Flat Towing the Wrangler JL with a Class B

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Have read there could be a slim safety margin with respect to GCVW. Plus there are other concerns such as up/down mountains with respect to power available and brakes.

I'd like to hear from those who have or are currently flat towing with a class B such as a Sprinter or the Transit vans. I'm suspecting a one ton chassis would be needed.

Tia.

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[au176]

Not towing with this configuration, but I have two general, relevant comments.

- Braking should not be a big problem, as long as the Jeep is properly fitted with an aux braking system, which is the law in most of North America anyway.

- You may know this already, but the GCVW is the total weight of everything as if YOU were going somewhere with a full trailer (Jeep) loaded up to the gross trailer weight, full tanks, passengers, stuff, dogs, etc. GCWR is the total weight that the manufacturer certifies the chassis to handle in this situation.

I could really get into the weeds with potential weight difference and load balance, but suffice it to say, that it is VERY easy to overload Class B's, as well as smaller Class C's and even A's. All RV's are different once they are built, so it's REALLY important to stay within the coach builder's dataplate ratings. While the Gross Ratings will likely stay the same, YOUR carrying capacity WILL be lower because of the modifications.

For example, a basic Sprinter may show a payload or Cargo Carrying Capacity (CCC) of 3500 lbs, BUT as an RV, you might only have a CCC of 1000 lbs, after 2500 lbs of "camper" is added. Overloading smaller RV's is a common issue, since the amount of the varying "Cargo Capacities" can be so small after the coach builder loads up the bare chassis with the "house" weight.

It's best not to get too close to the GCWR for safety's sake. Never exceed any of the ratings, even if you are still under the GVWR, or GCWR with a trailer. If you are concerned that you are getting too close to the max ratings, then you probably are. Go heavier-duty.

Search the forum below. Someone may have posted something that will be helpful for you.

Towing, Trailering, Flat-Tow, Hitches, Electric Brake Controller

Be safe out there!

 

[USNvet]

Have read there could be a slim safety margin with respect to GCVW. Plus there are other concerns such as up/down mountains with respect to power available and brakes.

I'd like to hear from those who have or are currently flat towing with a class B such as a Sprinter or the Transit vans. I'm suspecting a one ton chassis would be needed.

Tia.

I have not flat towed my Wrangler with Sprinter yet, but did haul it home on a 7000lb rated 16' flatbed the 100 miles from the dealership. The Wrangler is a 4Xe so over 5k, and no doubt I was pushing the trailer to the limit, which I do not intend to do again!

A few months later I picked up a Kioti compact tractor with a couple of implements from the next state over using the same flatbed trailer, and I guesstimated I was at least 1000lb's under the trailer's max rating. The Wrangler should be even easier to flat tow figuring it at around 5500lbs. In towing the tractor on flatbed I did have to shift down going up some hills!

My Sprinter is a 2011 3500 dually 3 liter diesel Long Tall with max tow rating of 7500lbs, and I think 600-650lb tongue weight, which you won't have to worry about when flat towing. It is a cargo model with a few RV amenities added in. I don't know about Transit vans, but if you go with a Sprinter, do look at all the tow numbers. If I remember, if I had gone with the extra long tall model the tow rating was less because of the extra 18 inches of length behind the rear axle.

 

[B&ZRubi]

I flat tow my 2020 JL behind my class A and I don't even know it is there. I am only rated to tow 5000 so the reason for a 2 door and not a 4 door. Your Class B should tow it fine as long as you have a solid tow system for brakes and lights. I used a NSA Ready Brake system and love it. The brake system is where you can go down the rabbit hole on all the options and the opinions as many. Best of luck.

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