Realistically, how dangerous is it to go over the tongue weight recommendation? I want to use a 50lb motorcycle carrier and carry a dirt bike that weighs approx. 250lbs. That's not much over, I have a two door with a 4" lift and 35's, and 3.21 gears. Obviously it's not going to move along very well, since it doesn't now, but I can deal with that until regear. Obviously I'm not going to be doing wheelies or anything, but how dangerous is it really?

 

It depends on the limiting factor - the hitch assembly and where/how it hooks to the Jeep, or the weight so far behind the axle. The first is a failure issue and the second affects steering, braking and the weight transfer during these maneuvers making for a potentially unsafe condition not accounted for in the ECU's anti roll/antilock etc programming

 

Isn't the spare tire going to get in your way? You can spend $500 on a heavier duty smittybilt bumper or spend $500 on a small trailer.

 

I'm not running a spare. And the hitch receiver gets bolted to the crossmember of the gram unfortunately. It wouldn't be an issue if they made one that was actually supported by the Frame rails.

 

This weekend i borrowed a friends dirtbike transport (i think it is similar to your setup...where the bike sits sideways behind the Jeep)....and transported my 1981 cb750f. thing weighs almost double the 250lb dirtbike. Not sure how far/fast you plan on going with yours. I only went across town and slowly at that, but i made it with no problems.

 

That's why I'm seriously considering the smittybilt bumper. It's the only one I can find that actually puts a rating on their hitch.

 

What exactly is tongue weight? I really don't tow much but I feel this is a term I should be aware of just in case

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I think in your case you're fine.It's when you start moving heavy things by placing more weight on the tongue than over the wheels is when problems happen

 

Amount of pounds pushing down on your back bumper. Another way to look at is to picture your trailer not yet hooked up to the jeep. How hard would you have to lift the end of the trailer to pick it off the ground so that it was balanced on its wheels. Most jeeps have a 300 rated limit.

 

You need some tongue weight. If the load were balanced over the axle, bumps would cause the back end of the Jeep to bounce up and down too much. Much more stable if there is constant down force on the rear, up to the tongue weight limit (over which excessive down force from bounces leverages the front end of the Jeep up). Stick a bathroom scale under the ball receiver on the tongue to weigh it. Weigh at the ball receiver, not at the wheel that may be behind it (for use when trailer is not hooked up). Use a pole (to reach down to scale) or such to have trailer at running level.