seen on plenty of other postings within this forum, bolding is the best way to highlight something. It was apparent to me that you were just not understanding what I was saying about frame attachment vs. cross member attachment. I apologize if you felt that way, but I did get my point across despite whatever internet protocol you feel I violated.
 
#35 ·
Hey pasinbuy chill out, you feel I yelled, yet you kept asking what I meant by my comment on mounting. Seemed to me you didn't understand, and by the way you have no authority to tell me what not to do or otherwise, we are all on this forum to help each other out, and pictures of my set up do not help the o.p. with his question so there is no need for me to post any. As far as ground clearance being a little below the cross member does nothing for ground clearance, just rear departure. Your ground clearance is measured at the lowest point of the vehicle which will always be the differential housing.
 
#39 ·
Hey pasinbuy chill out, you feel I yelled, yet you kept asking what I meant by my comment on mounting. Seemed to me you didn't understand, and by the way you have no authority to tell me what not to do or otherwise, we are all on this forum to help each other out, and pictures of my set up do not help the o.p. with his question so there is no need for me to post any. As far as ground clearance being a little below the cross member does nothing for ground clearance, just rear departure. Your ground clearance is measured at the lowest point of the vehicle which will always be the differential housing. Not true, what wheels go over the back has to clear.
It appears that all you want to do is argue. You do not want to post pictures and you do not know what you are talking about. I have no time for people like you. Keep your attitude to yourself.
Now that you know what yelling is, please stop it.

You place a very bad tone on the thread. I apologize to the OP.
 
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