[mletschin]

I am looking at possibly picking up a mid size boat from my in laws. It has the trailer and all aready and is a great boat for water skiing and general shenanagins. Heres my question. How big of a boat has everyone towed with their TJ. My wife has a Liberty so I am up in the air on which to get set up to tow the boat. I would rather take the TJ but have heard bad things about towing with them...Any help is appreciated.

Thanks

[silvergreentj]

how big is the boat...i have 4.56s, 33 allterrains, and a lot of stabilizers and i only pull my bass boat back and forth during the summer...i have had no problem yet and its a 20 ft fiberglass hull.

give more specifics, like if ur jeep is lifted, towing package on it already, engine size, tires, gears, etc...you will get more responses

[tx02tj]

I have a small fishing boat with a 50hp on it that I pull behind my TJ. It does ok

[mletschin]

My TJ is stock with the 4.0, I have not installed a hitch yet. I know there are some Class III hitches that can be found that I was looking at and having it welded to the frame. I wanted something with a 2" receiver.

I don't have all the specs on the boat yet, my guess is it about 24' give or take ....

[Jerry Bransford]

No 24' fiberglass power boat is going to be even close to being suitable for towing behind a Wrangler.

My 20' fiberglass powerboat was all my V8 Grand Cherokee with its longer wheelbase could tow safely. The boat's weight isn't the problem for the Wrangler, the Wranger's short wheelbase is all of the problem. That boat would take over and if you had to brake suddenly on a curve, that boat would give a quick less on what it's like for the "tail to wag the dog". The Wrangler's max safe towing weight is 2,000 lbs and that 24' power boat and trailer combination is probably nearly double that. My personal recommendation is to not even consider using the Wrangler for a tow vehicle for your boat.

[Beaverwrangler]

I tow my buddy's 18' Lund/60hp during the summer
with no problems (3.07s 5speed 31x10.5's)...

If you're experienced with trailering and cautious TJ's
tow great... My friends 18' aluminum is as big as I
would pull around or I guess a 20' aluminum would be
fine as well, anything bigger/heavier its gonna be
questionable with regard to stopping/trailer wagging...

[JFM626]

Your 4 litre engine certainly has the power to pull a 24' ski- boat; the problem comes when you want to stop or corner hard. The weight of the boat, motor, trailer and auxillary equipment will exceed the 2000lb limit recomended by Jeep. Because of the short wheelbase any sudden stops, (and they don't have to be a panic type for it to occur) will very likely result in the inertia of the trailer, pushing the rear of the Jeep around and causing a jackknife condition or worse. When cornering hard all that weight pulling on the one side has a dramatic effect on your handling and has a tendency to pull you over the centre line. If your trailer tyres ever loose traction you will go for a wild ride. In reality, use your wife's liberty if it is rated to tow a trailer that weighs as much as that ski-boat. Something else to consider, most boats are heavier in the stern with the weight of the outboard etc. This can also set up a condition where the trailer wants to go from side to side while you want to go straight. The short wheelbased Jeep makes this problem much worse than say a pickup with a longer wheelbase.

[Wheelman]

Anyone know what the longer wheelbased Unlimited is rated to tow?

[Jerry Bransford]

Originally Posted by Wheelman

Anyone know what the longer wheelbased Unlimited is rated to tow?

3,500 lbs.

[jkulbeth]

Unlimiteds: 3500 pounds and it it does well up to that limit. I've pulled between 2800 to 3000 pounds in a 5x8 trailer and had no trouble. I used to have a '94 YJ Sahara... I dolly-towed a car with it once... and swore I'd never do it again. The short wheel-base makes for a touchy drive. The Unlimited, though only 10 inches longer between the wheels, is more civilized with heavier trailer loads.

[mletschin]

Sounds like I am getting a hitch for my wife's liberty...

[Jerry Bransford]

Originally Posted by mletschin

Sounds like I am getting a hitch for my wife's liberty...

Better than the Wrangler but I sure wouldn't tow a 24' fiberglass power boat with a Liberty, no way no how. That's a big heavy boat.

[KaiserJeep]

Find out the weight of the boat and trailer. If it exceeds the 5000lb tow capacity of a V-6 Liberty, don't even consider it. If it is below the tow capacity, you need the factory tow package, or the equivalent aftermarket setup. This would include a heavy duty radiator, a weight-distributing receiver hitch, and a wiring harness to actuate the trailer brakes. Lastly, switch to 85W140 synthetic lubricant in the rear axle before the first tow, or in both front diff and rear axle if you have a full time 4WD system.

[dieseljeep]

I've been boating most of my life now & most of my friends have boats as well. I think you need to be sure it really is in fact in 20' range and not smaller. Then if it is, just forget the whole idea before you kill someone. Yes you MIGHT actually be able to move it from point "A" to point "B", but there's no way you will ever be in control of a boat that big with such small tow rigs. I have seen smaller boats than than push pick-ups & surburbans around. Another thing that's important is the closer the wheels are to the back of the trailer the better for towing, but it adds weight on the hitch. Don't do it.

What kind (Brand) of boat? Engine?

[mletschin]

Like I said before still looking into exactly what kind and length, from the sound of it I might be over estiamting the length, it has been sitting int heir carport for about a year and I have not seen it out. I will find out. I really wanted to figure out what the maximum that should be towed length wise behind a TJ or Liberty for that matter. Unfortunately her liberty did not come with the Tow package when we bought it. WIll I need all those changes to the TJ as well if I end up using it and the boat is say 15-17' instead?