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I cant decide if i can tow it. 2 door JL Sport

vilewolf

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I want to tow a travel trailer that weighs 1023 LBS. There would be 2 people im the vehicle weighing 400/500 pounds combined. And maybe 100 pounds of supplies.

I have a 2 door Sport which has a towing compacity of 2000lbs I guess? I don't know much about towing and am getting started
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Josht10

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I want to tow a travel trailer that weighs 1023 LBS. There would be 2 people im the vehicle weighing 400/500 pounds combined. And maybe 100 pounds of supplies.

I have a 2 door Sport which has a towing compacity of 2000lbs I guess? I don't know much about towing and am getting started
Yes, you should be fine. 1000 pounds is nothing, You may not even notice it back there.
 

Rhinebeck01

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@vilewolf I have a 2 door, 2018 JL, hardtop with the 3.6 / automatic. I have over 35,000 mile on the vehicle. I have towed a loaded motorcycle trailer well over 20,000 miles with it. Many, many interstate trips...

My trailer weighs well over 500 lbs. and my Harley, FatBoy, weighs 675 lbs. So, total loaded weight of what I tow is about 1200 lbs+. The trailer does not have a braking system on it.

I interstate travel with the back seat out of my 2 dr. JL. (It's always out) I have 4 large plastic totes strapped in the back of the JL. I'd guess total weight of the 4 loaded totes is say, 160-200 lbs.
Along with the 4 totes back there, I have some tools and misc stuff that probably weighs another 25 lbs.

In the passenger seat of the JL, I have my gal pal, who weighs about 120 lbs.

Anyway, NEVER any issues towing the above. No problems on mountainous roads, steep roads... no problem maintaining interstate speeds. Jeep may sit down a couple of inches in the rear but not bad at all. I hardly know the trailer is back there...

I am a fanatic in regard to safe and sane towing. Trailer is loaded correctly, not overloaded, trailer tongue weight is correct, trailer tongue is level and such. Safety chains, proper lighting and high speed tires that are rated decently on the trailer.

In closing, you would undoubtedly be aok towing that small travel trailer. Just remember you have to be concerned about the loaded weight of the trailer.

Possibly consider borrowing, renting, etc. a similar weight/shape/size trailer and then with your loaded JL, towing it, go out for a test drive. Do this BEFORE you go out and buy your travel trailer.

Hints: I find when on the interstate trips that stopping every 2 hrs. to get gas, check the trailer and take a leak works out well. This regimen allows me to keep the JL's gas tank at 1/2 most of the time. I don't necessarily have to do this but that 1/2 tank and not full tank means a lot less weight in the back of the JL. Less weight back there is always a good thing.

Consider installing a Pedal Commander, throttle controller. Can tell you it really is a positive addition in regard to the towing experience. Just makes the JL, AUTOMATIC, so much more responsive. Geeez, when towing, you'd never know I was pulling that trailer and that the JL itself all loaded up.
 

AlexJeep90

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Just thought id post something i towed with my 2 door jl. Trailer/side by side was around 2300 lbs plus jeep with 2 people and a full set of gear. Towed great just dont like the squat, ordered 4 door jl springs for the rear and a lift puck

ECAAFA96-3671-471C-90EF-8981473E3937.jpeg
 

CaseOfAle

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Just thought id post something i towed with my 2 door jl. Trailer/side by side was around 2300 lbs plus jeep with 2 people and a full set of gear. Towed great just dont like the squat, ordered 4 door jl springs for the rear and a lift puck

Jeep Wrangler JL I cant decide if i can tow it.  2 door JL Sport ECAAFA96-3671-471C-90EF-8981473E3937
5311b45db9177059bab9ae8a32aa063c.jpg
 

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CaseOfAle

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I want to tow a travel trailer that weighs 1023 LBS. There would be 2 people im the vehicle weighing 400/500 pounds combined. And maybe 100 pounds of supplies.

I have a 2 door Sport which has a towing compacity of 2000lbs I guess? I don't know much about towing and am getting started
It is probable you will be fine with those weights. Remember it's not just the power of the engine allowing you to "maintain highway speeds", but it's load distribution, braking, avoiding other idiots on the road.

Does the trailer have brakes? If so, then consider a brake controller. I'd also recommend a weight distributing hitch.

