How much weight can TJ hold on rear?

[captjanes]

i am wondering how much weight can i put on the rear of my jeep before i damage my spring and shocks.. i has a 4" suspension lift and skyjacker shocks. right now i has a dirt bike rack that goes into my hitch reveiver that holds up to 500 lbs but my bike is only 220lbs. and that is fine i drove on the highway for 400kms with my bike and 2 passengers in the back of the jeep and when i stopped for gas i looked at jeep and it wasnt even sitting back in the rear.. so now i wanna build another rack that will hold my 412lbs ATV. what do you guys think of this.. i attached a pic of my dirtbike rake the ATV one will be similar only longer

 

[Jester32]

I would prob trailer it. 500 lbs would make the front kinda squirly. More so than a trailer with a 500 lbs tounge weight as it's working like a lever not putting pressure directly on the hitch

 

[captjanes]

yeah that was what i was thinking as well.. but it was pretty good with my bike and 2 passengers i estimated 620lbs in the rear of my jeep not including luggage and she didnt even set back not one bit and she was fine on the road. but i think i will still use my trailor

 

[Jester32]

Put your trailer on and put the ATv as far forward as you can and see if it sags any

 

[captjanes]

Put your trailer on and put the ATv as far forward as you can and see if it sags any

already done it and the jeep didnt really move.. i already had the atv on the back of the jeep on 2 pieces of steel just sitting and it looked ok. i was mostly worried about the weight on my shocks and springs but she sits good

 

[Jester32]

Oh ok. I know the hitches aren't rated for for much. But I'm not sure the exact rating.

 

[jps4jeep]

Most wrangler rear bumpers that have recevied hitches are not rated for towing at all. not because they aren't strong, it's a liability issue. I remember about 10 years ago I was looking fora rear tow bumper for my YJ and I only found one bumper that said it was rated, I don't recall the exact rating but it was in the 1500# Gross, 250# tounge.

I would run it as you have it in the pics, if the steering is a little sketchy, then I would stop. I would have no worries about the shocks or springs. shocks do not support any weight and the spring is just that, a spring, load it up till they are on the bump stops. My concern would be your rear axle puking out gears and shafts.

as for trailering a bike and your statement of it not really moving; I used to tow my bike on a trailer with 3.07 gears and it was miserable, I used to toss on a set of stock tires and it worked great. Eventually I regeared and solved the problem. I will look for a pic.

 

[jps4jeep]

Circa 2000

 

[captjanes]

My concern would be your rear axle puking out gears and shafts.


i run a ford 8.8 with 4.88 gears

 

[MattMayTJ]

You have the 4.0 liter or the 2.5 and how do you guys feel about towing with the 2.5 obviously not a lot of weight tho like a small trailer as shown in one of the pics you guys posted on this thread?

 

[Crazy4diesels]

A couple of things to consider... Even your bike hanging on the rear is putting quite a bit of stress on the bumper mounting bolts (and the crossmember where they attach to, which is pretty thin) . Going down the road, over bumps, is going to give those bolt areas quite a workout. I have a "tow rated" bumper which came with little gusseted angle brackets to tie the crossmember into the side of the framerail. Even so, the bumper was rated at the stock tow rating for the Jeep - which is about what Johnny said, 250 pounds tongue load. This load is straight down on the hitch, near the bumper. The further back you hang your weight the more drastic the stress on the bolts. As far as weight carried by the Jeep, it's a quarter ton truck. The total capacity for my TJ (according to the data plate) is 750 pounds. Two passengers in front and 400-500 pounds in the back is about it. I've moved a lot of stuff with my Jeep and the only thing I worry about is the D35 under there. My heaviest loads are wood pellets. I move one ton at a time by putting 1500 pounds on the trailer and 500 pounds in the rear of the Jeep. I load the trailer so I've got about 100 pounds tongue weight. I take it easy starting up (worried about grenading the D35 since it's got 3.07s and I have 32s on the Jeep) . Once moving, the 4.0 sings the straight-six song up the big hills no problem and the six speed has enough gears to keep it in the sweet spot. Best of luck and keep safe.

-John (Boston)

 

[superj]

the rear axle blowing up is hte last thing i worry about when i tow with my jeep. my biggest fear is a trailer coming off on the highway again.

 

[TerryMason]

If you're worried about the bumper having problems, just get a class 3 hitch for it. They are less than $125 on amazon

Amazon.com: Curt Manufacturing 13430 Class III Receiver: Automotive

 

[Bounty__Hunter]

Be careful when accelerating from a stop with the 8.8 rear axle and soooo much weight out back, very good chance you'll spin the axletubes if you haven't welded the tubes to the center chunk.

I wouldn't go over 250 lbs on the receiver.

 

[captjanes]

If you're worried about the bumper having problems, just get a class 3 hitch for it. They are less than $125 on amazon

Amazon.com: Curt Manufacturing 13430 Class III Receiver: Automotive

i already run a class IV

Be careful when accelerating from a stop with the 8.8 rear axle and soooo much weight out back, very good chance you'll spin the axletubes if you haven't welded the tubes to the center chunk.

I wouldn't go over 250 lbs on the receiver.

my tubes are welded

 

[kid_rock171]

It can hold about 3 average sized girls before bottoming out on a speedbump. Scientific info from experience.