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HELP! Jeep won't trail w/tow bar

2K views 20 replies 5 participants last post by  Ellis 
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#1 ·
HELP! Jeep won\'t trail w/tow bar

I just tried out my tow bar on my CJ5 and the darn thing doesnt trail worth a darn. On corners it tries to go straight and if it does turn it wont straighten out. Kinda scary!! I removed the steering stabilizer thinking that would help but now go.....Any suggestions??

http://www.hi-line.net/~kvoast/Towbar1.JPG
http://www.hi-line.net/~kvoast/Towbar2.JPG

Thanks!!

Everyday travel is off-roading in this town....
 
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#2 ·
Re: HELP! Jeep won\'t trail w/tow bar

As long as you don't have the steering locked in any way the only thing I can think of is if the caster is really off that would possibly keep it from straightening out. I know those big tires make them harder to turn too. I know this might be a silly question but you've got the hubs unlocked right?
Bob
 
#3 ·
Re: HELP! Jeep won\'t trail w/tow bar

This is just an ameture guess, but I think you need to take as much weight as possible OFF of the tow vehicle. I think if you experiment with a larger "drop" on your hitch, you might get better results. Basically, I think your tow vehicle is carrying your CJ. Your CJ's front end isn't holding any weight.

IN2DEEP 78 CJ5 302 FORD /wwwthreads_images/icons/shocked.gif T176/D300 REAR ARB 35" BFGS
 
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#4 ·
Re: HELP! Jeep won\'t trail w/tow bar

Ill have to get the front end checked out too.

I got the hubs unlocked. We were looking at it and wondering if I put another joint to allow each arm to fold inward on a turn, if that wouldnt help??? I dont want to get too many joints on the thing it would allow it to sway around in tow??????

It may just be the tires???

Everyday travel is off-roading in this town....
 
#5 ·
Re: HELP! Jeep won\'t trail w/tow bar

Is this a homemade tow bar? does the tow bar fold up? I think the problem is in the joint at the bumper. It need to move up and down not side by side. by moving sideways it has too much play so vehicle keeps moving forward

brownbagg
 
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#6 ·
Re: HELP! Jeep won\'t trail w/tow bar

It is home made and there is a joint to allow up and down movement as well as side to side, but there has been no side to side movement since the new paint has not been disturbed. In addition, I have the bolts tight at the side to side joint.

Everyday travel is off-roading in this town....
 
#7 ·
Re: HELP! Jeep won\'t trail w/tow bar

I had this problem when I built one for a dune buggy. The need for no sidemovement is to follow the tow vehicle. Like a kid in the store with dad, if the tow arm is lose in movement the kid will run everywhere. If you remove the side movement or ( idea just entered head) couple vice grips , clamp a bar from arm to arm, at bumper joint, this will limit side movement, try this. Movement in up and down is O.K.

brownbagg
 
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#8 ·
Re: HELP! Jeep won\'t trail w/tow bar

I just went out to look at my towbar. It's an old u-haul ( sshhh ) and it's heavy and doesn't fold but I don't see a whole lot of difference other than mine clamps over the inside edge of the bumper and I've got it adjusted so the arms are just to the outside of the frame rails. I do experience some of your problems on a real tight turn. It will kinda drag on sharp corners but usually straightens right out. You want to keep the bar fairly level between your hitch and the jeeps bumper but you really don't have any weight transfer onto the towed vehicle with a towbar. You can disconnect the towbar at the hitch and as long as it's locked in place it'll just stick straight out. There's no weight on it other than the weight of the bar itself. If you locked the bar, hitched it to your tow truck and then removed the front tires then you would have weight transfer just like a boat or car trailer.
Bob
 
#9 ·
Re: HELP! Jeep won\'t trail w/tow bar

This wont help you out at all but I was wondering if you could tell me what kind of seats you have in that nice looking CJ .Thanks !!!

Jeff

Happy Owner of a 1979 CJ5
Almost finished /wwwthreads_images/icons/tongue.gif ( Ya Right ! )

There`s No Such Thing As Surface Rust
 
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#10 ·
Re: HELP! Jeep won\'t trail w/tow bar

This problem has nothing to do with your tow bar. You have lift shackles on and this changes the caster angle. If you are anywhere near 0 degrees. It will not follow straight. There is no fix for this other than lower it back to stock setup.(am Im sure you dont want to do that). Have veen down this road before.
Jimmy
 
#12 ·
Re: HELP! Jeep won\'t trail w/tow bar

MTJeeper, you could put wedge plates in to give some degrees of caster, this could make your drive shaft angle greater. I pull my 88YJ with only 2" of lift all over the southeast with my motorhome and it tracks fine.

