No neither is a requirement. It is however much easier on the drive train. A lot of people pop them in neutral in the trans and transfer case, and just roll baby!
They pull easier and there is less wear on the rotating parts if you put hub locks up front and pull the rear drive shaft. It is worth a few miles to the gallon on the pull rig. Pulling the driveshaft is pretty quick and easy.
The rear drive shaft is a good idea, because you would be spinning the transmission in neutral, so all of the internals would not be getting adequate lubrication. On the newer YJ and up Jeep Wranglers the manual calls out the transfer case in neutral and the transmission in 5th gear while towing to ensure the transmission is receiving lube while being towed. Another common issue with flat towing, (to which you will not have this issue) is that the tow vehicle is too small or same size of the Jeep. If you do not pull with a heavier vehicle, then you'll have a bad day. The F350 will be more than adequate to pull the Jeep.
I'm a trailer guy. I use my trailer at least twice a month for you name it, basically if it halfway fits, it ships. With the trailer prices going sky high, it's hard to invest that much into something that you may not use all the time, but I assure you, if you had one, you will not know how you lived without one. Maintenace is pretty easy on a trailer. Every year I go through and freshen up the grease in the wheel bearings, and every two years the bearings and brakes all get cleaned and inspected with new axle seals installed. New tires around every eight years just for safety sake and wiring and lights replaced every ten years.
You do have to be careful flat towing vehicles. The transmission type is very important. If you have an automatic transmission, you must pull the driveshaft as the pump in the trans will not be turning. It can cause some serious damage. On the T90 in the Jeeps, the first / reverse gear is always spinning if the output shaft is spinning. In addition, in neutral the main shaft is spinning in all the rest of the gears. This causes a lot of parasitic drag from the slinging lube from 1st/rev and the spinning main shaft. It also will wear all the components just as if it were running in neutral. All that said, many people have and do flat tow Jeeps. It all depends on what works best for you. I do prefer a trailer but, there are times when a flat tow is well worth it. You cant always get a trailer into a remote area.
I second the usefulness of the trailer. I bought an 18’ dovetail for one purpose several years ago… to haul my CJ3A home from work (500 miles). That trailer sees a lot more use behind my F150 than I imagined it would when I bought it. I even used it as a boat trailer when my boat trailer was stolen while I has out fishing one day. A jeep doesn’t need that much trailer but that’s what was available exactly when and where I needed it.
I miss being able to make purchases like that but I am so glad I am not gone 6 months out of the year anymore.
New front fenders ordered and scheduled to arrive on Thursday this week! This past weekend I finally welded in the new rear cargo area floor. I'll be glad when the body work is completed and I'm back into the mechanical stuff.
Donor vehicle for the rear floor was from my son's Dodge pickup. He installed a new bed and before scraping the original one, old dad snagged a piece of the floor.
Front fenders arrived and the fit quality is terrible. Initial advice suggested the replacement fender would only require some inner fender well cutting to clear the shock mount. FYI for those considering these fenders, it requires much more! At this point the fender still does not "bolt on", however I'm getting closer. Battery box is going to require modification.IMG_1728.jpg
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