towing your Bronco

[eaglebear]

How do you tow your bronco? We are looking at a small motor home (Most have so little tow rating, under 5000 lbs) and want to take the Bronco with us. What experience and recommendations to towing?

 

[blubuckaroo]

Welcome to Classic Bronco eaglebear.
Yes, If you're limited to 5000 lbs, you're likely to go over that by carrying it on a trailer.
I've flat towed mine behind a motorhome a lot.
Mine tows great, but I think the biggest issue is when the Bronco has a lot of suspension lift. Mine only has a 2" lift.

The other issue is with the tow bar. It needs to be attached to the Bronco low enough so the tow bar inclines slightly upward from the Bronco to the ball. That way under hard braking, the tow bar actually levers the front of the Bronco down to the pavement rather than try to climb off the ball.

I opted to tie the lights into the existing Bronco turn signal and clearance lights instead of using auxiliary tail lights like you see some use. When you're towing at night, it's reassuring to see the clearance lights on the Bronco behind you.

I've seen some use a bungie cord to the steering wheel to keep it centered, but I didn't need to. Mine centered itself just fine after turns.

You'll need to disconnect your rear driveline to keep from spinning the transfer case output shaft. It only oils when the input is spinning.
I like to pull the rear driveline out altogether and put it in a garbage bag in back of the Bronco. For short trips, I use the front drive. If I want to do some wheeling, then I put the driveline back in.

 

[metal1]

everyone has a different idea on how to flat tow , I`ve towed mine from the west coast to the east coast and to Alaska and back to SoCal twice and I have yet to disconnect the drive shafts or put it on a trailer. I put the transfer case in neutral and the manual trans in 2nd, unlock the front hubs ,I use the mag mount type tail lights .I also use synthetic gear oils in the trans ,t case and each diff .I like the tow bar pointed down from bronco to tow rig had it going up to the tow rig once and had to get on the brakes ,it unloaded the rear by pushing the tow rigs bumper up .so now it is always going up to the bronco .there was another member on this site that had a diy air brake set up to operate the broncos brakes and I`ve just about have all the parts to set it up.. good luck with your travels

 

[5001craig]

I've towed mine on a dolley. Worked OK but I didn't like it. I choose to disconnect the rear driveshaft. Never flat-towed mine but am kind of interested in it as I could tow it behind the fifth wheel. Not really sure how comfortable I'd be with that, though.

I'd much rather tow it on a deck-over trailer. Maybe you could get by with an aluminum trailer and still be under 5K?

Here's how I prefer to tow mine:

 

[Nothing Special]

I'm a member that did a DIY "toad" brake setup (but don't know if I'm the one metal1 was talking about). Whether you build your own or buy a ready-made one, you probably need trailer brakes to be legal. In Minnesota you need brakes on trailers over 3000 lbs.

Ford said you had to unlock the front hubs and pull the rear driveshaft. A lot of people leave the driveshaft in and get away with it, but I did meet one guy 'wheeling in Colorado in a rental Jeep because he burned up the transfer case in his Jeep towing it there. For me it isn't worth the risk, it's not that hard to pull the 'shaft. Another option (also not recommended by Ford) is to leave the driveshaft in and lock the front hubs. The front output shaft will spin stuff that's down low in the 'case so the lube will be splashed around, so that should be safe (as long as your front driveline doesn't vibrate too much to spin it on the freeway).

Personally I haven't worried too much about whether the towbar angles slightly up or slightly down, but I DO want it as close to level as I can get it. Otherwise when the vehicles bounce separately the towbar will force the two vehicles to move forward and back with respect to each other (same principal as the front axle moving from side to side if the track bar isn't horizontal on a lifted Bronco). The result is something you can feel as a pretty annoying back-and-forth jerking. This was even annoying in my F-250 carrying a slide-in camper (about 8000 lbs GVW for the tow vehicle). Even a small motorhome will be heavier yet which will help, but keeping the towbar horizontal helps a lot.

