Considering parting with my CRD

Threeweight · **Joined:** Mon May 14, 2007 5:57 pm **Posts:** 679

Put a post up in the classifieds section to gauge interest:

http://www.lostjeeps.com/forum/phpBB3/vie ... hp?t=36903

Bought a bigger boat. CRD pulls it fine, but wind sway has been a handful (and has my wife scared to death). Haven't decided completely whether I want to keep it and invest $$ in an Equalizer hitch, or swap it out for a mid-size pick up like the Frontier or Tacoma. If anyone has a strong interest in the CRD, shoot me a PM.

mackruss · **Posted:** Tue Oct 21, 2008 3:28 am

Threeweight wrote:

Put a post up in the classifieds section to gauge interest:

http://www.lostjeeps.com/forum/phpBB3/vie ... hp?t=36903

Bought a bigger boat. CRD pulls it fine, but wind sway has been a handful (and has my wife scared to death). Haven't decided completely whether I want to keep it and invest $$ in an Equalizer hitch, or swap it out for a mid-size pick up like the Frontier or Tacoma. If anyone has a strong interest in the CRD, shoot me a PM.

Keen on the Edge module if you prepared to disect her slightly :wink:

Joe Romas · **Posted:** Tue Oct 21, 2008 7:10 am

Threeweight wrote:

Haven't decided completely whether I want to keep it and invest $$ in an Equalizer hitch, or swap it out for a mid-size pick up like the Frontier or Tacoma. If anyone has a strong interest in the CRD, shoot me a PM.

Jeep says our kj's need a WDH at 300#, my tongue weight at a recent rally was 409#. I currently tow a 3500# 17' travel trailer and have no problems. Draw Tite makes a nice single bar WDH and it works fine for me. Don't forget a sway bar.
If your trailer is a "A" frame look at this
http://www.etrailer.com/pc-wdld~3205.htm
If it's a pole type check this.
http://www.etrailer.com/pc-wdld~3204.htm
If your otherwise happy with your CRD this may be a reasonable price. Both have provisions for a sway bar.

liberty2.8 · **Posted:** Tue Oct 21, 2008 8:16 am

I have just what you need, an 03 Ford F350 diesel. We can meet halfway somewhere in Colorado and swap titles and vehicles :-)r

Seriously, I think you can solve that sway problem with the suggestions previously mentioned. How big of a boat are we talking here?

Threeweight · **Joined:** Mon May 14, 2007 5:57 pm **Posts:** 679

Well, after looking at the abysmal MPG of the Nissan Frontiers and Toyota Tacomas (real-world numbers of 18-19 mpg highway, what my CRD gets towing a #3500 boat), and enjoying the "special" experience of talking to a couple of dealer sales folks, we've come to our senses and decided to keep it. We'll be shopping for a weight distribution hitch. My trailer is a pole tongue style.

My boat is a 17' Arima Sea Ranger w/ the soft top (looks like this, but with a 90 hp Johnson and 15 hp Johnson kicker):

The boat itself isn't too heavy, maybe #3500 with full fuel, coolers, crab pots, fishing gear, etc... The issue is the height of the trailer, and that it is a single axle. To get my hitch ball up high enough to level the trailer, I had to go with a 10" extra long shank, turned upside down for a 2" rise. This levels the trailer and clears my spare tire, but sticks out so far from the CRD's axle that it creates a big lever and makes the rear end squat more than I'd like (this is before putting a couple of my fishing buddies in the bank seat). The result is that if I go more than a couple mph over 55, I get sway. Now I don't mind driving 55 or less, but I'd like a margin of error, particularly as I tow the boat down grades in the Coast Range. And I also get sway every time a semi passes.

A dual axle trailer would solve this problem, but I don't want to deal with that much headache.

The little CRD has gobs of power for towing this boat, and will hold 50-55 mph up steep grades in the mountain with no problem.

lmacintyre · **Posted:** Mon Nov 03, 2008 2:38 pm

You may wish to do some more research on a new purchase, the two trucks you referenced are lighter than your CRD. The equalizer or a full size pickup or SUV may bea better choice
.

tulsa · **Posted:** Mon Nov 03, 2008 3:26 pm

All you need is a weight distributing hitch with sway control. Look at this:

http://www.lostjeeps.com/forum/phpBB3/vie ... stributing

Threeweight · **Joined:** Mon May 14, 2007 5:57 pm **Posts:** 679

lmacintyre wrote:

You may wish to do some more research on a new purchase, the two trucks you referenced are lighter than your CRD. The equalizer or a full size pickup or SUV may bea better choice
.

Weight of the tow vehicle is not the issue, it is the wheelbase (for sway) and not putting too much weight over the rear wheels vs. the front. I've always heard you want the wheel base of your tow vehicle to be longer than the distance between the hitch ball and wheels of your trailer. If not, you need a weight distributing hitch. The extra cab Frontier has a 129" wheelbase, the crew cab has a 140" wheelbase. Our CRD's are 104". Distance on my trailer is right around 125".

tulsa · **Posted:** Mon Nov 03, 2008 4:06 pm

Threeweight wrote:

lmacintyre wrote:

You may wish to do some more research on a new purchase, the two trucks you referenced are lighter than your CRD. The equalizer or a full size pickup or SUV may bea better choice
.

Weight of the tow vehicle is not the issue, it is the wheelbase (for sway) and not putting too much weight over the rear wheels vs. the front. I've always heard you want the wheel base of your tow vehicle to be longer than the distance between the hitch ball and wheels of your trailer. If not, you need a weight distributing hitch. The extra cab Frontier has a 129" wheelbase, the crew cab has a 140" wheelbase. Our CRD's are 104". Distance on my trailer is right around 125".

