anybody pull a Cherokee with an automitic?

[dufrain]

i was wondering if anyone uses a cherokee for a pull behind vehicle.ours is an automatic and i thought i may be able to pull it if i put the transfer case in neutral.thanx for any advice

[thenewkid64]

I do not pull one, but I did sleep at a Holiday Inn last week.

My understanding is that any vehicle with a manual transfer case can be towed 4 down with the case in neutral. I would also go ahead and place the automatic in neutral too, just in case.

You will of course need to have the key in the on position to unlock the steering wheel, and if you have manual hubs I would unlock them too for good measure.

[TBKP's Overlander]

Holiday Inn that's a good one.

I think some of the advice given at times is from Holiday Inn guests.

[Pick]

September of 2001 we pulled a Grand Cherokee from Cleveland, Ohio down to Marco Island Florida, about 1200 miles. We had the transfer case and transmission in neutral. We pulled it down with my pickup truck.

If I had to do it over again, I would have put 400# of weight in the back of the truck. Pulling that much weight with NO tongue weight makes for a weird feeling ride, especially during a heavy downpour.

[tls]

i have towed a jeep cherokee sport at least 6 thousand miles. owners manual states put transfer case in netural and transmission in park. also cherokees are fairly light weight my 2dr weighs about 3100 lbs

[85MH325]

Originally posted by thenewkid64
My understanding is that any vehicle with a manual transfer case can be towed 4 down with the case in neutral. I would also go ahead and place the automatic in neutral too, just in case.

Brett, I always thought so too, but...

I towed an '88 ranger 4WD auto on a dolly behind our 325, and according to the owner's manual, all that was required was slipping the xfer case into neutral. The manual recommended leaving the transmission in park.

I sold it and bought a '97 5spd manual 4WD Toyota T100. AFTER I bought it, I checked the owner's manual AND checked with Toyota's U.S. customer service folks just to make sure I was going to tow it properly.

Much to my amazement, the Toyota cannot be towed either flat or on a dolly without dropping the rear driveshaft, even thought is is a 5spd and manual transfer case. According to Toyota, the transmission/transfer case don't lubricate when being turned by the drive wheels alone.

Lesson: Check your owner's manual and check with the manufacturer.

Roger

[thenewkid64]

Roger,

I knew that the issue with towing automatics was the lubrication of the transmission and the direction the half shafts (FWD) were turning. That is why you cannot tow the new Ion's with automatic from Saturn, they changed the transmission. I wonder why the transfer case would not be lubricated in the Toyota? Must be the design. Most transfer cases I know about are just a mechanical gearbox willed with gear oil. You 4X4 gearheads feel free to correct me

This reinforces someting I say on a regular basis after I hang up the phone from a customer call, read the_______ manual!

I know that Honda had approved the CRV for 4 down towing when it was first release and now had withdrawn that. There has been no change I am aware of in the driveline. I have heard it said that there were some failures or wear that they did not like happening and so they withdrew the approval. This does not mean you cannot tow it, just that driveline failures may not be warrantable.

[Silvertwinkie]

Couple of folks on the Impals forum have the same problem. Can't tow it without removing the driveshaft....only problem with that is that it's a bit time consuming and the other is you'd have to bring extra tranny fluid as removal empties the tranny.

Of course I don't see a bunch of folks here towing full size cars beind their motorhomes, but just to let you know it's not an SUV only issue.

Perhaps one of those U-Haul flatbed trailer car carriers might help in the interim.

[thenewkid64]

FWIW

If you are going to tow a RWD vehicle alot Remco makes a drive shaft disconnect kit. It requires modifying the shaft but is for all intents a remote control spline connection. Pull the lever, drivshaft is diconnected, push it in and it reconnects. no power, no pumps, no climbing under the vehicle.

[Silvertwinkie]

Funny, they talked about that too, but I forgot why they said they didn't like it. Maybe it was since most of them have 400 or more HP and didn't feel comfortable putting that inline. Don't think that problem applies here though...

[dufrain]

most of the newer or even not so new transfer cases have automatic trans fluid in them as do the 5 speed transmissions.if anyone has an 86 escort 5 speed or 86 jetta 5 speed i know you can tow them i have pulled them alot of miles.

[dufrain]

Hey,Pick you should test tow your vehicle if you put much weight in the rear or it may make the front tires shimmy bad when you hit a bad hole in the road or when your going in and out of parking lots where its rough.Both our cars that we towed would do that when we towed them loaded down to much in the rear i wouldnt
weigh one of those down if i didnt have to.It got so bad a couple times it felt like it would tear the tow bar loose.If i watched what i was doing i could avoid it though.

[85MH325]

Originally posted by thenewkid64
FWIW

If you are going to tow a RWD vehicle alot Remco makes a drive shaft disconnect kit. It requires modifying the shaft but is for all intents a remote control spline connection. Pull the lever, drivshaft is diconnected, push it in and it reconnects. no power, no pumps, no climbing under the vehicle.

It's a pretty cool cable-operated affair. I looked into it, but it was close to $800 or something like that. I didn't plan on towing the Toyota all that much, and in fact only did it twice. Fortunately on the T100, the driveshaft disconnects at the pumpkin with four bolts that hold two plates together, about a five minute job. It wasn't too bad to do.

I don't know what the difference was with the Toyota gearbox. I'd always thought they just had 90w gearlube in them too...

Roger

[Pick]

dufrain, I meant put the 400# in the rear of the truck towing the Cherokee. No tongue weight on the towing vehicle rear axles can make it a little unstable under some conditions, such as slippery roads.