I've done a lot of flat towing with a CJ5 and now my Bronco. The only issues I've had with steering when going forward was right after I bought the Bronco. The caster on it was negative (3" lift without radius arm drop brackets). That resulted in the steering going to full opposite lock in turns. Too exciting for me! I don't think a bungy cord would have stopped that, I used tie-down straps to hold the steering wheel straight until I got the alignment fixed. But do keep in mind that of the caster is correct it will go to full opposite lock when you back it up. So I try to avoid needing to back up. Otherwise you need someone to steer it while you back up.

 

[Broncobowsher]

How little of a Motorhome? Are we talking a van chassis class C? Most of those that I have seen are not well setup to tow anything. Very often the chassis is (poorly) stretched at the rear bumper. I would start with taking a peek under a few motorhomes and just see what little structure is added to the frame to get the length of the RV.

Another consideration of those smaller RVs is the rear overhang to wheelbase ratio. in a turn the tail has a lot of swing to it, lots of lateral movement at the hitch. This also acts as a lever meaning it doesn't take much force to impart an action on the tow vehicle.

Now you might be looking at something different. I'm just going off my image of what I think a "small RV" is.

I've used a tow bar a couple of times. Once the tow vehicle decided to make a full lock to the right turn, while I was making a left turn. It was slow and I managed to get the steering input fast enough as the tires scrubbed me to a stop. Empty road so I could just go back to the tow vehicle and straighten the steering and go on my way. That was a tow vehicle and towed vehicle about equal.

 

[Rustytruck]

When I had a small motor home (20 foot Lazydaze ) I towed my Bronco on a tow dolly. Bronco was on the tow dolly backwards with the steering knuckles cross strapped straight. Left the hubs unlocked. The tow dolly has brakes and lights. That way you don't have to deal with unhooking driveshafts, illegale flat towing without brakes. Setting up seperate lights on the Bronco and if you break something out 4 wheeling you have the tow dolly to get you home. The only issue is backing up the motor home with Bronco on the tow dolly is pretty much impossible. You can't back up flat towing a Bronco eithor. It is easier to back up the Bronco on a flat bed trailer and a tow dolly is much easier to store than a flat bed.

 

[gnpenning]

Like others here I've done all 3. I prefer to use a flatbed trailer. You don't even need to drop the ramps. You have brakes lights and can have a winch on the trailer in case of a break down. You can carry spare parts or tires coolers etc. The best part is easy to back up.

I still have the tow bar and mounts. I wired the lights directly into the Bronco as well.

Dolly is long gone.

Everyone has different needs and solutions. Do what works for you.

Welcome.

 

[DirtDonk]

If the Bronco is bone stock it's going to weigh in at between 3700 and 3900 lbs or so if I remember. If it's modified slightly and you're carrying gear inside of it you can get up to 4100 to 4300 lbs. pretty quickly. That's getting pretty darn close to your limit all by itself.
Considering a lightweight trailer weighs, what, maybe 1200 lbs all on it's own? Maybe more? You might be over the limit pretty quick-like.
I'm guessing some moderate sized trailers could weigh up to 2000 lbs empty. But that's just guessing. Anyone know what their trailers weigh? How much lighter is an aluminum trailer of the same size typically?

If you can keep your Bronco stock, and a trailer that's at 1200 or less, you're good with the towing limit of the RV.
But definitely make sure you test drive your setup WELL BEFORE a trip, due to all that steering stuff that the others touched on. We used to shout it from the trees whenever this subject came up. I guess the years have been kind and everybody's worked out the Bronco towing bugs?

A buddy here got up to Oregon (the old "Unevent" I think it was), played around for a couple of days, and was on his way back when the Bronco decided to lock it's wheels in one direction and literally jackknifed his Ram 2500 diesel.
Life all of a sudden took on a whole new level of excitement!

