Does anyone tow their 19ft+ boat with a Jeep Wrangler 4 door, how does it tow? I am considering buying an extra vehicle to drive on the weekends and use it to tow my boat (Bass Cat Pantera Classic) around 15-20 miles to the lake. I though a Jeep would be fun to drive on the weekends, if it would pull my boat ok.
I appreciate any feedback and suggestions in advance. I would purchase a 2012 or newer, due to the newer engine design and increased HP.

Thank You!

Brian

I do not, but just yesterday I watched a guy pull his 21 ft skeeter out of the lake with a Jeep. He did not seem to have any issues.

We had a 2012 Jeep Unlimited and a Toyota 4 Runner both would pull my 18'6" without a problem. Braking may take a few more feet if you don't have trailer brakes.

Don't have a Jeep but think would do fine for conditions that you are describing and that size boat.
If you were going 100-200 mile trips that would be different.

Last Friday at Fork I saw a guy pulling a 20' Legend with a Honda Pilot (1st gen), that was a first for me.

I did. It blew the motor 3x before 50,000 miles. The last time I had it towed to Jeep, they said they were gonna have their engineering crew from Michigan do the work…and give me a lifetime power train warranty. I told them the Jeep now belonged to Freeman Toyota and they could give the warranty to them. I wasn’t gonna replace motors for the rest of my life. Biggest POS motor I have ever experienced. 3.6L


…..if it weren’t for the motor, I still have the jeep. It pulled a 18’8” boat really well, if you stayed out of 5th & 6th gears.

I had an AEV 3.5” lift with 35x10.50-18” BFG Mud Terrains. Pulled a couple of 3500’s out of mud with it too.

Thank You all! Steez what year was your Jeep?

2012 Sahara.

2012 was a rough time for motors, they replaced a head on ours under warranty. Never had trouble after that though.

Thank You Both! I will stay away from 2012's!

I had a 2007 and 2010. The 07 was a standard and it would not tow, it was not very pleasant.
The 10 towed my 21 ft pro craft, but my milage was less than 10 per gallon which was horrible.
I drove from Highland Village to Monticello and had to Gas up at the exit off 30. 18 gallon tank and less than 10 MPG is rough

That is tuff! I will be towing 10-15 miles 90% of the time, so gas won't be a huge issue.

Thank you!

I wouldn't unless it was one of the jeeps with the ecodiesel, those pull just fine. I believe they quit offering that engine in 2023.

seen a few pulling with the gladiators, are those different engines?

Nope and even more gutless due to the extra weight.

It will work short term but being a retired mechanic and knowing how this all works and the GVWR of a Jeep Wrangler; around 5200 pounds, based on my experiences with tow rigs, 6800 or better for a bass boat. Usually when the GVWR is as close as a Jeep Wrangler is to a bass boat one or two things happen, either cracked heads or a blown head gasket.
Another thing is you'll more than likely have to remove the spare tire as well to tow that cat or it will get into it and do damage probably to the Jeep and the boat.
I tow with a 2013 Ford F150 with a 5.0 Coyote motor under the hood and have covered some pretty large distances towing my ZX200 Skeeter since 2021 and have had zero issues. It runs a GVWR of around 6800.
We also own a 2015 Jeep Wrangler Willys Edition.

Always heard the wheel base was too short to tow safely with a Jeep.. Dan

I wouldn't tow with a Jeep, the smallest SUV I would tow with is a Ford Explorer. Braking and inclines would make me concerned for longevity of the vehicle and myself.

I'd be more worried about the longevity of the driver. I pulled my 21' Triton with a 2018 Rubicon Unlimited. I didn't feel safe towing it from Pilot Point to Ray Roberts.

Just had a memory come to mind, so funny how we all think we have to have a big vehicle to tow with now days. I have an F250 and won't own smaller again. When I was a boy my grandpa, who instilled in me my love of fishing, always had a Buick with a hitch that he pulled the boat with

The half ton trucks aren't really trucks anymore, they are moving to all 6 cylinder and electification, you will see more and more move to 3/4 and bigger to tow boats with

Back in the 80’s I towed an 18ft 400 HP jet boat with a ford f100. Drum brakes, non-power assisted, 3-speed on the column. One legged rear end. Never once felt “unsafe”. A Jeep Unlimited has about the same wheelbase as most short bed trucks from the 80’s.

