New to Towing a Vehicle

[Dan_Frisbie]

Kevin, I would rather trailer as well for the same reasons. I’m going to look into the frame issue and go from there.
Flat tow seems expensive. If I have to buy a car-hauler, I can use it for more than just towing the Jeep…

 

[redbaron]

Your not going to like this, but your RV cannot tow that Jeep Wrangler on a trailer. The Jeep is probably already exceeding the total capacity, or very close. You will need to get it weighed to know for sure. The websites list these are 3900-4500 lbs, but actual weights are closer to 4400-5100lbs.

The trailer required to carry this jeep safely will be a dual axle trailer, 20Ft long. Unless you spend a lot of money on the trailer, it is going to weigh empty about 2000-3000lbs. This means you will need a trailer rated to 9k, since the jeep weighs approx 4.5k.

Once you add the trailer, you are grossly overweight.

Even the lightest trailer, a 7k aluminum with a selling price of $5k weighs 1500lbs. Add the jeep to it at 4500lbs, and you are already overweight.

The only way that jeep will ever safely tow behind the RV is 4 wheels down. And it will be a lot cheaper than buying a trailer, and properly securing it, etc.

The cheapest way to setup your jeep is to add these parts:

* Blue ox base plate
* Brake buddy for braking
* NSA Towbar ( you could even go with integrated braking on the towbar, but the installation is very hard for DIY)
* Supplemental wiring for towing

DIY, all of this will be less than $3k

 

[Texas Clodhopper]

Your not going to like this, but your RV cannot tow that Jeep Wrangler on a trailer. The Jeep is probably already exceeding the total capacity, or very close. You will need to get it weighed to know for sure. The websites list these are 3900-4500 lbs, but actual weights are closer to 4400-5100lbs.

The trailer required to carry this jeep safely will be a dual axle trailer, 20Ft long. Unless you spend a lot of money on the trailer, it is going to weigh empty about 2000-3000lbs. This means you will need a trailer rated to 9k, since the jeep weighs approx 4.5k.

Once you add the trailer, you are grossly overweight.

Even the lightest trailer, a 7k aluminum with a selling price of $5k weighs 1500lbs. Add the jeep to it at 4500lbs, and you are already overweight.

The only way that jeep will ever safely tow behind the RV is 4 wheels down. And it will be a lot cheaper than buying a trailer, and properly securing it, etc.

The cheapest way to setup your jeep is to add these parts:

* Blue ox base plate
* Brake buddy for braking
* NSA Towbar ( you could even go with integrated braking on the towbar, but the installation is very hard for DIY)
* Supplemental wiring for towing

DIY, all of this will be less than $3k. Everything is speculation until he knows his GCWR and weighs his coach and trailer.

Everything is speculation until he knows what his GCWR is and he weighs his coach and toad.

 

[Kevin D Pem]

If nothing else, this discussion serves what is needed!

Everything in life is a compromise! When Saundra started telling me she wanted to take something on our travels that exceeded capacity I started talking about taking two vehicles, and she wanted to travel with me!

That's how we settled on compromise, maybe that is what you might consider!

The compromise not on the table was slipping into the seats that we didn't have the funds for!!!

 

[redbaron]

Everything is speculation until he knows what his GCWR is and he weighs his coach and toad.

Gcwr is 26k on that model and 20.5k for vehicle, leaving 5500lbs max tow. No need to speculate that a trailer just won’t work.

I have yet to see a gasser that has a tow rating over 7500lbs, which is what is required to trailer tow a jeep wrangler safely.

 

[MemoriesByTheMile]

Like @redbaron said, trailering is not cheap and it requires more planning. I say this from the perspective of someone who likes and uses a trailer so that we are not restricted to a small set of vehicles capable of flat tow.
It requires more from the towing vehicle, it requires more expense up front, more storage area while at home, more planning for space at campgrounds - but we chose to use a trailer and most of the time have no regrets.
When we bought our coach we knew we wanted to trailer so we shopped for a coach that could handle the weight. Our coach has the capacity to tow 30,000 pounds and our hitch can handle 5,000 pounds of tongue weight.
If we already had a coach and were looking to optimize costs, we would seriously consider flat towing as it ends up being cheaper than trailering.

 

[Dan_Frisbie]

We decided to skip the Jeep towing.
We tow the box trailer and bikes for nearly all outings and will just continue to do that.
Car hauler is too heavy for the rig and flat towing is not cost effective for the Jeep (which will likely be traded in a year or so).