gemsworld wrote:
I recently acquired a new TV to pull my 21' TT and I have some numbers that I would like to share with the experts here to see what they think.
The TV is a 2014 Jeep Grand Cherokee with the following specs:
6,200 lb towing capacity
6,500 lb GVWR
1,270 lb payload
4,880 lb curb weight with a full gas tank
2,540 lb front & 2340 lb rear per CAT scale
3,200 lb front & 3,700 lb rear GAWR
9,740 lb combined weight of the TV and TT, fully loaded with WDH and gas tank 1/3 full per CAT scale
2,620 lb front, 3060 lb rear & 4,060 lb TT per CAT scale
From what I gather, it seems that I'm well within the maximum limits but I'm a bit confused regarding the discrepancy between the GVWR and payload capacity based on the curb weight.
If the GVWR is 6,500 lbs and the curb weight is 4,880 lbs, logic would dictate the payload should be 1,620 lbs instead of the 1,270 factory rating. Am I missing something in the equation, or it's not unusual to have these types of discrepancies with the specs?
Your Jeep weight rating probably included a 154 pound driver on board. So it would be impossible to have a 5,000 pound curb weight and 6,500 pound GVWR and still load 1,500 pounds of cargo - with no driver on board to move the vehicle without exceeding the GVWR. Thus Jeep estimated that some of the Jeeps will have a curb weight near 5,000 pounds, and conservatively said "We can safely load 1,200 pounds and still not exceed 6,500 GVWR."
If you look closely, the WDH shifted 80 lbs to the front axle. Do you think that's adequate, or should I adjust the WHD to add more weight to the front or get rid of the 80 lbs. As it is right now, both the TV and TT are fairly leveled.
As always, I'm looking forward to hearing from the experts.
I would not try to tighten the WD hitch any more than it is. You do not need to transfer any more weight, and many who do, find that the WD bars act as a spring, and make the ride less stable than when you don't tighten it a lot.
You have plenty of extra capacity on your front and rear axles. It seems like you can calculate your hitch weight based on the increased curb weight while hitched up.
With 80 pounds transferred to your Jeep front axle, also about the same amount of hitch weight is transferred to the trailer axles too.
Did you discover the 'easy' way to attach the spring bars? By raising the hitch on the trailer a LOT, you can attach the bars with very little spring pressure on them, practically by hand pressure, not using the levers at all to lock them in place. Just make sure not to over tighten the spring bars.
Have Fun Camping!
Fred
