JeepN3RD
Active Member
- First Name
- Sammy
- Joined
- Jan 5, 2017
- Threads
- 7
- Messages
- 36
- Reaction score
- 37
- Location
- Greensboro, NC
- Vehicle(s)
- 1946 Willys CJ2a, 2019 JLU Sport S
- Thread starter
- #1
I wanted to start a discussion and I am hoping to attract some folks posting that have experience in this area AND would be even better if we have someone that has engineering knowledge about the transfer case in the JL.
Let’s start this off with...YES, on page such and such, Jeep says to tow 4 down or on a trailer. We have all seen that, and ANY time a tow dolly is brought up the thread is immediately deluged by posters who simply point to that fact as end all argument. What I would like to do here is think and discuss WHY this might be true?
One comment that will often come up is SOME of the JLs have a “full time” transfer case that is a different model than the rest. Therefore, Jeep simply took the easy route and said ALL Jeeps should not use a dolly instead of trying to tell their users the difference and explain ONLY certain models should and how to tell the difference, etc. For the moment I would like to ignore those transfer cases in this discussion...they are a minority in the JL world and “most” of us have the TCase with 2HI, 4HI, Neutral and 4LOW, that is the Jeep I would like to talk about.
So my first question is this...what is spinning / moving with 4 wheels on the ground vs just the rear wheels on the ground and front wheels on the dolly? The obvious answer is the front wheels...
Those of you that have towed 4 wheels down, would LOVE a short video from under the rig, IS your front drive shaft turning As you move? The reason I ask, I am not sure what type of hubs Jeeps are using now, if they are air/electric and only engaged when the Jeep is in 4HI or 4LOW? In the “good ole days” we had locking hubs and with those unlocked, the front drive shaft would (should) not spin at all when towing all 4 wheels on the ground? So...is your front drive shaft spinning?
I am going to assume the answer is YES...that front drive shaft spins with all 4 wheels down, TCase in neutral (auto tranny in park, manual in a gear)... THIS is where the actual knowledge of the transfer case will come into play. Is there something in the transfer case that is spinning via the FRONT drive shaft that is lubricating the TCase itself? IOW, this would be something that is ONLY being spun from the FRONT shaft but would NOT turn from the rear drive shaft?
IF that was true...THEN we might have our answer, WHY Jeep would only recommend all 4 wheels down / flat towing? Because with FRONT drive shaft turning the...such and such...turns and THUS the lubrication of such and such is happening.
HOWEVER....if this scenario above is NOT true...either front drive shaft is NOT spinning...or it is...but then nothing else in the transfer case is moving...(neutral) how could ONLY spinning the rear shaft cause an issue?
I think this is a good start, I am really hoping that we have some folks that can jump in and discuss this logically, mechanically, and NOT a bunch of comments from folks saying “well if Jeep said it...good enough for me...blah blah...”
Even MORE importantly, anyone that HAS actual tow dolly experience, JL, JK, etc... and I know some of you exist, I have seen 1 or 2 posts From you saying you have towed this way for xx,xxx miles, I DO want to hear from you as well.
I have MET a few of you at RV campgrounds, I see your Jeeps AND your tow dollys, this IS something that does happen on a very routine basis and yet I am not seeing a bunch of posts “I ruined my tcase from towing on a dolly...”. Have YOU seen any threads with that scenario...because they SHOULD exist if this was true!? (JL, JK.. I think for our purposes we can ignore the older TJ, YJ as the transfer case has evolved quite a bit since then.) Naturally if YOU have ruined your TCase from using a dolly PLEASE speak up, experience is appreciated!!
Let’s start this off with...YES, on page such and such, Jeep says to tow 4 down or on a trailer. We have all seen that, and ANY time a tow dolly is brought up the thread is immediately deluged by posters who simply point to that fact as end all argument. What I would like to do here is think and discuss WHY this might be true?
One comment that will often come up is SOME of the JLs have a “full time” transfer case that is a different model than the rest. Therefore, Jeep simply took the easy route and said ALL Jeeps should not use a dolly instead of trying to tell their users the difference and explain ONLY certain models should and how to tell the difference, etc. For the moment I would like to ignore those transfer cases in this discussion...they are a minority in the JL world and “most” of us have the TCase with 2HI, 4HI, Neutral and 4LOW, that is the Jeep I would like to talk about.
So my first question is this...what is spinning / moving with 4 wheels on the ground vs just the rear wheels on the ground and front wheels on the dolly? The obvious answer is the front wheels...
Those of you that have towed 4 wheels down, would LOVE a short video from under the rig, IS your front drive shaft turning As you move? The reason I ask, I am not sure what type of hubs Jeeps are using now, if they are air/electric and only engaged when the Jeep is in 4HI or 4LOW? In the “good ole days” we had locking hubs and with those unlocked, the front drive shaft would (should) not spin at all when towing all 4 wheels on the ground? So...is your front drive shaft spinning?
I am going to assume the answer is YES...that front drive shaft spins with all 4 wheels down, TCase in neutral (auto tranny in park, manual in a gear)... THIS is where the actual knowledge of the transfer case will come into play. Is there something in the transfer case that is spinning via the FRONT drive shaft that is lubricating the TCase itself? IOW, this would be something that is ONLY being spun from the FRONT shaft but would NOT turn from the rear drive shaft?
IF that was true...THEN we might have our answer, WHY Jeep would only recommend all 4 wheels down / flat towing? Because with FRONT drive shaft turning the...such and such...turns and THUS the lubrication of such and such is happening.
HOWEVER....if this scenario above is NOT true...either front drive shaft is NOT spinning...or it is...but then nothing else in the transfer case is moving...(neutral) how could ONLY spinning the rear shaft cause an issue?
I think this is a good start, I am really hoping that we have some folks that can jump in and discuss this logically, mechanically, and NOT a bunch of comments from folks saying “well if Jeep said it...good enough for me...blah blah...”
Even MORE importantly, anyone that HAS actual tow dolly experience, JL, JK, etc... and I know some of you exist, I have seen 1 or 2 posts From you saying you have towed this way for xx,xxx miles, I DO want to hear from you as well.
I have MET a few of you at RV campgrounds, I see your Jeeps AND your tow dollys, this IS something that does happen on a very routine basis and yet I am not seeing a bunch of posts “I ruined my tcase from towing on a dolly...”. Have YOU seen any threads with that scenario...because they SHOULD exist if this was true!? (JL, JK.. I think for our purposes we can ignore the older TJ, YJ as the transfer case has evolved quite a bit since then.) Naturally if YOU have ruined your TCase from using a dolly PLEASE speak up, experience is appreciated!!
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