Towing with a 2 Door JL

billiebob

Well-known member
A 2-door Wrangler is not a fabulous tow vehicle. Doesn't matter what year it is or what engine it has.
Yes it is, the 4 cylinder SE is rated for 1000#, perfect vehicle for launching a couple of SeaDoos or sleds.
The 6 cylinder is rated for 2000# YJ/TJ/JK.
The longer wheelbase LJ/JKU are rated to tow 3500#.
There were a few years the JK was rated to tow 3500# depending on gearing.

The only difference between the LJ and the TJ is 10" more wheelbase. Which is why I'm not too concerned with towing 3500#.
BUT I'd NEVER advise anyone to EXCEED the load or towing ratings even tho it is done often.

And yes, it is a fabulous tow vehicle. I drive my TJR 24K miles a year, at least a third of that towing 2000# in the mountains, thru winter storms too.

The big factor with the Wrangler on the highway is FRONTAL AREA..... hopefully someone can chime in with this, I think it is near 30 square feet. Which is like 5'w x 6' high. Not much bigger than the Wranglers frontal area.
 
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jacobconroy

Hillbilly of Leisure
You didn't read what I said, I NEVER advised anyone to do it, only that at low speeds it is capable of moving much more than the rated load...... on this forum, there are daily posts of guys exceeding the GVWR with their pickups and travelling overland to boot.

I used my short wheelbase TJ to park my neighbours travel trailer every year under the shed..... the tongue weight was a bit high but at under 5mph for a block it had no problems. And the short wheelbase TJ was the only way to maneuver it in.
View attachment 557890

Oh I read what you said, and it was inferred that towing with a 2-door is no problem and in fact, as you said, fabulous. Posts like that might encourage the OP to purchase a 2-door Jeep with the intention to occasionally tow and not realize that these Jeeps are quite possibly the worst 4WD choice available in North America for towing anything at all.

Can we think of any other 4WD rig with a lower tow rating? Maybe a Suzuki Samurai? If we can't come up with one, that must mean that every choice of vehicle is a fabulous tow vehicle

Any car or truck will tow the trailer in your picture for a block. Op is talking about 30 miles. Do you happen to know how much tongue weight that 30 foot trailer has? I'd think it's at least 300 lbs. If so that means that the OP can expect approximately that much sag in his rear while towing his 2900 lbs. trailer on the highway if he doesn't install some mods. Does that look like it's going to be fun when he has to dodge a Dodge or a soccer mom playing with her phone while having very little weight on his front tires? Now let's imagine he needs to dodge on winter roads. Wheels turn right, or left. Rig goes straight.

Not to be snarky, but I mentioned in post 3 what the OP could expect to hear about towing capacities and Jeeps and that is exactly what has happened in this thread and every other thread on the Internets about towing with a 2-door. For some reason it seems to be worse for Jeeps than pickup trucks. People tend to think that if a vehicle can simply move forward with a pile of crap attached to the back that it's perfectly safe.

I will tell you that after we tried towing a 1900 lbs. camp trailer for 30-50 mile trips during the summer with a 2-door Jeep we bought a 6-cylinder Subaru Outback to tow that trailer. The Subaru was far and away a much wiser choice and did in fact tow that trailer "fabulously". That says a lot about towing with a 2-door.

Keep in mind that I am also guilty about packing my Jeep to the point that it is 600 lbs. over weight. Please don't think that I'm being "all high and mighty" here because that isn't my intention. If I knew then what I know now (pertaining to towing with a 2-door) I would have purchased a 4-door JK instead of a 2-door. The OP might be interested to know that since he hasn't purchased yet. Then again, maybe not.

But, people that are going to tow whatever the hell they want to with no regard for the law, a Jeep engineers' opinion, or public safety are irresponsible. Let's just say that if the OP happens to wrap his Jeep around a tree while pulling 45% more weight than Jeep "allows", I'll hope that his wife, family, and dogs are not in the car with him.

