Jeep

Help - we have a 4 door Jeep Wrangler Unlimited with factory installed tow package.

My husband feels our 2720 SL Trailmanor (2007) is really dragging/swaying during towing.

We brought our vehicle into an RV dealer today to have Weight Distribution hitch and anti-sway bars installed and they have informed us they cannot do it because of the rear tire on the vehicle!

Looks like we will have to sell the TM - unless anyone has any solutions they know of??? Not sure why Trailmanor advertises this vehicle as being able to tow the TM since it seems to be very difficult on hills, etc

We were very excited about owning this TM and we are very disappointed that we may have to sell it

HELP!

[rtcassel]

Originally Posted by LisaJo

Help - we have a 4 door Jeep Wrangler Unlimited with factory installed tow package.

My husband feels our 2720 SL Trailmanor (2007) is really dragging/swaying during towing.

We brought our vehicle into an RV dealer today to have Weight Distribution hitch and anti-sway bars installed and they have informed us they cannot do it because of the rear tire on the vehicle!

Did the dealer elaborate on why the rear tire on the Wrangler precludes a WD hitch?

Some TVs that have the spare tire on the back will not allow a WD hitch to be used because the spare tire is in the way.

You might be abe to use the WD hitch if you remove the spare tire. You would need to carry it somewhere else.

The problem of rear mounted spare tires has come up before, but I do not recall what vehicle. It might have been a RAV4 or some other small SUV.

The TM shouldn't typically sway, even without sway bars. (Sway is side-to-side that might start to build on itself - left, then right, then left, then right, etc, not just feeling the air from passing semis) The weight distribution is a different issue, and most people here use weight distribution but not anti-sway on hitches.

Some things to look at:

1. Inflate the tow vehicle tires to maximum sidewall pressure if they aren't.

2. If the TM really is swaying, do you have anything on or in the TM that would cause the tongue to get lighter? Examples - heavy stuff in the back of the TM (put heavy stuff over the axles, or slightly in front of them), a bike or motorcycle on the back of the TM, etc? Is your gray water (shower and sink drain) tank full? The only TMs I've heard of with sway had weight in the back that wasn't there from the factory.

I assume this is a 4 door wrangler. The two door might be a bit short on wheelbase. The Wrangler has a pretty flexy suspension for going offroad especially the coil spring models. You could consider airbags like I did. I don't use a WDH or sway control.

[Mr. Adventure]

LisaJo,
We need a little more information to answer your question. I don't know the vehicle, but a quick visit to the Jeep web site talks about a 2000lb trailer limit and little else in terms of what one gets with or expects from the tow package.

What does your owner's manual say about trailering capacity and the Gross Combined Weight Rating (GCWR)?

[Bill]

LisaJo -

My quick visit to the Jeep website says that for the 2008 models, the tow rating can be as high as 3500 pounds "when properly equipped". Are you "properly equipped"? As always, you must follow the asterisk.

The web site also mentions the existence of a weight distributing hitch, so it is no surprise to them..

Setting aside the question of whether a 3500 pound rating is enough in the places where you plan to tow (which you didn't mention), I cannot believe that the vehicle will not accept a WDH. Car dealers can sometimes be incredibly ignorant (or they don't have a WDH in stock), so I suggest that you take it to a hitch place and ask them. You must have a U-Haul place near you - everyone does - so although I'm not particularly thrilled with U-Haul, they should be able to give you a better answer.

As for the question of sway, the 116 inch wheelbase should be adequate to enable you to drive without sway control. Get the WDH first, and check out the handling with that. My guess is that the uncomfortable feelings your husband refers to is caused by unweighting of the front end of the vehicle - which is exactly what the WDH corrects for. The squirrelly feeling should go away with a properly-adjusted WDH. If you want to be fully prepared, buy a trunnion-style WDH that is ready to accept sway control if you decide to add it later. Avoid friction sway control, such as the common Reese unit.

For an example of a good hitch specifically made for your vehicle, go to Drawtite.com and enter your vehicle. Or go to Reeseprod.com, enter your vehicle info, and take a look at part number 44557, a Class III/IV hitch specifically made for your vehicle.

Bill

Originally Posted by LisaJo

Help - we have a 4 door Jeep Wrangler Unlimited with factory installed tow package.

My husband feels our 2720 SL Trailmanor (2007) is really dragging/swaying during towing.

We brought our vehicle into an RV dealer today to have Weight Distribution hitch and anti-sway bars installed and they have informed us they cannot do it because of the rear tire on the vehicle!


HELP!

LisaJo,

I looked into getting a new 4 dr. Jeep to replace my 96 TJ, and looked into the new Jeep as another vehicle to pull my 2720 on shorter trips in the moutains around here. When I looked into the towing package, I realized that it came with a class 2 hitch. Most class 2 hitches come with a 1 1/4 inch reciever, but the jeep comes with a 2". BUT.....class 2 hitches are generally not recommended for a WDH. The minimum that I would have done (if I would have purchased the new Jeep) is to replace the hitch with a class III or IV unit. You would also need to be careful of the 3500 lb. towing capacity (keep your loads really light) and the somewhat shorter wheelbase.

And I would think that the spare tire on the back would only interfere with a sway bar, not the WDH, unless the height of the hitch brings it up to the bottom of the tire.....then that might be the problem.

Chap

Jacob:
Sounds like your truck is pre-wired for a brake controller If so, it is possibly a simple plug-in under the dash. You just screw in the controller to an appropriate spot on your dash, get the proper wiring harness for $10, plug one end into the controller and the other into the plug under your dash and you are good to go. Should you decide to have someone elso do it, be aware that it is likely not a big job at all...maybe 1/2 hour max. As far as the WDH goes, I would agree with all the comments you have received so far. Isn't this a fabulous forum???

Note to LisaJo...when you changed the subject of the thread, you 'hijacked' it. Best to keep on the specific topic. If you have something else in mind, start a new thread regarding your question. Of course, that would involve you joining the forum as a member. Might be the best $12 you ever spend...