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Wrangler 392: Looking to haul more than ass

Oldbear

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Why oh why do folks buy a Wrangler for a TOW vehicle? I love my Jeep and have loved ‘em for decades, BUT they are not a heavy tow vehicle, no matter what you may do. Yes, they “can” pull weight (heck, a few years ago VW showed a Touareg “towing” a 747) but trying to move a large, heavy trailer with a lot of front surface behind a Jeep just is not a good idea😏
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gato

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I have seen towing mishaps with experienced tow drivers with great tow rigs. Heck, I'm sure we have probably all seen an 18-wheeler jackknifed or a HD pickup truck towing mishaps with a light trailer (for the truck).

OP - If you do everything right: Weight distribution hitch, perfect brake controller adjustment, hitch with tongue scale set up just right, keep the load in the Jeep modest, keep the speeds down, avoid towing in the rain or heavy crosswinds, etc *and* you have good experience towing....you can do it reasonably safely.

Question is, do you have the discipline to do all that every time? Will you delay a trip if it is raining and the winds are howling?

Me, this is what I use my tow package for. Yep towing 37" tires and Home Depot materials on a utility trailer short distances. I resist temptation to hook up anything more.

Jeep Wrangler JL Wrangler 392: Looking to haul more than ass F481F221-E660-45EE-B32A-617F2500B714_1_105_c
 

DHahn

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My payload is actually less than what you have at 570kg/1,254lb but it doesn't really matter what the payload is for mine. Legally he can't tow more than 3,500lb or put more than 1,350lb in his Jeep including tongue weight. I think his question was can he do it and if the tow set up is the same as what I have then I don't see a reason why he couldn't do it safely.

The big issue is that the people weight assumptions they use are way off when they do the ratings. Due to this you can either have a vehicle full of people and gear and tow a relatively light trailer or you can tow a heavy trailer and only have 2 people travelling lightly.
Those ratings have nothing to do with legality. Those are manufacturer specs for warranty/safety guidelines. The only time I worry about weight is when I'm dealing with the DOT in a commercial vehicle. Back when we were paying for IFTA we rated our trucks for 36,000#, factory CGVWR was only 25,500#. No issues and still didn't need a CDL. It's not a legal question, it's a safety issue. I would personally test locally very carefully and look into a better hitch connection before going longer distances.
 

Outrun

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Don't forget the tow rating is also figured into OEM tires...
Tire-LoadRangeChart.jpg
 

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AusJeepNoob

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The most I have seen here is 3-

Jeep Wrangler JL Wrangler 392: Looking to haul more than ass Tire-LoadRangeChart
Based on the number of axles on that combination I'd hazard a guess that it doesn't even weigh as much as the semi and first trailer from the road train. A 4 trailer combination will weigh up to 120t (264,000lb).
 

AusJeepNoob

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Those ratings have nothing to do with legality. Those are manufacturer specs for warranty/safety guidelines. The only time I worry about weight is when I'm dealing with the DOT in a commercial vehicle. Back when we were paying for IFTA we rated our trucks for 36,000#, factory CGVWR was only 25,500#. No issues and still didn't need a CDL. It's not a legal question, it's a safety issue. I would personally test locally very carefully and look into a better hitch connection before going longer distances.
Interesting. In Aus, you exceed the manufacturer limit and you have to park it or remove weight to get under the limit.
 

azwjowner

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There is one big difference if you get in an accident and you were towing in excess of the rated limits. Normal accidents are just your negligence, which is covered by your insurance policy. But if you intentionally exceeded the rated towing limits and then caused an accident, your conduct might be considered reckless, which exposes you to punitive damages. Your insurance policy doesn't cover punitive damages. That's out of your pocket.

(It's like if you knowingly drove a car with faulty brakes -- normally it's just negligence if you rear end someone, but if it happened because you chose to operate an unsafe vehicle and then the equipment contributed to the accident, now you were reckless and indifferent to harming others, and that can be grounds for punitive damages).
 

PyrPatriot

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There is one big difference if you get in an accident and you were towing in excess of the rated limits. Normal accidents are just your negligence, which is covered by your insurance policy. But if you intentionally exceeded the rated towing limits and then caused an accident, your conduct might be considered reckless, which exposes you to punitive damages. Your insurance policy doesn't cover punitive damages. That's out of your pocket.

(It's like if you knowingly drove a car with faulty brakes -- normally it's just negligence if you rear end someone, but if it happened because you chose to operate an unsafe vehicle and then the equipment contributed to the accident, now you were reckless and indifferent to harming others, and that can be grounds for punitive damages).
Dont forget the criminal charges some jurisdictions like to add on.
 

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ValB

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I towed with my JK , I installed an electric brake unit and Teraflex over sized rotors. The only trouble I had was overheating the transmission on long hills. I installed a transmission cooler and problem solved. I think my trailer weighed in at 2500. I would not go over 3k Sketchy !
 

Hip2u77

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I would try it. Our '18 JLUR (3.6 auto) tows our 2500 lb RZR & trailer easily. Way, way waaay better than our '14 JKUR does. The JK doesn't like going over 69 mph without running 4k+ rpms, and you can feel the added weight when stopping, but the JLUR will run 75+ all day long in 7th and hardly goes any lower than 5th (unless were going over a long pass) and has zero trouble stopping, and the trailer doesn't have brakes on it. The JLUR tows and stops better than our 2000 Silverado reg cab, long bed with 5.3 and 4.10 gears.)

With a 392 and trailer brakes, I would absolutely try it. (But I would hit the scales first to verify the true weight.)
 

Oldbear

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Just one final thought. A lot of “listed” weights for travel trailers are way off. A 3400 lb trailer may weight several hundred pounds more than that as delivered. Same goes for tongue weight. Do yourself a huge favor and Know the actual weight before you try and tow it (or buy it!)
 

WorkingMan

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Here is an option: Just drive slow. Imagine all the gas you would save. 😉
 
OP
OP
cook03tj

cook03tj

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please post when you weigh it. that is one of the trailers I was looking at.
I took the trailer and weighed it without food, clothes or the tanks filled it was 3,740 lbs and it was 3,200 lbs at the rear axel. The listed dry weight of the trailer Geo Pro G19BH is 3,178.
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