Hey Guys, so its time for the annual TDS Desert Safari again and now that I have the Dodge I am planning to flat tow my Jeep out this year. Now that being said I've never flat towed before, (well not with a tow bar anyway) and I've never towed anything as big as my Jeep before either. my Ram has the 5.2 and the 46RE. I have already installed an aux tranny cooler and changed the fluid and filter and i have installed a tranny temp gauge on the dodge as well. I know i will be towing up and down some fairly steep grades. for the downhills i am planning to put the tranny in first or second and let the engine braking help control my speed. I should also have the OD off for the uphill tows as well right? Since my YJ is also an auto with a front locker i will put the t-case in Neutral, remove the front driveshaft, and put the transmission in neutral as well. And of course unlock the steering wheel. So apart from leaving a big following distance and taking my time, is there anything else i should know prior to the tow? Anything else i should do to prep the dodge?

Oh and can someone explain to me why the hell to OEs felt it wasn't necessary to put a damn drain plug on the tranny pans? I got that stuff everywhere!!!

 

Not too sure bout the towing aspect, whenever I tow anything it's on a car trailer; less hassle! As long as you take it easy, sounds like the truck and jeep should be fine. As for the drain plug, I know you can add one from napa pretty easily for cheap, I plan on doing that when the weather clears up and I can actually get underneath it! Happy wheeling!

 

I wish i had a trailer. but even if i could afford one i have no place to keep it so flat towing is my best option. God I miss having land.

 

Flat towing is easier on your towing vehicle, since it does not have the added weight of a trailer. But, it will be harder on the brakes, since there will be no assistance like there would be on a trailer (if equipped). Towing with a dolly is also a good option, but costs you a few hundred bucks. Definitely keep the OD off the entire time...just for peace of mind. I'd be careful with the downshifting and watch your speeds with the down-hill shifts.

 

well its an auto. Why leave OD off the whole time? I mean i know i want it off for the uphills since the tranny will keep trying to shift in and out of OD, but why leave it off on the freeway? not trying to be rude but just curious. Also what potential problems might i have using engine braking to control my downhill speeds? I know when im wheeling and i hit a downhill i drop the tranny in the jeep in first and just let the compression of the engine and my gears slow me down. will this principal not work in the truck? again, just curious. like i said never flat towed or towed anything this big before.

And the only other thing I've towed with the ram was a small 4x8 foot quad trailer.

 

With the OD, someone once said on here that the manual says to leave OD off while towing...I have never looked it up to verify...I just don't trust the OEM tranny. With the downshifting, it wouldn't hurt, but I was just saying to make sure to watch the speed when you do it...again, because I don't really trust the tranny. No particular reasons...just a lack of trust that the OEM tranny will take it...[8D]

 

yeah i've read all the doom and gloom regarding the stock tranny. thats why i added the cooler and temp gauge. had a small electric fan i pulled off the spare Cherokee sitting in my carport but its too big to fit behind the rams grill over the cooler.

 

...something about insufficient oiling while in OD.

OD on/off may also depend on your tire size, and your ability to keep rpm's up. with bigger tires my truck does better about 2000 rpm. below that its pretty sluggish.

for highway driving, be careful about pulling tranny down in 2nd, you don't want to do that at any kind of speed or i'd think you would be turning too many rpm's.

many years ago we had an old jeep that we towed behind the truck. it pulled good. you should be fine.

 

Dont worry about taking the dshaft out. If you are towing flat, put the tranny in PARK and the tcase in neutral. make SURE that everything is disengaged by starting it up with the tcase in neutral and putting it in drive and reverse. If nothing hooks up then you are good as far as the drivetrain goes. Make sure as well that the key is in it and rotated forward enough to unlock the steering. make sure that the hitch and the towbar are as close to level as possible, take a short run in the streets, maybe to a parking lot to do some full lock turns to make sure everything looks good and then a short blast down the highway. Stop to check that all the pins are in place and that all the connections are safe and you are off.

Nice Jeep BTW.

 

I've been towing big boats for some time now, over 20yrs, and I never, never tow with O/D on.

My stupid brother inlaw and I towed up to Canada. He had O/D on and the Cruise control. Yep his tranny just went after we got back.

Good luck on your trip and have a great time.