Tow Question - Can Jeep Grand Jerokee tow NT 280BH

I have a 2000 Jeep Grand Cherokee with the Class IV tow package, which basically means it is rated up to 6300lb, 750lb hitch weight, 30' trailer length. Many hitch sites indicate these specs.

The North Trail 280BH is 5081lb dry, 555lb hitch. The dealership is telling me I should have no problem with a weight distribution hitch, anti-sway bars, and brake controller.

I would like some experienced towers thoughts. I have been towing boats 18-25 fee long since I was 16, but never towed a trailer.

Thanks!!!

Need more info

Go by the GVWR of trailer 6,900 #.
5084 dry equalies 400# more for tanks batteries etc, look at (5,500 lbs dry). you wil add 1,200# easily with supplies and people in Jeep

Dealers will tell you anything to make a sale.
( mine said the total weight is listed on trailer, 5430#,they mentioned the way it see it sitting is what your weight is.) when I hit the scales going home I weight 5920 lbs. the sticker is shipping weight not with tanks and batteries.

Now what do you have for motor, rear end, and is the weight you mentioned from dealer or where did the (6300 lbs come from)
owners manuals or from manufacturer of jeep?

from what you state, you'll be overloaded before you load everything to camp.

You need to get combined gvwr from jeep manufacturer ( give them your VIN number and they can tell you EXACTLY your weight is

I agree with Irvin56.... you will overweight. Remember to add the weight of the equalizer hitch and weight bars, sway bars x 2 for that length TT. I had a bigger 07 Tahoe 5.3 v8 and a 25' 4400lb dry weight (6100 loaded) TT was all it could handle.

I have to agree with the other folks. You are over loaded before you even get out of the drive. The dry weight is with out any water, propane,food, clothes,hithces,and etc. do you have another choice for a TV or smaller RV?

KRB said:

I have a 2000 Jeep Grand Cherokee with the Class IV tow package, which basically means it is rated up to 6300lb, 750lb hitch weight, 30' trailer length. Many hitch sites indicate these specs.

The North Trail 280BH is 5081lb dry, 555lb hitch. The dealership is telling me I should have no problem with a weight distribution hitch, anti-sway bars, and brake controller.

I would like some experienced towers thoughts. I have been towing boats 18-25 fee long since I was 16, but never towed a trailer.

Thanks!!!

Click to expand...

You have two choices (Three actually....)

1- Buy a larger TV then buy the 280BH
2- Buy a 21FBS instead. (Or somethiong along that length/Wt)
3- Don't do either - but at least you're alive!

On point number one: You have to consider three things with a TT:

Wheelbase of TV (A GC is nowhere near safe pulling a 30' TT)
TV GVWR (To include max tongue wt)
Towing max Wt (Engine/transmission/gear ratio)

KRB - I can pass along my own experience. I once owned a 2003 Grand Cherokee. Bought a 20' Forest River Hybrid to tow behind the Jeep. The dry weight of the trailer was 4300. Did the Jepp pull it, the answer is yes. But here is my opinion, the Jeep is just not heavy enough to be pulling that much or more weight around. It really is a load for that vehicle, engine powert is not a problem. Remember, just pulling it down the road is only part of the battle. If a tire goes bad or something breaks etc. etc. is when tow vehicles really matter. Just my own experience and opinion. Hope it is some help.

All the best,

Here you go:

As a general guideline: You can pull a trailer approximately twenty feet long as long as your vehicle has a wheelbase of at least 110 inches. So that's about nine feet of wheelbase to handle twenty feet of trailer.

If you want to get a longer trailer, I'd recommend that you have at least four inches of wheelbase for each additional foot of trailer length. That way you're always making sure to keep the ratio of trailer length to wheelbase high enough.

One last thought is you should not only consider the total length of the trailer, but also the distance from the coupler (or tongue) to the axle of the trailer. There will be a big difference in stability for a trailer where that coupler to tongue distance is really short, compared to one where it's really long.

That covered length of TV versus TT now for the other considerations:
http://changingears.com/rv-sec-calc-trailer-weight-tt.shtml

DO NOT TAKE THE TV MFG CURB WT AS YOUR WEIGHT - THEY LIE!

Follow the above "rules of thumb" and you will be a safe and alive traveler for many years to come!

I have a NT 28BHS (very similar to the one you are considering) and pull it with a 2002 Chevy 1/2 ton with a 5.3L V8 (truck rated to tow 7,800 lbs). I would say this truck is near its limit with this camper. I won't attempt to pull the camper too far east or west of my location in Iowa until I upgrade the truck to a 3/4 ton, possibly a diesel.

I agree with what others have said - camper dealers probably aren't your best source for what your vehicle is capable of. My truck is fine for fairly local trips but I wouldn't go too far with this camper attached.

-Chris