Those of you who tow a car hauler (not a tow dolly) - some questions

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I don't know if it's true but I seem to remember hearing that tow dollies are illegal in Canada?

I don't pull a toad yet but probably next year. I always figured a little front end scrubbing would happen but you guys seems to be replacing tires every 25k miles or so. That's a bit more than I figured if I understand correctly. Is there anything I can do with a new setup to help avoid it or is that the way it is?
 
Mavarick said:
... I always figured a little front end scrubbing would happen but you guys seems to be replacing tires every 25k miles or so. That's a bit more than I figured if I understand correctly. Is there anything I can do with a new setup to help avoid it ...
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Yes.  Always drive in a straight line  ;D

Seriously though, tire scrub is an issue especially for larger and wider tires which our Jeeps have.  For a typical passenger car tire (that is a usual candidate for towing behind an RV), I don't think it is that much of an issue.  Be judicious about rotating your tires every 5,000 miles (or more frequently.)

Marty - here are a few pictures of our Rubi in her new wheels and shoes.  35x12.5x17 Goodyear MT/R Kevlar and Trailready HD beadlock racing wheels.  She look great (if I do say so myself!)
 

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Wow, nice looking John! I love the wheels.  I did read is some Jeep magazine that Jeeps are not to be towed on a dolly. Something to do with the front axle not turning and the the rear still spinning. It would mess up the transfer case. Not sure, I have never seen one dollyed.

When is your first maiden tow with the new trailer behind the MH?
 
John Canfield said:
here are a few pictures of our Rubi in her new wheels and shoes.  35x12.5x17 Goodyear MT/R Kevlar and Trailready HD beadlock racing wheels.  She look great (if I do say so myself!)
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Nice John. Are those possibly Rokmen Mercenary rock sliders or something else? I've kind of been eyeballing the Rockmen's for my Wrangler. The Rubi's lookin' good...!
 
SargeW said:
When is your first maiden tow with the new trailer behind the MH?
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Marty - we are towing the trailer/Jeep to Amarillo for the Palo Duro Jeep Jamboree in a couple of weeks.  I think before them we'll hook everything up for practice (that should be interesting!), get the tow brake controller adjusted and take it for a spin.

Water Dog said:
Nice John. Are those possibly Rokmen Mercenary rock sliders or something else? I've kind of been eyeballing the Rockmen's for my Wrangler. The Rubi's lookin' good...!
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Thanks!

You have a good eye my man, yes they are!  We also have Rockmen skid plates (tummy tuck) and gas tank armor.  It's good stuff - the welds (and the fabrication) are absolutely top shelf.
 
Mavarick said:
I don't know if it's true but I seem to remember hearing that tow dollies are illegal in Canada?

....Snipped 
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If they are, there are an awful lot of Trailer Rental companies that are operating illegally here!!!

BTW, road rules for the most part, are provincially controlled just as they are State controlled on the other side of the border but if you are legal in your state or province of residence you should be legal anywhere. There are some rules (triple towing for example) that may not be acceptable everywhere.
 
Yes.  Always drive in a straight line 
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Yea, I hear that. Kind of like only driving down hill to save on fuel. I see what you mean looking at your tires.
Nice Rubi, makes me miss my jeep. Had an old flat fender with a Buick V-6, Warn 2 speed splitter and Warn 8k lb on the front. I could climb the side of a building with that thing. The only thing I didn?t miss was all the work trying to fix it from the last outing! Finally sold it after blowing out the 2 speed on a hill climb. Sure was fun though.
If they are, there are an awful lot of Trailer Rental companies that are operating illegally here!!!
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Yea, couldn?t remember where I heard it but wanted to throw it out there as a check in case others were looking that direction. Good info.
 
First off we have pulled a car and. motorcycle in an enclosed trailer for 8 years.  Yes at some campgrounds it can be a problem but most have pull thrus.  Truck stops I'm not much longer than a truck
It is nice to be able to backup whenever you need to without having to unhook
 
Got the trailer hooked up to the coach with zero drama thanks to the back-up cam.  Loaded the Jeep on the trailer but now I'm not sure where to position the Jeep fore and aft on the trailer deck.  I moved the Jeep forward until the bulge on both of the trailer tires looked about the same, but the Jeep is farther forward than I expected.

Does the Jeep look about right?

We're heading out sometime this week to the new Love's Truck stop (one of the nicest ones we have ever seen for a Loves!) about 30 miles away for a test run and to weigh the coach/trailer/Jeep.  I need to be sure we're not over 20k on the rear axle with the trailer/Jeep.  I know about what the rear coach axle usually runs weight-wise so maybe that will help me back-in to an approximate tongue weight.
 

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John Canfield said:
I moved the Jeep forward until the bulge on both of the trailer tires looked about the same, but the Jeep is farther forward than I expected.

Does the Jeep look about right?
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That is how I do it on my car hauler--I concur it looks further forward than I would have thought too, but I actually think its that the trailer axles are further back.

Bottom line- is placing the vehicle where the bulge on both of the trailer tires looked about the same is the way to go!
 
Yep, keep enough tongue weight on the hitch to prevent the trailer from "fish tail". The trailer should put the back of the RV down just a touch with the Jeep loaded correctly. The recommended loading for a trailer is 60% of the weight in front of the axle to keep the load steady.
 
Good Point Sarge--you want balanced. but with a lil more tongue weight. Rear weight make tongue lift which is BAD... :eek:

Tell ya what John -- Hook up and make you  maiden voyage North to the Future (AKA: Alaska).  If when you get here you find the trailer Jeep combo didn't travel well, I'll just keep it here so you have a safer return trip. ;D
 
Derby6 said:
..Tell ya what John -- Hook up and make you  maiden voyage North to the Future (AKA: Alaska). If when you get here you find the trailer Jeep combo didn't travel well, I'll just keep it here..
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Gosh, a most attractive offer - let me mull that over.  Okay, I'm done and it's not looking good for you  :D.

Seriously though...

I posted the same two pix on Rubicon Owner's Forum and the consensus is I'm about 1-1.5' too far forward.  We're going to get the combo on the road for testing and weighed probably tomorrow - should be interesting.
 
John Canfield said:
Thanks!

You have a good eye my man, yes they are!  We also have Rockmen skid plates (tummy tuck) and gas tank armor.  It's good stuff - the welds (and the fabrication) are absolutely top shelf.
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Mine should be here Tuesday.....looking foreward to putting them to work ;)
 
Dennis - those boys are HEAVY!  Be ready with a couple of floor jacks.  We have beat the snot out of ours and they are still in a state of 100% operational readiness.
 
John, that is a great looking rig.
If you know the weight of the trailer and the Rubicon, you can check your tongue weight in one step.
Pull past the scales with the coach axle till you can jack up the tongue with the jack as the only thing on the scale pad. That will be your tongue weight.
What you want is 10% of the total trailer/load as tongue weight. Be careful when using the "tire bulge" method, since a lifted or lowered tongue will put a lot of bias into that. My 5th wheel is very sensitive to hitch height, for example.
If you have the 10% and it looks like it is nose or tail heavy by the tires, you need to adjust hitch height. That will yield a great balance and minimum, but proper load on the tongue and coach.
 
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