Trailering Question

[sfc2113]

I know that with safety in mind I should not even have to ask this question, but want to make sure I am not over reacting.

I have a 2000 Jeep Cherokee 6 cly 4.0, towing cap 5000 lbs, No Trans cooler.

204c weight 2550lbs dry

175 1998 evinrude 410 lbs
65 gal fuel 390lbs
98 venture 4250 dual axle trl with brakes 1200lbs (drum)
Puts me @ 4550lbs + or- 200lbs for gear

Vehicle weight is 3900 lbs.

I have a class 3 receiver hitch

I currently trailer my boat about 7-8 miles to the ramp and back no problem. I did pick up the boat this past fall in Brigantine, NJ (about 23 miles of hw driving) and the jeep did fine. Could feel to boat tugging, but not swaying @ speeds around 60-65. Took a bit longer to stop and am sure if someone cuts me off I will end up on the shoulder.

I plan on towing the boat to about 50 miles north on the GS parkway a couple times this year. Am I too close to the weight limit for this kind of towing? Does anyone have this type of setup? Is this a disaster waiting to happen, should I just scratch this idea and try to find a bigger tow vehicle?

 

[ocdansar]

You have brakes on the trailer, it should stop fine if they are working. I would put a tranny cooler on and you should be fine.

 

[Greg B]

You have brakes on the trailer, it should stop fine if they are working. I would put a tranny cooler on and you should be fine.

The official THT response would be that you need a dualie diesel F250+...

 

[Grog]

If it's a stick you're good, otherwise get a trans cooler, check the brakes before the 50 mile trip, have fun.

I go out of Manasquan and usually head South. If you see an older Sailfish without stripes and a Sailfish on the side it's me.

 

[Gulf Coast Grady]

I had a similar rig a few years ago. Even with an automatic transmission cooler I had to stay out of overdrive. Also, I kept the speed down to 55. I really felt like the boat was pushing me around, not just stopping but changing lanes and with 18 wheelers passing on the interstate. If you intend to keep the boat you might want to look around for a heavier SUV or pickup. You can probably get a good buy on one. I think the Jeep is fine if you are a short distance from the ramp and don't have to do interstate driving. Hope this helps. I pull my 204c with a Tahoe.

 

[gw204]

I towed my old 204F all over the place with an identical Jeep (4.0, auto trans, no cooler, etc.). That little XJ pulled like nobody's business. Plenty of power, just lacked a bit in the braking dept if the trailer brakes weren't tip top.

Never hesitated to do 100+ mile trips.

Summit has a $50 B&M cooler that got a good writeup on jeepin.com. I plan to add it to my current XJ as well as a B&M trans temp gauge...just to be on the safe side. A 17' Mako isn't something to mess with.

http://www.jeepin.com/features/trannycooler/
http://store.summitracing.com/partdetai ... =BMM-70268
http://store.summitracing.com/partdetai ... =BMM-80212

 

[BobP]

You need one axle of brakes minimum.

You say it takes longer to stop, what's going to happen is the truck tires will slide next - even at 30 mph. You will feel like on snow. A little sand, dirt, moisture on roadway, a little too late to brake forgetting you have a boat behind you. That's all it takes.

The one axle of brakes makes all the difference.

Remember, when you lean into the brakes, the truck's front end dives and rear end lifts, so the rear tires will lose traction readily, won't matter the trailer is sitting on rear end. Then it's only two front tires stopping boat and truck.

 

[sfc2113]

I towed my old 204F all over the place with an identical Jeep (4.0, auto trans, no cooler, etc.). That little XJ pulled like nobody's business. Plenty of power, just lacked a bit in the braking dept if the trailer brakes weren't tip top.

Never hesitated to do 100+ mile trips.

Summit has a $50 B&M cooler that got a good writeup on jeepin.com. I plan to add it to my current XJ as well as a B&M trans temp gauge...just to be on the safe side. A 17' Mako isn't something to mess with.

http://www.jeepin.com/features/trannycooler/
http://store.summitracing.com/partdetai ... =BMM-70268
http://store.summitracing.com/partdetai ... =BMM-80212

Thanks for the links, Looks like it is easy to put in and inexpensive.

The trailer does have one axle with surge brakes, dont know how to test them other than to jack up the axle remove the drums and try to move the surge head and see if the brake cyl pushes the pads out.

