Noah911

I am looking for a little advice while I am getting things ready to tow my ZJ with my WJ. I have some time still, but it will probably be happening for the first time in maybe 2 weeks? I will be towing this set-up somewhere between possibly 600 - more than 1,000 miles.

I have the reciever hitch already. Its a Reese. I picked it up from Summit Racing. I have the magnetic brake & warning lights and its connection taken care of. I have the tow-bar. The tow-bar comes with brackets to attach to the towed vehicle (my ZJ). I have been running this thru my head about doing this... I think I know the answer?

Should I purchase the base-plate brackets ($250.00)? The ones that attach to the actual frame on each side on the front of the Jeep? They come out from being tucked slightly underneath of the front bumper. They stay on permanently. Or, should I simply take off the front plastic bumper, and attach the tow-bar brackets from out of the kit directly to the front bumper? I have seen it being done both ways..

It's really bad to try and back-up doing any reverse while connected up to a tow-bar four wheels down isn't it?

Any general advice for while I am learning how to do this for the first time?

dave1123

If it was mine, I'd mount the base-plate brackets on it and later mount tow hooks on them. I don't remember my ZJ well enough to remember, but my WJ ONLY has that plastic fascia with no bumper behind it.

Noah911

I think so..

I found base plate brackets made by RoadMaster that look the part. Another option is made by BlueOx (I think), but the BlueOx is a single piece bracket that connects to frame, and it doesnt look as good to me. RoadMaster is a solid brand. I'll probably be picking up those ones. I like the idea of having them serve to use as recovery points too!

Attaching to the bumper is probably just fine if only towing around a yard, or shorter distances. I think the permanent ones connected right to the frame are better for me since I will be towing long distances, and sort of frequently. Nicer, more secure, and I won't have to be removing the bumper when I go to tow...

People say that I could pick up steel stock from Home Depot cut to size and reinforce the area on the bumper behind the brackets if I were to connect up directly to the bumper. Also, they say I could get more pieces of the steel stock, and reinforce where the frame attaches the front bumper. That seems like kind of making your own home-made base-plate in a way to me.

I have heard it is not good to mount up recovery points directly onto the front bumper. There is a chance that if someone yanks too hard when pulling, those recovery points may rip themselves thru, and pull out of the bumper. Knowing this makes me feel like it is maybe at least a little unsafe to tow with the brackets only attached to the bumper, and not to the frame.

I am a little nervous about it all at the moment. Probably only just because I have never done something like this before, and I will just need to become comfortable after getting going with practice. I'm good with the gps, routing coordinates, and reading maps (other than mapquest google maps apps). I do not want to be going on the interstates, or many 70mph roadways where everyone is actually speeding along at 80mph or better!!! It will take some extra planning and more time to get wherever I am needing to go in order to try and stick to more of the 55mph roadways. I have been practicing driving only going 50-55mph, to get myself used to being passed up by everyone for when I am hooked-up...

SatiricalHen

Definitely don't only attach it to the bumper. It's basically sheet metal at best and can easily be torn or ripped off. If I was going to think about flat towing I would use some kind of brackets that tie in the frame rail as far down as possible. What I've seen that is cool are brackets that attach to D ring tabs that are on most aftermarket bumpers, but doing that you have to make sure you get a bumper that is well made and ties in well down the frame.

wingless

Here is the front structure on my '94 ZJ.

There isn't a frame. There is formed steel that gets additional clamped reinforcement panels when required. For example, on the tow hooks shown, there are steel; plates on both sides of that formed steel vehicle part, held together with bolts.

The bumper is foam and plastic, not suitable for towing.

What transfer case is on the vehicle being towed w/ four wheels rolling on the ground?

00t444e

You can go faster than 55 when towing.

SatiricalHen

Actually around here you legally can't tow over 55. I know that's a law in a couple of states around me

Noah911

These are the ones. They are made by RoadMaster. They bolt onto the area where the frame rails terminate up front. They make them specific to the 1997 ZJ JGC.

RoadMaster makes a very good looking towbar too. It's also a very expensive one compared to the other brands. Outside of the RoadMaster towbar, they all really look to be about the same. I wouldn't mind picking up their towbar to have a matched set-up for towing someday? It honestly it looks that good!

I got a nice deal on all of the equipment with the towbar, reciever hitch, and the brakelights kit from Summit Racing. Summit is right around the corner from me. It's about a two and a half hour drive. I am ordering these brackets to be picked up at their store. They honor military veterans by way of giving discounts too. Nice discounts! It's depending upon the actual supplier, but then the lady behind the counter added an additional percentage off from the already discounted price. I ended up with better than a 30%. I was super impressed by this, and reccomend them for your parts if they have something for you. Having both the X and Y chromosomes, I think it is one bad store to check out if you are near one!

When I get down the road and hooked-up, I will practice on getting a feel for how my WJ is handling the payload out back, and adjust speeds accordingly. In my head right now, I think anything above 55mph seems like it may be the speed where things could get squirly on ya... Not that I will be stopping fast anyways at any decent speeds, but I think when going above 60-70-80 mph, there is going to be an exponential bulding up of difficulty when it comes to maintaining good positive control over both of the vehicles. Especially when there is something seen coming up ahead that will require decreasing speeds relatively quickly, or having to stop altogether. Those things come up fast sometimes, and they are coming at you faster the higher mph you go.. From past experiences, I also do not never put full trust in any of the drivers on the roads to play the driving game safely with me while we sharing the road either. So, there's that too. I will see how it goes?

00t444e

Never heard of that except for in California. I've towed through NC, SC, TN and VA at normal speeds and never got stopped or saw it posted anywhere that you can't tow above 55.

SatiricalHen

NC is 55 mph, GA is 55 mph, TN is 70 mph, and VA is 70 mph, and SC only has laws on mobile homes.

Noah911

When towing, you are restricted to a maximum speed of 50mph on single carriageway roads, and 60mph on dual carriageways and motorways, provided no lower limit is in force

00t444e

They must not enforce than in NC because I have never been pulled over or seen it posted as said before. Tractor trailers don't run 55 either.

Noah911

Yea, but Google says... It is a law.

DOT regulations for tractor trailer compliance is based on an entirely different set of rules.

The transfer case in the ZJ is Selec-Trac. I hope it's the one that can be towed four wheels down? Everything I know about it does say it is able to be done this way. I made sure to find this information out previously. I learned how to go about it all from some people here on this site..

00t444e

Google says the same thing about OH having a 55 MPH speed limit for towing, but that's never enforced here either.

wingless

It sounds like the vehicle is a '97 ZJ w/ the I6 and the NP242 SelecTrac.