I know nothing about tow bars. I want to get one my my 1953 3B. My bumper is stock, and all parts connected to it are original. What would experienced tow-bar users recommend, why, and based on what experience? Thanks

greg

greg
Article you may want to read before you tow.

Flat Towing a Jeep

Lawrence

Nows a good time for Lock Out Hubs ,, I would take the rear drive shaft out & unlock the front hubs & go on down the road,, Make sure the gear lube in the rears is good ,,,Then when you get to where you are going just lock the hubs over so it dosnt roll away on you (& by locking it in 4 wheel drive) & then hook up the rear drive shaft with a couple of 1/2 wrenchs ,,

My jeep came with a tow bar welded on to the front bumper. It worked great however, I always rode in the jeep when being towed (and we never exceeded 50mph). I guess I didn't trust the latch or the fact it didn't have safety chains. Not to mention the fear and headache if it did accidentally come unhitched (there are stories of this posted somewhere).

I am now a proud and very satisfied owner of a 12' flatbed trailer that my Willys rides on (behind my Cherokee) and prefer this much better!! From the previous posts, you can see there are other considerations when flat towing.

To each his own.

There was an article about a guy that made a detachable tow bar that attached around the bumper at the C channel attachments. I thought that was clever. When not needed it could be detached and stored. The downside was if you needed it somewhere you'd have to go get it vs. being already attached.

Lawrence, I read the article you suggested a long time ago. My question was not about how to tow, but what kind of towbar forum members like or recommend. Thanks for your thought, though.

Hoghead, I've read these instructions before. I appreciate your concern. My question was about finding the best towbar, from people who have used tow bars.

Rus, I've read about flatbed towing. If I were to tow my jeep for more than 40 miles at speeds higher than 50, I would put it on a trailer. I've heard a 3B owner describe four different kinds of towbars for my jeep. I plan on towing the jeep to the mountains, which are less than 30 miles from me, sometime in the future. I need a towbar to do that, and I thought some forum members might have experience with various makes and models of towbars for a 3B and have some opinions, experiences, with those towbars to recommend one over the other for short and slow towing.

That's my question, towbars, not towing.

Greg

Sorry for the miss understanding,, The older I get the more it happens,,
Ive used the U-haul before & it worked fine,,

U-HAUL TOW BARS

ROADMASTER TOW BARS..


E-BAY HAS A FEW ,,,

greg,
You did not indicate that you were familiar with flat towing, just that you knew nothing about tow bars, so I thought it might be wise to understand flat towing before you spent hard earned money on a tow bar.
Just trying to be a little helpful. Guess I was not helpful at all.

Lawrence

Greg,

Have you given any thought to having a local welding shop fabricate a tow bar for you? They're quite simple to build as are the attachments for the bumper (which can either be welded or bolted to the bumper).

I'd have to look around , but I may still have one in the shop that I fabbed years ago and could e-mail you photos if you like.

What's your location Greg?
A towbar is not a terribly complicated piece of equipment, though I've seen some made that way. Also seen a lot of homemade units built too light as well as too heavy. A matter of personal opinion, I guess. I like 'em detachable with nothing welded to the jeep, and easy to put on & take off. Over all I don't have any problem with a homemade bar if it looks like the builder knew what he was doing. I have a couple of extras, if you are close by maybe I could help you out with one. BW

Personally Im not familiar with all the various towbars available on the market.
And I only very rarely flat tow my jeeps.
Usually the only time I flat tow a jeep is when I buy another one.
I have been known to tow a Willys CJ with a Willys CJ.
But I normally will not recommend that.

I have to agree with Bruce.
The light weight Jeep does not require a heavyduty towbar but not too light either.
I've seen too many jeeps that were wrecked from towbar failures.
I have an old towbar that looks almost identicle to this one on eBay # 251095158674 .
Mine does not have, nor should you need the reinfircement horizontal cross bar.
(bar where the "papers" are attached in the ebay pic)
With mine one must bolt the towbar brackets to the bumper.
Also not seen in the ebay pic.... the bar must have a two hook safety chain that is bolted onto the ball reciever.

Less than 30 miles and slow speeds, just use a chain. Less than 20' should be okay.

I've been asked this question on this post, "Where do I live?"

I live in Redmond, Washington, around 12 miles outside Seattle.

There are hills and mountains here, so using a chain is not only illegal but also ... well picture going down a hill or mountain. It's also illegal here to have someone in the driver's seat of the towed vehicle, or so the police have told me.

I'm looking for a bolt on tow bar, not a permanent one, and one that doesn't look like someone who's not a welder made it. I'm not a welder; otherwise, I'd make it.

Thanks for the suggestions.

greg

Greg,
You can go to the top of this page and click on My Controls and then on the left hand side find Edit Signature. There you can make a personal signature including your location, your jeep's info and your name.

Now that we are narrowing down what you are after, I poked around on Google and came up with a few ideas or options.

http://4wheelonline.com/jeep/Warrior_Jeep_..._Tow_Bars.45117

http://www.jcwhitney.com/tow-bars/jeep/c12393m40j1s19.jcwx

http://www.4wd.com/Jeep-Hitches-Hitch-Part...s=111&t_pt=3227

As you can see, it can become expensive. Another option if you can find a welder/fabricator, show them some of these pictures and ask what they'd charge to make one. Then you can compare!


Please remember the safety chains!!

Greg, if you live in Redmond check out all of the local jeep clubs that are in your Seattle area. There are a number of them. Also drive over to Snohomish to Olympic 4 wheel drive and talk to the guys there. The number of jeep people in the western part of Washington are numerous.
I made front shackle plates for my 54 HH so I could flat tow the jeep. They look like a boomerang with a bolt at the front to attatch a tow bar for towing flat.
Flat towing a CJ-3b with 5:38:1 ring an pinion ratio has always scared me. Depending on your tire size, pulling down the road at 65 mph your ring and pinion is singing back there and so is the front if you do not have hubs up front.
I only flat towed twice then I built a car trailer to get the little jewel off of the freeways at freeway speeds. I needed to save the diffs for off roading.
I can send pictures and more info if interested. I have jeeped many of the roads in the western part of Washington over the years, both with a CJ-5 and with the 54 HH.
Dick W. Spokane Wa.

I have used 1 of the cheap JC Whitney adjustable tow bars for years.
Just towed a CJ-5 with it today.

Alan

you might also look into the 2wheel dollie jobs like u haul has. it might be a little easier to back up if needed, and you don't have to worry about having something else attached to your jeep.
and if the tow vehicle breaks down you can put the dollie on the jeep and haul it to the nearest town.
this route is undoubtedly more expensive, but i think it would be more universal, especially if you plan to aquire more jeeps down the road.
goodluck and happy jeepin :)

The one I use is similar to this
http://www.warriorproducts.com/universal-parts/tow-bars/

It gets used most for getting new-to-me Jeeps home but I did tow the 3B from Ft Collins to Bozeman (600+ miles) behind my 1 T truck once (absolutely no problems). No need to disconnect any driveshafts. Just T case in neutral and tranny IN gear.

Thanks for posting the info. John - I now know what brand my commercially made bar is.

I greatly appreciate the input from people who have used what they recommend. Thank you.

greg