towing a 03 jeep liberty w/ 98 winnebago chietain

[Darrin]

First RV and new to all of this. I was told a 4x4 jeep liberty was a great towing vehical. Just b ought one, getting ready to buy tow bar, breaking system etc. Reading through my manual I saw that the stock hitch is only rated up to 3000 lbs. Is this true and do i also have to purchuse a new hitch. I hve the Ford v-10. any sugestions or advise for a new RV'er.
Thanks Darrin

[Darrin]

First RV and new to all of this. I was told a 4x4 jeep liberty was a great towing vehical. Just b ought one, getting ready to buy tow bar, breaking system etc. Reading through my manual I saw that the stock hitch is only rated up to 3000 lbs. Is this true and do i also have to purchuse a new hitch. I hve the Ford v-10. any sugestions or advise for a new RV'er.
Thanks Darrin

[jfb]

Suggest you look for a placard on the hitch itself for weight and towing capacities. Unless somebody scraped it off, it still should be there....

[George Miklas]

I formerly owned a MH and pulled a toad. The hitch was a Class III Reese with the typical "5000/10,000" sticker. But when reading the "grocery bag" of coach owner's information, I found that the coach mfg'r de-rated the towing capacity of the coach to 3500#. When I looked under the rear of the coach, I easily learned why this was. The mgf'r extended the frame in the rear. This extension was 2x4 tubing and supported the weight of a 60-gallon water tank, 5000 KW generator, spare tire, PLUS the hitch and any load on it.

I would assume that your hitch is actually capable of more than 3000#. But just to be safe, why don't you visit a welding/fabricating shop and ask them if they can reinforce the hitch so that it can pull more than 3000#.

GM

[Darrin]

Thanks for the reply. That's good advise. I think I will go visit a shope today.
DL