What can I tow safely with my TV
Hello all wise ones out there! I plan to hit the road full-time next spring. I will drive a fair amount to explore much of this grand country I call home-including some mountain areas (Rv at the par...
Forum Discussion
UntetheredExplorer wrote:
...but I'm not sure I follow. If max Jeep payload is 1050 and person, TT hitch wt, sway bar (170+596+100 = 866), that leaves me with available tongue weight of 184? Is this right? Does not take into account Jeep cargo, front TT cargo, propane tanks or batteries...I am missing something?
To help better understand, keep your Jeep's payload separated from the TT payload.
Jeep comes as is when bought and has a certain payload associated with it. Everything you put in it (except for the driver and full fuel tank) subtracts from the Jeep's payload. As items are put into your Jeep, the available payload decreases which also means you will have less payload for the trailer's tongue weight and hitch that attaches to your Jeep.
The same goes for the TT. The more items you put into the TT, the more the TT will weigh. If you put items forward of the trailer's axles, your tongue weight will increase but more than if you put weight behind the trailers axles. However, a HUGE mistake many new TT owners make is trying to offset that added trailer weight by putting more weight behind the trailer axles. That is very bad as it can lighten your tongue weight and make your towing experience an absolute nightmare. You will want to have a tongue weight somewhere around 12-15% of the trailers loaded total weight. And many times, siding on the 15% tongue weight might be better.
So, what does all that mean to you? Well, the advertised tongue weight is a dry number and you will NEVER see that number when towing to camp. So you will need to factor in how much available payload is left over after you have your Jeep loaded and then understand (best to get actual numbers from a loaded TT weighed at a scale) where the TT tongue weight will be to know if there is enough Jeep payload to cover that loaded TT tongue weight.
Aside from all of that, you most likely will not like the tow you will get with your short wheelbase Jeep and that kind of weight from the trailer you identified. Making it worse will be traveling in the Mtns, at altitude, both ascending and descending.
