Towing a Van with a JK?

[dhard]

Originally Posted by 09JKSHORTY

Something must have gone wrong with mine, it has the harshest ride of any car I've ever driven. Far worse than a rubber sprung Cooper S. To say the suspension is soft sounds ludicrous to me.

They use soft springs but heavy swaybars to compensate. Having relatively short control arms and the 5link front end also contributes to the harsh ride.

[09JKSHORTY]

Originally Posted by dhard

They use soft springs but heavy swaybars to compensate. Having relatively short control arms and the 5link front end also contributes to the harsh ride.

Are there any options for softer/thinner sway bars?.

[dhard]

Originally Posted by DavidJ

I haven't towed anything with my JK yet but my daughter towed my camper trailer with her 2.8 Cherokee last Christmas.

My camper trailer is about 1.4 tonne fully loaded and the Cherokee did the job without any problems. My daughter's friends were towing a light trailer with their Disco and they couldn't keep up with the Cherokee on anything but dead flat roads.

What model Discovery as td5 and tdi engines produce below 100kw. The 2.8crd produces 130kw so has a distinct power advantage let alone the fact it weighs less. The later model d3 and d4 tdv6 produces 140kw and the twin turbo variant 180kw so i think the boot might be on the other foot up against these. Though the problem is with all these engines is that they are pretty much producing up near their maximum potential so long term durabillity could be an issue. I actually quite like the old style such as the 4.2 diesel nissan, 4.2 diesel toyota and the isuzu 3dbt diesel that was used in Landy's. Although these where all basically slugs they all had the same philosphy. By not making the engine produce anywhere near the max power they could handle. They all have a life cycle almost as long as their owners and just keep working when others falter. Power is overated unless you happen to be in a race. I wish i still had one of these old dinosaur engines.

[dhard]

Originally Posted by 09JKSHORTY

Are there any options for softer/thinner sway bars?.

you could try running without them............. but that might have a few legal issues. You would still be left with the control arms sending the bumps directly up the chassis at the front. I believe that if you have a lift the drop brackets on the lower control arms make a huge improvement handling wise and help get the shock going up through the shock absorber where it belongs.

[DownSouth]

I run 33s and have a Tranny cooler.
Boat trailer and motor is 1200kg dry
Camping gear and Im hauling 1800 kilo.
Im going to change to light truck tires on the trailer so i can get 55psi
45psi on the JK for long haul trips.
I also run mopar 2 inch and 1 inch spring spacers, I get no sag when hooked up. I run superchips "Towing" tune which does help. Also on long run I drop the Bimmini to reduce wind. Im going to put oilers on the trailer hubs and get rid of the buddies as the oilers run smoother and cooler. (had on last trailer)
I have yet to do my annual trip with this boat as the last one was much lighter. It cruises 100 easy on the flat, drops back to 85s if any slight incline. Im thinking if i just go easy i wont blow anything. In terms of feel, it runs very well behaved.

[humdingerslammer]

Stock standard & with 2 on board and 400kg weight inside/outside, my Rubi unlimited towed a 14 ft pop top (say 850kg all up) to Perth and back no sweat. The bum sank a bit with the van behind and the weight inside. I managed 100km/hr on the flat no sweat and got about 6.2km/litre. Even better when with a tail wind. This mileage was better than any Toyota/nissan etc owner was able to get and it was their envy. At about 40000 km I took a trip towing a camper trailer (say 600kg all up + 400 kg in JK) to Cape York tip and across the Gulf to Broome and down WA coast and across the Nullarbor. After the corrugations etc of about 5000km up north the original springs and shockies were stuffed. I fitted OME shocks & ARB springs which was a superior set up to the OE. I have replaced the ARB springs with Lovell's because the ARB ones had sagged after about 10000km and were very twisted and distorted when I took them off. I kept the OME shocks which are much better than the OE and they work well with the Lovell springs (2" lift). The Rubi u/l has had no dramas towing either the van or camper trailer and though the fuel economy is bad it is much much better than other 4x4s. It absolutely rocks with a tail wind. At one pont crossing the Nullarbor, I worked out that with the tail wind (about 25knots) I was getting close to 11km/l @110km/hr. Beat that..... I have also done other short and long trips with the van or camper and never had a problem.

[hunty]

Hi Guyz
I tow a boat (pictured below), a 17ft full size caravan and a motorbike trailer (also pictured) - I have a petrol manual and have been very impressed with the JK's towing abilities I regularly tow between 1 & 2 tonnes along the f3 and can with 4.56's & 33's get up all the hills @ 100kph - I have fitted an electronic brake controller and use stabilisers with the caravan - I have done over 80,000kms and am still on my first clutch - which is quite remarkable given I spent 20,000km on 3.21's & 35's - I have sensed the ERM computer doing its thing occasionally and find that it is usefull when giving the loud pedal a squeeze - in summation - I am happy to tow anything anywhere!
Cheers Hunty