tow vehicle suggestions

I can see some merit in the second and I can certainly agree that practicality dictates the first, but I could never figure out and real mechanical reason for a hard limit difference even if the real-world usefullness of a higher limit with the manual is obvious. The GVWR doesn't change with the tranny type, just the towing.

Maybe it's that we are misread> I am guessing the clutch and 1st gear vs a torque converter figure in > there.

Bill, I caught a typo: It's long wheel base make it a pleasure to tow a REAL Jeep

Josh, I think you are confusing "tow" with "pull". Many vehicles can certainly PULL well above their rated limits but can't safely TOW that load. I could PULL 500lbs with my CJ but would I want to TOW that load down a steep hill? Or ease that load down a boat ramp? No thanks!

It doesn't make a lot of sense to me either.

I mean a 3000 lb towing difference just with an automatic? Man that is one major jump, well over double.

Maybe the auto has different brakes too?

Mike

Will H>

Bill, I said before I drive an F-250 Super Duty. I do know why it can tow more than a cherokee. (And actually, it rides pretty damn good for a 3/4 ton truck. Surprised me anyway). One thing I WAS out of the ballpark on was it's towing capacity. I mentioned it before as being 20,000# when in fact that is it's GCWR. Even still, it can haul a load twice it's own weight. I'm just wondering what the actual determining factors are when detroit comes up with their tow ratings.

No, the drive train - axles, brakes, everythig - except the tranny - are identical, at least on the 88. There is a difference in the differential ratio - manual has a 3.07 and the auto has something like a 3.53 or 3.73 - but that's it. The more I look at it, the more I think that what we are calling the tow rating is really more of a rating of what it can practically pull. In that light, the difference is pretty reasonable. Also, when you read the owner's manual it is very specific about the tranny and engine requirements when it calls out the towing limits. My FSM set is the original 94 manual with suppliments to cover the 87 changes made for the 4.0 and the numbers are all tied to engine and tranny combos. I don't think the 4-banger is rated to even pull the hat off your head, for example.

With the longbed MJ I have several inches - right at 122 inches - more wheel base than your XJ and the factory step bumper hitch is rated at

3500 pounds (optimistic, yes!). With a class 3 hitch, I had no problem pulling a huge farm load but that was across the fields in 4-LO never getting above a slow trot. With the brakes it has, I'd hate to try stopping any appreciable load on the road. Even a 4x12 U-Haul full of furniture was interesting. Start off was fine, pulling on the road was about as good as could be expected from the crap trailer but stopping was definitely an exercise.

Funny, I can load the bed almost to the bumpstops with dirt and none of it is an issue but drop that same load in a utility trailer and you sure feel the difference. I would not classify the MJ as an ideal tow vehicle in any way.

Mine is an 88 too, so is my owners manual.

The heavier and longer auto must toss the center of gravity more to the rear wheels or something I am guessing.

The tail wagging the dog syndrome....

Mike

86/00 CJ7 Laredo, 33x9.5 BFG Muds, 'glass nose to tail in '00 88 Cherokee 235 BFG AT's

Safety regulations here at any rate state that you don't tow more than 70% of the vehicle's weight, and Cherokees are lighter than Wranglers.

Common sense tells you that if you don't want the tail to wag the dog, you have a LWB vehicle (think of a fulcrum in physics). The strength of the drivetrain isn't really the determining factor.