Load it properly, drive reasonably, be aware of your surroundings.

https://tiremeetsroad.com/2020/03/0...an-towing-jeep-to-crash-flip-wrong-technique/
 

AlexJeep90

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Ive also noticed it is happiest with slightly more tongue weight and around 65 mph. First time i towed with it I probably only had 100-150 lbs of tongue weight and it was definitely not fun then. But with around 250 it was significantly better with exception to the excessive squat. Towed that trailer with and side by side with all sorts of vehicles jeep does the trick just needs stiffer springs in the rear.
 

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Just thought id post something i towed with my 2 door jl. Trailer/side by side was around 2300 lbs plus jeep with 2 people and a full set of gear. Towed great just dont like the squat, ordered 4 door jl springs for the rear and a lift puck

Jeep Wrangler JL I cant decide if i can tow it.  2 door JL Sport 5311b45db9177059bab9ae8a32aa063c
O. M. G.. That looks like an accident waiting to happen. No offense, but if you're going to tow over the rated limit, you should at least do what you can to mitigate the outside factors, as someone suggested above. Weight Distribution Hitch is CRUCIAL. It will at least put SOME traction onto your front axle. Be safe out there...
 

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BTW, not 2-door related, but towing at the upper limits: I have a 2018 JLU. No factory tow package. We have a brand new 2020 TT that weighs 3,000 #. With a good WDH, albeit not completely set up to be level in this picture (this was the first time around, lol)...you can see that the Jeep has little to no squat in the rear.

IMG_2941.jpg
 

four low

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Just thought id post something i towed with my 2 door jl. Trailer/side by side was around 2300 lbs plus jeep with 2 people and a full set of gear. Towed great just dont like the squat, ordered 4 door jl springs for the rear and a lift puck

Jeep Wrangler JL I cant decide if i can tow it.  2 door JL Sport IMG_2941
Perfect Picture for " Can " vs " Should". That is a RSS , hope you don't kill anyone.
 

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CaseOfAle

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BTW, not 2-door related, but towing at the upper limits: I have a 2018 JLU. No factory tow package. We have a brand new 2020 TT that weighs 3,000 #. With a good WDH, albeit not completely set up to be level in this picture (this was the first time around, lol)...you can see that the Jeep has little to no squat in the rear.

Jeep Wrangler JL I cant decide if i can tow it.  2 door JL Sport IMG_2941
I couldn’t pull the trigger on something that big. I have the little brother version. With factory tow, brake controller and weight distributing switch
Jeep Wrangler JL I cant decide if i can tow it.  2 door JL Sport 49016E88-8EBE-44CC-BC41-5D31DC67749D
 

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That should be a non-issue. I towed a small camper around that weight with gear on a 2 door JK.
 

Neanderthalman

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Just thought id post something i towed with my 2 door jl. Trailer/side by side was around 2300 lbs plus jeep with 2 people and a full set of gear. Towed great just dont like the squat, ordered 4 door jl springs for the rear and a lift puck

ECAAFA96-3671-471C-90EF-8981473E3937.jpeg
If you’re going to do this more in the future, may I recommend you either mod the trailer to move the axle forward and reduce tongue weight, or maybe it’s a simple as backing your toy onto the trailer instead so the engine is more or less over the wheels instead of way out in front.

That amount of squat has me very concerned for your safety.

Could also add a second axle on that trailer, further forward.
 

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I couldn’t pull the trigger on something that big. I have the little brother version. With factory tow, brake controller and weight distributing switch
Jeep Wrangler JL I cant decide if i can tow it.  2 door JL Sport 49016E88-8EBE-44CC-BC41-5D31DC67749D
Yeah, we're definitely at the upper limit and we have to be super careful of what and how we pack, but our first trip out was fine. Steep hills keep me in 2nd or 3rd gear, but even ground, it pulls like a champ.

It also looks like you're sagging a bit in the back. Maybe just the camera angle playing tricks on my eyes, but my first time setting up and using the WDH, I was not doing it correctly until a friend showed me what I was doing wrong. Did you have a lot of gear in the back of the jeep in this picture?
 

CaseOfAle

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It also looks like you're sagging a bit in the back. Maybe just the camera angle playing tricks on my eyes, but my first time setting up and using the WDH, I was not doing it correctly until a friend showed me what I was doing wrong. Did you have a lot of gear in the back of the jeep in this picture?
Definitely sagging. Little to no gear in the back of the jeep - I had "the dealership" that sold me that trailer - the big national one - install and set up the hitch; You think there's some optimization that can be done???
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