Put an offer on a 2004 Liberty... really great condition, 75000 miles... owner took care of it.. It's limited with all the goodies they had at that time..Leather is pretty good minus a little wear on the driver seat. It's really spotless and even has an older navigation system (if you have really sharp eyes).. But no way to hook my ipod into the sound system...But the dealer's got a real pretty one - my fav color...2011...22k miles... around 21k or so... spotless... with all the goodies. It's really nice.. kinda of a shame to stick a tow bar on the front..We've never towed behind a motorhome before - heck we've never had a motorhome before...Does it make more sense to tow something like the older one and see how it goes or... What is the impact of towing on the toad?We're selling our Yukon which is not towable.. or we can trade it in for immediate "shinny" object gratification.

Make sure it's a 4WD with a Neutral setting on the transfer case. Otherwise it cannot be towed 4 down.

sch911 wrote:Make sure it's a 4WD with a Neutral setting on the transfer case. Otherwise it cannot be towed 4 down.an emphatic X2 on that! we have a 2010 liberty and at the time we bought it there were two variations of the 4WD model. the first was a 4WD model with a manually selectable 4WD and neutral positions. the other was an all-wheel drive (AWD) version that was more like a 4WD on demand system...it kicks into 4WD when it sensed the need. the first model can be flat towed...the other must be trailered. be certain before you buy.but I must also comment that it seems you're putting the cart before the horse. not all motorhomes will be rated and/or have a hitch that is rated to tow the weight of the liberty. our '10 model, which has all the goodies, weighs in at 4200-lbs. some smaller motorhomes have a hitch rated for 3500-lbs, others for 5000-lbs and still others for 10,000-lbs. but hitch ratings are not the only chapter in the story. beyond the hitch on the MH there are three weight ratings that you need to be familiar with:- GVWR (gross vehicle weight rating): this is the total weight that the MH chassis can support including itself. this weight would include everything that is placed, stored or carried inside or on the MH.- GCWR (gross combination weight rating): this is the total weight that the MH can propel forward and includes the GVWR plus the gross weight of the vehicle being towed. - GAWR (gross axle weight rating): this is the total weight that each axle can support. each axle will have a different GAWR. usually, but not always, the sum of the GAWRs will equal the GVWR. it is very important to know the GAWRs because it is possible for the MH to weigh less than the GVWR but be overweight on one of the axles. I know this from experience.some people tend to overload their motorhomes figuring that if they have storage space left it must be OK. many smaller motorhomes are so close to being overweight when they roll off the factory line that they are essentially useless. in general the maximum amount of weight you can safely tow will be the lesser of the following:- the GCWR minus the actual weight of the MH (includes fuel, fresh water, LP, food, clothing, supplies, pets, people and other stuff). at a minimum get individual axle weights and, if none are overweight, add together to get the total weight.- the weight rating of the hitch- the weight rating of your tow barlet's say your liberty weighs 4200-lbs, your MH has a GVWR of 20,500-lbs, weighs in at 19,200-lbs, has a 5000-lb rated hitch and has a GCWR of 26,000-lbs. with these numbers the most weight you can safely tow would be 5000-lbs, the weight rating of your hitch. the GCWR minus the actual weight of the MH (26000-19200) is 6800-lbs but the hitch is rated for only 5000-lbs so that's your limit. some folks will state that they don't know what their MH's weigh and don't care to know or that they've been running overweight for decades with no ill effects. that's their choice but IMO it's unsafe both for them as well as the rest of us sharing the road. overweight vehicles will have longer stopping distances and suffer pre-mature failures of shocks, springs, steering, etc. the weight ratings are there for a reason so be sure you understand the relationship between actual weights and weight ratings before you plunk down your money on a toad and MH. good luck to you.

Yes... We will have to do the math.. IF POSSIBLE we would also like to tow a full-sized pickup with an atv in the bed..It would be nice to take an ATV without me having to chase in another vehicle.Our new rig has a hitch/ability to tow 10000 lbs. It's an Allegro Bus with 400 cummings..So, it should be able to pull the truck/atv... but it will close to the max.Is anyone else out there towing a full-sized pickup?

KampingKris wrote:Yes... We will have to do the math.. IF POSSIBLE we would also like to tow a full-sized pickup with an atv in the bed..It would be nice to take an ATV without me having to chase in another vehicle.Our new rig has a hitch/ability to tow 10000 lbs. It's an Allegro Bus with 400 cummings..So, it should be able to pull the truck/atv... but it will close to the max.Is anyone else out there towing a full-sized pickup?again, do the math. load up your bus as you would for travel...don't forget the people...and have it weighed. be sure the truck bed can handle the weight of the ATV and most importantly do not rely on a sales critter or the owner's manual for the ATV, liberty or truck weights. weigh them instead. good luck.

