Community Forums

jnets · 10-16-2020, 10:15 AM

I'm new to RVing. Just purchased a new 2020 Georgetown 36d7 Gas. Tow hitch rated at 5000 pounds. The Curb Weight of a Grand Cherokee is 4650. Since I don't intend to put anything in the Grand Cherokee and will keep fuel level 1/2 or less can I tow it with my Georgetown? The GVWR is 6500 pounds but that is with people, a load, full fuel, etc.. Seems to me it should be OK.
Thanks for any assistance.

iluvuk · 10-16-2020, 10:39 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jnets

I'm new to RVing. Just purchased a new 2020 Georgetown 36d7 Gas. Tow hitch rated at 5000 pounds. The Curb Weight of a Grand Cherokee is 4650. Since I don't intend to put anything in the Grand Cherokee and will keep fuel level 1/2 or less can I tow it with my Georgetown? The GVWR is 6500 pounds but that is with people, a load, full fuel, etc.. Seems to me it should be OK.
Thanks for any assistance.

You need more information to know the answer. The hitch rating is not an accurate reflection of how much you can tow...it is just the maximum the hitch is rated for. You need to know the gross combined vehicle rating of your coach (and cargo and trailer), then you need to know how much your coach weighs loaded up (get it weighed at a feed lot or a truck stop, etc. fully loaded preferably each wheel separately), and of course the weight of the jeep as you noted. Then you can determine if there is 4650 pounds of remaining capacity to tow that jeep. You can also get it weighed with the jeep hooked up if you want.

NXR · 10-16-2020, 01:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jnets

I'm new to RVing. Just purchased a new 2020 Georgetown 36d7 Gas. Tow hitch rated at 5000 pounds. The Curb Weight of a Grand Cherokee is 4650. Since I don't intend to put anything in the Grand Cherokee and will keep fuel level 1/2 or less can I tow it with my Georgetown? The GVWR is 6500 pounds but that is with people, a load, full fuel, etc.. Seems to me it should be OK.
Thanks for any assistance.

The Forest River Georgetown GT7 36D7 is built on the Ford F53 24,000 lb GVWR/30,000 lb GCWR chassis: https://forestriverinc.com/rvs/class...n-7-series-gt7

GCWR minus GVWR equals the amount of weight you can tow while still fully loading the motorhome up to its GVWR weight rating.

So your chassis can safely tow up to 6,000 pounds; just not with a 5,000 lb hitch. You can read this thread for confirmation: https://www.forestriverforums.com/fo...ml#post2314694

CMcDonough is a Georgetown management employee so you can trust what he says; it's because there are no 6,000 pound hitches (at least from their preferred vendor) and they do not want people thinking they can safely tow 7,500 lbs, the next size up in available hitch ratings.

If it were me, I would take my vehicle to a Cat Scale and weigh it using their phone app just as it would be set up for towing, with me out of the car. That will tell you exactly how close that "curb weight" figure is to reality. The weighing will cost you $12 and it is doubtful you'll be at or below 4,650 because of car options and towing options, such as the extra weight from the baseplate, the weight of the tow bar, and the weight of the supplemental braking system. Those three could add up to 100 pounds.

If it were me and the vehicle was close to 4,700 pounds on a 5,000 pound hitch, I would take the motorhome to a good hitch/trailer shop and have them upgrade the hitch to a 7,500 pound hitch and just remember that I can only safely tow 6,000 pounds (if the motorhome is loaded to GVWR). If the hitch shop recommended any other strengthening, and I fully trusted their judgment, I would let them proceed.

If you do weigh the vehicle, please report back what it was. That would be good info for a future reader.

HTH,

Ray