Towing A Jeep Wrangler

[mypopslou]

Read all the information about the transmission on Ford Fusion failing even though Ford says it can be towed 4 wheels down and decided I was not going to take the chance. I bought a new 2014 Jeep Wrangler Sport and the owners manual gives you very clear step by step instructions for recreational towing. The last step is the one I need help with, it says to disconnect the negative terminal on the battery. I use an EvenBrake as my supplemental brake and it needs power. Is the reason to disconnect the battery to protect it from discharge or by disconnecting the battery are there other systems that need to be powered down to avoid damage.

I plan on taking my new Jeep to Camping World to install the new base plate and electrical and I want to be sure to have them connect power from Motorhome if it is absolutely necessary to disconnect the battery on my Jeep.

Any help or suggestions would be appreciated

[f313653]

We too are towing a 2014 Wrangler. I think the reason for disconnecting the battery is so that with the key in the ON position, to unlock the steering wheel, the battery won't be drained. HOWEVER as far as I know Jeep Wranglers have not had a steering wheel lock for several years! I think their manual needs updating. I have seen this same info on other forums as well such as RV.NET

When we bought it a few months ago we asked at the dealer and they were not able to find any information about it, even using the VIN to search for info on their own site. They did check the vehicle and found that even without the key the steering wheel would turn, ie, there is no steering wheel lock. We do not disconnect the battery. We have not towed it much, only when taking the motorhome into the mechanic for work a couple of times, Maybe 50 miles or so. However, part of that was on VERY sharp curves and the Wrangler front wheel did track around the curves.

I really hope we can get Jeep to truly answer this question

[medico]

I believe most Jeep steering wheel locks were removed around 2008. If your Wrangler has a steering wheel lock, it has been changed for 2014.

With my 2012 Liberty, I shift the Transfer Case to Neutral, put the transmission into Park and remove the key. I have been towing it for a year and a half in this manner.

[mypopslou]

Jim, I realized that on my drive home from the dealership, ever other Jeep Wrangler that passed me on the road waved. It did not take me long to catch on and now I am keenly aware of any other Jeep passing by....I love it

Another question, I love to make sure my vehicles stay nice a long time so I am always making sure they have a good coat of wax. What do I use on my black hard top and my black fender that are plastic type. If I use wax I will never get it off completely and that will look terrible, but I do not know what to use to keep them looking good short of Amour All and that will not last long.

Any idea's??

[mypopslou]

Jim, thanks, can I get 303 Aerospace Protectant at any auto parts store or Camping World? Looking for Jeep Wrangler Forum now and will join when I find it

Thanks

[manholt]

Jim S. I totally agree.

My 09' Jeep W. had to be disconnected, now on my 13' I just put it in neutral and park, key in pocket. Had no idea about Jeep forum, makes sense!

[uechiyondan]

I hope you are enjoying your new Jeep. We just got a 2014 JK Unlimited which we are towing behind our motorhome. As stated above, the manual states that you should leave the ignition in the unlock accessory position, and disconnect the battery. We did a test this morning, with the key removed, my wife sat in the drivers seat while I turned th coach in the parking lot after hooking up.

The wheel turned and the Jeep followed along just as it should. I do disconnect the battery when I tow, because I am using the Blue Ox light package which uses the existing bulbs. I don't want the two systems to interfear with each other. This should not happen because the unit has a relay isolator built in, but why take chances, Other than running the wires, it was an easy set up, maybe not the most elegant but it works well and is easy to connect to the coach.

By the way if you do disconnect the battery, make sure the connections are secure when you reconnect. If not, you will get some interesting warning light displays on your dash while driving on the highway (ask me how I know this !!).

Have fun and share the wave.

[desertdeals69]

Jeep manuals are terribly written with either out dated or just plain wrong information. If you really think you need to disconnect the battery each time you tow, maybe you should consider installing a battery disconnect switch. There are several styles to choose from.

I'm surprised that this type of switch is still on the market. These switches are dangerous because they can have an open spark and if there are any charge gasses present it could explode the top of the battery and spray acid all over. That is why when you use jumper cables the last connection should be the negative cable and attached to the frame a distance from the battery. It should be the first cable to be disconnected. I have witnessed too many battery explosions.