Meanwhile I'll be hoping that my wife, family, and dogs are not in his way either.
 

jacobconroy

Hillbilly of Leisure
Yes it is, the 4 cylinder SE is rated for 1000#, perfect vehicle for launching a couple of SeaDoos or sleds.
The 6 cylinder is rated for 2000# YJ/TJ/JK.
The longer wheelbase LJ/JKU are rated to tow 3500#.
There were a few years the JK was rated to tow 3500# depending on gearing.

The only difference between the LJ and the TJ is 10" more wheelbase. Which is why I'm not too concerned with towing 3500#.
BUT I'd NEVER advise anyone to EXCEED the load or towing ratings even tho it is done often.

And yes, it is a fabulous tow vehicle. I drive my TJR 24K miles a year, at least a third of that towing 2000# in the mountains, thru winter storms too.

The big factor with the Wrangler on the highway is FRONTAL AREA..... hopefully someone can chime in with this, I think it is near 30 square feet. Which is like 5'w x 6' high. Not much bigger than the Wranglers frontal area.

Frontal area rule means that you can't tow anything that is wider or taller than your Jeep. In other words, the Jeep cannot deal with any additional wind resistance (per Chrysler). It's in the JK manual.

Great for towing a Jetski, a lawnmower, a Tonka truck, or anything that is less than 2000 lbs. From real life experience I would say that anything over 1000 lbs. is "tolerable". Certainly not "fabulous".

Besides, OP asked about 2-door JK/JL and towing over 2000 lbs. Short answer is that it's not a brilliant idea and you will most likely regret your choice of tow vehicle.
 

MOguy

Explorer
Fortunately frontal area issue hasn't been an issue with my TJ. I noticed the larger size with my Grand but not my TJ.

OP you can tow what you want, even though your Jeep is not designed to tow that much it will tow it. But should you?

You talked about towing a snowplow in bad weather? If it is weather you need a snow plow in of course it is not the best idea regardless the tow vehicle or the trailer.

You talk about towing a 2900lb trailer, my TJ did it for about 1600 miles. The breaking, steering and handling was greatly impacted. I would recommend against it. But towing has that impact, always. Picking a better tow vehicle will reduce those issues.

If you are going to tow and want a Wrangler get the 4 door. What ever Wrangler you choose it won't tow as well as your pick up.

It is funny the response here in regards to towing. People in this forum, and those doing this activity, are BY FAR THE WORST I have EVER seen as far as improperly loading and overloading a vehicle.
 
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86scotty

Cynic
I have a close friend who did a multi-thousand mile family road trip this summer with a 4 door JL pulling a 20' hard sided single axle travel trailer. I'm talking a 10' high, 20' long, 8' wide white box type fiberglass camper. The 3.6l would not go above 70, period. Also, he averaged about 8 mpg for the trip. He is not the road warrior I am nor has he had 100+ vehicles, campers, etc. but he is a competent driver and said it was an insane choice. Trucks moved him around, it wasn't easy to get started or stop. I wonder if he will ever try it again.

I know this isn't directly relative to this thread but thought it worth sharing. The 8 miles per gallon is the punch line here for those who didn't catch that.
 

BigAl

Expedition Leader
Or, is the towing entirely weather dependent?

Yes

You talked about towing a snowplow in bad weather? If it is weather you need a snow plow in of course it is not the best idea regardless the tow vehicle or the trailer.

Some of my requirements are getting lost. Not towing in bad weather is not an option. That is the only reason I need to tow. I've set aside the idea of towing a 2900lb cargo trailer. I would be towing a utility trailer with a utv/pow combo which for S&G, I took to a scale yesterday. It weighed 2187lbs. I could drop another 60 if I removed the cargo box and tools from the utv. It sounds like Jeep has previously rated the Jk platform at 3500 and still does so in Europe. I could live with out a spare tire for these short trips. I am looking to downsize. If I wanted a 4 door, I'd buy another Tundra. JLU is out of the question. Thanks for all the help
 