If I am going to tow highway 55-60 not in OD , would it make adifference if I was in 4wd also ? or would I be doing danage to the transfer case?, or no affect.

 

[Hookup1]

Trailering

Took a bit longer to stop and am sure if someone cuts me off I will end up on the shoulder.

If braking is an issue you should consider converting the trailer to disk brakes. If your handy you can do it yourself. EasternMarine.com has all the stuff.

I converted my triaxel Venture trailer for a 268 Islander. In round numbers - 2,000 trailer, 5,000 boat, 1,000 motors plus 1,000 gear. Right at limit of F150 tow capacity. The rig likes to tow at 58 mph, 55 to 65 mph range depending on traffic, overdrive always off. Two FL Keys round trips in the last two years (1,300 miles each way). When stopping you don't even know its back there. Accelerating you need to plan ahead and give yourself some time to ramp up.

Trans cooler is a good idea.

 

[3rd Day]

I fuss about some of the maintenance issues, you know, salt water & brakes, but disc brakes on both axles have saved my butt when for some reason I'm invisible to other vehicles !!.

 

[gradyfish22]

As advised above, go for the trans cooler upgrade, not a huge amount of money and will surely help keep you on the road longer. As far as the brakes, being that your on the parkway, this is easy driving, stay to the right and stay below at or below 55mph roughly and you will be fine, once your off the parkway is where it gets tricky and where you need to think if upgrading your brakes is worth it. As stated I would have atleast one set of breaks working. I used to tow our 22 seafarer about 35miles 2 times a year with a single set of surge brakes on a dual axle trailer. Last tow vechicle was a GMC envoy V6, before that was a V6 Explorer, and before that a V6 GMC Jimmy. All did the job, but stopping with the surge breaks was a little nervewracking at times. At lights it was either your going for it or coasting and planning to possibly stop, looking back, not the best way to do this, but it was twice a year and worked for my Dad and I. We just sold our boat to a neighbor and he redid the trailer and brakes with disc brakes, and I helped him move the boat and it felt way sifferent, would have made trailering a lot less nervewracking and might be worth the upgrade for your use. If your palnning to trailer to the raritan bay shoot me a pm before hand and I'll give you a report.

 

[sfc2113]

but talk about a bad omen, I just took the boat to the ramp 7 miles this morning to do some winter fl fishing and when I got out I smelled the brakes. the pass side was warm and had a brake smell, Dont know what happened but the brakes were fine last sat there and back.


I came back in (no fish) :cry: went to get the trailer and the the pass side tire dragged for a min then let lose. I had some people waiting for me at the ramp so I could not get out to mess with it. put the boat on and headed home, Just parked the boat about 15 min ago and the pass tire is warm and smells of hot brakes. any ideas?, I will be pulling the tire this afternoon. Hopefully I just have to adjust it.

 

[CJBROWN]

Brake fluid needs to be flushed/changed at least every two years, one is better. Most don't bother unless there's a problem or if/when the calipers go.

Brake fluid is hydroscopic, which means it absorbs water. The longer it sits out there the more moisture it absorbs. Given enough time/water the boiling point gets so low that normal braking will boil the fluid and you'll lose your brakes. Plus the moisture corrodes the cylinder walls and the pistons hang up.

Guess what? Time for a brake job on the old beast.

For all you lightweight towing afficianados, good luck with that. I would not be towing two tons plus with a little jeep, even if it would do it. When I get out on the freeway I want to be able to go, and when I need to stop I want a rig with enough stopping power to do it, even in an emergency. I don't want to be doing 35-40 on any grades either. You're going to burn up your rig sooner or later - trans, diff, brakes. And, if it gets out of control you could end up in a ditch.

A heavy duty half ton with a big motor and at least 3.73 gears would be my minimum. This debate goes on and on here at Great Grady. We have the lightweights on one side and all the rest of the guys that use a real truck to tow their boats on the other. A breakdown out there is just no fun at all.

Oh, and 4-hi for on-road towing is not advised. Great way to blow-out that transfer case. And an automatic has a higher towing capacity than a stick - the clutch is the weak point. But a HD trans cooler is an absolute must, a guage would be a real good idea too. That way you can pull off if it gets too hot and avoid a burn-out. Synthetic ATF is highly advised as well.