Stick with the truck. Normal wranglers can tow 2000 the long one 3500. I'm talking TJ's and LJ's. No idea about JK's

 

Ok my cherokee can tow 5000 lbs but its pretty old so I am worried, may just go with the f150

 

My Wife's V8 Grand Cherokee Limited claimed a 7,500 lb.max tow weight ability That was a complete joke. My Maxxum 20' cuddy-cabin V8 boat was under 5,000 lbs. boat and trailer and that Grand Cherokee was pushed around by that boat enough to scare me. Appropriate tongue weight too.

Your Wrangler isn't even CLOSE to being able to SAFELY tow a 5,000 lb. boat. It might be able to pull it but if you get into an emergency maneuver, especially if you're on a curve or turn, that boat is going to take over and teach you the meaning of 'the tail wagging the dog'.

Not to mention that if you got into an accident while towing more weight than your Wrangler is rated to tow it's unlikely your insurance company will cover it.

 

well if you are going to tow something like that for a long distance stick with a truck wranglers are good for offroading but not so very good at towing.

but if you are really asking can it tow? yes they can in fact my Tj towed a car. the trailer was 1ton and the car 2.4 (it had some parts inside and another engine in the trunk) the total weight was over 3TONS and my Tj did it at 80km for about 40 miles NO TROUBLE what so ever but yeah i know its unsafe for me and the others but hey job is job and i needed the money. so if you are really willing to take the risk its not so bad. but if you are towing things like that frequently i would go with the pick up

 

The engine and transmission can handle it, in fact they're used in other Chrysler vehicles with a 5000 lb. tow rating. The problem is not with the engine and transmission, its with the design of the Wrangler. It was built as an off road vehicle, stopping a trailer and preventing it from swaying are not the Wrangler's strong points. I would not use it to tow 5,000 lbs.

 

The Jeep can pull it, BUT stability and braking is a huge problem. That is the reason for the low tow rating.

Don't put others at risk.

I use my TJ to move my heavy boat around the house to the backyard, but that's as far as it goes.

 

Tail wagging the dog for sure.

 

I have been towing boats since the early 70's and my last boat was a 4.5K lb. (boat & trailer) Maxxum I towed regularly behind my wife's V8 equipped Grand Cherokee. Don't even CONSIDER towing a 5k lb. boat behind a Wrangler, it's not even close to being able to safely tow it. The Grand Cherokee was rated to to 6500 lbs. and that Maxxum boat, even with trailer brakes was still a little too much for it. It towed it but it would have been in serious trouble if I ever had needed to try to avoid something happening in front of me.

For something as heavy and with the mass of that 5K lb. boat, definitely go with the F150 if choosing between it and a Wrangler. And even that F150 had better be set up properly, not all F150's would be great at that particular tow job either.

You can't always believe/trust a vehicle's tow ratings, you have to use a little common sense too. I would have been nuts to have tried towing an even heavier boat than that 4.5K lb. boat/trailer I had even though the Grand Cherokee was rated to tow 6.5K lbs. Tow ratings are simply part of the marketing game, keep that in mind.

 

5k lbs? I wouldn't recommend it. I'm pulling/ towing on average 4-5 times a month with my enclosed trailer and audio weighing in around 2400lbs and it does ok, but I wouldn't want to tow a heavier load than 2400+ lbs.

03' TJ WITH 5 speed manual with 4.0

 

you might be able to tow it BUT can you stop it.

 

If your Cherokee is older but still in good condition, keep it. It's a better tow vehicle and has more room inside for stuff you take with you fishing.

There was a member on here who was going to trade in a GC (I think a few years older than yours) that was in great condition. They offered him $1000 for it. He kept it and turned it into his DD. A very inexpensive second vehicle. It was worth far more than $1K to him.

 

If you were to get into an accident while pulling that much, your victim could take you to the cleaners. If you were lucky enough to only wreck yourself, your insurance can deny the claim.

Sent from my SM-N986U using Tapatalk

 

I wonder if truck springs (i.e., front torsion bars) tow better than coil springs? My '98 Durango tows a lot more stable than my coil spring trucks. My max safe speed towing with coil springs is 55, but my Durango feels safe towing at very high speeds. Maybe look for an Xterra (front torsion bars, rear leafs).

 

It's not the springs that make that trailer too much for his Wrangler, it's his short wheelbase.

 

I once towed the race car on a trailer, worth about 3500 lbs, with my CJ5. I was young and stupid then. Thought I was Superman. Drove it about 200 miles each way, and got away with it. Would never attempt it today. I have far too much to lose with all the liability of bad decisions like that.

 

Thinking about this deeper, I think the really key element of getting pushed around is rear-steer that's caused by the rear suspension geometry. As the trailer inflicts vertical motion on the tow vehicle, its trackbar has a steering effect on the rear end of the vehicle, sort of a corollary to the roll-steer that we're all familiar with.

I think this is why the OP reported good results towing with his XJ. It does not have a rear trackbar, so it does not get rear-steered by the trailer. I've experienced the same thing with my '98 Durango, towing stable at very high speeds. By contrast, those with rear trackbars have reported unstable towing.

So I guess the rear leaf springs are the key to having a good tow vehicle. I had not previously thought of this because the XJ's front solid axle would make me nervous about towing (i.e., theoretical possibility of death wobble in SFA vehicle). Not many leaf spring vehicles around these days, so the recommendation is still Xterra.

 

Not really. Actually has nearly no effect. There are a number of potential issues that include relative vehicle weights, allowable tongue weight, sway bar stiffness, distance from rear axle centerline to trailer hitch pivot point, brake size, tire size, abs capability, frame stiffness, likely others.

 

small fishing boats, kayak trailers, personal watercraft trailers, lawnmower trailers, overlanding trailers...small uhaul.

I wouldn't haul a large boat might be sketchy.

 

Haha, I wonder if the OP solved this question almost 8 years ago

 

I hate it when that happens.

 

lol. I wasn't even paying attention.