by Cutterpup » Sun Jun 26, 2005 12:17 pm
"5.2. Towing capacity
A popular discussion in rec.autos.makers.jeep+willys goes along the lines of, "My Wrangler has the same engine as a Cherokee, so how come it can't tow as much as a Cherokee?" The question is also phrased sometimes as, "I have a trailer and a boat that weigh 2500 pounds, but the owner's manual says I can only tow 2000 pounds. Am I safe doing this?"
Jerry Bransford gave the following answer to this topic: Jim Moore wrote:Greetings. (After the looong thread about tow hitches, I'm almost afraid to ask this, but I have looked in the FAQ and there's nothing there.) According to the Consumer World/Edmund web site, the towing capacity for the 97 Wrangler is (only) 2000lbs. That seems WAY low to me; I take it that's an accurate figure, though? I want to pull a small (19') sailboat (Hunter 19!) with a combined boat/trailer/motor/equipment weight of around 2500lb. Am I out of luck as far as a TJ is concerned? I'm not concerned about the short wheelbase aspect of towing, as I use a 90 Bronco II now without a lot of whipping around, but I don't want to screw anything up on a new Jeep. My wife's ZJ (I6, auto) pulls the combination with aplomb (it's not every day I get to work that word into a sentence). I'll be using it for short distances (<15mi) only. Any suggestions? Please don't say "Buy an F-150" or similar. It's hard for me to grasp that even a small pickup like the Ranger has a much higher tow rating than the Wrangler.Here's some very factual information on this, I'm 'up' on towing probably as much as anyone around these newsgroups.
"It's true the TJ's rated capacity is only 2,000 lbs. The low 2000 lb rating has nothing to do with the TJ's power, strength, brakes, or anything else related to that. If the towing capacity were only based on those parameters, it would be rated near 5000 lbs since the Cherokee with the exact same engine and tranny/brakes is rated for 5000 lbs.
The 2000 lb limitation is strictly due to the TJ's short wheelbase. Anything heavier will 'take command' of the TJ/trailer combination when you're going down a twisty road and the first time you have to hit your brakes hard on a curve, you're in deep doo-doo. The short wheelbase can't resist the 'moment' (force) of the trailer trying to push the TJ's rear-end one way or the other and suddenly you've jack-knifed and in BIG trouble. "
There is a difference between what a jeep how much weight a jeep can tow and what is safe for it to tow out on the road. This why I mentioned the 4000 lb ability of the little but mighty wrangler. Like a good Morgan horse, they are far more capable than their size may lead you to beleive.
That said, we would not tow more than what is safe with any vehicle.
Judy
Today we hitched the teardrop up and moved it with something other than muscle power. Even though it looks good behind Dan's wrangler we will be towing it with Judy's grand cherokee most of the time. It's somewhat larger and is closer in color to the burgundy on the trailer.
