Pop-up hauling a ATV

OK .... thinkin this over, I ended up getting a 86 CJ5 Jeep, inline 6, and 5 speed. I figured this is probably the way to go, a little larger, a little heavier, but no trailer, it's street legal, someone sees the jeep or camper parked on the side of the road ...... they're thinking, "he's hiking and due back any minute". So now I just make camp and hop in the Jeep and off I go ...... back road or paved road.

Now I open the "can of worms". I thought, I could just flat tow it, put the trans and transfer case in neutral, make sure hubs are turned out, hook up the lights and tow bar, and it's "on the road baby". Now in searching the Internet I'm getting all sorts of horror stories. Don't "flat tow", disconnect the drive lines, only trailer it. So, I value your opinions. What's your thought's? "Life is not easy here in the West".

Thanks,

Funstini


I would venture a guess that Jeeps are the most towed 4 down vehicle there is. I know a lot of Jeeps differ from each other in order to tow them. I would find a good Jeep mechanic, maybe at a 4X4 center and get the low down for your specific Jeep. I know that rear wheel locking hubs are available for a lot of Jeeps. That, with the front hubs would eliminate all drive train movement. Might be the way to go.

I just called a good friend of mine down at Bucks 4X4 Center here in Boise. He said your Jeep does need the drive line removed to flat tow. However, Warn does make the rear locking hub for your Jeep. Then, locked out, nothing in the drive train is spinning but the wheels and perfectly safe to flat tow. Hope this helps. :)
 
Thanks for the help, I'll look into the rear wheel disconnect. Now I'm looking into a tow bar ........ didn't know there were so many on the market. I guess I won't have any tongue weight but it will have to hold up on the back roads.

Any ideas?

Thanks
 
I can't attest to applicability to Jeeps past the "CJ" series but Warn has been making the full floater or rear hub kit since the 70's for jeeps. I personally know in the 70's they worked like a charm.

A quick story:

In my "BC" or Before Camper era, I had a Ford Ranger -w- manual shift I towed behind my house at the time, a Tioga Motorhome. In trying to get set up I got lots of varying advice from "got to trailer it" to "needs a transmission kit" to "got to unhook the drivelines" to "hook it up and go". This advice came from the internet, my local Ford dealer and an independent shop.

Bottom line I called Ford Motor Co. using the phone number in my owners manual and their tech rep confirmed for my model based on my VIN# that my Ranger could be flat towed. Which I did repeatedly for a few years with no problems.

I suggest looking in your manual and see what it says and if still in question they probably have a tech/application # to call.

Oh, on tow bars I used a fold down model from Roadmaster. Not exactly cheap but worked for me. The jeep I personally know from the 70's above with the rear hub kit? It had a tow bar built out of channel iron with a 2" standard trailer hitch, bolted and bushing-ed to the front channel iron bumper. If your not looking for something fancy a junk yard search may turn up one like it. It did a good job doubling as a brush/deer guard. In fact killed a cow elk with it @ Flora Oregon in 1979.
 
I got my tow bar second hand, but here's the e-address to them:

http://www.roadmaster-tow-bars.com/

I did deal with them to get the brackets for the truck. They did me just fine, YMMV.

Congratulations on your purchase and making your plan come to life.
 
Really depends on which transfer case you have. Some (and i used to know, haven't kept up lately) have issues with oiling when only spun by the rear driveshaft and not the engine. Its really not difficult to remove the driveshaft ( I used to just zip tie mine out of the way).

I could be wrong but i think Warn has discontinued the rear hubs.
 
Here I go again. Spent more time than I should of in a post from last night, and then lost it all trying to attach a photo ......... hate when that happens.

Have spent the last couple weeks setting up my CJ7 for towing with the pop-up Ford pick-up. Guess all went well, seems to pull well, off road anyway. When I make a tight turn on asphalt the front tires squeal but I'm thinking it's like a duel axle trailer, something has to give, and rubber is much softer than asphalt. I was concerned about the tow bar in a off road situation and tightened the latch where it attached to the ball. I think I over tightened it because the ball was all scratched up then I unhitched the Jeep.

The Jeep was something else, and I guess I forgot to do my homework. The guy I bought it from was more interested in looks going down the street than back roading. It has a inline 6, 3.02 gears with a 5 speed overdrive and 35" tires, needless to say it takes a lot to get it rolling. I'm thinking I can shift into 5th at about the speed of sound. On most of the off-roads I was in low range and 1st and 2nd gears, and thinking if I get stuck I got nothing else. So I think 4.56's or 4.88's are going to be a necessity.