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MOguy

Explorer
Yes



Some of my requirements are getting lost. Not towing in bad weather is not an option. That is the only reason I need to tow. I've set aside the idea of towing a 2900lb cargo trailer. I would be towing a utility trailer with a utv/pow combo which for S&G, I took to a scale yesterday. It weighed 2187lbs. I could drop another 60 if I removed the cargo box and tools from the utv. It sounds like Jeep has previously rated the Jk platform at 3500 and still does so in Europe. I could live with out a spare tire for these short trips. I am looking to downsize. If I wanted a 4 door, I'd buy another Tundra. JLU is out of the question. Thanks for all the help

Seems your mind is made up. You should be able to do what you want to do, your setup isn't ideal but if your careful and bad luck doesn't catch up with you you should live. Just think about what you're doing take it easy allow a lot of extra room and hope for the best.

For me I'd be more worried about towing a really light trailer in bad weather conditions then a trailer that's too heavy in good conditions.

I got stuck in one snow, ice storm with my camper one time, it sucks far far worse even though it was only a short distance then towing a tralier that was too heavy halfway across country.
 

jacobconroy

Hillbilly of Leisure
Oh yeah, since MPG came up. I was getting around 13 when pulling 1900 lbs. with the 3.8 motor. Would think the 3.6 engines might do better though.
 

jacobconroy

Hillbilly of Leisure
You'll be able to tow 2200 sir. As previously stated by several of us, invest in studded winter tires, trailer brakes, air bags, and keep it slow.

Also, I've never tried pulling a trailer over 13 feet long in the JK. Not sure if trailer length is relevant given the teensy wheel base of these Jeeps. Might be something to check into for winter towing.
 

billiebob

Well-known member
Here is my camper which goes everywhere including over power line passes. At 1500# it is invisible behind the TJ and if I drive at or under the speed limit, without passing on the 3 lanes it gets 17mpg. Be aggressive it drops to 14mpg. In the winter towing my 2000# work trailer I might get 11/12mpg. But nobody gets good mileage in the winter.

This unit goes everywhere. Towing off road is the one place I like the Rubis 4L gearing.
DSC_0073 2.jpeg
 

MOguy

Explorer
I have a cargo trailer setup to carry my kayaks and other camping gear for base camping. it does not stick up higher and is not wider than my Jeep. I get better gas mileage Towing that than I do with a roof rack even loaded with only a small bag carrying a few sleep bags.
 

billiebob

Well-known member
I use this a few times a year to pick up chimney supplies in Calgary every year. 600 miles round trip in any weather, 2 door Wranglers make fabulous tow vehicles, even over mountain passes in winter, sorry but I don't stop for photos in winter storms.

Like them winter tires !!
Anytime someone says the 2 door Wrangler sucks as a tow vehicle.... ask what they use for tires in the winter.
DSC_0007.jpeg

This was the basis for my OSB BOX
DSCN1493.jpeg

And I still do this 4 or 5 times a year. 3000 miles a year. Fabulous tow vehicle.

trlr 016.jpg
 
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shade

Well-known member
Anytime someone says the 2 door Wrangler sucks as a tow vehicle.... ask what they use for tires in the winter.
I'd ask what they're towing, how the Jeep has been modified, and where they're going.

Properly loaded, the OP's UTV & trailer will be fine most anywhere, especially if trailer brakes are used and the Jeep isn't running giant tyres on a huge lift. The wind load on the 2200 lb UTV/trailer won't be that bad, and the weight is reasonable. Mountain grades will require more attention than the same load with a larger truck, but it shouldn't be bad. Slow down and enjoy the view.

Change one or more of those variables, and towing could be much less ... fabulous.
 

jacobconroy

Hillbilly of Leisure
I'd ask what they're towing, how the Jeep has been modified, and where they're going.

Properly loaded, the OP's UTV & trailer will be fine most anywhere, especially if trailer brakes are used and the Jeep isn't running giant tyres on a huge lift. The wind load on the 2200 lb UTV/trailer won't be that bad, and the weight is reasonable. Mountain grades will require more attention than the same load with a larger truck, but it shouldn't be bad. Slow down and enjoy the view.

Change one or more of those variables, and towing could be much less ... fabulous.

Very intelligent post.
 

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