Towing a Jeep

[bgaron1]

I am planning on towing my jeep wrangler from Baton Rouge, La to Wyoming and I was wondering what would be the best way. I would rather not tow it "all wheels down" because I just put new tires on it, but when I checked U-Haul there rates on a trailer were outrageous. Any advice?

[Midwest Michael]

If you don't want to tow it with the wheels on the ground, and you aren't willing to pay the price to rent a trailer, the only other option I can think of is to ship it. I don't know if you'll find that to be cheaper than renting a trailer, but I'm not sure what other options you'd have.

[RoadTripper Brad]

I agree with Michael, your options are very limited. Towing a jeep that distance with the tires on the ground (either 2 or 4) shouldn't put that much wear on them. However, if your concerned the only options really are to either eat the cost of towing or eat the cost of shipping. I've never shipped a car cross country, but I can't imagine it would be cheaper than a one-way car trailer rental.

-Brad

[Foy]

bgaron1-

Towing the Jeep could be much harder on the tow vehicle than the Jeep. Unless you'd tow with a fullsize V8 long wheelbase pickup, you're likely to have the uncomfortable feeling of the tail wagging the dog. I suggest the fullsize longbed pickup because of the weight and braking characteristics of one, and the rated towing capacity. Your Jeep would be a roughly 3,500 lb trailer without brakes, so whatever you tow with must be rated for and capable of stopping it.

Another point to consider is the fact that you cannot back up the whole time you have the towed vehicle hooked up. Every single fuel, nature, sightseeing, and other stop will have to be a pull-through.

From my experience doing each, towing the Jeep via a two-wheels up tow dolly is essentially the same chore as flat-towing it with 4 wheels down. Either is a pain in the neck.

I looked into shipping a fullsize pickup truck back in October. A transcontinental ship would have run about $00.37/mile with a bonded shipper. All in all, it's not a bad deal.

Towing heavy is a long, slow ride and unless the tow is a beloved travel trailer, etc, it's not much fun.

Foy