IS MY JEEP SAFE TO TOW A CAMPER????

[DGOYLER]

We own a Jeep Grand Cherokee Overland 4x2 3.7L V6. It is rated to tow 6,200lbs. We are looking to purchase a camper with a "loaded" weight of 6,090lbs or a dry weight of 4,590. They say for our Jeep towing anything over 3,500lbs requires a weight distributing hitch. What is that? Is this going to be safe? Does this truly have enough power to do the job?

[SkiMore]

We are thinking of buying a small trailer and tow vehicle and looked at the new Grand Cherokee. When we got to the dealer the payload numbers were much lower than the website and were concerned about a 5000lb trailer, 2 people and some stuff in the SUV.

[sam22]

Jebby14 wrote:
don't worry he missed the point of mine as well

And I think you missed my point...you have absolutely no experience pulling a trailer with this guys car, so you're opinion isn't really based on anything. Experiences you had 10, 15 years ago with completely different cars with different engines, suspension and transmissions are great, but it doesn't really help in answering this guys original questions.

But, the originally poster doesn't seem to be interested in this thread anymore so we probably shouldn't waste our time arguing about it!

[Jebby14]

don't worry he missed the point of mine as well

[Steve_B_]

"You do realize that your 17 year old jeep is a completely different vehicle than a 2017 GC?"

Um, yes, I do. I guess you missed the point of my post.

[drsteve]

The GC Overland is the top trim level, which adds weight to the base vehicle, which means less cargo capacity. What does the door sticker say for payload? The tongue weight of the trailer alone may eat up a good portion of that. Wind resistance is a huge factor too--your Jeep would pull a boat that size fairly well, but a TT has FAR more wind resistance than a boat or open car hauler.

I would not want to pull something that size with a V6 unibody SUV. YMMV, but it's going to be a potential white knuckle experience on hills, in bad weather, wind, passing trucks, etc.

sch911 wrote:
A WDH with true (non friction) integrated sway control (such as the Hensley)

If you need a $2200 Hensley to pull a 26' trailer safely, I'd say it's too much length for the TV. Again, YMMV, but I have towed at max capacity or over, and it's no fun.

[sam22]

Steve B. wrote:
My last Jeep Grand Cherokee was my last Jeep. My 2000 Cherokee with the 4.0 six was great for towing my camper (in the picture), which is only about 2,000 lb. My next GC had the same 4.0 6cyl was a dog with the trailer, and I believe it was rated for 5,000 lb. No way. My current vehicle, with a 3.5 6 cyl., rated for 3,500lbs. tows great. I can't recommend your Jeep to tow what you are going to tow.

You do realize that your 17 year old jeep is a completely different vehicle than a 2017 GC?

[Steve_B_]

My last Jeep Grand Cherokee was my last Jeep. My 2000 Cherokee with the 4.0 six was great for towing my camper (in the picture), which is only about 2,000 lb. My next GC had the same 4.0 6cyl was a dog with the trailer, and I believe it was rated for 5,000 lb. No way. My current vehicle, with a 3.5 6 cyl., rated for 3,500lbs. tows great. I can't recommend your Jeep to tow what you are going to tow.

[rbpru]

Towing comfort is a personal thing. One person's "just fine" is another's white knuckles.

Also if I am towing 100 miles to the local state parks six times a year, there is a lot less wear and tear than a two month 8000 mile tour of the Southwest.

I like my F-150 but a 5000 lb dry weight TT uses up the max cargo when loaded for the road.

[RPreeb]

sam22 wrote:

sky_free wrote:
It's interesting to me that there is an engineer that actually worked on development of the vehicle in question who says it should be OK within certain parameters and everyone ignores what he is saying.

I agree with another poster that said you should rent first and try it out. It's a cheap way to validate your decision making process and avoid a costly mistake.

It's also interesting that, from what I read, basically nobody who said "no you can't" seems to own a Jeep GC or did 15 years ago which makes their experience irrelevant. So many people seem to think you can't tow anything unless you have a Ram 3500.

I've got a 2015 GC that is rated for 6200lbs. Last year we bought a 4500lb trailer and towed it for over 12 000km last year across the United States and Canada. A lot of the time towing was easy and great. Going up a huge hill/mountain slowed us down but we made it no problem. Driving into a strong wind sucked, but again we never felt like we wouldn't make it.

We never weighed the trailer when it was loaded up with food and clothes and all that, but I'm guessing it would be about 5500kbs or so. I wouldn't want to go over 6 000lbs but if you can shed a few pounds And ensure your under the max payload I think you'd have no issue towing with the GC.

Since you are the one with experience towing your rig, I would be the last to say that you are wrong, but there are considerations. My parents towed a 4000-5000 lb TT with a '61 Chevy Belair for 2 summers in Montana. That was back in the mid 60's when it was uncommon to see even a half ton PU pulling one. Everyone just used the family sedan or wagon. Not ideal, but if you were careful, you could get away with it. They may have gotten away with it back then, but knowing what I know now, I'd have been all over them about how unsafe that rig was.

My biggest concern with any Jeep is the short wheel base, which makes sway a much bigger potential problem. That is as much of a safety issue as power or payload. I tow a trailer about the same size as yours with an F-150 that's rated at nearly 11,000 lbs. I figure that gives me a significant safety margin. If I was nearing 80%, I'd be looking for a bigger vehicle. I don't like pushing the limits just because the number on paper says it's okay.

[wrenchbender]

What you will end up with is an unsafe rig the tail wagging the dog

[Jebby14]

🙂

[sam22]

sky_free wrote:
It's interesting to me that there is an engineer that actually worked on development of the vehicle in question who says it should be OK within certain parameters and everyone ignores what he is saying.

I agree with another poster that said you should rent first and try it out. It's a cheap way to validate your decision making process and avoid a costly mistake.

It's also interesting that, from what I read, basically nobody who said "no you can't" seems to own a Jeep GC or did 15 years ago which makes their experience irrelevant. So many people seem to think you can't tow anything unless you have a Ram 3500.

I've got a 2015 GC that is rated for 6200lbs. Last year we bought a 4500lb trailer and towed it for over 12 000km last year across the United States and Canada. A lot of the time towing was easy and great. Going up a huge hill/mountain slowed us down but we made it no problem. Driving into a strong wind sucked, but again we never felt like we wouldn't make it.

We never weighed the trailer when it was loaded up with food and clothes and all that, but I'm guessing it would be about 5500kbs or so. I wouldn't want to go over 6 000lbs but if you can shed a few pounds And ensure your under the max payload I think you'd have no issue towing with the GC.

[sch911]

2012Coleman wrote:
Not trying to be sarcastic here, but since you would know this, I'll ask:

How do you determine that a Jeep Grand Cherokee Overland 4x2 3.7L V6. is rated to tow 6,200lbs?

For argument sake, we will assume that it has a tow package and a sufficient hitch receiver to carry the tongue weight.

The targets come from above.

Engineering makes it happen. Read SAE J2807.

[sky_free]

It's interesting to me that there is an engineer that actually worked on development of the vehicle in question who says it should be OK within certain parameters and everyone ignores what he is saying.

I agree with another poster that said you should rent first and try it out. It's a cheap way to validate your decision making process and avoid a costly mistake.