Questions regarding flat towing

[Fpolanco]

After conquering most of the national parks on the east coast, we’re looking to go west…in comfort!!!

Wer’re looking to get a Class C in the next few months, preferably that’ll tow our Mojave. However, we had a discussion with our neighbor that actually got out of his class A bc towing his vehicle was a nightmare.

According to him, the steering wheel on the tow vehicle doesn’t lock so the front wheels would constantly turn either way to the point where the tow vehicle would hop and he’d have to come to a complete stop. (I think he was towing a Jeep Cherokee Sport).

I well aware there are a million variables when it comes to towing but what am I missing? Has anyone experienced this flat towing their Gladiator or any other vehicle?

Once we get the RV, my goal is to do some towing to some local campgrounds to get my bearings before we head west.

Thanks!!

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[Pisgahlj]

I've been towing my LJ for the past couple of years. No Issues. Sounds like he had vehicle issues. Prepping my 23 gladiator to tow now. The most difficult thing about flat towing is not being able to back up in most instances. I have to plan where I get my fuel. In 1 or two scenerios where we are backing up straight, I have been able to have my wife get in the toad and hold the steering wheel straight. It wants to turn and jacknife. This only works if backing up completely straight, not midway through a turn. That would require unhooking.

I use a brake budy, so I can swap brake system between jeeps. getting ready to install RockJock 4x4 tow base and use a blue ox tow bar. They have them for plastic and steel bumpers. Wiring was plug and play with Curt 58964. No holes had to be drilled or wires cut. I used the heat shield mounting bolt for the ground wire attachment.

 

[Fpolanco]

I've been towing my LJ for the past couple of years. No Issues. Sounds like he had vehicle issues. Prepping my 23 gladiator to tow now. The most difficult thing about flat towing is not being able to back up in most instances. I have to plan where I get my fuel. In 1 or two scenerios where we are backing up straight, I have been able to have my wife get in the toad and hold the steering wheel straight. It wants to turn and jacknife. This only works if backing up completely straight, not midway through a turn. That would require unhooking.

Thank you for responding!

So does the steering wheel not lock while towing? Is there any chance of the tow vehicle jack knifing? Or does it want to jack knife while only going in reverse?

 

[Pisgahlj]

Steering does not lock on gladiator. It does on my LJ, I just have to keep key in ignition and unlocked.

Jackknifing only occurs when trying to reverse with a flat tow as the front steering wheel is unlocked and will quickly rotate. Flying J Truck Stops are your friend. They have RV Gas pumps. Otherwise I try to hit the outside pumps and make sure there is enough room in the parking lot so I can make the turns without needing to reverse.

 

[RudeJeepin]

Thank you for responding!

So does the steering wheel not lock while towing? Is there any chance of the tow vehicle jack knifing? Or does it want to jack knife while only going in reverse?

No you do not want the steering wheel to lock. The front tires need to steer while making turns or the Gladiator would be drug sideways while making sharper turns.
While I'll haven't towed my Gladiator or our newer Wrangler, I have towed my CJ5 on several occasions. Behind a couple of motorhomes and a few full size pickups.
Eventually I'll setup our Gladiator and probably the JLU to be flat towed. I'm not too concerned about any issues.

I'd guess the your neighbor had some kind of issue with his toad (towed rig). Or possibly his setup was wrong.

Your steering has to be good, it needs to basically self center while going down the road.

 

[AlpineChip]

We have been flat towing a 2013 JKU since 2016 without issue. Still tow that vehicle but, now have a 2023 JT in the mix as well. Both with 2 1/2 inch lifts, 35s/37s and honestly, can't tell the difference between either while towing. Both are great for towing. We are using a Blue Ox tow bar and baseplates.
As stated above, steering wheel isn't something you want locked.

 

[Kevin_D]

I've towed my JT without issue. I use the Maximus-3 tow loops & a Falcon All Terrain towbar.
With it behind my 36' class A, I hardly even know it's back there!
Watch your hitch ratings, as my Sport S comes in just under the 5000# hitch rating.

Kevin

 

[yoda13]

I have towed the JT about 1500 miles, other than weight, you can’t tell it’s there. I am close to 100K miles pulling a jeep of some sort in my life time. I have had two issues. 1)A pin holding my hitch to my jeep came loose one time and I almost lost it before I got it to the side of the road. 2)My caster wasn’t set properly and after a turn my wheels didn’t return to center and I started dragging a jeep with wheels all the way to the right. The first was probably user error, though there were kids around my jeep when I came back in from the convenience store. The second was definitely my fault, as I had the caster improperly set. I will always have a jeep to tow behind my RV. Also, as others have said, you never want the wheel locked.

