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Old 03-20-2017, 08:31 PM   #1
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Towing a Jeep Wrangler 4dr

There are probably plenty of you out there towing a Jeep Wrangler as we see them all the time. We are seriously looking into buying the 4dr and towing it behind our Forester. Have a few questions!
What tow bar, base plate and braking system are you using?
Did you have to modify your hitch at all? Mine came with the 7,500 lbs cap
Does the added length, MH's longer wheel base and inability to make tighter turns get you in trouble?
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Old 03-20-2017, 08:45 PM   #2
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Same boat! My RV arrived in three weeks. I have a one month old jeep Sahara unlimited. Hard top. I just purchased road master all terrain falcon. And the road master base plate to go on jeep unlimited. Mostly because I prefer the guardian rock guard and tow defender. I loved blue ox except their versions of the rock and defender. All advice I got said to get a non binding tow bar. Got the patriot remote break due to easy of install and take down. But expensive. Total package made me donate blood and sell my first born. But I am sure will be worth it as we tow from Florida to Alaska.

Used E trailer to research (lots of great videos) and amazon to buy. Much cheaper.


My FR3 has a 5000 lb tow capacity. Best of luck in your research.
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Old 03-20-2017, 09:22 PM   #3
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I did get a quote of $4K to install complete ReadyBrute elite with all wiring, lights and breakaway. Going to check with CW near me and another shop. I definitely want a braking system and breakaway.
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Old 03-21-2017, 07:06 AM   #4
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Towing a Jeep Wrangler 4dr

I tow a 4dr Wrangler behind my 3170DS Sunseeker with no issues. I went with all Blue Ox products (Towbar, Base Plate, and Patriot break system) for my towing setup. Bought the products from E Trailer and me and my father in-law (retired mechanic) installed them. Very straight forward installation took about 3 hours.
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Old 03-21-2017, 08:35 AM   #5
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Eagles609 View Post
I tow a 4dr Wrangler behind my 3170DS Sunseeker with no issues. I went with all Blue Ox products (Towbar, Base Plate, and Patriot break system) for my towing setup. Bought the products from E Trailer and me and my father in-law (retired mechanic) installed them. Very straight forward installation took about 3 hours.
I will also be flat towing our JK. Any drilling required on the stock Jeep bumper ?
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Old 03-21-2017, 08:48 AM   #6
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Towing a Jeep Wrangler 4dr

Depending on what baseplate you go with there is some drilling required. For instance the Blue Ox base plate I installed needed two hole drilled into the frame. Even if you don't purchase from E Trailer checkout there website as they have great installation videos
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Old 03-21-2017, 08:49 AM   #7
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I went with the ready brute elite tow bar with surge brake and find it superior to anything on the market along with blue ox tow plate. Have used it about a yr ( 8000 miles ) and has been perfect. Our tow specs are 7500lbs also and tow 2 door jk
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Old 03-21-2017, 08:52 AM   #8
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The blue ox tow plate you will have to drill couple holes in frame
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Old 03-21-2017, 12:26 PM   #9
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I also tow a 2014 Wrangler Rubicon Unlimited. I replaced the front bumper with a custom bumper from hardrock 4x4. They offer the only aftermarket bumper that allows you to add tow mounts for the Blue Ox system (they may have mounts for other systems). I was also able to mount my winch in that bumper and add a 2" front receiver.

Braking is critical. After using a brake buddy in my old jeep, I was tired of constantly installing and removing the brake buddy. On the new jeep I installed an SMI stay-and-play duo brake system. This thing is great. All I do is hook up the jeep, plug in the connecting electric, flip a switch under the dash, and its ready to go. I also used the electric brake line to backfeed a light on my RV dash that lights up when the brake is activated in the jeep. It works great. I took about 4 or 5 hours to do the install. It took another hour or two to run a new wire to the rear for brake lights, which I ran through the frame rails and connnected to the existing lights using blue ox diodes. I spent a lot of time doing this install, but it was worth every minute of my effort.

Charlie
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Old 03-21-2017, 12:47 PM   #10
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We went with the Cherokee Overland - a lot more comfortable than the "real" Jeeps, without loosing the "Real Jeep" 4WD

Quote:
Originally Posted by Sagecoachdriver View Post
I did get a quote of $4K to install complete ReadyBrute elite with all wiring, lights and breakaway. Going to check with CW near me and another shop. I definitely want a braking system and breakaway.
YOW!!! 4K is Outrageous!!

First off, I would not let Camping World touch my worst enemy's TOAD! I have yet to run across a CW that was better than mediocre.

Go get your Baseplate installed at a RV dealership that specializes in Motorhomes - or at least deals heavily in motorhomes. Better yet, if you are around a RV area like Elkhart, IN, look for a specialty hitch dealership.

We had our baseplate custom installed (had to cut a bit of the bumper to fit), the SMI Air Force 1 TOAD brake, lights receptacle, breakaway, and safety chain hooks installed at our local Motorhome dealer for $450.00

The SMI-to-Air brake system on the Coach, tow bar adjustment, lights receptacle, breakaway, safety chain hooks, TOAD brake light diode wire from the light receptacle to the cockpit dash, and our Blue Ox Kar Guard II installed at Dan's Hitch Center in Elkhart when we picked our coach up. They charged us $600.00 even.

