Suitability Of My Old `74 Cj-5 For Flat-towing Behind My Rv?

So I am NOT asking "how to" flat-tow my CJ-5 - that answer is easily found on the web.

However, I do know that I have a tendency to over-think and over-analyze things, so please humor me and bear with me here.

I am considering flat-towing it behind my RV so I can have something to drive around in once we're in a campground, and also so I can do things like go driving out on the beach at Cape Hatteras.

My only concern is that I feel like this 50 year-old Jeep is more of a slow-speed vehicle - I never drive it above about 45 mph, because it just doesn't feel like it likes going any faster than that.

So I'm wondering how it will handle being dragged along at 65-70 mph. I know that it will be pretty much just freewheeling, so there won't be a lot of components spinning around. I'm just thinking of it bouncing along at that speed and possible wear on the parts that are spinning at that speed. I'm hoping someone has real-world experience to share.

Just wondering if it's inadvisable, or is it no big deal and I'm overthinking it again?

Pic to show my Jeep.

Thanks!

 

Pull the rear driveshaft off, bag each end, put it in the tow vehicle and unlock the hubs.

Biggest issue is you need to have the front alignment dialed in with good balanced wheels. Basically if you can let go of the wheel on the highway and it stays on course you will be ok.

The longer the tow bar the better. The shorter the distance from the tow vehicle rear axle to the hitch the better.

Towing with a 99 ranger ext cab 4.0 4x4... marginal.
Towing with a 2019 Expedition max ecoboost 4x4 is really comfortable. I've got something like 2000 miles flat towing with the Expedition.
0404131311_zps606af311 by Joe the adapter guy, on Flickr

20210912_103944 by Joe the adapter guy, on Flickr

 

Rule #1 is to always remove the towbar when not in use.
20240616_174649 by Joe the adapter guy, on Flickr

 

I flat-towed my '73 all over the SoCal desert behind my Dad's Ford pickup, with nothing but camping gear in the bed. If your Jeep feels unstable at highway speeds, there is something wrong with it. 80-plus was no problem in my '73 CJ-5 (304, 4.27s). I drove my CJ-6 an hour to work on the 405 freeway and got a speeding ticket (the CHP off-ramp trick).

Is your Jeep lifted? Have you measured the caster angle?

 

I drive my CJ6 75-80mph all day long.. speed doesn't bother it
a bearing is a bearing...

I personally don't like flat towing, had a bad experience with a lifted YJ 6 hrs through upstate NY...
swaying got out of control more than a dozen times..

alignment wasn't checked and the tow bar was crap...

but loads of people do it very successfully with thousands of miles so Im blaming myself for that one

 

I just got this old thing a couple months ago and I'm still getting more intimately familiar with it and going through this and that. I do not believe it is lifted, and yep, caster angle was the next thing I want to check.

The steering does feel pretty vague and slightly loose. I had the leaf spring shackles and bushings replaced and also all four shocks replaced, and that helped a lot with the wandering and instability. I also recently put four new wheels and tires on it, and that also helped improve things, but the steering is still pretty vague and it can wander a little bit - at least enough that I don't feel like going faster than I've been doing! I will continue researching and investigating, but it's good to hear several people saying it's no problem to flat-tow it! Thanks!

 

If it’s got 5.38 gears, that rear pinion is going to be HUMMING at 70mph. Make sure your gears and bearings are in good shape, the oil is fresh and topped off, and check the temp of your year diff cover with an IR thermometer at every stop.

 

When towed in a forward direction the draglink to steering wheel have no impact on it's behavior. I can take all the rod end off the steering box and zip tie the drag Link to the tie rod. You need to focus on ball joints/kingpin bearings, caster, toe, wheel balance and just eyeball that the center of the tire contact path falls in the line between the upper and lower ball joints (scrub radius? If you turn the steering wheel your front tires should not roll, the valve stem should stay vertical if vertical or horizontalif horizontal) To keep the wheels from kicking to the side with potholes.
So if you are running super wide tires you may get more kick to the side with potholes and uneven terrain. In that case a tow dolly and added brakes are something to consider.

 

All very good advice up there. Assuming the front end sorted out well, people have always towed these things around for your stated purpose with few issues.

I think it comes down to whether or not you want to connect, and reconnect the driveshaft all the time between towing and driving it. You can run a full float rear set-up with locking hubs if you can find the parts to make this easier. Although they also just might leak.

Many guys just tow the rig to a trail, run it and then go home. But if your RV traveling for a bit, going from place to place, the driveshaft issue might get a little old.

 

The rear axle is 3.73:1.

 

Yeah, I don't think we will be towing it around a whole lot, but now and then, for sure. I know that there are a couple different quick-disconnect options out there, so if it does start to become an issue, I could look into that. I'm sure that as I get older (or maybe I should say "even older than I already am"), crawling around under the Jeep every time is going to become increasingly uncomfortable and annoying. Especially if we pull up to a campsite and it's pouring rain and I need to unhook the Jeep and move it out of the way...

 

That’s really not an issue then.

 

That's why you want to completely remove the rear driveshaft if it is easy to do. Then you can lock the front hubs and put it in 4wd with the rear free spinning.
The d18 brake drum on mine isn't easy. I'm really tempted to make a dummy frame mounted pinion yoke on bushings to carry the rear ujoint and allow for the occasional fuel pump ballet.

 

Overthinking the issue; your words, not mine.

 

Three words. Full float kit.
Problem solved.