 

[Fpolanco]

No you do not want the steering wheel to lock. The front tires need to steer while making turns or the Gladiator would be drug sideways while making sharper turns.
While I'll haven't towed my Gladiator or our newer Wrangler, I have towed my CJ5 on several occasions. Behind a couple of motorhomes and a few full size pickups.
Eventually I'll setup our Gladiator and probably the JLU to be flat towed. I'm not too concerned about any issues.

I'd guess the your neighbor had some kind of issue with his toad (towed rig). Or possibly his setup was wrong.

Your steering has to be good, it needs to basically self center while going down the road.

Ah that makes complete sense. Not as concerned anymore. Thank you for clearing that up!!

 

[Wildtoad]

I’ve towed a JK ht Wrangler, and now Gladiator. You do NOT want the steering wheel locked, bad things will happen. Modern Jeeps Wranglers don’t lock, neither does the Gladiator. There have been instances of a “Death Wobble” with some Jeeps in the past but seems to be quite rare.

I use the NSA Ready Brake and it works great. No power at the Jeep required. I tried one of the removable brake systems similar to Brake Buddy and found them to be a real PIA. Put it in, take it out, repeat every time you want to tow. Plus you need power at the Jeep for it to operate.

Key point: before you decide on what RV to get, go weigh your Mojave with full fuel and any cargo you plan on putting in it while towing. Check the hitch rating as many have a 5k limit, then check the gross vehicle weight rating (GVWR) and gross combined weight rating (GCWR). The difference between these two number should be larger than the weight of your Gladiator.

Most likely your actual weight of the RV will be less than the GVWR and you have options to reduce the overall weight but you won’t know until after you buy it and load it up.

I weighed my ‘21 Willys and it was just under both my hitch weight and towing capacity of my class A. No problem towing it.

 

[Fpolanco]

I've towed my JT without issue. I use the Maximus-3 tow loops & a Falcon All Terrain towbar.
With it behind my 36' class A, I hardly even know it's back there!
Watch your hitch ratings, as my Sport S comes in just under the 5000# hitch rating.

Kevin

Yeah the tow rating on Class Cs is something that is a non negotiable. I’ve come across platforms that have a 7500lb tow rating.

Even though the gladiator will never be anywhere near that weight, the additional margin of of weight will be nice going across the mountain passes out west.

 

[Fpolanco]

I’ve towed a JK ht Wrangler, and now Gladiator. You do NOT want the steering wheel locked, bad things will happen. Modern Jeeps Wranglers don’t lock, neither does the Gladiator. There have been instances of a “Death Wobble” with some Jeeps in the past but seems to be quite rare.

I use the NSA Ready Brake and it works great. No power at the Jeep required. I tried one of the removable brake systems similar to Brake Buddy and found them to be a real PIA. Put it in, take it out, repeat every time you want to tow. Plus you need power at the Jeep for it to operate.

Key point: before you decide on what RV to get, go weigh your Mojave with full fuel and any cargo you plan on putting in it while towing. Check the hitch rating as many have a 5k limit, then check the gross vehicle weight rating (GVWR) and gross combined weight rating (GCWR). The difference between these two number should be larger than the weight of your Gladiator.

Most likely your actual weight of the RV will be less than the GVWR and you have options to reduce the overall weight but you won’t know until after you buy it and load it up.

I weighed my ‘21 Willys and it was just under both my hitch weight and towing capacity of my class A. No problem towing it.

I def appreciate you spelling out the difference between GVWR and GCWR. Def will be coming back to this in the future!!

The Gladiator won’t have much in it (maybe a couple gas cans) as I’ll have most our stuff in the RV but def something to keep in mind.

Thank you!!

 

[Fpolanco]

No you do not want the steering wheel to lock. The front tires need to steer while making turns or the Gladiator would be drug sideways while making sharper turns.
While I'll haven't towed my Gladiator or our newer Wrangler, I have towed my CJ5 on several occasions. Behind a couple of motorhomes and a few full size pickups.
Eventually I'll setup our Gladiator and probably the JLU to be flat towed. I'm not too concerned about any issues.

I'd guess the your neighbor had some kind of issue with his toad (towed rig). Or possibly his setup was wrong.

Your steering has to be good, it needs to basically self center while going down the road.

So for the steering to self-center, is that just ensuring the tow vehicle is properly aligned? Or is it something more involved, esp since it’s a Jeep?

 

[RudeJeepin]

So for the steering to self-center, is that just ensuring the tow vehicle is properly aligned? Or is it something more involved, esp since it’s a Jeep?

Basically if your toad is properly aligned and has good caster then your OK.
In a other words, if it tracks straight down the road without hold the steering wheel. If you can let go of the steering wheel while turning and it wants to straighten out then your OK.

Or atleast should be.

My old CJ5 didn't have the greatest steering, but it towed fine. It mostly tracked straight and returned to center after a turn.

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