A Mojave Towing Hypothetical...

[jdq22]

Hey all,

Need get a 5k lb boat (30ft, 7ft beam) from NJ to Florida (roughly 1,400 miles). Assume trailer weighs 1,200lbs being conservative. It’s a very nice aluminum double-axle trailer.

A potential tow vehicle: Mojave 6spd. Not the ideal towing vehicle, but coincidently enough, that jeep needs to get to FL too. So I was thinking, instead of shipping both down, tow the entire package.

Towing capacity is 4.5k lbs, but various other trims have considerably higher. Is the clutch the limiting factor? What have you done? Has anyone gone near these numbers?

Moreso looking for people with experience towing these kinds of loads, less so the peanut gallery reading the owners manual

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[Snake Eyes]

So to sum it up, you want to know about towing a boat trailer that is probably easily 32 feet long towing 6,200 lbs (boat plus trailer..conservative as you said since the trailer could weigh a little more) with a 4,500 lb towing capacity for 1400 miles on public interstate highways with other people around you? I was a law enforcement officer so I will keep my mouth shut at this point and am interested in seeing who has actually done that and their experience in this forum

 

[Casique]

Do you have insurance? Its not going to cover you....

 

[Broccoli]

 

[Rahkmalla]

Moreso looking for people with experience towing these kinds of loads, less so the peanut gallery reading the owners manual

AKA "only tell me what I want to hear".

I'm part of the peanut gallery. One of the "various other trims" you are referring to is a automatic Mojave... which has a tow cap of 6,000lbs. Which you'll notice is still less than the 6,200lb minimum you want to tow.

People will experience will tell you to follow the 80% rule. There is no 140% rule.

 

[Hootbro]

Would you be legal? No, but I bet a one off it could do it.

I give lousy legal advice BTW.

 

[chorky]

Purposefully going over vehicle rated weights makes you liable for any and all costs associated with such accident including lost time, wages, accessories, medical, etc…

Get a truck or have it trucked. If you dont know about towing heavy loads this is a bad way to start.

 

[jdq22]

To clarify for everyone since the point seems to be missed - nothing is more important than safety. This is not a trip I plan on doing, hence the name of this thread is a hypothetical. Plan is to get it trucked.

I am canvassing to see if it has been done before with certain modifications, i.e. tires, weight distribution hitches etc.

The platform can support the weight (AT, Max Tow). My question is, what are mitigating factors, and why is the 6spd Mojave unable to tow it while others can.

Appreciate the input from everyone, peanut gallery included

 

[ecidiego]

The clutch and trans aren't rated for that load is why. The automatic is much more stout.

 

[dcmdon]

With the right judgement, I think it could be done easily and safely.

1) Don't even try to use 6th gear. The idea is to make power with RPM not torque so as to subject the clutch to less stress. 4th might even be ideal. Remember that revving the pentastar won't hurt it. Even for many hours.

2) Remember that power required to drive a certain speed goes up as nearly a cube function. That means that going 2x as fast requires 8x as much power.

So that means that there is a large difference in power required to go 80 vs 60.

80/60 = 1.333
1.333^3= 2.197

In other words it takes TWICE as much power to go 80 mph as it does to do 60 mph.

If this were an AT, we wouldn't be worrying about this, but the clutch is a known weak spot.

Now that we'v addressed the drivetrain, let's move onto the chassis.
I've towed across town at 2x the manufacturer's approved tow weight, but I'd be hesitant on the highway.

It's going to be tiring because the trailer is going to move the tow vehicle around.

So I guess in summary.

1) Go slow
2) leave extra following distance
3) do everything gently. Like grandma was in the back seat sipping tea.
4) don't plan to drive for very long - this will be tiring and stressful because the truck will be moved around by the wind, by road camber, etc.
5) It should go without saying, but I'll say it anyway. Don't even attempt this without a weight distributing hitch and trailer brakes.

 

[jdq22]

With the right judgement, I think it could be done easily and safely.

1) Don't even try to use 6th gear. The idea is to make power with RPM not torque so as to subject the clutch to less stress. 4th might even be ideal. Remember that revving the pentastar won't hurt it. Even for many hours.

2) Remember that power required to drive a certain speed goes up as nearly a cube function. That means that going 2x as fast requires 8x as much power.

So that means that there is a large difference in power required to go 80 vs 60.

80/60 = 1.333
1.333^3= 2.197

In other words it takes TWICE as much power to go 80 mph as it does to do 60 mph.

If this were an AT, we wouldn't be worrying about this, but the clutch is a known weak spot.

Now that we'v addressed the drivetrain, let's move onto the chassis.
I've towed across town at 2x the manufacturer's approved tow weight, but I'd be hesitant on the highway.

It's going to be tiring because the trailer is going to move the tow vehicle around.

So I guess in summary.

1) Go slow
2) leave extra following distance
3) do everything gently. Like grandma was in the back seat sipping tea.
4) don't plan to drive for very long - this will be tiring and stressful because the truck will be moved around by the wind, by road camber, etc.
5) It should go without saying, but I'll say it anyway. Don't even attempt this without a weight distributing hitch and trailer brakes.

First helpful comment of the day using facts and math.

 

[Lunentucker]

Run dashcams front and back. We want to see it when it happens ??

 

[MrZappo]

Here is the second helpful post using facts and math.

1) you are over the limit. FACT.
2) you are over by a lot. MATH.
3) it is a dumb idea. FACT.

It has been suggested that you drive gently (like grandma is in back sipping tea). Might I also suggest that if the unexpected happens (as it can and does) and you get cut off or any one of 1000 other possibilities happens unexpectedly, and as a result you find your self headed into a ditch or (God forbid) into a mini van full of innocent kids, that you also crash into them gently (like grandma is in the back sipping tea).

 

[Lunentucker]

You can't leave extra following distance on I-95. If there's room enough for a car, someone's going to put a truck in it.

 

[jdq22]

Here is the second helpful post using facts and math.

1) you are over the limit. FACT.
2) you are over by a lot. MATH.
3) it is a dumb idea. FACT.

It has been suggested that you drive gently (like grandma is in back sipping tea). Might I also suggest that if the unexpected happens (as it can and does) and you get cut off or any one of 1000 other possibilities happens unexpectedly, and as a result you find your self headed into a ditch or (God forbid) into a mini van full of innocent kids, that you also crash into them gently (like grandma is in the back sipping tea).

Spirited! I like it!

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