I believe if the U-Haul trailer has brakes, they are only surge brakes that are on the trailer tongue and only work automatically if the trailer starts pushing the towing vehicle. The last time I rented a U-Haul that had surge brakes was an eye-opener. I went over a series of rough train tracks and the trailer started jerking and bouncing around with lots of tire screeching from the trailer! This probably happened because I started braking as I approached the tracks.

I totally agree with keeping the engine in the 2000-3500 rpm range because that's where it makes the most torque. Pulling power with a heavy load below 1800 can burn exhaust valves and build heat in the torque converter. Even keeping it in 3rd will result in the trans shifting in and out of lock-up, but is about the best you can hope for. You needn't worry too much about the AW4 trans because it's a pretty rugged unit and even if overheated, a fluid change will fix it. However, if you exceed 240* on the engine, park it until it cools down. DO NOT EVER open the radiator cap until it cools down because you can get hurt and scalded badly if you do. A friend of mine did that and the cap blew out of his hand and he never found it! He had to be towed and bandaged by an EMT.

A word about bolt on U-Haul hitches. I had one put on my WJ, then I got the recall from Chrysler about a free factory hitch and went to get it done. In attempting to remove my hitch, they broke a bolt and said they couldn't install the Mopar hitch until I had the old one removed and the bolt holes in the frame repaired, so that was the end of that. I installed a D-ring in the receiver to use as a rear recovery point and called it good. I got snatched out of a ditch with a chain and towed up a steep hill backwards with that D-ring and the hitch is still as solid as the day it was installed, even with only 5 bolts and 6 years after having one bolt broken.

 

I have a Curt and tow a 4000 boat and trailer. Very happy with it:




If you're only towing 1500 lbs. maybe you could use 3rd going through the Poconos and Rockies, but you don't need any other extra crap or precautions.

 

Don't worry about that either. Just get the hang of what your new stopping distance will be and practice excellent defensive driving.

However, if you're changing brakes you might want to consider an upgrade. I use Evolution Sport on my Nissan Frontier (which also carries heavy loads)(4 wheel disc). Part of the performance upgrade is that they'll run cooler.

 

I tow up to 1650 lb legally in an unbraked trailer, (including trailer weight), the main thing you have to worry about is braking on a wet road, if near load limit, or at speed

You could buy a trailer for that price and sell it and the other end

 

One thing nobody has mentioned yet. When you load that trailer, try to keep the tongue weight around 250 lbs or less. That's like having a large man standing on the rear bumper and unloads the front tires which do most of the braking. When setting up boat trailers, we'd use a scale under the tongue and load the boat with a normal load of fishing gear, motor, fuel, and safety equipment, then move the boat until the scale read 200 lbs, then moved the support cradle to properly support the boat. This is for small boats that don't need load compensating equipment. We did this many times for guys that hung larger than normal outboard motors on their boats.

 

Oh, tongue weight. Not like it matters, or anything.... Too LITTLE tongue weight is worse than too much.

 

The transmission oil is still a nice clear red on the dip stick, but since I have to change the oil I’ll just do the trans too since I don’t know how long it’s been.

one problem I’ve noticed is there is a decent amount of rust where the tow would bolt on. The frame seems ok, but the weld nuts on passenger side do not, they feel crumbly if I reach around and work them a bit. May have to just remove them and use the plate/bolts that come with the Curt.

I bought the nicer B&M cooler to install. I’ve found my alternator is starting to go bad. Charging works fine, but I’m seeing some AC voltage get through and the battery dies if unrun for a few days

 

Check my link above. The nut strips are the way to go.






That could be the alt OR the battery. AutoZone will test them both for free.


I've got to say, you are going about this correctly. Preparation is key for a boring trip, and trust me, you don't want an exciting trip!

 

Thank you, those look like a perfect solution!

haha, boring is what I’m going for. I love my jeep and ideally it would continue to have adventures after this move, so I’d like to do this right for both our safety.

the battery is only a few months old and funny enough the charging system checked out at autozone, but the clock lights and occasionally the electric locks act up (clock is almost never lighting up anymore). I did try some test I read about, checking for any AC current being drawn which supposedly a healthy alternator is supposed to stop (?), and was in fact seeing AC current...but otherwise it’s running strong! No problem with headlights or anything so hopefully I can wait to tackle that

 

Would not hurt to go over your grounds before the trip. At least the engine compartment grounds. An old timer named CCKen took the time to make excellent photos of them for us. Here they are for your reference. (HINT: Right click. Save Image".)

 

Lots of great suggestions here. Since it sounds like you understand maintenance & you know that parts wear out, & you seem to understand there are better replacement parts than factory (sometimes), here is what I've done to my XJ to make it more tow friendly / useful. My XJ used to run just on the plus side of 210*F, now it's just on the minus side of 210*F.

- high flow waterpump (www.hesco.us).
- high flow thermostat housing (www.hesco.us).
- thermostat with the steam hole.
- water wetter.
- 3 row radiator, lots of people say a 2 row radiator is fine.
- external transmission cooler.
- transmission temperature gauge (mounted down by the 4x4 shifter).
- heavy duty rear leaf springs (replaced the sagging OEM ones).
- slotted front brake rotors with quality pads.
- I like to clean & adjust the rear brakes once a year, every 15,000 miles or so.

You might want to consider changing out your brake fluid. Brake fluid is inherently hygroscopic, so new fluid might help prevent a boil over.
As someone mentioned this, I bought a enclosed utility / cargo trailer to move my stuff, then I parked it and I'm using it for storage. I figured I'd always be able to sell it for something close to what I paid for it. You also might want to consider a heavy duty flasher if you are going to be towing. On my profile page is a link to my build. I have pictures of the transmission temperature gauge there.

 

Water Wetter is good. I have always used this stuff in the coolant in all of my motorcycles, and it works.

I like the mention of having a good cooling system with a heavy duty radiator. A Tow Prep Package type of deal with a heavy duty radiator and a transmission cooler would be nice.

And about the brakes.

 

Make sure your radiator hoses are in good condition!!

 

I guess I'm old school. "Coolant" and "motorcycle" just don't sound right together.

 

You caught that too, huh? I ran a Ducati 350 single 4-stroke dirt bike for about 12 years, then got a Honda 500 Single. Even my Honda 450 Twin road bike was air cooled. Getting caught in heavy traffic with an air cooled bike is not good! Push it over to the side and let it cool.