So $1,100.00 total with a nice tip to each installer. $4K indeed?!
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Old 03-21-2017, 01:05 PM   #11
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We have a 2010 Jeep Saraha Wrangler unlimited. We use blue Ox system for 7500 lbs with an RVbrake 2 system on Jeep for remote braking on Jeep. Very easy to put in and take out. Don't even know the Jeep is behind us. It tracks perfect and is easy to connect and disconnect. We paid almost 3 grand to buy the system and have it installed.
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Old 03-21-2017, 04:19 PM   #12
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The lowest cost I've found for the Blue Ox complete system has been $ 3500.00 for my JK ! The highest estimate came from La Mesa RV @ just over 4 grand !
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Old 03-21-2017, 04:33 PM   #13
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We tow a 2004 Sahara and we also have the aftermarket Hardrock 4x4 bumper with the tow brackets. Hardrock makes the tow brackets for all or most tow bars. The tow bar was a little bit more that a baseplate. Here is a picture when I was installing the bumper and winchClick image for larger version

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Old 03-21-2017, 04:38 PM   #14
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Been towing our Wrangler Unlimited behind the Legacy for two years and 17,000 miles now without any issues. Tows like a dream! Using the .Blue Ox base plate with a Blue Ox Aventa tow bar. My with is 5,000 Lbs (limited by the Allison 2500 transmission). I bought the 10,000 lb tow bar, even though I didn't really need it, in case I needed something heavier in the future. Using the Invisibrake system, mounted permanently under the front seat. Also got the Blue Ox lighting system that plugs into the existing wiring harness...no diodes or new bulbs to mess with. Bought everything on Amazon.con for best prices. A friend of mine that's a mechanic installed it all for four hours if manor at $75 per hour.
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Old 03-21-2017, 05:53 PM   #15
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I tow a 2 door jeep wrangler and use the Blue Ox towing system and a Patriot break system in the jeep.
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Old 03-21-2017, 06:13 PM   #16
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Quote:
Originally Posted by BamaBob View Post
We went with the Cherokee Overland - a lot more comfortable than the "real" Jeeps, without loosing the "Real Jeep" 4WD



YOW!!! 4K is Outrageous!!

First off, I would not let Camping World touch my worst enemy's TOAD! I have yet to run across a CW that was better than mediocre.

Go get your Baseplate installed at a RV dealership that specializes in Motorhomes - or at least deals heavily in motorhomes. Better yet, if you are around a RV area like Elkhart, IN, look for a specialty hitch dealership.

We had our baseplate custom installed (had to cut a bit of the bumper to fit), the SMI Air Force 1 TOAD brake, lights receptacle, breakaway, and safety chain hooks installed at our local Motorhome dealer for $450.00

The SMI-to-Air brake system on the Coach, tow bar adjustment, lights receptacle, breakaway, safety chain hooks, TOAD brake light diode wire from the light receptacle to the cockpit dash, and our Blue Ox Kar Guard II installed at Dan's Hitch Center in Elkhart when we picked our coach up. They charged us $600.00 even.

So $1,100.00 total with a nice tip to each installer. $4K indeed?!
I suspect the $4k includes all the parts, not just the labor to install (at least I hope it does!!!!)

We're having our Jeep rigged up tomorrow by a local shop who specializes in it - install costs are $950, but the total is closer to $4k once we add the tow bar, baseplate, braking system etc.

Way better pricing than CW when I checked, plus I actually trust this guy!

Garren
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Old 03-21-2017, 06:49 PM   #17
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My setup is mostly similar...RockHard 4x4 bumper with Blue Ox tow brackets...super easy, and doesn't eat up any approach angle if you do any off-roading. No drilling or modifications...just unbolt the factory bumper and bolt on the new one. I went with the aluminum one over the steel...saved a bunch of weight, it was still cheaper than the Blue Ox base plate, and looks way cooler. Blue Ox 7,500 lb. tow bar (it's overkill for a 4,000 lb vehicle...for a few bucks, I'd rather have too much capacity than not enough) with Blue Ox plug and play wiring...again, super easy and not permanent if I want to move this stuff to another vehicle. Here's where my setup is different...I went with the M&G Engineering brake system. It's all under the hood and braking is truly proportional. Plug in the lights, hook up the air for the brakes, attach the breakaway tether, and you're good to go. It's a little more expensive, but very well put together, and I like that there's nothing inside the vehicle.
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Old 03-21-2017, 10:14 PM   #18
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Towing a 2008 JK 2dr behind my Forester MBS 2401 with the Roadmaster Sterling and Invisibrake. A braking system was a personal requirement and I didn't want to mess with installing a portable system. So far I've been really happy with the performance and have about $3k into the entire system including parts and labor.Click image for larger version

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Old 03-22-2017, 06:53 AM   #19
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I suspect the $4k includes all the parts, not just the labor to install (at least I hope it does!!!!)
Even then, Ouch! I bought my parts on line. If memory serves me, the Bluie Ox + Base Plate was $800 (I found the combo package on sale) and the SMI AF 1 was $950. So, all told just south of $3K.
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Old 03-22-2017, 07:00 AM   #20
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Originally Posted by Steeljag View Post
The lowest cost I've found for the Blue Ox complete system has been $ 3500.00 for my JK ! The highest estimate came from La Mesa RV @ just over 4 grand !
Here you go... Happy Shopping

Blue Ox Towing Kits | HitchSource.com

Complete top of the line Blue Ox Avail + Baseplate for $1,550.00; shipped free.

Hopefully, you can get it installed for less than $1,950
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