Happy Trails
 
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#14 ·
Re: HELP! Jeep won\'t trail w/tow bar

Your problem is definetly caster related, but you don't have to reinvent the wheel to fix it. You can either buy or build a limiting strap to take care of this. In the old days before locking steering columns if you drove a tow truck and had to tow a car from the rear, you had to put this harness thing on the steering wheel and tied it to the seat frame to keep the wheel from turning. Whe you tow backwards the caster is working against you.
Later on when I was working class 8 trucks we used the same kinda strap when we flat towed semis, big trucks with manual steering have very little caster to make them as easy as possible to steer. When you tried to tow them they would be all over the road! The strap we had had a large elastic bungee in it and another strap that limited how far the bungee would stretch. The strap tied on to the wheel at two of the spokes and to the bottom of the seat frame, when it was installed right the wheel could only turn 1/4 of a turn either way and was spring loaded to the center by the bungee.
You could build a real nice one out of a 1" cargo strap and a rubber bungee off of that ten in one gym your wife bought you and never used because it interfered with your 16 ounce weight lifting regemine.
good luck jjc
 
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#15 ·
Re: HELP! Jeep won\'t trail w/tow bar

the strap and bungie is what i have to do to mine. The bungie to keep it straight, and the strap to limit it to 1/2 of a turn. It works good if I can make wide turn, when I turn sharp, the Jeep wants to turn the opposite way. I have 0 degrees caster.

Thanks, Ray
 
#16 ·
Re: HELP! Jeep won\'t trail w/tow bar

When I tow my CJ-5 I use a homemade tow bar that is similar to yours except for the extra pivot for side to side movement. It should just have a pivot for up and down movement. The extra pivot could be causing excess slop and be making it hard to turn. I found the key to safer towing was buying 4 205/75 tires and rims and putting them on when towing it. The 33" mt's followed every groove in the road and made it sway at 55-70 mph. The tires were bought used as were the rims, about $100 total. By the way I also run longer shackles on mine and with the smaller tires it tracks fine.
 
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#17 ·
Re: HELP! Jeep won\'t trail w/tow bar

Id guess your caster is off too. After you get that taken care of, turn your reciever into i 'rise', not a 'drop'. Also, while towing, dont turn the steering wheel unless you are moving.
JEEPRZ
 
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#18 ·
Re: HELP! Jeep won\'t trail w/tow bar

The tow bar is not the problem. I bet if you grab the ball receptacle, you can't move it side to side because the tow bar and bumper make a triangle which is a stable truss. The problem is the long shackles have reduced your caster angle towards zero degrees. If your jeep tends to wander when you drive it down the road, that's a reduced caster angle showing itself. Either get rid of the long shackles and replace the springs with a "lift" spring or add degree shims between the axle and springs to rotate the top of the knuckles aft and get back some caster angle. I'd prefer the spring change. Shims have a way of working their way out over time.
 
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#19 ·
Re: HELP! Jeep won\'t trail w/tow bar

Thanks everyone for your comments and help.

I am going to get some axle wedges, cut them down to fit a pre 76 CJ, spot weld them (if possible), and try the heavy bungee cord with limiting straps on the steering wheel. Ill let everyone know how it turns out.

Thanks again everyone!!!

Kraig

Everyday travel is off-roading in this town....
 
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#20 ·
Re: HELP! Jeep won\'t trail w/tow bar

I tow my cj7 all over nevada and i found with a 4" lift 6deg shims got the caster back and when i tow i set the air pressure to about 26 lb in the tires so as not to ride on a over filled tire and it track straight all the way to 80 mph i also use my reciever in a raised position so the tow bar is level when connecetd also try to keep extra weight out of the rear of the jeep too much weight and it will try to fish tail these tip have worked for me and i found them over trial and error and lot of tow miles good luck
 
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#21 ·
Re: HELP! Jeep won\'t trail w/tow bar

Make sure your steering is not locked and bungie the sterring wheel fairly tight on both sides and give it another try. I tow my CJ5 and don' have the problem with the wheel held with bungie. Give it a try.

80 CJ5, 52M38 Always carry a BFH and a screwdriver.
 
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