So be cautious and thorough.

Paul

 

[Nothing Special]

When I had a small motor home (20 foot Lazydaze ) I towed my Bronco on a tow dolly. Bronco was on the tow dolly backwards with the steering knuckles cross strapped straight. Left the hubs unlocked....

Using a tow dolly with the vehicle on backward and the steering tied straight is another potentially risky thing. A lot of people do it successfully, but a few people have the towed vehicle start to sway violently on them. I don't know if there's something those people are doing wrong that can be prevented, but for me I decided that it wasn't worth the risk. If I were to use a dolly (which still has the advantage of giving you the brakes and lights) I'd put the Bronco on forward and still need to deal with the driveshaft.

 

[Nothing Special]

How little of a Motorhome? Are we talking a van chassis class C? ....

Now you might be looking at something different. I'm just going off my image of what I think a "small RV" is....

I guess I was assuming he was talking about smaller than a typical class C, like either a class B or one of the Sprinter chassis RVs. But if it is a class C, look at the E-450 based ones. They won't be on the small side of the class C spectrum, but they're not that much bigger. And they'll have a 7500 lb tow rating. That's what we bought about a year ago, and being able to trailer the Bronco with it was a requirement (although I don't have a trailer yet, so I'm still flat-towing).

....Never flat-towed mine but am kind of interested in it as I could tow it behind the fifth wheel. Not really sure how comfortable I'd be with that, though....

Check the laws on double trailers. In Minnesota the law says:

Three unit RV combinations (Fig. 3) consisting of a full size pickup truck or recreational truck-tractor towing a fifth wheel type trailer and one additional trailer which carries only watercraft, snowmobiles, motorcycles, ATVs, golf carts, or equestrian supplies are allowed ...."​

The law is odd because it allows you to have the second trailer be a utility trailer if that trailer is carrying one of the listed things, but not if it's empty, or is carrying anything else. But it is Minnesota's law and it doesn't include a vehicle.

 

[El Kabong]

I haven't flat towed much, but found tire pressures in the towed vehicle affected the way it behaved while making low speed turns. In that case a little lower psi helped. Might be worth experimenting with during your test runs if it turns poorly.

 

[metal1]

also the towing rig helps if it has some weight ,our rig is a converted Crown school bus ,most of the time you can not even feel what you are towing

 

[sprdv1]

Welcome aboard.. Firm believer in a trailer

 

[Shimmy]

how do i figure out my tow capacity?

I have a 2008 Yukon (not XL), and i was planning to trailer my new bronco home this weekend using a uhaul trailer.

 

[Broncobowsher]

how do i figure out my tow capacity?

I have a 2008 Yukon (not XL), and i was planning to trailer my new bronco home this weekend using a uhaul trailer.

Owners manual has the details. Lots of variables. Engine, gear ratio, option packages, etc.

 

[Shimmy]

Owners manual has the details. Lots of variables. Engine, gear ratio, option packages, etc.

i'll take a look. thanks!

 

[sprdv1]

i'll take a look. thanks!

seems like it would do the job but def check the manuals like boss man said

 

[DirtDonk]

The newer certification labels (door decals) have more info than our older ones did, so yours "might" include the GCVWR (gross combined vehicle weight rating) that would also get you closer.
Not to be confused with GVWR (gross vehicle weight rating) which only indicates max. vehicle weight, including any load inside and any trailer tongue weight. But only tongue weight, not including the trailer weight.

It's a bit more information for your truck at least, but the owners manual, as said, would be your best resource. Unless you happen to have the original window sticker?

Paul

 

[Broncobowsher]

I know those vehicles enough, the GCWR will not be on the door jam. Just GVW, and GAWRs (axle weight ratings). The combined is only in the owner's manual.

The tow capacity is the GCWR - curb weight of the fully fueled vehicle with 2 occupants and almost no cargo in the tow vehicle. They are trying to get the highest possible trailer number to publish.