Jeep Wrangler with Modifications as a TV?

[Westfalia]

Originally Posted by Denis4x4

I have a '10 Wrangler Unlimited with the factory tow package. Pulled my t@b over Wolf Creek and LaVeta pass without any problems. The t@b is about 2600# with a good supply of adult beverages. Friend tows a 19' CDI with a Touareg and likes to off road. Last year, he cut a tire on Cinnamon pass and it took us two days to find the correct replacement tire and somebody with the right kind of equipment to change it!

Discount Tire in Grand Junction should have been able to hook him up with something unless he was looking for an OEM match. This demonstrates why he needs a full size spare when offroad. I NEVER hit the trailer without one. Please tell you friend to contact me about our Colorado Touareg 4x4 Rally that we hold annually in Ouray; we'd love to have him!

[FreshAir]

Originally Posted by Bowmans

I had the same issue with Uhaul. They said it was due to it being a convertible that they couldn't rent a trailer to me.

I old them it has a cage roll bar. So I went home and put the top on my Buick convertible ....came back....got the trailer. Go figger. The trailer was for a cross town haul, all surface streets.
Neil.

[DFDureiko]

actually, I was thinking of towing either an early 60's Bambi, or a mid 70's Globetrotter, or Argosy Minuet for local stuff....with a wrangler, not a CJ. I imagine with a Hensley Pup (?) there really should be no issues? I'm thinking the most I'd even try with a Hensley and Wrangler would be a 23ft. only for local weekender trips, not going over the Rockies........
Dan

[Road Ruler]

This may be an interesting read for you. The Hensley is an amazing piece of hardware.... Trailer Life Magazine Open Roads Forum: Towing with our 2006 Jeep Liberty CRD (turbodiesel)

[PA BAMBI II]

Originally Posted by Stefrobrts

The 4 Door wrangler has 120 inch wheelbase from what I found on their website. I've been considering one as a future tow vehicle for our Caravel, which would be more in line with it's towing capacity. I would think that with a good hitch and sway control, you would be ok. Just don't lift it, you want a low center of gravity for stability. And look for a vintage AS if you want to save a little weight over the 16 Sport. A vintage Bambi or Caravel would cost you less and weigh less. We love our Caravel!

I have full intentions of towing aith a 4 door Jeep Wrangler in the future. By the time I get our '64 Bambi II ready for camping (a few years??) I might even be ready to purchase one. Until then, I do and will tow with a '99 Jeep Grand Cherokee Laredo. It does a fine job with my Scottys and utility trailers. For the Bambi II I will certainly go with an equalizing hitch system and single sway control. I can't imagine a newer 4 door Wrangler would not be able to handle this rig.

Ben

[Bluejaydave]

Well after much consideration... we decided to proceed with the purchase of a used 16' Bambi last week and use the Jeep as a tow vehicle. We have just returned from our first weekend trip and found that the Jeep had no problems towing the AS. Truth be told it towed better then our Teardrop Trailer. I am pleased with our choice as the family had the best camping experience yet!!!! I have posted 2 pictures for your viewing!

[MrBeast]

Glad to hear it worked out for you, reading this thread I knew it would, your jeep has a pretty healthy wheel base on it, I used to tow a 35' bumper pull equipment trailer that alone weighed over 3,000 lbs, the bobcat tractor and attachments I used to haul on it had to be another 4K lbs easy. As long as the weight distribution was right I could haul it all day long with my 72 Blazer, now keep in mind my K5 had a 468 CID big block in it that was anything but stock.

The wb on the blazer was only 106" and I did not have a weight distribution hitch. If I got up over 70 MPH I did have some sway issues, but I towed the thing all over south west Montana with that Blazer.

I would have been more than comfortable enough to tow a 31' airstream with the Blazer, especially with the addition of a weight distribution hitch.

I know for my next tow vehicle it is going to be a 51 Willys Overland Wagon with the wheelbase stretched 2" back and 4 forward in the front. I am building a new frame out of box tubing for the Willys, and I am looking at between a 27 and 31' trailer.

I think the only area you might find yourself unhappy is is the power output of your V6. that is something that is fixable, for there are many a jeep out there with chevy small block, or many are putting the new hemi 5.9 in them as well.

The thing you need to be wary of is your back axle, if it is running hot it may be overloaded. I know jeep has been bad about putting tooth picks for axles under jeeps over the years, I dont know what yours has, but if it runs hot you will seriously want to look at upgrading to a Dana 60 or a 14 bolt.

Other than that even though I am not a fan of the new jeeps, I think you have a pretty decent little setup there. Bet you are going to enjoy it for some time to come. Heck, if I were a betting man id bet you wind up going to a bigger trailer within the next couple of years as the kids grow.

Good luck, and if you have any towing related questions I do have literally over a million miles behind me in everything from a 1/2 ton pickup with a 10' trailer to a 8 axle heavy haul tipping the scales at 136,000 lbs. Feel free to look me up and I will answer the best I can.

[62bam]

NO problem..........check out what I pull our Bambi with......click on the "8" of Images over on the left.......in the Profile area.

[JungleGirl]

Hi BlueJayDave, I love your setup I have a 2011 Jeep Wrangler Unlimited, and am considering buying a 16' Bambi. Have you gotten a few miles in with your rig? Any advice?

