Flat Towing a Jeep PLUS a trailer

[waterboy222]

I am leaving for Moab next week and looking at my options.. I can't seem to find any information on this, but what is the general consensus on flat towing a vehicle with an additional trailer behind it?

The tow vehicle is a 2015 Silverado HD duramax 4x4.. The jeep will have a towbar and standalone brake actuator inside. The trailer is a single axle offroad style expo trailer that has electric brakes but no way to activate them when being towed by something you're not currently driving (lol)..

Does anyone have any advice or experience with this kind of setup? It would be a much more comfortable trip driving the diesel and towing the two behind it but Ive never flat towed anything before. I tow double setup with the 5th wheel and the boat behind it and have never had any trouble with it. Is flat towing going to have the same towing characteristics?

Thanks for the help!

 

[calicamper]

I recall to add a small trailer to the back of a 1st trailered item be it a flat towed vehicle or 5th wheel you need a license provision. One of my sailing buddies with a F350 went through the process I recall its a commercial license he had to also round up a large trailer for the driving test I think he found a large 5th wheel cattle trailer that met the minimum load capacity requirement to borrow and use for this driving test. All so he could tow his 5th wheel camp trailer with his 1000lb racing sailboat behind it.

I'm not sure if you can do this set up legally with a flat towed vehicle like jeep behind the tow machine with a trailer attached to the jeep.

 

[waterboy222]

Those rules definitely apply to california, but I wont be driving through there so the triple rated RV endorsement thing wont be needed. They also state that the only way to tow triple non-commercial is behind a 5th wheel trailer..

 

[1stDeuce]

All of the states on the way from OK to UT have no licensing provisions for towing doubles (triples in DMV speak), so you're fine there. In most western states, it's even legal to tow doubles where both are bumper tow, which is generally taboo east of the Mississippi, and that state on the Left Coast.

I flat tow my Jeep behind my truck quite a bit, and have hitched my motorcycle trailer on the back of the Jeep a few times now with no problems at all. I've also flat towed my Jeep and boat behind an enclosed gooseneck trailer with no issues. So I don't think you've got anything to worry about from a stability standpoint either.

Flat towing is not quite like towing a trailer, as there's no tongue weight, and it's quite a bit more stable than a typical trailer. (A towed vehicle, or "toad" always wants to go straight, no matter how you load it.) With no tongue weight and a desire to go straight, you'll notice that there's a little pushing when navigating turns. Get your slowing done before you turn and you'll be fine. The more weight in the back of the truck, the better too. Probably not as big of a problem with brakes on the towed vehicle, but better safe than sorry.

Generally speaking, backing up doesn't work when flat towing, and with another trailer back there, it gets really messy fast, so plan stops so you don't have to back up.

If you have a brake controller in the Jeep, and an actuator for flat towing, it should all work, actually. Every flat tow actuator I've seen applies brakes with the brake pedal, so that'll give your brake controller the signal it needs to apply the trailer brakes. Adjust them so they work well driving the Jeep, and they should work well when towing the Jeep too.
The only reason they might not work is if they lose power with the key in "unlock" or "accy" instead of run, but if the controller is powered up, they'll work fine, and if it's not, it would be pretty easy to wire it up so it was.

Oh, and the key must be in a position that keeps the steering wheel from locking. On older stuff, that was the "unlock" position, but on lots of newer vehicles, that position has gone away, and "accy" has moved to it's place. Use whatever works, but you shouldn't need the key in the "run" position.
Enjoy Moab!
Chris

 

[waterboy222]

Thanks for the advice, Chris. Just what I was hoping to hear!