Confused on Towing

[Tanner]

And the load will 'wag the dog' in a K5/1009 if you aren't careful... the short wheelbase of the 1009 compounds out-of-balance loads in windy driving conditions & panic stops. This is why UHaul for years would not install hitches on CJ-5 Jeeps & other short wheelbase trucks.

Look into using the radiator mounted trans cooler where possible; the external coolers, while useful, do suffer from temp
extremes & lack of 'balanced cooling' if you are towing in hot regions of the country. The radiator mounted coolers keep the
trans fluid in a smaller heat range of 'peaks & valleys' than the external coolers do.

The stacked plate style coolers are effective, but are impossible to clean out if a transmission 'grenades' & pukes transmission bits through the fluid cooling system... you replace the cooler if this happens; don't try to flush it.

'Tanner'

 

[cowboywitek]

I am looking to get an M1009, is it hard to mount a hitch receiver, on it? a hitch like a normal truck. I have found the pintel and hitch combinations, but I like using the 3 ball hitches so I could pull different trailers without switching the ball out, therefore i'm needing a regular truck hitch receiver. can you get them installed, or are they easy to do yourself? thanks for your help. TW

 

[91W350]

I think somebody found one that is a direct fit. When I went through this previously, I had to modify the mounting brackets due to all the added support for the pintle hitch. I think the way the bumper and hitch is designed, it is much stronger than most commercial hitches. Some of the guys with hitches might jump in. The last time I took a good look at it, we decided to use a tube and plate and just build it off the lower bumper. Glen

 

[AJMBLAZER]

Get a proper frame mounted hitch and modify it to work if you can't find one that fits directly.

 

[DXTAC]

Got the Curt hitch installed today. First hit it with some 120 grit then painted it with the RAPCO 383 CARC Green and it came out nice. The install went smooth with the help of my motorcycle jack and some 2x4's. I had to ream out one hole that was out of line due to the shackle mount causing some misalignment (only about 1/16 inch). I did have to remove the pintle support bar and one shackle bolt too. That wasn't hard as every bolt but one snapped off! Also, as mentioned on other threads, had to "adjust" the chain rings a bit with the "Attitude Adjuster"! Torqued down all 4 bolts and now time to install the T-Connector and wire up a 7 pin socket.

Thx,