CC Outtake: Tug Car
– Posted on July 24, 2012
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Nice machines, Duckworth is a solid boat. I don’t think I’d hit the highway with that setup though. 😀
No.
I towed with a CJ-7 – ONCE. Never, never again.
The short wheelbase makes the rig hypersensitive to tire deflection when the trailer tongue starts shoving in sweeping turns. The turn would begin with understeer and then, as the trailer started pushing the tongue at an angle, switch violently to oversteer. If you weren’t expecting it, and even if you were, you could lose control in a nanosecond.
People tell me I’m insane! 😀
I wasn’t even comfortable towing our 17′ Tri hull with my S-10, no way I’d try with a CJ.
$20,000 asking price.
Sounds about right. It’s a fully welded Aluminum hull.
I borrowed one of those to go camping once with a tent trailer. Even with that lightweight it was a handful and a half…
My son was being reassigned from Alameda to Juneau. He decided to tow his WRX behind his rental U-Haul van. Unfortunately, he decided to load the WRX on one of those two-wheeled dollies instead of a trailer. By the time he got to Grants Pass, the transmission and clutch were totally fried. The U-Haul dealer never warned him that towing a Subaru requires full trailering. Now he knows…two months and $4000 later he finally got his car back.
hmmm….. your son should know that an all wheel drive car CANNOT be towed by a two wheeled dolly! Furthermore, that expensive lesson that would have been headed off by simply reading the UHaul website section for trailers. When making an online reservation the site is very explicit about when it’s ok to use a trailer or dolly.
Or by looking in his Subaru owners manual or by pulling the FWD fuse in the engine compartment.
I can’t say as I’ve ever pulled with a Cj-5 or a flattie like shown, but I have pulled a number of different things with my YJ which is the same size as the aforementioned Cj-7. If you pull something really heavy you are just asking for trouble they aren’t meant for it. I have pulled a tent trailer, a 16′ sidewinder ski boat, a Seadoo, and a 14.5′ Seadoo boat with my Jeeps. My current one is even lifted and it doesn’t concern me at all. The picture shown is probably just to move it around the yard or maybe to a launch down the street.
I towed a Harley Sportster, a 175 Honda , and luggage for two sailors in a Uhaul trailer with a 40hp vw beetle. Turned out to be a very expensive tow. First gear over the mountains between El Paso and Kansas. Change the transmission while on vacation. I agree with Justpassinthru and Sean. never again.
We’re now seasonal campers at our favourite campground. It’s really entertaining to see what people think is an appropriate tow vehicle. We sit in our site and watch them all come and go. For example, if you see a Ford Escape towing a 20′ or larger trailer, without fail they’ll say it was a hairy drive to the campground. My favourite was the Corolla towing the 16′ dual-axle Hybrid. I’d consider a 8′ tent trailer acceptable, but not that! The rear suspension was sitting on the bump stops.
I have a Ecoboost F-150 and tow a 29′ 6000lb trailer. I think it’s a good setup. It’s nowhere near the limit for that truck and I can tow comfortably at highway speed. The 4.0L Ranger that my truck replaced could have towed it too, but it would not have been a very enjoyable ride.
Just because you think the vehicle has enough power to tow doesn’t mean you can do so safely. Most people don’t take stability and braking power into account. I understand that most vehicles have low tow ratings for insurance reasons, but I just wish they’d all use common sense.
In my younger days i happened to be heading out on a snowmobile trip in my friends CJ-5 with our two sleds being towed behind. To say my friend wasn’t the worlds most observant driver would be kind of an understatement.
Towing these two snowmobiles with that Cj he came up on a 35mph curve in the road doing 50mph plus.
I’m not saying my life flashed before my eyes, but I definitely didn’t need any caffeine after that curve…