towing a new purchase(what to do)

Thinking about buy a flat fender, not sure what model. guys says he used it around his hunting camp. hasnt run it in a couple of years. wants 1000-1500 for it. What do I need to do to tow it home with out messing up the tc or rearend or tranny. just put the tc in neutral and tow. not sure of anyfluid levels and dont really know how to check them in a hurry to tow home. have about a 3 hour tow.

any help would be helpful.

 

I think you should do should try to check all the fluid levels (Diffs, tranny and T-case) before trying to tow it for that kind of duration. The last thing you want is for something to burn up and sieze half way home. As for the towing, I believe that you should place the T-case in neutral, and the transmission in gear (to keep the fluid moving and the gears oiled). Take it slow and check it often, especially since you don't know how well it mantained before it was parked, and the fact it hasn't moved in so long. Just my $0.02! I'm sure that others will chime in.

 

:iagree:

Taking a bucket of 90W oil with you when go for $40 and another $25 for a bucket pump will save you as much as you paid for the whole Jeep. Towing it home 3 hours or so with no fluid can smoke your tranny, t-case and axles. Most of them that have set also have water from setting unless it was stored inside. A 1/2 inch and 3/8 drive some liqid wrech and a little oil from your local farm store will save you a lot of heart ache and may stop you from having problems on the way home.

Good luck!! I have never regretted buying any of my flattie's yet although the wife may have!!!

 

Rent a tow dolly, load the jeep with the rear tires on the dolly, unlock the front hubs and all you have turning is the wheel bearings. Be sure and secure the steering wheel straight. That way all you have to check is the bearings. I'm buying a rolling chassis and will tow it home that way, prolly add towing lights to the front of the frame for safety.

 

I've towed many a Jeep home with a tow bar but I always remove the drive shaft or driveshafts depending on whether or not it has locking hubs. If I was going to use a tow dolly I would load the front axle on the dolly for reasons described above plus for more weight on the dolly and I'd remove the rear driveshaft. I'd bring a couple of spare tires along for either of those senario's. I also have used my trailer to bring home Jeeps and that works best but I have to use at least a 1/2 ton to pull it vs the towbar and my trusty 348,000 mile Ford ranger. You could try U-Haul for a trailer or tow dolly. I bought one Jeep on E-bay and went with the trailer to get it and just as we got it all loaded up the guy says "Hang on I got another part for it..." and went and grabbed a brand new tow bar assembly and handed it to me!!

 

Thanks for all your info..

 

definitely trailer it home... 3 hours is a long way to flat tow a vehicle you know very little about

 

When i got mine it was 3 hours away and sitting in the woods 20 years with a tree growing through it. We tow dollyd it with the front wheels up. We unhooked the rear driveshaft and put the two better tires on the back. We had trouble changing them around because we didnt know the driver side is left hand threads We probrobly should have checked the fluid in the rear end also because it was crap but we made it all right. They tow well because there so light too

 

I used a trailer and mine was only a hour away that way nothing can go wrong with your new pride and joy

 

Mine was 2.5 hours away. I flat towed it behind a CJ7. I kept the speed to 50 or below and off of the main highways. They are so light and with the skinny tires it tracked so well I couldn't even tell it was behind me. I disconnected both front and rear drive shafts at the diffs and bungie corded them to the frame. I stopped often to check tow bar connections and tire pressures.

I would say a lot would depend on what the known shape of the Jeep is. If it it running and driving around currently I would trust towing it more than if it has been sitting in the woods for 20 years.

 

bought my first 2 at the same time,from the same guy, he wouldnt seperate them, trailer is the safest thing for a new purchase that you know nothing about, put both of them on my trailer at the same time my buddy thought i was nuts about a 2 hour drive one way, man it was a load though, not the jeeps my stinking trailer is a load empty but they made it home safely, and speed was limited, just too much cotton picken weight for my old chevy half ton,heck its 28 years old its self

 

Trailer is cheap insurance in the long run. I always trailer.

 

heres another option

 

was waiting for that to show back up,right click save i have both the jeep and the truck of the same vintage

 

Or you can do like I did last time: check the fluids carefully, double check the tow bar and (as much as possible) the wheel bearings - then hook it up and tow it home.

Seems a front brake pad on the (bubba'd) front brakes was loose and rubbing. By the time we realized what was happening the rotor was so hot we could roast marshmallows. Parked it overnight and called Triple A in the morning. Hey - they said they'd cover any of my vehicles....

Tow driver got there and said he was pretty sure there was something in the rules against this, but what they heck - he had a 2a himself. Loaded it on the flatbed and hauled it all the way home for me.

Gotta get a trailer. Really gotta get a trailer...

 

U-Haul auto transport trailer is ~$125 for 3 days of use.

Small price to pay for piece of mind if you ask me.

 

We had to get a tow truck to
not for the project but the XJ towing it LOL
Got a bit hot on the way there and on the way back droped its radiator on the stepest longest narrowest hill on the way home
Had to get the friends out with the 06 hemi n tow the tralair home whilst dad waited for the tow truck