simple tow bar question

[fuelfox4949]

I am starting to get my wrangler set up for flat towing and when it comes to tow bars, well lets just say there are many options.
last night I weighed my jeep at the local Cat scale. it came out to 5080 lbs.
that's without me and it had a full tank of gas and probably 50 pounds of tools in it.
now for tow bars the 5k versions are to close for comfort.
would you buy a 6k tow bar? or overkill it to 7500? or even 10k?
I will be pulling it with my pick up truck so if I really wanted to shave weight I could remove the tools and spare tire and throw them in the truck bed, just to get the jeep under 5k.
advice and opinions on tow bars please
thanks

Sponsored

 

[LazyJL]

Your Jeep is already over the 5000 lbs limit, upgrade to the 7500 lb or bigger towbar.
It's good to have the excess capacity, no Jeep ever gets lighter.

 

[fuelfox4949]

Ok thanks,
that was my thinking just wanted to make sure.
I ordered a blue ox 7500#

 

[RoxieC]

I have the Roadmaster nighthawk. 8000 lb towing. It's great.

 

[fuelfox4949]

I looked at that 1 but found the blue ox 7500 new old stock in ebay for 300 bucks.

 

[rk911]

I am starting to get my wrangler set up for flat towing and when it comes to tow bars, well lets just say there are many options.
last night I weighed my jeep at the local Cat scale. it came out to 5080 lbs.
that's without me and it had a full tank of gas and probably 50 pounds of tools in it.
now for tow bars the 5k versions are to close for comfort.
would you buy a 6k tow bar? or overkill it to 7500? or even 10k?
I will be pulling it with my pick up truck so if I really wanted to shave weight I could remove the tools and spare tire and throw them in the truck bed, just to get the jeep under 5k.
advice and opinions on tow bars please
thanks

The determinig factor will be the weight rating of the hitch on your truck. If that hitch is ratesd for 5K then you'll either need to chance it or remove the tools and enough gas to get to or below 5K pounds.

Also check the Gross Combined Weight Rating (GCWR) of your truck. That is the total weight of your truck as it is loaded for travel (including passengers) + the weightmof your Jeep. If the weight of your truck + the 5K weight of the Jeep exceeds the GVWR you would be unsafe to tow.

And yes, I'd suggest a tow bar with a higher weight rating. I prever the Blue Ox models.

 

[fuelfox4949]

rk911 thanks for the advice and info, I am a truck driver so I am familiar with all those numbers and like to double and triple check them.
I have a class 4 hitch rated 10k and my truck is rated to tow 8k also the Truck has a GVWR 6500 and has a 13,000k GCWR.
I Still need to go scale the truck.
I am installing a new Front bumper on my Jeep soon, when I get my supplemental brake system [probably rvi 2 or 3] and the blue ox towbar I will be heading back to the scale to see the numbers with the Jeep and Truck together.
right now roughly have 1500 lbs to play with, minus me and the Girlfriend 1200 lbs. those are rough numbers because I am NOT going to ask her how much she weights simply because I fear the death that would come shortly after.

 

[rk911]

rk911 thanks for the advice and info, I am a truck driver so I am familiar with all those numbers and like to double and triple check them.
I have a class 4 hitch rated 10k and my truck is rated to tow 8k also the Truck has a GVWR 6500 and has a 13,000k GCWR.
I Still need to go scale the truck.
I am installing a new Front bumper on my Jeep soon, when I get my supplemental brake system [probably rvi 2 or 3] and the blue ox towbar I will be heading back to the scale to see the numbers with the Jeep and Truck together.
right now roughly have 1500 lbs to play with, minus me and the Girlfriend 1200 lbs. those are rough numbers because I am NOT going to ask her how much she weights simply because I fear the death that would come shortly after.

LOL.....smart man! We criss-crossed the country many, many times in a motor home towing either a Wrangler or Liberty. Good luck and safe drive.

 

[ROK HEMI]

I am in the same boat. My JLU is over 5000 pounds as well. I found a very good deal on a new old stock blue ox rated at 10,000 pounds. It was brand new, I have owned it for about seven years now and I've used it maybe twice a year, towing the wrangler or my previous bronco. The problem with blue rocks is that they stop supporting older hitches if you need anything, but quite a bit of support is available online from other sources.

I have the factory steel wrangler, bumper and stubby farm with a blue ox base plate. It was pretty easy to install, and the only thing necessary really was to cut some slots in the bumper skid plate. If I had it to do over again, I might buy an aftermarket bumper that has provisions for tow points, as that is so much cleaner overall set up.

I also use the RVI3 brake controller. I did not want any of this permanently installed in my Jeep as I only use it a couple times a year as a toad. The RVI requires a pretty significant power source, so I bought a clamp on 12 V cable with a cigarette lighter adapter that I just clip on the battery. Are use wireless brake and turn signal lights and have been very happy with them so far. I add the breakaway switch to the vehicle every time I use it, but do not leave it permanently installed either.

Since I am using wireless tail, lights and turn signals, the demand on the battery is next to nothing in the wrangler, and I have never had any issues with battery voltage dropping. The longest trip I have taken has been eight hours of driving in a single day. Perhaps longer trips might be more demanding, but I doubt it as the RVI does not cycle frequently.

My wrangler is lifted 3 1/2 inches and on 37 inch tires. I tow with an RV and the alignment of the blue ox and the RV is perfect.

Good luck with your set up.

Sponsored