[Bluejaydave]

Hi JungleGirl... Thanks... We have made several trips since purchase of the Airstream. It has gotten us everywhere we have wanted to go. I still need to do some more modifications to the Jeep including Transmission Cooler and possible re-gearing? But with that said we have been satisfied. If you have any questions let me know.

[Chitown AirStreamers]

I'm looking at buying a Jeep Wrangler unlimited LW-2003-06. This is the long
Wheelbase 2dr with the 4.0, Dana rear and front. I want to buy a 16ft Bambi ...will the 4.0 do it!?

[D Air Cloud]

Originally Posted by Chitown AirStreamers

I'm looking at buying a Jeep Wrangler unlimited LW-2003-06. This is the long
Wheelbase 2dr with the 4.0, Dana rear and front. I want to buy a 16ft Bambi ...will the 4.0 do it!?

Yes, but maybe slower than you would like. 4.0's hp = 190 and torque = 235. The Sahara and Rubicon models have Dana 44 rear axles which would be better for towing.

Jeep would not recommend towing a Bambi with a Wrangler unlimited because of the trailer's frontal area.

Some facts:

Bambi GVWR: 3500 lbs

Wrangler Unlimited:
base vehicle weight: 3653 lbs.
GVWR: 4600 lbs.
Max trailer weight: 3500 lbs.
Max tongue weight: 300 lbs.
Max trailer frontal area: 25 sq ft.
GCWR: 8100 lbs.

Jeep Wranglers are a fantastic vehicle for taking you off the beaten path and bringing you back again, but as a tow vehicle, not so much.

A couple of pointers if you decide to get a Jeep LJ:

Engine oil. Use whatever brand you prefer, but read the back of the oil bottle and make darn sure it meets or exceeds the requirements of ACEA A3. The 4.0 is an old engine design that uses flat tappets. "Modern" engine oils will not protect flat tappet engines. Oils that meet the requirements of ACEA A3 will.

Oil pump drive assembly (OPDA). Jeep used a redesigned OPDA in 2005 and 2006. This is a poor design that will eventually fail and its failure takes out the camshaft etc. and requires a major engine rebuild.
The problem is the upper bushing of the OPDA is not adequately lubricated. The solution is relatively simple. Drill a hole in the shaft at the upper bushing and add a grease zerk, thus providing adequate lubrication.

[amm3824]

Old thread but hoping I can add some valuable info on Jeep/Bambi setup since this is what I run.

According to Airstream specs, the unloaded base weight (no fluids or options) of the 16' Sport model is 2,900 lbs. for the 2010 and 2011 models, and 2,750 lbs. for the 2012 model.

The 2-door Wrangler's tow limit is 2,000 lbs. while the 4-door's in 3,500. I drove a 2010 Wrangler and it felt a little squirrely on the highway even without towing. No way I'd try to tow and Airstream with it, and you can't do it safely anyway due to the tow limit (probably in turn due to the short wheelbase). Just not safe.

The 4-door is another matter. I towed a 2010 16' Signature (UBW 3,261 lbs) with my 2011 4-door Wrangler and found stability to be no problem, but I used a Reese weight-distributing hitch. I think this is a MUST. For the 350-mile drive home from the dealer when I bought it, I didn't use a WDH, but the rear was sagging and therefore the weight was lifted from the front wheels - just not right. Made it home fine, but immediately installed a WDH and will never tow the trailer without one again.

Horsepower: I found the 3.8L V6 lacking in power to tow 3,261 lbs. (and that's empty!). I wouldn't get into messing with horsepower/Superchips/etc. as I suspect that introduces other issues (heat? wear?) - you can't get something for nothing.

Gearing: I changed out my 4.10's for 4.88's thinking that by bringing the torque to lower RPMs I would help the tow situation. I scrutinized the RPM/gearing charts hard before choosing 4.88 and it looked like a great match. In reality, it didn't make much of a difference.

Tires: My 4-door had 33" tires at 56 lbs. each (that's the tire alone) with a somewhat aggressive tread and 11.5" tread width. For a tow vehicle, I'd suggest using a more streetable, smaller and lighter tire. Reduces a lot of weight (especially rotating weight, important in acceleration and towing).

If you're set on the Wrangler and an Airstream, I'd definitely go with the 16' Bambi Sport model for the weight savings, despite the fact that you sacrifice some nice stuff over the higher end 16' models.

So the 4-door was okay towing around town and on short trips (most of mine are local overnights or local day trips), but it was slow going.

Now I have a 2013 Rubi with the new Pentastar 3.6L V6, which claims about 40 more ft. lbs. of torque which (hooray) is spread out nicely across most RPMs above 1400. Rubi is running the stock 32" tires weighing 48 lbs. each with a narrower tread width. With these changes I expect an increase in towability - not sure how much, but it should help - and as soon as I install the hitch and brake controller, I'll find out. I'm not changing the trailer...!

I think the best thing you can do is save weight all around, any way you can. Don't put heavy bumpers or tires on the Jeep, and keep the trailer weight to an absolute minimum (tow with no water if possible and fill up at your destination... that's 242 lbs. right there for a 23-gal tank plus 6 gal in the water heater tank).