Towing 2010 Jeep Wrangler

[mmorgancfdc@aol.com]

Just bought 2010 Wrangler. Manual says to turn switch on ACC and then unhook neg. bat. cable when being towed by RV. When I ask sales rep if the steering wheel locked, he said no after first asking a service tech. My question is: If the steering column does not lock, why then should I have to turn ignition on ACC, then unhook neg cable? I have ask two Jeep dealerships, and phoned the companies' toll free help line twice asking for clarification on this matter and no one knows the answer! All I hear from the Jeep folks is that I should follow what the manual says in the RV towing section.

The reason I am so concerned is that I had a tire to explode at 70 mph on a Jeep Cherokee, tearing up the mag wheel, the inside of wheel well, and all the wiring on that side of the engine compartment. The other front tire had large chunks out of its treads but did not come apart. This happened only 20 miles down the highway after I made a fairly sharp 360 turn in a parking lot. I am assuming the steering column locked during this 360 and the front tires were at a slight angle being pulled down the highway.During this incident, I did in fact, have the switch turned on ACC.

Second question: Does anyone tow ( 4 wheels down) a 2010 wrangler unltd, and do they turn ignition on ACC and unhook bat cable when being towed and do you know for a fact if the steering column can lock up? Any help or input is appreciated.

[Eagle]

RickM I believe that when you made the tight 360* turn the front wheels did not straighten back out. (I made a fairly sharp 360 turn in a parking lot.) The column did not lock it was the wheels did not straighten back up. This is not uncommon for this to happen after a real sharp turn. My advise is to do as the owners manual says. I also would install a disconnect switch for the battery cable rather than having to disconnect it every time.