towing small trailer with cj5..opinions

i have a 80 cj5 with a 360 TBI t-176 dana 300. dana 44 rear and 33's and a hardtop. and Yj power booster.

my wife and i are considering buying a small tent on wheels for camping.

the camper is 535 lbs dry. 6'-3" wide x 10'-6" long including tongue. sleeps 4 (perfect for us since we have a 2 year old.) the trailer is rated for 1,200 lbs max. (i doubt we would ever haul that much gear with us) typically we camp for 2 nights max. typically we stay within 1 hour of our house in denver due to the short attention span of a 2 year old. my tire carrier has a 2" hitch built into it, although i dont know if it is rated for towing or not. bumper is made of 3/16" steel with 1/4" around the receiver.



would i be asking for a nighmare? i am a really cautious driver and i have some towing experience.

 

I think you'd be fine, presuming the vehicle drives nice now and is in good condition. No problem.

 

yes,

the cj is been completly rebuilt from the ground up, it tracks straight now, stops great and hums right along at 65 without a hickup..

here are some pics of my bumper / hitch carrier.








i made these standoffs out of 1/4" plate / box each side is attached with grade 8 bolts through the rear crossmember. there are L brackets that sandwich the frame and the crossmember.



the through bolts that sandwich the frame are qty (2) 7/16 fine thread.

 

the 360 has plenty of power and torque. u should be good to go... sounds like fun!

 

**** update****


well i did it!






great addition to the family, i took a quick 15 min test drive with the camper on the cj and the 5' did really well, plenty of power and braking ..

 

That looks like a fun combo. Good size and it looks like it has plenty of sleeping room. If you could fit a bit bigger tires on the trailer, you could some fantastic off road camping with it. Nice tire rack. Did you make that or buy it?

 

i though about bigger tires but they are near new i would hate to toss them.. i have thought about a 1-2" lift block on the trailer.. i think that would be pretty slick.


the carrier is a currie i believe although at least 10 years old.

now i just need to wire the flat 4 trailer connector to my cj.

 

Woohoo! When will you try it out? Summer is going ... going ...

 

Tell me about it, although we picked this up for next season we are planning a outing right after labor day!

 

Thats a nice time to go camping.Most of the seasonal campers are through for the year,a lot less crowded but still very nice weather.Enjoy!

 

That is one nice looking Jeep.

I have towed a 4X6 trailer loaded to about the max with rock without issue. I can't imagine you will have any problems.

Does that have YJ springs on it??

Anyway, nice looking set up.

High5

 

What Brand, make and model are the trailer? Wife and I now are lookin g for somthing like that, seem to be settled on the "Jumping Jack" trailer, but this one looks a lot easier to get into the places we like to go camp & hunt.

 

no on the YJ springs, i am running alcan for the cj.

the trailer is a coleman colorado sport. pretty hard to find, but worth the weight for us,. we found this one for $600.. a tad more than i wanted to spend but i did not really have a choice, the wife loves it.

 

Nice, Coleman is always a good product.