Alchia wrote:
Hi all! My husband and I are kicking around the idea of camping with the kids.
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We have two kids ( 8 & 10) and another on the way. We need enough room, but not TONS of room. We probably won't take any super long road trips and will usually camp within and hour or so of our hometown.
Our TV is a 2014 Jeep GC Overland and the tow weight says 6200. We have NO experience with towing or camping. This is all new to us!
I'm looking for a TT that won't push the limits of the Jeep or be stressful to tow. We found two that we really liked at the show. Both had dry weights of 3600-3800 lbs. Would this be realistic for our Jeep? We are looking at a 2015 Flagstaff MicroLite 23LB or a 2015 Ameri-Lite 248BH. Are these too large for our TV?
Alchia,
Welcome to the forum and to RVing. Good first post too, especially for someone new to the lifestyle and not really knowing what to expect or to ask.
First of all, you will find many opinions and POVs on Internet forums and may end up being just as confused after reading all the responses. At the end of the day, as will all the Internet "wisdom", you will have to spend some good time sifting the wheat from the chaff and then actually stop with the reading and actually get out there and do whatever it is, be it RVing or whatever else.
I have had RVs from popup, to hybrid, to travel trailer. Tow vehicles have been a 1.8L 4-cylinder car, V6 SUV and a V8 truck. Have lived and towed in Canada and in the US, on flatlands and in the mountains.
The Trailer Life Towing Guide says that the least towing capacity for the 2014 Jeep Grand Cherokee is the 6200# you mentioned - that suggests that the powertrain is strong enough to pull a flat low-profile trailer weighing 6200# with an unspecified degree of ease, and without killing the engine. But there is more to towing than just paper specifications.
You do NOT necessarily need to have a truck, despite what knee-jerk responses you might see on this or other forums. Many people like to automatically suggest the biggest truck possible to pull any trailer, even without appreciating that people might like their current tow vehicle, may have that as their only tow vehicle, might not be able to afford a separate tow vehicle, etc. Beware of these posts. Yes a truck is better no doubt, but IMO it is more useful for respondents to stick to the questions asked and respond accordingly.
Before going any further and based on experience, you will need to ensure that you have:
- a weight distribution hitch that can take the fully-loaded hitch load at the tongue of the trailer
- the axle capacity to take the distributed loads once the trailer is hooked up
- a transmission cooler
- an electrical charging system that is capable of accommodating trailering loads.
Looking at trailers, you need a ballpark number for loaded weight and hitch weight. Then you can go to this handy
Jeep Calculator for more insight.
Based on anecdotal evidence most campers add about 1000# to maybe 1500# of cargo to their trailers, so your trailer needs to at least have that capacity. With a vehicle like a GC you will be better off not putting much payload beyond people in the SUV, but you will have to go to a truck scale and get the complete rig weighed to see how best to distribute the weight. Note gross payload will include full propane tanks and black and grey water if you intend to travel with them loaded - I suggest not, for your rig. Maybe 10 gallons of water only just for bathroom function while travelling.
An approach I like to take is to assume a fully loaded trailer weight no greater than 75% - 80% of the capacity. For your SUV, 75% beings you to 4650# fully loaded, and assuming 1000# payload, you are left with 3650# light. NOTE - light weight means nothing when it comes to assessing towing capability
As for hitch weight - you will want 10 - 15% on the hitch even before the effects of the WDH is considered. That means 600# is a good target weight.
Knowing these numbers you can start shopping for trailers. Good luck! :)
