I have to get a 92 Dodge Dakota to the race track on Friday and the flat bed trailer and truck I had lined up fell through... so I'm looking at towing it with a car dolly.

I've got a 3" lift (full leafs), 4.0 (duh), 8.25 rear end what appears to be the stock hitch (though it could be aftermarket, not sure).

Would towing the truck with a dolly be too much of a strain on my Jeep? All flat ground, maybe 30 miles round trip... I'm probably being overly cautious but I just want to make sure before i go hurting my XJ.


For those wondering...

This is the Jeep:


This is the truck:


It's going in the figure 8 trailer race event. You can see my youtube link on the side of the truck if you want to see video from the last races I did.

 

Should be fine just go slow. Be sure to tow in "3" not "D" to keep your tranny out of OD.

 

Wouldn't have though of that. Thanks!

 

Why don't you build a bumper like that for the xj. That bumper is awesome

 

I towed a 240sx on one with my XJ. Went fine , no issues but man THE EXTRA WEIGHT. MY Xj felt like i was climbing a hill...

 

your jeep will tow it...stopping will be more of an issue...also...if you use a tow dolly that means the rear wheels of the dakota will be on the ground...if it is an auto then u want to pull the drivshaft...it would suck to get that thing ready to go only to find that you fried the trans and cant compete...looks like fun...good luck

 

Another thing I hadn't thought about. Thanks! I'll pull the drive shaft (more likely, just disconnect it and use a ratchet strap to hold it up). Not too worried about stopping, I'll be taking back roads and it's not all that far away.

I actually bought that rock guard for my XJ originally but it was too beat up so I didn't want to use it. Decided this was a good use for it... it's already been in two races on my old truck, rammed another vehicle, a speed boat and a camper trailer with it and it's still good.

 

You could also tow the Dodge backwards on the dolly. Just be sure to tie the steering wheel, straight ahead, securely.

 

Please NEVER do this...seen a couple of them not fair well when towed like that..it puts a lot of strain on the steering lock and it can fail...if it does all heck can break loose..trust me I have seen it
Cameron

 

Just to let you know and to hopefully save you some aggravation. U-Haul won't rent you a tow dolly, or the ones around my area in Ohio won't. Assuming that you are renting one, lol.

http://www.uhaul.com/Reservations/Eq....aspx?model=TD

 

No problem, drive responsibly, don't speed because it's all about being able to stop when some fool pull in front of you, keep a safe distance in front of you.
3 vs D is ok but if your not on rolling hill and have an aux trans cooler, D is no problem for the AW4. Pulled two home on same day, 100 miles each way, no problem. I found the dolly very noisy, checked it and it is definately noisy but solid.

 

Please reread my post. I said TIE the steering wheel down. The reason I said it like that is that you unlock the steering wheel first so that you don't put a strain on the pin.

Have you not ever seen a wrecker tow a car with the rear raised up? That's how they do it. Did you see heck breaking loose then?

 

Well the trip was successful. Yep, the weight of the truck and dolly wanted to try and skate the rear end of my Jeep around but i kept it under control, and the 4.0 had no trouble lugging it around. I just eased the throttle and didn't go about 40mph the whole way. No problem, but I definitely won't be doing it again because if I DID have to stop suddenly, I am positive it would have jack knifed.

As for the race... Here's the outcome:



Got t-boned by an idiot who wasn't following the rules (no tow-vehicle contact during the trailer race) while he was blazing through the intersection. To make matters worse, it was in the middle of a pile up. He could have SERIOUSLY hurt somebody. There was no excuse for him to hit me like he did.

Here's the video. The crash happens near the end but watch the whole thing, it's a crazy race.


Go to my YouTube channel if you want to see the rest of the videos. i had a GoPro aimed out the back of the truck too so you get a dual view.

www.youtube.com/derbydriver