My wife and I have been thinking about trading in our 2012 Palomino Yearling 4100 popup camper for a travel trailer. We know what floorplan we want in a travel trailer and have been researching various models/manufacturers. Wants:Around 4000lbs maxHeatACFull bathroom (shower toilet sink)2 burner stove minimumMicrowave or ovenKitchen sinkBunk beds (preferably double bunks)Queen bedU shaped dinette or standard dinette and couch on slideout (not required but it'd be nice)AwningElectric brakesSome type of sway controlAny suggestions? I have it narrowed down to a few meeting all or most of these requirements:KZ Spree Escape e250sKZ Spree Escape 196sGulfstream Amerilite 248bhForest River Rockwood Mini Lite 2306Gulf Breeze Ultra Lite 24RBHCoachmen Clipper Ultralite 21bhPrimetime RV Tracer Air 205AIRForest River Wildwood X Lite 201BHXLForest River Flagstaff Microlite 23LBOur biggest issue/concern is the tow vehicle is a 2014 Grand Cherokee 4x4 with a V6 engine. Max towing on the Grand Cherokee is 6200lbs. Is it unrealistic for me to expect this vehicle to be able to pull the type of trailer we want? If we stay around 4000lbs dry, I can't imagine we'd be over 5000lbs when loaded up. Is someone out there pulling a travel trailer or something similar with a similarly equipped vehicle. I'd love to hear some first hand experience? Suggestions?Thanks in advance for everyone's input.

Welcome to the Forum,1st off, I would like to thank and congratulate you on doing your homework. You're doing good. 2nd, don't underestimate the Pentastar V6. It isn't a Hemi, but it will do the job at an easier pace. Does your JGC have the 8 Speed or 6 Speed transmission? The Car and Driver test shows it has the 8. I have the 8 in my EcoDiesel Ram, and it is awesome.I was towing with a Jeep Liberty with a 4 cylinder diesel. It got the job done, but it was a handful. Your JGC is a bit more vehicle than my Liberty, and staying small is a good choice, especially for novices. I had many years of towing beforehand when I got back into camping, so towing with the Jeep was OK for me.One thing I do suggest is a good Weight Distribution Hitch with Sway Control. I will suggest the Equal-i-zer 4 Point system. It is easy to setup for novices and does a great job.

Your biggest weight problem is going to be the cargo capacity of your tow vehicle. The tongue weight of the trailer should be 10-15% of the loaded trailer weight. That tongue weight becomes part of your cargo. To that, you will need to add a good weight distributing hitch such as Equal-i-zer (about 60 lb), plus the weight of all passengers and their belongings loaded in the Cherokee.So find the cargo capacity of your vehicle and start doing the math. Tow rating is only part of the equation when it comes to selecting a proper vehicle/RV combo.

Don't pay attention to max tow capacity. Cargo capacity is what you should be concerned with. I have a 2014 Grand Cherokee (non 4WD)... Not that I tow with it. According to the stats I've seen, the MAX cargo capacity of any of the 4WD models is 1320 lbs. Some of the models are significantly less.So, your cargo capacity has to take into consideration all passenger weights, anything else you load in the jeep, the weight of your WD hitch (~100 lbs), and the tongue weight of your trailer. Tongue weight needs to be 13-15 percent of the trailer weight. So, a trailer loaded that weights 5000 lbs, the tongue weight would be between 650 and 750 lbs. Lets say 650. 1320-650 (tongue weight) = 670 lbs670 - 100 for WD hitch = 570That's how much you would have left for you, the wife, and I assume 2-4 kids (given you want double bunk beds). And again, that is the MAX cargo capacity of any of the jeep 4wd's. To get your cargo capacity look on passenger door for the yellow and black sticker. It will say something like max weight of all cargo, including occupants equals xxxx lbs.Mike

Walaby – Yes, mine is the 4x4 and the max payload is 1320lbs.I see what you’re saying as far as cargo carrying capacity. However, if I get a 4000lb dry trailer and load it to 5000lbs a 15% tongue weight would be 750lbs (like you said). Wouldn’t a weight distributing hitch help with this? How much weight can I figure the WDH would take off the tongue?I looked for the sticker on the passenger door and did not see it. Could it be somewhere else or am I just missing it?Thanks for the advice. ChooChooMan74 – Thanks and it’s the 8-speed. I’m definitely going to be looking at a weight distributing hitch. I’m just having some issues working out the numbers and making sure my vehicle is properly equipped to tow the max.