[desertdeals69]

All the instructions I've read instruct the installer to ONLY install on the negative terminal; even the disconnect with the green knob.

If a spark is present it makes no difference if it is pos or neg it will cause the gas to explode.

[jbucking]

I have used those Green screw type battery disconnects (shown) on everything from vintage cars to lawn mowers for years without a problem. I have actually never seen a spark or heard a snap or electrical noise of any kind. They are inexpensive and they work great. Of course, I may blow myself up tomorrow, but I have no concerns based on years of actual use.

[bottieri]

I have a 2014 Wrangler set up for towing. When I read in the book that the battery must be disconnected, I decided to eliminate that step so as not to lose all the electronic settings of clock and radio, blue tooth and what-not.

Here's what I did: I connected a wire at the battery positive post directly to a marine inline fuse holder and to the "out" side of a tail light diode. From the "in" side of the diode I ran a wire down to the base plate area that will be connected to the tail light wire coming from the RV. CAUTION: install a resister (6 ohm, 50 watt) in line, to limit the current flow or you'll burn the fuse in the RV tail light circuit as the battery will suck up more amperage than the fuse and wire can handle. Because of the diode there is no power in the wire when not connected to the RV.

This shows the connections at the battery and the black 'stuff' is Velcro.

This system will keep the car battery charging as long as the tail lights in the RV are on, so you can supply power to a brake unit without killing the battery and not lose your settings because of a disconnected battery.

Of course after doing all this I found there is no steering wheel lock so the key can be removed, but for those of you who must leave a key in to unlock the steering wheel, this is a great alternative to disconnecting the battery.

[wolfe10]

bottieri,

Another common wiring option is to come from coach chassis battery with an inline fuse to base plate/connector to inline fuse at toad battery. A good charge wire (yes, a good ground between coach and toad is important).

Another option is to use a relay with ignition hot as the trigger to close the relay with the wiring above. That way, if you overnight without power, it will not run down the coach chassis battery.

[lbarrydds]

"It is a Jeep Thing" Non jeep owners wouldn't understand.

[bottieri]

wolfe10

I changed my original post about the charge circuit to using a 6 ohm, 50 watt resister in line, instead of a bulb. That should limit the amperage to 2 amps and not overload the tail light circuit fuse.

Connecting to the battery directly isn't always convenient. In my Prevost H3 it isn't possible as the batteries are behind the fender above the drive wheels.

Connecting to the tail light wire out of the coach trailer plug using bullet connecters was the simplest for my situation. Surely there are many ways of accomplishing the same goal. In my situation, running the coach batteries down is not a concern.

Another benefit: You could run the parking lights on in the Jeep while running the lights on the RV since there will be additional amperage from the RV keeping the battery up. In that case I'd use a 3 ohm resister to double the amperage (to 4 amps) moving from the RV to the car battery. Even an 18 gauge wire will handle 4 or 5 amps over 10 to 15 feet in length, but I used a 16 gauge.

[jleamont]

Just upgraded from a 2003 Wrangler to a 2014 Wrangler 4 door and I have a few questions;

1. Light wiring, is there a plug and play type of kit or do I have to trace the harnesses and splice in diodes? Cant find much on the web.

2. Battery disconnect? We had a 2009 before and never unhooked the battery. Does anyone do this....any issues not unhooking it?

3. This jeep is an automatic (2003 was a manual), I haven't read the manual yet but it is a manual transfer case with neutral, keep the shifter in Park and the transfer case in neutral...I'm guessing?

4. Any do's and don'ts, recommendations from experience to share?

[manholt]

I answered your PM.

For this,  unless they changed it for 14'.  I put the manual transfer case in P, the 4x4 transfer case in N, key in my pocket. No special wiring, no disconnect on main battery (I had a separate battery installed for my winch).  Since I have a Steel bumper, I use the "D" ring holders for my tow bar...no base plate needed.  M & G brake.

