MAX. TOW CAPACITY - - will jeep do it?
 

I just purchased a 96' Shabah 180 this past July, which my son had been pulling with his truck. I am looking to sell my car for a Jeep Wrangler in the spring, but not sure if it will pull the boat. I was told that the 2-4 door Wrangler has a tow pkg of 2000 lbs. I don't know what the weight of the boat and trailer is. The boat is put away for the Ohio winter. REALLY want a jeep but may not be a possibility! Anyone know weight of boat and trailer? Anyone pulling with a Jeep Wrangler?:confused:

Good news please!

Re: MAX. TOW CAPACITY - - will jeep do it?
 

I wouldn't pull anything with a Wrangler , much less a 2800lb+ boat and trailer!:eek_animated:
The boat will run right over the little Jeep. Not to mention trying to stop all of that weight.
Your asking for big , big trouble.
JMO
Larry

Re: MAX. TOW CAPACITY - - will jeep do it?
 

Pull yes
Stop no
It can and has been done, but the first time you need to act quickly, you will be in more trouble than you want.

Good news... you have not bought the Jeep yet.

Re: MAX. TOW CAPACITY - - will jeep do it?
 

I have known a couple of people who have had a Wrangler as a tow vehicle. Hard to beat driving to the lake with the top down.

So, in an effort to not completly destroy your dreams, I should mention that I believe some Wranglers have a 3500 lb towing capacity, while lower trims have the 2000 lb towing capacity.

Therefore, if you were to find a Wrangler with the larger towing capacity and if the trailer was equipt with working brakes, I would not hesitate to pull your Shabah with said Wrangler.

Do you research and see if you can make it work.

Have a good one,

Kris

Re: MAX. TOW CAPACITY - - will jeep do it?
 

Jeep Wrangler is not built or designed for towing, Jeep wrangler is built for off-roading hence the short wheel base. You want a long wheel base with an engine and drive traine designed fortowing.
Look at the jeep grand cherokee if you want to stay with jeep.

Re: MAX. TOW CAPACITY - - will jeep do it?
 

A good place to check tow vehicle ratings is at the following TrailerBoats.com - Tow Ratings Database

Jeeps have notoriously short wheelbases and can be quite squirrelly, especially durring panic situations. I prefer to have way more tow vehicle than I need. Good luck.

Re: MAX. TOW CAPACITY - - will jeep do it?
 

I agree with the above posts. We own a '98 Wrangler, with a 181 hp six engine. Although it certainly has enough power to easily pull the boat, the problem is stopping. With 3000 lbs pushing on the hitch during a stop, the Wrangler could easily jack knife due to the short wheel base. The short wheel base causes things to happen very quickly when things start going sideways. So, our tow vehilce for our Shabah 180 is a long wheelbase 1993 GMC K3500 pickup truck.....Long wheel base, heavy vehicle. It's as if you don't even know you're towing something. I think you should buy the Jeep, but maybe consider looking for an older (inexpensive) truck in good condition and use is as a tow vehicle. Don't know about the tow ratings of the new style Jeep 4-doors, but their wheel base is pretty long. You could find out the rating at the Jeep website. ollllllo

Re: MAX. TOW CAPACITY - - will jeep do it?
 

Don't pull your boat with a wrangler. 'Nuff Said.

Make a compromise, if you're sold on the Jeep brand, look into something like a Grand Cherokee instead. They have the wheelbase, tow rating, brakes, suspension, and heavy duty components to be up to the towing challenge. Plus they're just as capable offroad as the wrangler, and much more comfy... I used to tow my Z250 with a 99 GC with the V8. I also used to have a heavily modified wrangler too, and even with extreme duty ford axles, 35 inch tires, locking differentials, huge disc brakes and a supercharger, I never even considered getting it near my boat trailer, even with my old Sea Ray 180.

If you still want the wrangler, buy one, but then make sure and buy something else to tow. Your safety, and the safety of others should always come first.

Re: MAX. TOW CAPACITY - - will jeep do it?
 

The Jeep website says the max. towing capacity for a new Wrangler Unlimited (the 4-door one) is 3500 lbs. I'm guessing our 180 Sahbah with a full tank of gas and trailer are right about that weight, so there's not much of a safety margin. The Grand Cherokee is rated at 7,500 lbs. max towing.

Re: MAX. TOW CAPACITY - - will jeep do it?
 

Yeah for sure it is a NO! NO! If you value life limb and your boat and Jeep. The longer 4 door unlimiteds have alot more grunt and slightly longer wheel base. But serious I learned this leson alomost the hard way I was told by a trailer salesman, that my full size Blazer could pull my new 26' trailer with slide out. But the first steep down grade I had to wrestle both units uner control, it was close.

Re: MAX. TOW CAPACITY - - will jeep do it?
 

Is that before or after the Jeep rusts out or falls apart due to poor construction & quality control issues?

:)

Re: MAX. TOW CAPACITY - - will jeep do it?
 

AMEN to that! :D Seriously though, I can say Jeeps can be a lot of fun, but not for towing, hands down.

Re: MAX. TOW CAPACITY - - will jeep do it?
 

Aw! :( I guess experience knows best. How disappointing! Besides the jeep . . . anyone know approx weight of boat and trailer?

Re: MAX. TOW CAPACITY - - will jeep do it?
 

According to 96 brochure , the 180 Shabah weighs in at 2125 with std 3.0 engine. If you have the 4.3 engine probably add another couple hundred pounds. Trailer anywhere from 7-12 hundred pounds I would say.
Larry

Re: MAX. TOW CAPACITY - - will jeep do it?
 

