Which one of my vehicles should I tow with

NCJeepin

Well-Known Member
Joined
Mar 23, 2005
Location
Conway, SC
Well I have 2 decent powerful vehicles to tow with this year for my 89 YJ.

I do not have a diesel truck, or a devoted tow rig, so what i have will have to work, and I don't plan on trading, buying etc, so i have to make what I have work for now.

Situation: Towing from Sunset Beach (aka Southern NC Coast) to Uwharrie, Gulches, and Danville, VA (camp jeep), and anywhere else i decide to go this year.

Wheeling Rig: Stock YJ with 4" lift, 33's, no top. 6cyl.

Trailer: Standard wood deck dovetail car trailer, nothing heavy duty, your run of the mill, with elec brakes on 1 axle. (new)

Potential Tow Rigs:

1. 2000 Ford Expedition, 4x4, 5.4 V8 Tow rating 7400, Factory tow setup with 7pin, with air bags in the back (auto self level), 155K on the clock, no warranty, but runs great.

2. 2005 Jeep Grand Cherokee, 5.7 Hemi, tow rating 7200, Factory tow setup with 7pin, 4 wheel drive, 55K on the clock, full drive train warranty, and extended warranty to cover most everything else..

Both are automatic, but the jeep has the tiptronic, or slap shifter, whatever you call it, so i will have better control over the gearing, and both vehicles have a tow/haul button.

Now I know the expedition SHOULD be a better tow rig, but according to the jeep's specs, it should handle the towing well, and I like venturing away from home with a warranty by my side....


This is basically a opinion thread.. Let me know what you would do in my situation.
 
2000 Ford Expedition...I say that not from experience but a good bit of people on pirate tow with that exact vehicle with good results. Especially since you would have the self leveling system and 5.4. Search it on pirate. I know camo used the expedition to pull his buggy for a while. He is where I got most of my info because I was looking to get one for towing and DD before I decided to come back to school....Just my $0.02
 
Rob used to tow with a similarly set up expedition.

Duane
 
I've used that Expedition setup before, and it towed pretty well..
 
I have taken a few trips to uwharrie towing with the expedition before, with a TJ and I think it was awesome.... but since i have another vehicle in the driveway now, i thought i'd investigate my options
 
Jeep have plenty of power but I think you will find the extra weight and size of the expedition to be more friendly for towing since you sit up higher and would have more mass to stop the load in a emergency situation or lane change.
 
Properly equipped you should not have any problem with either one. I work for a Jeep dealer. I know how you feel about being away from home with the warranty.
 
Expedition to tow well, or the Jeep if you are worried about the warranty. Either will work okay, but I would lean towards the Ford.
 
Expedition would work well.
Youd have to try the jeep. im not sure of teh rear spring ratees or the weight for braking purposes. Im sure it has enough power.
 
Either will work okay, but I would lean towards the Ford.[/QUOTE]



not everyday you see those words in a towing related thread:flipoff2:


but the extra weight of the ford should help.
 
Knock on wood, but that old ford. is the loaded eddie bauer edition, auto 4 wheel drive, 5.4 and since new, its only needed a few coils replaced and a heater coil...

155K and still going strong... If it blew tomorrow i would have gotten my moneys worth 10x over...


When it finally does blow, it will be replaced with the same vehicle, just newer with less miles
 
I have an '06 Grand with the Hemi and a 20' trailer. I've been towing Cj's, full size Jeeps and my Kubota tractor on a regular basis for over 2 years with no problems. Been on several long trips including upstate New York, Georgia, Tenn, and Pennsylvania probly going faster that I should but no problems (except for my pos Sweet River Farms trailer).
 
Airbags and longer wheelbase make all the difference in the world.

And after towing without air bags then towing with them I would venture to say towing with any half ton type vehicle is not safe w/o airbags. The rear stock suspension just can't handle the weight of a trailer with another vehicle on it at interstate speeds IMO.

Also leafs seem to handle towing weight better from my experience, and if I'm thinking correctly the expedition has leafs and the Jeep has coils.

But once again the airbags are the key, like I said, I don't recommend towing without them, I've been in a few scary situations w/o them.
 
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