[3125]

This may be a crazy question, but we need to transport my brother's CJ7 to his apartment from my house (about 24 miles) and I am wondering on how to tow it.

Can we tow a 1979 CJ7 with Quadratrac on 2 wheels? We were thinking about renting a dolly from Uhaul and pulling it down there... will that screw it up?

Thanks in advance.

Sean

 

[13337]

24 miles won't hurt anything unless you leave it in gear or leave the E-brake on...

What am I saying? A '79 won't have a working E-brake!

 

[CJDave]

/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/tongue.gif If his Quarda-Trac has the OPTIONAL LOW RANGE, all you have to do is put the main transmission in PARK and the transfer case in neutral. If it only has the direct drive range, use a dolly for the front axle and take off the rear driveline. Don't do like the guy from Seattle who put his QT CJ7 on the dolly and when he took off, the Jeep climbed over the dolly and tried to get into the pickup with him. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/crazy.gif

 

[WILL]

Like Dave said, flat tow or disconnect the rear driveshaft on a dolly.

 

[3125]

Thanks for the info guys.

I think we're going to try to disconnect the rear drive shaft and dolly-tow it.

I have two concerns now though.

First, we have 32" tires on his Jeep - would the standard straps that come with Uhaul Dolly's be able to accomodate the larger diameter tires (I can just ask Uhaul this question).

And - what kind of issues can we expect when we go to disconnect the rear driveshaft? Is it difficult? I suspect it is going to be a matter of reading through the Haynes manual.

Sean

 

[csc_wyo]

[ QUOTE ]
...we have 32" tires on his Jeep - would the standard straps that come with Uhaul Dolly's be able to accomodate the larger diameter tires (I can just ask Uhaul this question).

[/ QUOTE ]

When I bought my jeep I used a Uhaul Dolly. At the time the jeep had 33" tires and it worked just fine for the 70 miles I towed it. 35's would have been too big though (fyi for anyone else).

Also...I didn't disconnect the drive shafts, only putting the tranny in Neutral and it worked w/o any hiccups.

 

[sourpwr]

I have used Uhaul trailers to tow my CJ while on 31s, 33s and 36s. The straps may have been marginal on the 31s. The straps did not work with the 33s.

I suggest that you not tell Uhaul that your tires are oversized, they may refuse to rent to you. I would be prepared to use a different method for strapping the Jeep, just in case.

For what it is worth, the car haulers only rent for $50 for 24 hours.

-- Mike

 

[csc_wyo]

[ QUOTE ]
For what it is worth, the car haulers only rent for $50 for 24 hours.

[/ QUOTE ]

Good advice. That's what I would do next time if I ever had to again.

 

[3125]

Thanks for the info - yeah, I know the car haulers really aren't that expensive. The problem is that between the two of us (and our group of friends) I have the biggest tow vehicle which is a '97 Grand Cherokee with the I6.

I fear that might be just a bit too much load for my ZJ -- or do you guys think otherwise? the towing capacity of my Jeep is supposedly 6700 Lbs..

 

[Jim_Lou]

It's not the best situation, but it can be done. I think braking will be your biggest concern. If the dolly has surge brakes it shouldn't be too bad. Just keep the speed WAY down and look WAY ahead on the road.

And don't even THINK about it if there's even the slightest chance of rain. The Cherokee probably won't be able to develop enough braking force to actuate the surge brakes. The total braking force available is only about a fourth of what you're used to. It can be VERY exciting.

Also be advised that U-Haul imposes limitations based on the capabilities of the tow vehicle and weight of the vehicle being towed. They might not even rent a dolly for your move.

 

[sourpwr]

Uhaul will do the "math" for you and tell you what you can rent. I had a Trailblazer, with the I6, Uhaul had no problems renting the car hauler to me.

You can go to the UHAUL website and go through the steps of a reservation. That will let you know whether or not they will rent to you for the combination that you have.

-- Mike

 

[CJDave]

/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/tongue.gif Do not even THINK /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/mad.gif of towing that Jeep on a dolly with the rear driveline in place or you will be sorry. Actually, what you will be is fodder for the passer-by to use for those amazing videos. Your CJ will have it's nose stuffed into the back window of the Grand. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/frown.gif Dropping the rear driveline is as basic as it gets, Use tape to hold the universal joint cups together so they won't drop off and get all dirty. Take the shaft off at the rear axle and then tie the end of the shaft up securely to the frame or some other good spot so it won't drag all the way home. You can tow that CJ with your grand. Select FWD "Green". Push the OD button in and leave it there. I towed our CJ with our '97 4.0 Grand Cherokee to our home in the mountains at 4500 foot elevation. I used 4Lo for some steep places. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/tongue.gif

 

[3125]

[ QUOTE ]
/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/tongue.gif Do not even THINK /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/mad.gif of towing that Jeep on a dolly with the rear driveline in place or you will be sorry. Actually, what you will be is fodder for the passer-by to use for those amazing videos. Your CJ will have it's nose stuffed into the back window of the Grand. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/frown.gif Dropping the rear driveline is as basic as it gets, Use tape to hold the universal joint cups together so they won't drop off and get all dirty. Take the shaft off at the rear axle and then tie the end of the shaft up securely to the frame or some other good spot so it won't drag all the way home. You can tow that CJ with your grand. Select FWD "Green". Push the OD button in and leave it there. I towed our CJ with our '97 4.0 Grand Cherokee to our home in the mountains at 4500 foot elevation. I used 4Lo for some steep places. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/tongue.gif

[/ QUOTE ]

Perfect. Someone who actually did this!! Thanks!!!

 

[LEVE]

Dave, I remember you rebuilt/modified the transfer case. What modifications did you make to the transfer case? Were there any that would affect the towing with a OEM case?

 

[CJDave]

/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/tongue.gif We disabled the clutches in the inter-axle differential so that the Snojeep cpould drive each wheel at a different speed similar to what the NV242 in our Grand Cherokee does. Even with the clutches disabled, if he/we towed with the rear drivline in place, the thrust washers in the differential would blamo after just a few miles and possibly lock up the differential and cause the CJ to get in the back of the Grand Cherokee with him. You just have to keep in mind that in the Quadra-Trac models, the front/rear axles are yoked together at the inter-axle differential and it was never intended to "differentiate" from full speed on one axle to zero on the other for even a few blocks, let alone 24 miles. Differentials aren't all that durable when it comes to the spider gears and what they turn on. If you install a tire on the RH side which is three sizes smaller than the LH side, chances are you wouldn't get as far as SLC before the differential was just a bunch of iron filings. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/crazy.gif