The Ford pick-up with the 7.3 diesel had no problem pulling the Jeep, I was amazed at the amount of torque and pulling power it had.

The photo (if it can be seen) is truck and Jeep at Deer Lake above Sierra Buttes in the Gold Lakes area.

Want to thank everyone for their input, I think it will be a nice combination and is what I was looking for.

IMG_6829.jpg
 
I had to go out to the garage and make sure my Jeep was still there :eek:

Still never been in the Gold Lakes area. Need to remedy that soon.
 
Funstini,

You're right about those gears. 5th will never be used. I would also check on which axle you have. I believe they used a Dana 20 in '86. This axle is very marginal with 35" tires.

When I was flat towing I converted to a pintle hitch. These are a little noisier but they won't come loose at extreme angles like a ball hitch. They are also easier to get lined up when hooking up.
 
Funstini,

You're right about those gears. 5th will never be used. I would also check on which axle you have. I believe they used a Dana 20 in '86. This axle is very marginal with 35" tires.

When I was flat towing I converted to a pintle hitch. These are a little noisier but they won't come loose at extreme angles like a ball hitch. They are also easier to get lined up when hooking up.
 
Another question ...........

Got the Jeep all set up, ...... new gears, tow bar hooked up (in fact got it down to hooking and dropping in about 5 min.), steering stabilizers, storage chest, high-lift jack and shovel. Have flat towed it a few times, up and over some pretty hairy back country roads.

The trouble is taking corners on pavement. It follows the truck well on wide turns but on tight turns it squeals and hops and takes a lot of rubber off the tires. In fact if I'm pulling it on a dirt road and have to back up (jack-knife)or take a tight turn the tires will stay at that tight angle. I'll pull it down the dirt road with the tires turned on the Jeep while pulling it straight with the truck. It stays like that until I go back and straighten out the tires. That ain't right.

I'm thinking that it should follow and steer with the truck. The wheels of the Jeep will turn but only up to, maybe a 25 or 30 degree angle and nothing tighter.

Any ideas?
 
Have you had the alignment on the jeep checked? Without enough caster angle on the front end the wheels will not self-center after turning - or poorly self-center.

How about the angle on the tow bar to hitch? You want it to be parallel to the road - if it is angled up or down it will add some crazy tracking action.

I've seen some people bungie cord there steering wheels to limit the amount they can turn so they do not get all angled to one direction or the other.

Other than that it sounds a lot like most flat towing - can't back up and can't take super sharp turns.
 
Have you had the alignment on the jeep checked? Without enough caster angle on the front end the wheels will not self-center after turning - or poorly self-center.

How about the angle on the tow bar to hitch? You want it to be parallel to the road - if it is angled up or down it will add some crazy tracking action.

I've seen some people bungie cord there steering wheels to limit the amount they can turn so they do not get all angled to one direction or the other.

Other than that it sounds a lot like most flat towing - can't back up and can't take super sharp turns.
 
Someone else mentioned checking the camber-caster. They also mentioned that the Jeep has such a short wheel base, and the tow bar so short and the truck so long that it has trouble following on tight turns. I do try to keep the towbar parallel to the ground. I think I will take it in and have the wheels aligned.

Thanks for the help.
 
The only problem I've had flat towing mine is the front wheels turning sideways in soft sand. I ended up holding the steering wheel with straps when I'm towing in the dunes. Never had much problem with tight turns.

Do you have lockers in the Jeep?

I would also jack up the front end and see if can grab a wheel and turn the steering. You might have a tight stabilizer, steering box or ball joint.

Ditto on having the caster checked. Running 35s on a Jeep can result in strange handling.
 
Sounds like it has a locker in one, if not both diffs. My ol' Landcruiser has a locker in the rear and it loves to do the bark 'n hop when turning a tight corner on pavement.

That's part of it's charm. :D
.
 
Part of the charm ...... I like that.

I have turned the front wheels by hand and they seem to turn alright. I did have them put in a limited slip differential in the rear when they changed the gears, but I had this problem from day one. I was in some pretty soft volcanic dirt when the wheels locked up. I do like the idea of tieing off the steering.

Thanks for all the advice.

Funstini
 
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