Towing a 4 door Jeep JK with a 73 Winnebago Brave possible?

xerofall · June 25, 2015, 05:00 PM

I searched first. Anyway, I need to get a weight on my Jeep JK 4 door at some point, I do not know the exact weight, (Google says around 3700-4000) but do you think my 1973 Winnebago Brave with a 440 can tow it? Loss of gas milage is not a concern.

If I need to get a brake controller I will. It would not be on a flatbed or dolly trailer, just with a tow bar.

Sorry for the noobie question, everyone I ask in person tells me they tow stuff all the time in their motorhome, but they don't have one quite like mine.

Rickf1985 · June 25, 2015, 09:40 PM

4,000lbs. pushing you down a hill will definitely make you grab a butt full of seat cushion! I would highly recommend a brake setup. Are you sure the transmission in the Jeep can be flat towed? I am not up on the newer towing specs on them. I do know that if it has part time and full time 4x4 you cannot flat tow it. The big issue with some of them is lubrication of the transfer case when not being driven by the engine.

xerofall · June 28, 2015, 10:36 PM

I do know for certain the JKs can be flat towed...

I will look into the braking system. I heard it's a small set of wires that plugs into the Jeep and utilizes the Jeep's brakes. I will not tow unless I have that in place. Now I just need to know where to get one.

Thanks for the reply.

xerofall · June 29, 2015, 01:31 AM

Okay, just found out the wiring is simply to use the Jeep's lights... the actual braking must use a brake buddy type of unit.

I'm getting conflicting information from several sources but will error on the side of caution and get a brake buddy. I can get a used one on eBay for under $300 as the new ones are a grand or more.

I also found out that here in Utah, you must have a braking system when you flat tow anything. So that answers that question.

Rickf1985 · June 29, 2015, 09:20 PM

Make sure you are getting the whole system. You will need the brake actuator, the vacuum pump and the associated wiring and plumbing. I want to flat tow my CJ-7 but I have hydroboost brakes and there is no auxiliary braking system for that. I am limited to a trailer. Then you end up in a Wally world parking lot after dealing with this in middle of the night.

And that was after this the day before, oh yea, these were both in one loooooong day.

xerofall · June 30, 2015, 04:29 PM

Found someone local selling a brake buddy for $200, going to go look at it tonight.

From the ad, it appears complete, but I can check when I get there.

http://www.ksl.com/index.php?nid=218&ad=35169058&cat=&lpid=1&search=brake%20buddy&ad_cid=2

Rickf1985 · June 30, 2015, 08:24 PM

I thought I posted earlier but make sure it has the vacuum pump and the associated wiring and plumbing and controls in addition to the brake actuator.

xerofall · July 01, 2015, 12:46 AM

Picked it up today, the guy selling it super kind and we spent almost 45 minutes hooking it up to prove it works. He's selling because he got a fancier one that's all wireless, etc... He showed me everything involved and even printed up the owners manual for me. Really nice to run into people that will take the time to show me how things work. It even came with a wireless monitor so I can see when the unit is actively braking.

Very happy with my purchase and it solves that one tiny bit in my mind when it came to towing and stopping. In the back of my mind I was super worried, now I feel a lot better.

I had a U-Haul trailer disconnect on me and destroyed both my car and all my belongings back in 2000... so I'm a little shy towards towing.

Rickf1985 · July 01, 2015, 07:07 AM

@200 for the whole deal was a steal! See, things are looking up.

Sasquatch · August 06, 2020, 12:31 AM

I flat tow a 2001 Mercedes ML430 SUV behind my 26' Executive with a 440 in it. I put a Remco lube pump in the benz and an auxiliary braking system in it. But the Exec pulls it with no problem.

Jesse_SD · August 06, 2020, 12:19 PM

When I was younger I flat towed my 2001 TJ Jeep Wrangler. the 440 does great, if anything I wish I had more than 3 gears. But....No jeep brakes so only the motor home brakes. It was fine for the 5 years I did it, but I wouldn't recommend it, like Rick said 4,000 pounds pushing you isn't great.

Looks like this guy found a sweet used one. I am going to look into new and used.