The weight distributing hitch is just a good place to mount the sway control. You can also buy a friction sway control device separately.

Threeweight · **Joined:** Mon May 14, 2007 5:57 pm **Posts:** 679

I've got a line on a Equalizer set up (http://www.equalizerhitch.com/) for a decent price ($450 shipped to my door, runs $550 retail at the local RV shop).

Only problem is it is the 1000# tongue weight/#10,000 tow capacity model, which is way way more than I'll ever use the Jeep for. Does anyone have experience with these hitches, and know if there will be a problem in going with such extreme overkill for the weight I intend to tow?

I'm looking at this hitch because of the built in sway control and it working with a pole-tongue trailer. The old-fashioned sway braces with the friction pads are problematic with boats. Pads don't work that well when wet (as in, 95% of the time on the Oregon Coast), and you have to disconnect them when backing up.

Joe Romas · **Posted:** Mon Nov 03, 2008 6:10 pm

Have you turned your spare tire mount over? That raises the spare up and the bottom inward. The window glass still clears the spare tire with the cover on. The added length might be your whole problem. Boats are very airodynamic and normally are easy to tow.

Threeweight · **Joined:** Mon May 14, 2007 5:57 pm **Posts:** 679

Yah, flipped the spare long ago (used some stainless steel washers to extend it to so my 235/75/16 spare clears the glass). My slightly over sized tires don't help matters.

I emailed the folks at Etrailer, and they recommended their light duty single bar set up. I might just go that route. As you say, boats are pretty aerodynamic, and I don't think I'd be getting so much sway if I had the load leveled out over the front axle.

pipeliner · **Posted:** Mon Nov 03, 2008 7:44 pm

Have you considered air bags in the rear springs? I tow a camper trailer with an all-up weight of around 3,300lb and like you I have to use a long tongue turned upside down to get the hitch at the right height. With airbags in the rear springs inflated to 25-30psi I have no sway at all.

warp2diesel · **Posted:** Mon Nov 03, 2008 9:35 pm

I posted how I converted Mobile Home Axles to regular 5.2K 6 bolt 12" drum, 15" wheel under Fabrication:

Link: http://www.lostjeeps.com/forum/phpBB3/vie ... hp?t=37034

Direct Link: http://picasaweb.google.com/warp2diesel ... dbIJDd8YU#

Before I got done a semi bumped my spare and wrecked my tail gate, this week the CRD is in the Body Shop getting a new Mopar tail gate

BTW: The trailer parts dealer R&P Carriages posted my link so they can sell axles after seeing how much work it is.

Joe Romas · **Posted:** Tue Nov 04, 2008 8:36 am

pipeliner wrote:

Have you considered air bags in the rear springs?

Sway is caused mainly by weighting down the rear that in turn raises the front taking weight off the front wheels that steer the vehicle. A WDH transfers trailer tongue weight to the frame and both front and rear axcels of the jeep.

The Single bar Draw-Tite WDH is very popular on the Casita brand travel trailer forum and it works great for me :lol:

A loaded 17' Casita approaches #4000 and has a tongue weight slightly exceeding #400 so the Draw-Tite is a good match

As a added bonus they make them for both "A" frame and single beam trailers. I've delt with e-trailer and found them to be first rate.

I need to add that too little tongue weight will also cause sway. As a rule of thumb you want 10% of the trailer's weight on the tongue and some recommend 15%

Threeweight · **Joined:** Mon May 14, 2007 5:57 pm **Posts:** 679

I did some research on the Draw Tite single bar you mention, and it turns out they make not just a pole tongue model, but also a pole tongue marine model. I'm assuming this is going to have components that are galvanized rather than painted, which is ideal for me.

dkenny · **Posted:** Tue Nov 04, 2008 6:42 pm

some the comments are good..
sway bars would help.. what do you have for brakes on the trailer? any? you should

wheelbase lengths...
shorter on the tow vehicle helps in the parking lot..maybe not so much on the road.

weight...
you shouldn't have any problems towing at 4000lb boat with a jeep. try reducing the tongue weight? 10% might be too high considering the short wheel base.

we tow a 7000lb boat/trailer with a long bed pickup..nice on the road but a pain to park..the jeep does it much better.

-dkenny

Threeweight · **Joined:** Mon May 14, 2007 5:57 pm **Posts:** 679

Trailer has no brakes... yet. Have priced marine-grade disc brake hubs and components. Going to run around $500... will be a winter project.

I've probably got 400 miles or so of towing in with the CRD and this boat. The weight is nothing for the Jeep, oodles of power going over the mountains. Just need to get more of the weight over the front axle.

Turns out that the single bar weight distribution hitch is identical to the plane-jane variety, but costs $50 bucks more. Going to go ahead and buy the cheaper option.

warp2diesel · **Posted:** Tue Nov 04, 2008 8:36 pm

Threeweight wrote:

Trailer has no brakes... yet. Have priced marine-grade disc brake hubs and components. Going to run around $500... will be a winter project.

I've probably got 400 miles or so of towing in with the CRD and this boat. The weight is nothing for the Jeep, oodles of power going over the mountains. Just need to get more of the weight over the front axle.

Turns out that the single bar weight distribution hitch is identical to the plane-jane variety, but costs $50 bucks more. Going to go ahead and buy the cheaper option.

Hydraulic? or Electric?

Threeweight · **Joined:** Mon May 14, 2007 5:57 pm **Posts:** 679

Was planning on going with surge brakes (hydraulic system) for $$ savings, but won't work with weight distribution. Electrics are more expensive, but they seem to work a little better.

Considering parting with my CRD

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