Flat tow a jeep with this?

[jgorm]

What do you guys think?  I would run with some sort of braking system in the jeep for sure.  The extension is the thing that worries me a little.  I did reinforce it with the turnbuckles.  The truck has OBA, airbags, helwig rear sway bar, and bilstein hd shocks.  Here are a couple pictures. Its a '97 3500 4 door DRW with the 454.

[jbolty]

There is no requirement for brakes on a towed vehicle, at least not in CA.

Lot's of people have extended tow hitches with that type of camper but I don't know how they are set up.  If those are home depot turn buckles I'm not sure I would trust them.

Some info here.

http://www.jeepforum.com/forum/f104/extended-hitch-towing-truck-camper-731852/

[jgorm]

Thanks.  The turnbuckles are from marshalls hardware.  I forget the rating for them, but it was pretty high.  The hitch is not "designed" to use them, they are my additional mod.  The truck hitch is a class 5 2.5".  I want to run brakes in the jeep just to be extra safe in a panic stop.  The rig is a heavy beast and i've locked up the fronts on a panic stop before.  I have thought about getting an adjustable rear bias control to allow the rear brakes to do more work.  With 4000lb in the bed i would assume that the 4 rear wheels will have equal or greater braking force compared to the fronts.  Those drums are freakin huge! I think they weigh 75lb each. I think the brake shoes are 4x6".

[99xj]

I have a motorcycle carrier /tow bar extention that is 45" and it works great. I used heavy chain to secure it to the motorhome, the turn buckles should be fine.

In California any vehicle 1500 pounds or more requires a seperate brake system. I have been pulled over and inspected for a "Brake Buddy" by the CHP.

I have a Blue Ox, but there are other brands, Brake Buddy.   http://www.brakebuddy.com/Towing-Laws


 

[jbolty]

Not true. Vehicles towed with a tow bar and all 4 on the ground are not required to have trailer brakes in CA.

Found the relevant part of the code section.

CA Vehicle Code
26458. (a) The braking system on every motor vehicle used to tow
another vehicle shall be so arranged that one control on the towing
vehicle shall, when applied, operate all the service brakes on the
power unit and combination of vehicles when either or both of the
following conditions exist:
(1) The towing vehicle is required to be equipped with power
brakes.
(2) The towed vehicle is required to be equipped with brakes and
is equipped with power brakes.
(b) Subdivision (a) shall not be construed to prohibit motor
vehicles from being equipped with an additional control to be used to
operate the brakes on the trailer or trailers.
(c) Subdivision (a) does not apply to any of the following
combinations of vehicles, if the combination of vehicles meets the
stopping distance requirements of Section 26454:
(1) Vehicles engaged in driveaway-towaway operations.
(2) Disabled vehicles, while being towed.
(3) Towed motor vehicles.
(4) Trailers equipped with inertially controlled brakes which are
designed to be applied automatically upon breakaway from the towing
vehicle and which are capable of stopping and holding the trailer
stationary for not less than 15 minutes.

Here is the part about stopping distance.

CA Vehicle Code
26454. (a) The service brakes of every motor vehicle or combination
of vehicles shall be adequate to control the movement of and to stop
and hold such vehicle or combination of vehicles under all
conditions of loading on any grade on which it is operated.
(b) Every motor vehicle or combination of vehicles, at any time
and under all conditions of loading, shall, upon application of the
service brake, be capable of stopping from an initial speed of 20
miles per hour according to the following requirements:

Maximum
Stopping
Distance (feet)
(1) Any passenger vehicle...
25
(2) Any single motor vehicle with a
manufacturer's gross vehicle weight rating of less
than 10,000 lbs...
40
(3) Any combination of vehicles consisting of a passenger vehicle
or any motor vehicle with a manufacturer's gross vehicle weight rating
of less than 10,000 lbs. in combination with any trailer, semitrailer or
trailercoach...
40

(4) Any single motor vehicle with a manufacturer's gross vehicle weight
rating of 10,000 lbs. or more or any bus...
40
(5) All other combinations of vehicles...
50

[jgorm]

Thanks guys! I think it would be unsafe to flat tow anything behind my rig without brakes.  If CA laws say that you need brakes for any trailer over 1500lbs i would think that towing a 4000lb jeep with no brakes might be a bad idea, even if it is not against the law. (Normally I tend to be the "stupid laws will not be followed" type of person).  I would have no issue flat towing the jeep behind a giant class A DP with no brakes.  My truck weighs about 6800lbs unloaded, so probably a bit over 10K loaded with the camper and gear. I'm slightly pushing the limit already.

[90_4Runner]

I would definitely get all of the stopping power I could. With my F-450 hauling my cabover and towing the 4Runner on the trailer, my brakes became very hot going down the hills in Big Bear. About half way down I fixed the trailer brake controller and everything was good after that. The more stopping power the better.

[Mikegyver1]

X2 what the use of having all the power on tap if you can't stop the darn thing.

[84sr5]

Have you thought of having a longer towbar for the jeep insted of having such a extened reciver off the truck?Just thinking of sideloading/twisting. And as far as the brakes ,the more power the shorter the stopping distance.

[jgorm]

I would definitely get all of the stopping power I could. With my F-450 hauling my cabover and towing the 4Runner on the trailer, my brakes became very hot going down the hills in Big Bear. About half way down I fixed the trailer brake controller and everything was good after that. The more stopping power the better.

Even with downshifting?  I hardly use the brakes on steep hills.

Have you thought of having a longer towbar for the jeep insted of having such a extened reciver off the truck?Just thinking of sideloading/twisting. And as far as the brakes ,the more power the shorter the stopping distance.

No, there would be stuff in the way.  I don't think that would be a better option.  The bar is pretty strong, rated for 500lb /5000lb, even at that length.  The hitch itself is class 5 1000/10,000.  Those turnbuckles are my addition to help with any potential side loading, but the side loading should be minimal when flat towing ( i would think).

[Mikegyver1]

What are the pictures showing us in the beginning of your post?

[jgorm]

Just the air bag system and camper tie down.  The air bags helped a ton with keeping the front tires planted.  The other pictures are of the hitch extension needed to clear the bumper on the camper.

[90_4Runner]

Even with downshifting?  I hardly use the brakes on steep hills.


No, there would be stuff in the way.  I don't think that would be a better option.  The bar is pretty strong, rated for 500lb /5000lb, even at that length.  The hitch itself is class 5 1000/10,000.  Those turnbuckles are my addition to help with any potential side loading, but the side loading should be minimal when flat towing ( i would think).

Yes, even with down shifting people still pullout in front of you or do stupid things where you need to stop quickly.

[chad reed]

i have a hitch like that but it has 2 receivers and 2 bars  to the hitch .im pulling 2 qauds and a samurai ona flat bed .i also have a jake brake on the truck that works great .the lsat pick is what i use to tow