Mine weighs in at just under 3100lbs all incl.

Re: MAX. TOW CAPACITY - - will jeep do it?
 

Heck, if the 4 door unlimited has a tow rating of 3500lbs I don't see why not... It's a full frame RWD vehicle. If the braking isn't comfortable with the boat in tow add brakes to the boat trailer. This certainly isn't a load that requires a massive tow vehicle. These newer wranglers are much improved over the previous years and the 4 door has the longer wheelbase.

My wife has an '04 Grand Cherokee with the 4.0 inline 6. It tows the boat OK but doesn't by any means do a stellar job of it. The brakes aren't very large, the rear discs aren't even vented, and it's pretty short on power.

Re: MAX. TOW CAPACITY - - will jeep do it?
 

I pull mine with a 2006 Mazda Tribute and the 3.0L. I've had to 'panic stop' a couple of times and she's done the job but i admit it would be nice to have just a little more power & weight.

Re: MAX. TOW CAPACITY - - will jeep do it?
 

pull mine with a 2002 dodge dakota 4.7 2wd. about a 4200lb boat with trailer and have no problems towing, stopping is ok but my surge brakes are no good. another project.

Re: MAX. TOW CAPACITY - - will jeep do it?
 

I have a 99 Wrangler with a 4.0l 5 speed and 6" suspension lift and 33" tires. I have towed my 1995 z202 with it and it towed fine. I would say I have surge breaks on my trailer.
also jeeps are known to wander on the road but from my experience it is almost always do to bad trac bar bushings. I also have a new trac bar and it drives very nice on the road.
I did stay off the highway and keep the speeds to 60mph.
I will most likely pull the boat with the jeep again.
you just have to be careful, whenever towing you need to drive with extra caution!!!

Re: MAX. TOW CAPACITY - - will jeep do it?
 

Your nuts!!
Pulling anything more than a popup camper @ 60 mph with a Wrangler is crazy. I don't care what the tow rating is........your going to kill somebody!!
What's your stopping distance with the 202 behind that..........1000 ft!:shakehead:

As usual JMO:confused:

Re: MAX. TOW CAPACITY - - will jeep do it?
 

Are brakes not a legal requirement over there then?
Here any trailer over 750kgs/1650lb has to have working brakes.
My Jeep GC with Mercedes oil burner pulls and stops my 180 Diablo with no problems.


And as for rust well maybe I just look after my car better than some:rolling_laugh:

Re: MAX. TOW CAPACITY - - will jeep do it?
 

Original post was a year and a half ago, but... since it must be Revive Dead Posts day, I'll add my story.

I know a person who pulled they Supra Comp 300 miles behind a Chrysler minivan... and lived.

Moral: Just because he is still alive to talk and laugh about it, doesn't mean it's a good idea. :drunk:


Andy; Trailer brake laws vary state by state. If memory serves me, WI is something like, a loaded trailer over 3k lbs requires brakes as well as a trailer with a capacity over some weight. General rule of thumb is that all tandems must have brakes. Single axles are questionable depending on weight and specific state.

Re: MAX. TOW CAPACITY - - will jeep do it?
 

Apparently so.... :yes_grin:

Re: MAX. TOW CAPACITY - - will jeep do it?
 

Being Friday and all, I figured I better jump on the band wagon while there was still time :wink_thumbup:

Re: MAX. TOW CAPACITY - - will jeep do it?
 

Any time safety is the issue I am more than happy to "Jump On The Band Wagon"!!

Re: MAX. TOW CAPACITY - - will jeep do it?
 

Yep, there is no point in 'thinning the herd' prematurely....

Re: MAX. TOW CAPACITY - - will jeep do it?
 

The issue of trailer brakes has always puzzled me because we do end up with quite a few American boats over here still on American non-braked trailers,
which is a minefield with the law here!
Something like a 20’ bowrider on an unbraked trailer is a death trap on our roads,
as you must be aware we don’t have the big trucks over here like you guys! In fact my Jeep GC is considered a reasonable tow vehicle in these parts…..
And as for the rust problem….well over here Fords are the ones with that reputation!
But I wouldn’t dare mention that on a yank forum now would i…….:rolleyes:
I’ll get my coat!

Re: MAX. TOW CAPACITY - - will jeep do it?
 

Ha, funny you mention the fords being rust buckets. It still blows my mind that they are made on the salt mines of Detroit, yet they still haven't figured out how other auto makers keep their cars from rusting out. Galvanize them, use aluminum, dip them in rubber, copy someone else's patent, I don't care how, just wish they would come up with a way to keep them from rusting out.

For crying out loud, my 1989 audi had all the panels dipped before they put it together. 15 years later with 300k miles on salt covered WI roads, the only rust spot on it was where I had a deer accident repaired and must have ruined the galvanizing. Try to find a 15 year old ford in WI that isn't rusted to crap.

Oh yeah, I'm authorized to bad mouth them... My tow/plow vehicle is a big azz 99 F350, diesel, crew cab :D

Re: MAX. TOW CAPACITY - - will jeep do it?
 

Our resident butler (Mahat Mahcoat) will look after that for you..:p

Re: MAX. TOW CAPACITY - - will jeep do it?
 

Mind you it could be worse,
Land Rovers have been known to dissolve whilst recovering a boat from the salty stuff over here....:rolling_laugh:

Re: MAX. TOW CAPACITY - - will jeep do it?
 

Let's see........who had to get bailed out of bankruptcy? Ohh yeah , everyone BUT Ford!
There I'm done :)

Re: MAX. TOW CAPACITY - - will jeep do it?
 

They should spend some of their money on the rust problem then..... :yes_grin: