Just wondering, do you need a passport when you leave CA and enter America??

 

,LMAO

 

OP, I see your profile lists a 99 XJ with AW4 and C 8.25. Another thing of course is the tow bar and hitch. Most hitch receivers out there are Class IIs rated at 3500 lbs. Also 5000 lbs of stuff is a hell of a lot. Biggest U-Haul trailer (6'x12', aluminum box with surge brakes) is 1600 lbs empty and a LOT of wind resistance. You'd have to jam literally a ton of stuff in there to approach the hitch rating.

I towed about 2500 lbs (guesstimate trailer + cargo, maybe add 600 lbs with me, passenger, and junk in the cab) this weekend on a non-flat highway and on the way there I had to drop from 4th into 3rd for hills that without a trailer I can lean on the gas in 5th to get up. Average speed while loaded was 55-65 MPH, and that felt like it was stressing it. Found the engine's torque peak though lol

With 31s on stock gearing in an auto it probably won't even go into 4th unless you go downhill, and if you maxed out the weight there's a reasonable doubt that it might lock the torque converter in 3rd at all.

If you really do need to move that much stuff, consider a U-Haul truck with a dolly behind it that you can tow the Jeep with. Especially with the XJ's crap cooling system in the summer it sounds like you're trying to blow your head gasket or something lol

Also unless you've upgraded your brakes, I'd say a trailer over like 1000 lbs should have brakes of its own

lmfao

 

Ok, so I DO have a chrysler 8.25. So it should be fine. And We are all about 160ish so... 480 for the extra people. The bike is about 450lbs. And one of us is only bringing the bare necessities for our stay at goodfellow AFB. I'm guessing ill be towing 2500lbs... 3k at the max. I'm in no hurry to get there so I was already considering limiting our speed and sticking to 3rd. Maybe 65 tops. My jeep runs about 2500rpms or so in 3rd at that speed. Maybe 2600.

 

should I cut a hole in my hood before I take the trip? haha.

Ok so ambient temps here are pretty low. But once in a while the jeep sees high 80's and at a standstill the aux fan still won't turn on since I put a new water pump in. So the cooling system is just fine. All I'm concerned about is the tranny getting too hot, hence the oil cooler thats going in soon. I'm also going to start mixing in new trans fluid to help it along. Also changing the brake fluid. ummm... Of course changing oil as well. I'm pretty sure the majority of this trip is flat so that will help it out.

 

Oh that doesn't sound bad at all. Change yer fluids and get that cooler on and you should do okay.

 

--doh! Texas to California--vice a versa ennie mennie minni mow,thats a load he wants to tow

 

I'd find something else to tow with. I don't think a Cherokee should be towing anything at all. It's not safe especially that far

 

I'd wait 'til the XJ towing season starts.......pretty sure that's mid to late January.

 

I say do it and tell us how it goes, I promise it'll make it to the spot where it stops ha ha

 

I bought my Jeep purely for a business towing machine. They are mostly short trips of around 50miles and towing a 8x4 plant trailer with a 1ton (2200lbs) tank on it full of live trout. Over here in the UK any trailer gross over 750kgs (1650lb) has to have brakes fitted by law. US its more I think.
Anyway you know its there, unlike a Discovery or Range Rover but its OK and you just go steady, but once on decent roads I sit at 60mph in OD and its great.

I also use it to tow an American boat I have (Searay) that has its factory Shoreland'r trailer without brakes! Now that is different because even though it's combined weight is virtually the same, being an American trailer it has no brakes, and you have to very careful at speed but on the motorway it sits at 65mph easily. Thats a 200mile round trip to Loch Lomond.
I am currently trying to get brakes fitted to that trailer in case I get stopped or worse have an accident.
My XJ came fitted with a factory towbar and the plate on that states it can tow 3250kgs (7150lbs) gross trailer weight.! Not sure I would want to do that though.
What lets the XJ down for towing is the engine/auto box, I have always used turbo intercooled diesels with low down grunt and manual box and they hardly notice heavy weight but they are bigger vehicles which makes a big difference. Make sure your brakes are good but it would be better with trailer brakes.

 

So for anyone considering towing a decent amount (I towed a little over 3k) I would make sure your jeep is in really good condition. Especially everything. I ended up going about 35-45 up any kind of incline and just about never went over 65 the whole 1600 or so miles. Over heated to the point I topped out my temp gauge once and started leaking tranny fluid (pretty sure I'm lucky i didn't blow a line...) cause of the extra pressure it caused. Caused a new tick that was loud at first but has since quieted down very much. Also my brakes weren't in the best shape before the trip, but this trip seemed to wear them down a lot more than I'm comfortable with. New brakes are probably going to be next paycheck. Anyways, needless to say, I won't be towing more than probably 2000lbs for more than a couple hundred miles anytime soon. Oh and the whole trip was made in third gear.

 

Wow!.....sounds like somebody was smilin' down on ya......made it on a wing and a prayer.

 

I regularly tow with my XJ and pulled a 3350lb load last weekend, whilst also having my wife and baby in the fully loaded Jeep. We did 180 miles towing up (and down) some of the largest hills we have here in the UK, and it did fine with the cruise set at between 50 and 60mph (very lazy of me). I rested my foot on the throttle on the steeper hills to see how much throttle the cruise control was using, and it was never at its limit. And it never slowed even on the steepest of hills. Sure the tranny changed a lot, sure the revs sat nice and high whilst climbing, but once on the highway at 60mph it cruised all day long with only the odd change down noted on steeper hills.

A side note, this was using a towing A Frame - therefore unbraked. I am very experienced in using these frames and having this load unbraked, and honestly the Jeep brakes are as good as any I've tried. Just maintain your Jeep properly, get everything right and you'll be fine if you drive respectfully. Respect the vehicle, the laws of physics and the road.

Without a load my Jeep brakes are exceptional, with a trailer they are more than suitable. With a 3000+lb unbraked load - they are as good as can be expected. Never had a scary moment yet.

 

I have a buddy that towed a 25' pontone boat up the switch backs on 116 with minor problems but refused to tow it down, the boat would push him down hill and around corners, do what you will but be aware that u hauls are rentable, and if your load pushes you off the road you may not walk away from it.