I tow my Jeep behind a RV. One of the things the owners manual recommends it to disconnect the battery. I did not do this previously as I needed the accessory power to run the portable brake system. In talking to customer service they advised that it would be ok to not disconnect the battery as long as everything else was off. I now have a system that runs off the RV air brakes. If it is better for the Jeep I will now disconnect it but.....

It will be a pain in the butt to disconnect and reconnect the battery. Why is Jeep telling you to disconnect the battery? It is to prevent damage to something? I will do it, but I have had no problems other than killing the battery once.

What systems are on with the key in the accessory position?

 

May rack up miles? (really doubtful) I don't know why it would cause any issues?

 

You need to disconnect the battery to avoid draining the battery because your electrical sytem will be powered on when you have the key on to unlock the steering. As mentioned just make sure all accessories are switched off as to not draw power when you tow. I tow mine also and installed the battery brain which has a small remote to disconnect the battery.

 

there is no steering lock on a jk as far as i know. my 09 sure doesn't

 

I never thought about it, I guess not. I'm thinking of the other car we tow also.

 

I edited my post:

What is on when in the accessory position?

 

My thought is that they want to ensure there is no drain on the battery.

But something I thought was interesting yesterday when I was installing my cruise control was that the steering wheel didn't lock once the battery was disconnected. The key was out and I turned the wheel at least one turn each way and it never locked.

But looking at the post written when I was originally typing, I can't say I have ever seen it lock.

 

The steering wheel will lock but it takes about a 1/2 turn of the wheel. Never tried it with the battery disconnected.

 

my 08 has a steering lock

 

I tow mine I have a 08' and you have too leave the key on so the wheel wont lock, I had a blank key made and use that for the tow key, I also charge the JK battery when I tow, all you have to do is lift the IOD fuse, this works great.

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