A WD in a nutshell, transfers weight off the rear axle back onto the front axle and trailer axles that came off due to the settling of the rear. IE if you put 750 lbs of hw on rear it might gain say 1000 lbs vs empty. Half of the additional 250 lbs might be off of the fa and ta's. A WD will put this extra 250 lbs back to the fa and ta. Reality is, if you try to put too much of the hw to the front or trailer axles, you may over load one or the other. the how much is removed off the fa will depend on many items, IE wheel base, rear suspension capacity, and even the weight on the fa due to a gas vs diesel setup along with how far behind the RA the hitch ball is, shorter overhang is better. 750 lbs on a dually might remove.all of 60 lbs off the fa. Your jeep on the other hand might be 250-500 lbs.Personally, I.would not worry to much about a 3500-4000 lb dry trailer coming in at 5000 lbs loaded. Rigs Tuesdays are way better than years ago. You probably have more hp than the first bb v8 I drove, which was just under 200 hp. Marty

Travel Trailer Tow questions | Good Sam Community

13 Replies

Walaby
Explorer II
Jul 04, 2016
Don't pay attention to max tow capacity. Cargo capacity is what you should be concerned with. I have a 2014 Grand Cherokee (non 4WD)... Not that I tow with it.

According to the stats I've seen, the MAX cargo capacity of any of the 4WD models is 1320 lbs. Some of the models are significantly less.

So, your cargo capacity has to take into consideration all passenger weights, anything else you load in the jeep, the weight of your WD hitch (~100 lbs), and the tongue weight of your trailer. Tongue weight needs to be 13-15 percent of the trailer weight. So, a trailer loaded that weights 5000 lbs, the tongue weight would be between 650 and 750 lbs. Lets say 650. 1320-650 (tongue weight) = 670 lbs

670 - 100 for WD hitch = 570

That's how much you would have left for you, the wife, and I assume 2-4 kids (given you want double bunk beds). And again, that is the MAX cargo capacity of any of the jeep 4wd's.

To get your cargo capacity look on passenger door for the yellow and black sticker. It will say something like max weight of all cargo, including occupants equals xxxx lbs.

Mike
coolmom42
Explorer II
Jul 04, 2016
Your biggest weight problem is going to be the cargo capacity of your tow vehicle. The tongue weight of the trailer should be 10-15% of the loaded trailer weight. That tongue weight becomes part of your cargo. To that, you will need to add a good weight distributing hitch such as Equal-i-zer (about 60 lb), plus the weight of all passengers and their belongings loaded in the Cherokee.

So find the cargo capacity of your vehicle and start doing the math.

Tow rating is only part of the equation when it comes to selecting a proper vehicle/RV combo.
ChooChooMan74
Explorer
Jul 04, 2016
Welcome to the Forum,

1st off, I would like to thank and congratulate you on doing your homework. You're doing good. 2nd, don't underestimate the Pentastar V6. It isn't a Hemi, but it will do the job at an easier pace. Does your JGC have the 8 Speed or 6 Speed transmission? The Car and Driver test shows it has the 8. I have the 8 in my EcoDiesel Ram, and it is awesome.

I was towing with a Jeep Liberty with a 4 cylinder diesel. It got the job done, but it was a handful. Your JGC is a bit more vehicle than my Liberty, and staying small is a good choice, especially for novices. I had many years of towing beforehand when I got back into camping, so towing with the Jeep was OK for me.

One thing I do suggest is a good Weight Distribution Hitch with Sway Control. I will suggest the Equal-i-zer 4 Point system. It is easy to setup for novices and does a great job.

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Travel Trailer Tow questions

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