Which way to tow?

[cdawall]

So I am planning on taking my lifted, SAS'd ranger down to TX. I have to pick up my 94 XJ in Houston and than take them both back up to South Dakota. Round trip is around 2800 miles. Will be getting towed around 1400 miles.

The ranger has the stock 4.0 SOHC with 38's and 5.38's. The jeep has the stock 4.0L I-6 with 33's and 4.88's. Which way should I tow Ranger with the Jeep or Jeep with the Ranger. Either way it is going to get towed front wheels on a dolly and rear driveshaft pulled. The dolly has surge brakes. Both vehicles should weigh in under 5K each.

 

[adsm08]

Well, I'd pull the vehicle you are buying since you don't know what may be wrong with it. The Ranger you are familiar with and have a better chance of A) Not breaking down and B) Noticing if something is going wrong.

 

[kryptonitecb]

Sounds like the op owns both vehicles. Figure out which vehicle has the higher tow rating. Kinda difficult to choose since both weigh more than the respective tow capacities. Unless your ranger has 3/4 ton brakes which would make it more desirable to tow with since your ranger would be able stop both vehicles.

Sent from road while ignoring traffic

 

[cdawall]

Well, I'd pull the vehicle you are buying since you don't know what may be wrong with it. The Ranger you are familiar with and have a better chance of A) Not breaking down and B) Noticing if something is going wrong.

I own both vehicles. Nothing is wrong with either.

Sounds like the op owns both vehicles. Figure out which vehicle has the higher tow rating. Kinda difficult to choose since both weigh more than the respective tow capacities. Unless your ranger has 3/4 ton brakes which would make it more desirable to tow with since your ranger would be able stop both vehicles.

Sent from road while ignoring traffic

Both are rated for around 6K. The Ranger has 1 ton disk brakes front and rear with a matching master cylinder.

 

[SeanWilson]

I’d defiantly tow with the ranger.
your running 1 ton breaks to you could stop a Tex dump trailor if you wanted to, so a jeep, cake walk
and the ranger is longer then the jeep, so it would me a much easy and less wobbly ride.
Take it from me i pulled a 30 enclosed snowmobile trailer half way around the country and back (Iowa-WA) with a dodge 2500, and you should know the nasty cross winds that blow through Texas, Kansas, Oklahoma and Nebraska... smaller the trailed vehicle the better

 

[RangerSVT]

I wouldnt use a tow dolly for that distance (for me, not at all). Rent a uhaul car trailer or better yet, a 17 ft uhaul truck and put the heep in the back

SVT

 

[cdawall]

I’d defiantly tow with the ranger.
your running 1 ton breaks to you could stop a Tex dump trailor if you wanted to, so a jeep, cake walk
and the ranger is longer then the jeep, so it would me a much easy and less wobbly ride.
Take it from me i pulled a 30 enclosed snowmobile trailer half way around the country and back (Iowa-WA) with a dodge 2500, and you should know the nasty cross winds that blow through Texas, Kansas, Oklahoma and Nebraska... smaller the trailed vehicle the better

I have made the run a couple of times, but only once with a trailer. I figured the ranger would be a better choice, but wanted to see everyone else's opinion.

I wouldnt use a tow dolly for that distance (for me, not at all). Rent a uhaul car trailer or better yet, a 17 ft uhaul truck and put the heep in the back

SVT

So you are saying it would be safer to overload the truck with an extra 3-3500lb trailer than just using a tow dolly that hundreds of thousands of people have been hauling for decades? I am also not going to drop a grand to rent a truck to haul it. All I am trying to do with this is save some gas money and towing it home vs me driving one and the wife the other.

 

[Ozwynn]

dollies suck ('specially uhaul dollies) ..... I don't care how long they have been around. I cringe every time I see one behind anything smaller than an F150. Better to drive them both than risk life, limb, truck, and wife just to save a few dollars.

FYI ..... the Uhaul auto transport weighs 1900 pounds...... you would be better off getting a tow bar and flat towing the jeep or driving them both.

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

And I have seen a tandam axle U-Haul trailer about to loose its tongue as well, only the upper web of the C channel on both sides was holding the trailer to the truck (it was a box truck pulling it) IIRC (I was going to summer camp at the time so it has been awhile ago) it was an empty stock half ton GM pickup on the trailer.

Never really trusted their car haulers since...

 

[Ozwynn]

truth be told .... I trust nothing U-Haul............

 

[cdawall]

I am not talking about the crappy uhual one...I am borrowing my uncles full size aluminum tow dolly I have pulled it before with a small car on it that weighs all of 300lbs less than the jeep, but that was a much shorter distance (3hrs) and my truck was pretty stock (AAL, tbar crank and 285/75's). However it towed that without breaking a sweat and still pulled off 14MPG. Is the current truck and jeep height going to hurt it towing that much?

The vehicles in question. The jeep sits a smidge higher in the rear.

 

[Ozwynn]

your hitch height is too high. you would need a drop hitch. with the big lift and tires I doubt you get 14mpg now let alone pulling something........ even if you come back and say I get 18 mpg with the lift and tires I would not believe you....... I would either drive them both and get a tow bar for the jeep and make your hitch height, bumper on the jeep, and tow bar as flat as possible.


if you use the dolly then you need a hitch height of 15-18" Thats what the dolly is designed for.

 

[cdawall]

If i do end up towing it I am going to have a shorter tire on it which will drop it about 2" vs it now. The hitch now sits at 24" now so it wont be a terrible drop hitch. If it does end up being that bad the wife can just drive the damn thing. LOL this is for her since she doesn't want to have to drive.

 

[Bennybooster]

I would tow with the ranger, more stable because of WB and better brakes

 

[Hagan]

I'd tow with the Ranger using the Dolly. Me and my brother built one in High School and we've been using it for about 4 years. I've used it around 20 times. Although it isn't a trailer...it weighs a whole lot less than a car trailer and its much cheaper for you since its free to rent. I wouldn't hesitate to use the Dolly. I towed a full size Dodge van on a Dolly once...that sucked!