I don't tow a full sized PU, but I have seen many behind DPs.

decisions on tow vehicle - Jeep liberty | Good Sam Community

12 Replies

2gypsies1
Explorer III
Aug 06, 2013
KampingKris wrote:

We're already got buyers remorse from buying the DP..

After reading about all your indecisions of getting the DP, you might want to make sure you're keeping it before switching out cars....
rk911
Explorer
Aug 06, 2013
KampingKris wrote:
yes... but it will be better than the Yukon which at its best got a whopping 17mpg..
We don't drive much. We are just looking for an inexpensive vehicle easily towable behind the motorhome... 4x4 would be nice.
We're already got buyers remorse from buying the DP..

our 2010 liberty couldn't be easier to tow. takes maybe 5 to 10-minutes total to configure and the connect or disconnect...put the auto trans in park, the transfer case in neutral, remove the ignition key and you're done. there are no mileage/speed/time restrictions on jeeps as there are on many other vehicles. we tow between our home in suburban Chicago and mesa, az each spring usually without disconnecting along the way.
KampingKris
Explorer
Aug 06, 2013
yes... but it will be better than the Yukon which at its best got a whopping 17mpg..
We don't drive much. We are just looking for an inexpensive vehicle easily towable behind the motorhome... 4x4 would be nice.
We're already got buyers remorse from buying the DP..
Queens_Carriage
Explorer
Aug 06, 2013
A liberty only gets about 20 mpg on the highway. I didn't want to spend that much money but the new Cherokee 2014 is rated at 31 mpg
dicknellen
Explorer II
Aug 05, 2013
If your Yukon is 4wd set it up to tow, if 2wd you could probably tow with a driveshaft disconnect. I see you said not towable.
KampingKris
Explorer
Aug 05, 2013
We are considering the Liberty because DH can fit (tall). He isn't comfortable in most cars.
We like the 4wheel aspect.
But I'm still not sure whether I want the 2004... or trade our Yukon in for the 2011 and lose some money verse selling the Yukon ourselves.. On the plus side, either of them will get better gas mileage.
Hm..did I mention the 2011 one is RED!! which I love...
2gypsies1
Explorer III
Aug 05, 2013
We've towed our 2004 Jeep Liberty automatic since new. It tows beautifully. You stated it looks so good "kinda shame to put a tow bar on it". We use Blue Ox and the way the baseplate fits on the Jeep it's hardly noticeable. The rest of the towing bars, etc. stay on the motorhome when parked so our Jeep looks 'normal'.

If you're adventurous and are considering 4-wheeling then the Jeep Liberty is for you. We've had more fun with it and have met some great folks through this hobby. However, if you don't plan to go 4-wheeling there's no reason to get a Jeep. By the way, our 2004 has 135,000 miles on it plus an additional 60,000 towing. We've only had routine maintenance done on it. It's been through some tough Jeeping trips easily keeping up with Wranglers although we did have it slightly lifted and run with larger tires. We'll be looking this fall for a replacement and are so disappointed that the Jeep Liberty is not being mfg. anymore. It's replacement will be the new Cherokee which we will consider.
dicknellen
Explorer II
Aug 04, 2013
I don't tow a full sized PU, but I have seen many behind DPs.
rk911
Explorer
Aug 04, 2013
KampingKris wrote:
Yes... We will have to do the math..
IF POSSIBLE we would also like to tow a full-sized pickup with an atv in the bed..It would be nice to take an ATV without me having to chase in another vehicle.

Our new rig has a hitch/ability to tow 10000 lbs. It's an Allegro Bus with 400 cummings..

So, it should be able to pull the truck/atv... but it will close to the max.

Is anyone else out there towing a full-sized pickup?

again, do the math. load up your bus as you would for travel...don't forget the people...and have it weighed. be sure the truck bed can handle the weight of the ATV and most importantly do not rely on a sales critter or the owner's manual for the ATV, liberty or truck weights. weigh them instead.

good luck.
KampingKris
Explorer
Aug 04, 2013
Yes... We will have to do the math..
IF POSSIBLE we would also like to tow a full-sized pickup with an atv in the bed..It would be nice to take an ATV without me having to chase in another vehicle.

Our new rig has a hitch/ability to tow 10000 lbs. It's an Allegro Bus with 400 cummings..

So, it should be able to pull the truck/atv... but it will close to the max.

Is anyone else out there towing a full-sized pickup?

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decisions on tow vehicle - Jeep liberty

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