Overwhelmed and worried about safety

hs4816 wrote:
Hi all. I know threads of "can I tow XYZ with my ABC" probably get annoying and I've been reading and reading and reading. But I'm overwhelmed and my partner and I have never towed anything before. This is a major purchase and I'm afraid if we don't have the physics/math sorted out we could buy something that ends up unsafe.

We have a 2015 Jeep Grand Cherokee with tow package. Unsure if it's a class 3 or 4 hitch, but will need to check that obviously. From what I can tell, the manufacturer recommended 6200 max pounds is pretty much a number to ignore and we should be focusing on tongue weight?

Don't ignore the tow rating weight, but understand that it is often not the limiting factor in what you should buy. A good general rule of thumb is to look at dry weights, then add about 1000 lb for stuff in the trailer. You want that total to be about 80% of the tow rating of your vehicle, for a comfortable towing experience.

(all the dealers just keep saying we're fine and are pushing bigger/heavier units).

Most dealers just want to sell you something.

If my partner + me + baby + carseat = 510 pounds (round up to 550 pounds) and the Jeep has a limit of 1050 pounds for passenger + cargo, then that leaves us 500 pounds for the tongue weight (and no room to pack any gear at all in the car). Correct?

Your math is correct.

So if we are looking at a hybrid travel trailer that weighs 5400 fully loaded and the tongue weight is 10-15% of that (540-810) then that's too big for us. Right? Is there anyway to find out the exact tongue weight of a specific trailer before you buy it??

You can assume that you will add something like 800-1200 lb to the dry weight of a trailer when you load it with propane, battery, a few gallons of water, clothing, food and supplies. Some people go lower and some feel the need to pack the entire house. 800 lb is reasonable for a small trailer. So take that total and multiply it by 12%, which is the amount you need on the tongue for good towing.

Or can I assume we will never fully load it and can keep it safely under 5400 pounds?

Use the above math.

Also, our plan is to have sway bars, but is there a specific hitch type/brand you'd suggest we look at?

Others here have more experience, but I can tell you that you will definitely need sway control and weight distribution.

Seems like a tongue weight scale is an important purchase?

Any other thoughts??

Make sure that you have the exact cargo capacity and tow rating for your version of the vehicle. That depends on the exact options you have. A Jeep dealer should be able to help you out starting with the VIN, or if you have the window sticker from the original sale, the info should be on that.