….maybe we just expect more? I tow with a Tundra Crewmax with a supercharged 5.7. I am spoiled. I don’t even notice the boat behind me most of the time.

If not planning on doing any off-roading, I have never been on a jeep ride on the highway that i enjoyed.

The current half tons have the tow capacity and stability of a 3/4 ton from 20 years ago. Heck any new midsize truck made today will pull the largest bass boat on the market.

No way! You can’t tow a boat unless the suspension beats your balls off worse than an 18ft Bullet with a 250 ProXS.

bass boats are bigger , wider than they use to be. We use to tow directly off the bumper, was never an issue . But today's boats weigh alot more then they use too.

True most mid size trucks and up have the power to tow a bass boat. but can they control the load, mid size maybe not. Many todays smaller engines have better torque and HP than the old V8s

Pretty much all late model trucks have sway control and stability control. Makes handling towing much better than years ago.

Thank You guys for your feedback, the Jeep is out!!! LOL

Wise choice. Jeeps are for weekends and unlimited pockets to upgrade and fix them.

Look for a 4WD 1/2 ton truck and you'll enjoy the trip more.

We have a 2020 with the eco diesel and it has plenty of HP and Torque to pull with. I have pulled my Champion 188DCX with it several times and the biggest problem is the rear springs let it sag and sway quite a bit. My trailer is a single axel and that is probably a big reason for this issue.
I talked with the Jeep place and they said they could replace the springs and it would solve most of the problems.
I don't know about the gas models. Good luck.

Very short distances, like 5 miles, sure, don’t do any highway towing…the boat will drive the Jeep

2014 JK 2020 BassCat Cougar…. NOPE!!!

I wouldn’t tow with one. Just because it may be “capable” doesn’t mean it’s a good idea.

The heaviest bass boat made going down the road weighs approximately 5k. The Ranger/Colorado will both tow 7500-7700. The turbo 4s have more torque than the the 6liter motors popular in the 3/4 ton trucks the past twenty years, torque curve is also a lot lower. I tow with a vehicle that has 230hp, 315torque and that’s a 21’ bass boat with all the bells and whistles, it tows fine.

The jeep gasser models, no f'ing way I would use to tow a glass boat.

J ust E mpty E very P ocket

I towed an 18' Nitro with a TJ and a 19' Ranger with my JK for several years.

I rarely towed more than 100 miles away from home and never experienced any issues.

Trailer brakes are your friend - do not exceed vehicle towing capacity (look in your manual).

My Jeep went to college with my son and I bought a pickup for towing. The truck is definitely a more elegant solution, but if you already have a Jeep it'll work.

Safe travels.

Towing down road maybe ok but on a steep ramp with a heavy boat it might slide down ramp especially on a slick ramp. I towed a stratos with a ford ranger on steep ramps it sucked .
Boats are a lot heavier today.

I know someone who used to tow with a gen1 ford ranger. Once you got going the boat drove the truck basically. One day on a wet road he lost control and totaled both truck and boat. Not worth it, get an adequate tow vehicle.

Jeep Wrangler is a pretty rough ride. Not a vehicle you want to drive that much just for everyday use.

In towing there is also stopping which is ok until you need a quick one. For saltwater trailer brakes are the devil.
Went from a F150 with 3.5 Ecoboost to Ram 2500 with 6.7. Big difference in stopping. F150 had enough power. Towing the boat it got about 10 mph. 6.7 gets 14+

I towed with a Tacoma for years. It was fine with a tin boat but once I moved to a glass one nope. After 12 months and a few scares where I didn't think I as going to be able to stop sold it and got a 1/2 ton.

Yes I agree the old rangers were too light and could be hard to handle braking in the rain especially.
I used to fish lake Aquila a lot back in the eighties the dairy hill ramp is short and steep and always had algae on it hated that ramp. Even with half ton two drive you hit the algae it would pull you down with a big boat.
With that said the new ranger or Colorado is more than capable with turbo engines but the jeep n/a motor 3.6
no way it would probably be a dog.