Too many letters! Towing letters Mr. Cynical

[NikonTommy]

I pretty much understand them but my question is why I do not see SUV's hauling travel trailers...even light weight ones?

I have a 2014 Jeep Grand Cherokee with the OEM towing package with a towing rating of 6,200 pounds. I realize this is for a trailer full of fluids and cargo.

I am looking at a dry weight trailer of 4,000 lbs.

It seems as though I would be fine but I just dont see Jeeps hauling more than tiny campers.

I pull a Jayco Hummingbird with a dry weight of 3,050 pounds.


Am I being too cautious to think that a dry weight camper of 4,000 pounds is too much for the 6,200 rating of my Jeep grand Cherokee?

[keymastr]

Tow ratings are meaningless. What you need to know is the payload capacity of the Jeep. Usually there is a sticker on the drivers door sill that says "
occupants and cargo should not exceed xxxx pounds". That is your cargo capacity and must be high enough to carry the weight of passengers, cargo, tongue weight of the trailer plus the weight of the hitch head itself, usually 100 pounds. The average trailer tongue weight is about 13% of the gross trailer weight. For a trailer weighing 4000 pounds that will be over 600 pounds plus the weight of passengers and gear. Most small SUVs simply do not have the weight carrying capacity. Couple that with a short wheelbase that does not resist being pushed sideways by a heavy trailer the way a longer wheelbase does and you have a poor handling combination.

You might look into hard sided pop up campers like the A-Liners which fold out to be very nice but are MUCH easier to tow. They have a much lower tongue weight percentage and because they are low to the ground they are not affected by wind nearly as much.

[bneukam]

Don’t know what your looking for in a trailer, but Geo Pro, and No boundaries are two good options for smaller SUV’s.

[Mike M.]

I tow my 2016 21 Flagstaff FBRS with my JGC V6 2016 with very good results. I've towed all over the West, and mountains are no big deal. It's only me and my DW in the Jeep, and almost nothing in the back. The trailer weighs in at just under 5100# when loaded for boondocking. So that includes a full water tank. And last summer I did 6500 miles of flatland towing- AZ to Ill to Upper Peninsula to Niagara Falls and then back home. I did about 1000 miles free and 5500 towing, and averaged 13mpg for the run. Don't be worried about your Jeep handling 4500 to 5000. It can.

[BPTS]

It might pull it............but can it stop it?

[Seon]

My son bought a 24' Coleman TT, no slide and tried to pull it with his Jeep Cherokee that barely made it up a hill. He immediately traded it for a 2012 Yukon and just pulled up in my driveway here in Calif. from Phoenix, Az. He said it towed like a dream.

[CharlesinGA]

Longer trailer being pulled by short wheelbase SUV's are the tail wagging the dog. Its not the weight, its the length that can get you.

Charles

[HDGoose]

Wind resistance also plays a huge role.

[xc-mark]

small SUV pulling a full profile travel trailer will equal a new/ used tow vehickle purchase after your first tow over 100 mile into a area with hills and highway speeds. If not for the white knuckles once you get close to 65 MPH and a large truck passing you then the lack of power and constantly looking at the water temp and noticeing it is 220+*F.

[TXiceman]

Tow ratings and dry weights are pretty useless. Use the trailers GVWR and get an actual weight for the tow vehicles and work from there.

Jeeps tend to be high center of gravity and short wheelbase which make towing less stable.

Ken

[T Money]

It's the payload that's the hang up. And the brakes. Towing with a short wheel base SUV can be a white knuckle experience. They just don't have the weight, length, or power required to make towing easy. They *can* tow, but it's not too easy at 65 mph getting passed by a semi doing 75. I also would not tow more than 80% of the rated capacity. I learned that the hard way with my suburban. I now drive an Expedition with a tow capacity that's 2K more than my suburban had. Same trailer, way better towing experience.

[NikonTommy]

Please comment on these numbers.

Jeep curb Weight: 4,984
Jeep payload: 1,150
Gas weight: 24.6 x 6.3 = 155
Dry weight of Minnie 2108FBS = 4,000 (options will add weight).
Tongue weight: 410
Jeep tow capacity: 6,200
Jeep GVWR 6,500 = 4,984 + gas (155) plus tongue (475) + people (300) + cargo (150) = 5,909
Jeep GAWR front 3,200
Jeep GAWR rear 3,700
Jeep max tongue weight 620 pounds
Rear axle of jeep can have 3,700 pounds: half of dry weight of jeep is 2,450 (probably less because engine on front axle) gas is 155 tongue weight 410 (add 65) 475 cargo 150 = 3,230 = 87%

[Mike M.]

Looking at the specs posted, the Winnie Minnie 2108 looks to be a good match for the JGC. I looked up the total length, which is 22 1/2'. My Flagstaff is 21 1/2'. You will need a good quality hitch with anti-sway built in. Do not get one that requires the additional friction bar. I use the Equal-I-Zer, and there are several other good hitches. You'll also need a good brake controller. I use the Prodigy RF, which is a radio frequency controlled version of the Prodigy P3, generally considered the best brake controller. A well set up hitch will give you very little sway, even when being passed by a semi at 62mph. It gets windy in AZ, NM, TX, so I just slow down. Braking will be little issue. Yes, you will need more distance, but with 4 TV brakes, 4TT brakes, and a good controller properly set, you will be safe. One commenter mentioned how bad the Cherokee was for towing, but the Grand Cherokee is a much bigger and different TV.
I'm trying to reassure you as someone who has towed about 15,000 miles the past 4 years with a setup very much like what you are looking at, that your latch up will be safe and at least adequate towing if you finish off with a top quality hitch and controller.

[laj]

The best way to do it is check your #’s, and if they look ok go try it. Whatever’s going to happen it will be out there.
If there’s something that doesn’t feel right, or you don’t like change it, or work on tweaking it. Other then that, your just working on speculation.