RV Towing w/ 4xe ??

[mjposner]

What size RV has anyone towed with the 4XE? Issues? MPG? Thanks

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[mjposner]

Yes I meant a trailer...

 

[rmartino99]

Max towing for JLU is 3500lbs

 

[Craigger]

I wouldn't go for more than a pop-top camper. Totally ignore dry-weights when shopping trailers because your loaded weight will be significantly more. The biggest problem you'll have with towing a 'normal' trailer is that it will be a single-axle and the drum brakes on the trailer are total $hit. Therefore, 90% of the braking will be done by your Jeep and if you have thousands of pounds pushing on your hitch as you try and slow with a short wheelbase vehicle, you lose lots of control. If conditions get slick at all you're in for a bad time.

Hi Lo trailers make a good option - but definitely pushing the weight capacity of the Jeep.

 

[Yawnie'sPapa]

I wouldn't go for more than a pop-top camper. Totally ignore dry-weights when shopping trailers because your loaded weight will be significantly more. The biggest problem you'll have with towing a 'normal' trailer is that it will be a single-axle and the drum brakes on the trailer are total $hit. Therefore, 90% of the braking will be done by your Jeep and if you have thousands of pounds pushing on your hitch as you try and slow with a short wheelbase vehicle, you lose lots of control. If conditions get slick at all you're in for a bad time.

Hi Lo trailers make a good option - but definitely pushing the weight capacity of the Jeep.

You can get light dual axle campers/trailers. I've seen them as light as about 2,000-2,500 pounds.

 

[Craigger]

You can get light dual axle campers/trailers. I've seen them as light as about 2,000-2,500 pounds.

I don't think I've seen any quite that light. Even at 2500 lbs dry, that's pushing the limit of what a Jeep can tow while the trailer is loaded.

OP - aside from the Hi Lo, teardrop campers are another good possibility.

 

[mjposner]

I know the capacity is 3,500. What I want to see is what people are actually towing successfully.

 

[Andy@AAV]

I’ve towed a few small trailers up to probably 3k lbs loaded.

Did some short trips for work (under 30 miles) with a dual axle flatbed carrying a diesel UTV for total weight around 3k under electric only and via hybrid. No issues with acceleration, braking or sway. Mileage seemed to be okay but I never went over 45mph and most of the trips were less than that, and I didn’t record my MPG.

Helping my girlfriend move I did a few trips with empty an loaded flatbeds for 100 or so mile trips. On the highway it handled fine, no issues on the streets either except when hitting bumps on shitty roads the short wheelbase caused some swaying and bucking, but not too bad. The real issue was terrible economy, I was showing 10-13 mpg on those runs and hand calculated numbers were the same. It did much better when it had a charge but the return trip loaded sucked.

Overall, It tows fine but the hit to economy wouldn’t make me want to do it long term. Not sure it’s any better or worse then a 3.6 or 2.0 towing once the battery was depleted.

 

[Bleda2002]

There was a video of a guy that towed a pretty big camper with his 4xe and no trailer brakes. The 4xe tows exceptionally well thanks to it's increased power, weight and the max Regen brakes. I towed our 3500lb aLiner with the 4xe (usual tow vehicle is a gladiator) and i wouldn't hesitate to tow it cross country as it did great, it really wanted for nothing in terms of dynamics.

 

[C.Sco]

I don't own a camping trailer, but I tow a boat pretty regularly that's pretty much right at 3500lbs on its trailer.

The torque/power is no problem. I mean, it's got twice the power of other trucks that have double the towing capacity. Power ain't the issue.

Coolant/oil heat is a problem. It's all good if you're towing 55mph on flat highway, but going up mountain passes it overheats real quick.

Keep an eye on your coolant and oil temps, slow down (potentially, slow down A LOT) if the temp starts climbing into the 230's or higher.

If/when I ever go camping trailer shopping, I'm going to look to keep it under 2,000 pounds.

 

[Jeeperz Kreeperz]

@mjposner, we’ve towed a Taxa Woolly Bear on a couple trips - once more than 1,000 miles. See pic below. It’s a lightweight overlanding trailer (1,270 pounds dry). We then loaded it up with roof top tent and other gear to its max weight of 2,100 pounds.

Installed brake controller, and never even noticed the weight. Even had one panic stop with swerving to avoid an accident, and it all worked flawlessly. Having the max regen braking is almost like having a brake controller as well - so it’s kind of like having two brake controllers stacked on top of each other.

Measured MPG on that long trip was 17.7 MPG using the Fuelly app.

One $100 mod is a must for towing - Airlift Air Bags for your rear springs. Immense difference.

Can’t speak for anything above 2,100 pounds, but towing this with the 4xe was perfect, and barely noticeable, with an acceptable impact to MPG.

And here’s the output from the Fuelly app for that trip:

 

[mjposner]

Was thinking something like this: https://forestriverinc.com/rvs/r-pod/RP-171C/8125

HITCH WEIGHT325 lb
Unloaded Vehicle Weight 2,499 lb.

Figure 30lbs of water = 240lbs
Propane tank 37lbs

 

[C.Sco]

Was thinking something like this: https://forestriverinc.com/rvs/r-pod/RP-171C/8125

HITCH WEIGHT325 lb
Unloaded Vehicle Weight 2,499 lb.

Figure 30lbs of water = 240lbs
Propane tank 37lbs

That's a great looking trailer, I like the layout

 

[Valpo Jeep]

I know the capacity is 3,500. What I want to see is what people are actually towing successfully.

We used to tow a pop up with our old Grand Cherokee but we were probably around 2,000 lbs which was plenty for me despite being able to tow more.

Many in the camping community say that if you are towing at max then you are towing too heavy. Many recommend to stick with about 75-80% of max as your safer max.

 

[Kurlon]

Towed a 6x10 enclosed cargo trailer with my motorcycle race program in it (2000lbs +), plus loaded to the brim interior from Maine to Texas and back in September during the record heat wave in Texas. 4XE handled it fine, I got between 13 and 15mpg, sure there were times it was downshifting hard and screaming some revs but it got the job done without incident.

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