TrailManor Owner's Forum - View Single Post

RockyMtnRay · 11-05-2003, 05:22 PM

For the past 2 summers I towed a 2720SL with a '96 Jeep Cherokee. A WDH was absolutely needed with the Cherokee...I needed 750 lb bars to get the Jeep level with the TM attached (tongue weight of my TM is about 550 lbs). The Liberty is about the same wheelbase (and springing) as the Cherokee so I would presume a WDH is a necessity.

If your Liberty has the towing package, you should be OK towing one of the smaller TrailManors (2720 or 2619)...especially in the midwest. I would not, however, recommend doing so if you don't have the critical components of the towing package...namely a heavy duty radiator & a heavy duty transmission cooler (I presume you have an automatic transmission). Ideally you should also have lower axle gearing (somewhere around 3.9 gears).

I traded up to a pickup (Toyota Tundra V8) from my Cherokee for several reasons:
1. The short wheel base left little margin for control on tight curves on steeply descending mountain roads (I do nearly all of my towing in the Colorado Rockies).
2. My Jeep did not have the towing package and had a manual transmission. It tended to run warm on long climbs and had a not-good-for-towing 3.07 rear axle. Furthermore I eventually discovered that Jeep limited the manual tranny Cherokees to a maximum towing load of 2000 lbs (my TM weighs about 3700 loaded).
3. The 4.0 L engine, while fine for flatland towing, really didn't have enough torque for climbing mountain grades.

From my personal experience, I believe that Jeep somewhat overrates the towing capacity of their vehicles...realistically it's probably closer to 4300 lbs for the Liberty than the advertised 5000. Given that the realistic loaded weights of nearly all travel trailers is around 1000 lbs more than the manufacturer's weights...and the short wheelbase of the Liberty, I would not recommend any TM longer than the 2720 or maybe the 3023. The Liberty's 3.7L V6 is IMO on the low end of the scale for good towing...and Jeep automatic transmissions aren't renowned for holding up well when used extensively for towing. If you mostly travel on flat terrain...and regularly get the transmission serviced, you'll probably be just fine. But I can just about guarantee that both the engine and transmission will be working very hard on mountain roads...whether in the Appalachians, Rockies, or Sierras...your throttle will be wide open for sustained periods and you'll be struggling up the grades at about 35 mph.

11-05-2003, 05:22 PM	#2
RockyMtnRay TrailManor Master Join Date: Jul 2001 Location: Colorado Springs, CO Posts: 816	Re:Anyone using a Jeep Liberty as a TM TV? For the past 2 summers I towed a 2720SL with a '96 Jeep Cherokee. A WDH was absolutely needed with the Cherokee...I needed 750 lb bars to get the Jeep level with the TM attached (tongue weight of my TM is about 550 lbs). The Liberty is about the same wheelbase (and springing) as the Cherokee so I would presume a WDH is a necessity. If your Liberty has the towing package, you should be OK towing one of the smaller TrailManors (2720 or 2619)...especially in the midwest. I would not, however, recommend doing so if you don't have the critical components of the towing package...namely a heavy duty radiator & a heavy duty transmission cooler (I presume you have an automatic transmission). Ideally you should also have lower axle gearing (somewhere around 3.9 gears). I traded up to a pickup (Toyota Tundra V8) from my Cherokee for several reasons: 1. The short wheel base left little margin for control on tight curves on steeply descending mountain roads (I do nearly all of my towing in the Colorado Rockies). 2. My Jeep did not have the towing package and had a manual transmission. It tended to run warm on long climbs and had a not-good-for-towing 3.07 rear axle. Furthermore I eventually discovered that Jeep limited the manual tranny Cherokees to a maximum towing load of 2000 lbs (my TM weighs about 3700 loaded). 3. The 4.0 L engine, while fine for flatland towing, really didn't have enough torque for climbing mountain grades. From my personal experience, I believe that Jeep somewhat overrates the towing capacity of their vehicles...realistically it's probably closer to 4300 lbs for the Liberty than the advertised 5000. Given that the realistic loaded weights of nearly all travel trailers is around 1000 lbs more than the manufacturer's weights...and the short wheelbase of the Liberty, I would not recommend any TM longer than the 2720 or maybe the 3023. The Liberty's 3.7L V6 is IMO on the low end of the scale for good towing...and Jeep automatic transmissions aren't renowned for holding up well when used extensively for towing. If you mostly travel on flat terrain...and regularly get the transmission serviced, you'll probably be just fine. But I can just about guarantee that both the engine and transmission will be working very hard on mountain roads...whether in the Appalachians, Rockies, or Sierras...your throttle will be wide open for sustained periods and you'll be struggling up the grades at about 35 mph.