I bought a 23 foot Jayco Jay Feather and am towing with 2008 Jeep Liberty. It weighs 3890 dry weight and Jeep says I can tow 5,000. But it was a nightmare on my first trip. I never want to tow it again. Any information would help.
hemi231 wrote: I bought a 23 foot Jayco Jay Feather and am towing with 2008 Jeep Liberty. It weighs 3890 dry weight and Jeep says I can tow 5,000. But it was a nightmare on my first trip. I never want to tow it again. Any information would help.
There are quite a few Liberty's towing small TT's, boats and etc without issue. It would help if you would detail your problems. Hopefully, you have the diesel version but even the 3.7 seems to do OK....just a bit underpowered. My first guess is that you just need some help with the hitch setup if it's a stabiltiy issue.
Don't give up, you've come to the right place. Check your tonque wt to ensure it's at least 12% of the loaded TT wt and that the W/D and sway controls are set up properly.
Dick
2008 Toyota Tundra Crew Max Limited TRD
2009 Cougar 268 RLS ~8400 lbs road wt
Equal-i-zer 12,000 lb hitch, Prodigy BC.
2006 Jeep Liberty Turbo Diesel.....TV in Training
2005 Jeep GC 5.7 HEMI,(retired)
2005 Jayco Jay Feather 25Z, 4" lift (Retired)
What are your GVWR/GCWR/TW ratings for the Liberty? What was your GW and TW of your Jayco as you were towing it? And, what was the nighmare all about?
J
Agreed that more info is needed, both about the Jeep and about the trailer. Sway control and WD hitch are ESSENTIAL. And once you load the trailer for use, you will probably be just about at your Jeep's limit. Not to say it can't be done - we towed a 4900# (loaded) trailer with a 5000#-tow rated Explorer for a couple years. Not a lot of fun, but do-able, especially if you are camping mostly close to home.
Nope, no more information is needed. A 23 ft, 4000 lb DRY weight trailer and a Jeep Liberty is a NO GO, period.
I used to have a Jeep Liberty. I towed my boat and my PUP with it with no problems.
But when I got my 18 ft hybrid trailer (which is considerably shorter and lighter than yours), it just wouldn't cut the mustard any more. I traded it in for a Dodge Dakota pickup with a V8 engine.
Once you go to a full height trailer, the wind drag is just more than the 3.7L engine can handle. I LOVED my Liberty, but it's towing capabilities are pretty much limited to LOW trailers (boats and pop-ups).
Also, the weight you quoted is the DRY weight. Once you load all your "stuph" into it plus passengers in the Jeep, you will be over the max tow rating. People who want to tow SAFELY go by the 80% rule. You pick a trailer whos GROSS weight is 80% of the tow vehicle's tow rating. That would be 4000 lbs (FULLY loaded) for the Liberty. But becuase of the small engine in the Liberty, even a 3000 lb full height trailer will be a problem due to wind drag.
Unfortunately, you need to trade in the Liberty for something bigger and smack the salesman that told you that you could tow with this combination firmly in the head!
Paul (Mouse)
2007 Flagstaff Shamrock 17 Hybrid (heavily modified for boondocking and winter camping).
2007 Dodge Dakota Quad Cab, 4.7L HO engine, Factory tow package, Equil-i-zer WD Hitch, Prodigy brake controller.
Yamaha EF2400 Generator.
We have e-z lift weight distributing hitch with 750 bars,and a reese single sway control, the 2008 liberty also has a tow package,it is a 3.7 liter V6. The trailer was all over the road, espically if a big truck came along. We could go no faster that 50mph.safely. It took 6 hours to travel 220 miles. FUN ,Going to dealer on Tues.Does this sound like something is wrong with hitch or vehicle size. We talked to Jeep for an hour and they insist its not to large a trailer. When hitched both trailer and vehicle are level. Just bought vehicle like it, just bought trailer, like it. Just not together.
Mousefart wrote: Nope, no more information is needed. A 23 ft, 4000 lb DRY weight trailer and a Jeep Liberty is a NO GO, period.
I used to have a Jeep Liberty. I towed my boat and my PUP with it with no problems.
But when I got my 18 ft hybrid trailer (which is considerably shorter and lighter than yours), it just wouldn't cut the mustard any more. I traded it in for a Dodge Dakota pickup with a V8 engine.
Once you go to a full height trailer, the wind drag is just more than the 3.7L engine can handle. I LOVED my Liberty, but it's towing capabilities are pretty much limited to LOW trailers (boats and pop-ups).
Also, the weight you quoted is the DRY weight. Once you load all your "stuph" into it plus passengers in the Jeep, you will be over the max tow rating. People who want to tow SAFELY go by the 80% rule. You pick a trailer whos GROSS weight is 80% of the tow vehicle's tow rating. That would be 4000 lbs (FULLY loaded) for the Liberty. But becuase of the small engine in the Liberty, even a 3000 lb full height trailer will be a problem due to wind drag.
Unfortunately, you need to trade in the Liberty for something bigger and smack the salesman that told you that you could tow with this combination firmly in the head!
hemi231 wrote: I bought a 23 foot Jayco Jay Feather and am towing with 2008 Jeep Liberty. It weighs 3890 dry weight and Jeep says I can tow 5,000. But it was a nightmare on my first trip. I never want to tow it again. Any information would help.
I don't need more information. Your little Jeep Liberty is way too small a vehicle to tow any 23 foot hard sided travel trailer regardless of the weight. That trailer will put more dynamic forces onto that little Jeep than it can handle. That trailer was forcing the Jeep all over the road. It is a dangerous combination. I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but either get a MUCH smaller trailer (a pop up), or a bigger tow vehicle.
Now about advertised dry weights. Add to that figure any options like air conditioning, awning, microwave, and things we think would be included in that dry figure, plus propane, battery(s), fresh water, your personal stuff, and that weight figure approaches 6000 lbs very quick.
Offline