Carl

[jleamont]

Jim, thank you for the information. This will be the third Jeep Wrangler toad. We started out with a 2009 4 door, absolutely hated its lack of power, traded it and bought a 2003, loved it but as the kids got taller it got smaller, so my DW wanted another 4 door with the new engine that was released in 2012, so here we are. I ordered a new cylinder from M&G yesterday, new base plate and this wiring harness plug and play kit. http://www.hopkinstowingsolutions.com/products/dinghy-towing-harnesses/jeep7.html

The 2009 and 2003 I tapped in with diodes and wired it myself, while the 2003 was simple the 2009 was not. I wanted a plug and play kit this time.

[manholt]

Joe.  Let us know how it worked out.  Also, do you ever use the 4x4 in 4 wheel drive application?  Other than in snow at home?

[manholt]

Jim.  Yes it is!  Are you a member off the FMCA 4 Wheelers?

Carl

[jleamont]

Carl, I wanted to run the old one off road, and we were planning on it, there are trails not to far from home up in the mountains. The new one is just to pretty, see below. Need to get another TJ for that.

Jim, we had the M&G on the TJ and loved it, best toad brake system in my opinion. It only took me, 1/2 hour to remove all of it, including the wiring for the breakaway system. I have said it before, if M&G doesn't make a cylinder for it I'm not buying that toad.

 

[manholt]

Joe.  Real nice!  Waste of good $$$ if you can't use it...any SUV would have done the toad job!

JimS. Not that I'm aware off.  I almost joined, until I read their minimum requirements...I wasn't planning on going on a Safari, just day runs!  Now, I just call the local 4 wheel clubs in the area I'm in...and join in the fun!  Up in the San Juan Mountains of Colorado, I've been on just about all the trails they got over the last 5 years, getting close to that in Ruidoso.  I have found that local clubs, is great for meeting and getting ideas from new folks in various parts of the Country!  I also utilize the Elks, Masonic and Lions in the area!

My body and age is going to dictate, how much longer I can keep this up!

Carl

[blakeloke]

Joe,

That's a real purdy Wrangler!  I like it.

Here's our new Jeep.  Do we get to wave too?

Probably doesn't apply to Wranglers but here's how we put the Grand Cherokee into tow mode:

1. Start engine
2. Place transmission into neutral.
3. Hold disengage button down with a ballpoint pen for 4 seconds until transfer case disengages (you can hear it) and dash indicates "neutral".
4. Place gear shift back into park.
5. Shut off engine and hit the keyless start button twice to place into "off" position.
6. Steering wheel doesn't lock but always test it.......habit from way back when I forgot to unlock the Ram truck steering wheel one day.

We're on the maiden voyage of dragging the Grand Cherokee now.  About 1,200 miles so far and it's been trouble free towing.  We have a separate light kit with bulbs drilled into the rear taillights....had to do the same with the Ram truck.  Umbilical provides taillights, turn signals and brake lights just like a trailer.  the light kit is from Blue Ox if you want to peruse their website.

Blake

[jleamont]

looks good Blake! We have always had at least one Jeep in the house and one Mustang, well that ship sailed....for now anyway. DW always had a Wrangler since before I met her so there was no swaying her a different way. I'd bet in the spring she will ask for a small lift on it....I can see it

[jleamont]

Jim, when the TJ got dirty I would clean it, it was a rust free 2003, which around these parts is pretty rare. The previous owner garage kept it and wouldn't drive it in the snow, I tried once in a blizzard, I wouldn't try that again either, so it sat under cover from November to April. Between the 3.73 gears, 4.0L and the manual trans and factory A/C I was as happy as I could be. I'm going to miss that jeep

I was going to do a Cummins 4BT diesel conversion to it when the 4.0L died..Thought that would be fun

 

[manholt]

Jim S.  That's the same color and top on mine!  I just have a different front end, steel bumper and 9.5 winch.

Joe, you need to buy some paint and touch up your house!

Blake, nice looking coach!  Sorry, but I have to agree with Jim S.  I don't even have electric windows!  There is a 4x4 shop in San Leone that does some awesome work on Jeeps, he's got clients from all over, including Europe...he'll fix your problem real quick!   Pat did/doing mine & it's a lot cheaper than AEV.