Hello all. I have a 2011 JKU Sport Automatic with the towing package (class II hitch, 3.73 axle ratio, trailer sway damping, rated to 3500 lbs MTW). I just ordered a K-Z Spree Escape E196S.

The JKU has a towing capacity of 3500lbs, max tongue weight of 350 lbs, and Gross Combined Weight Rating of 8257lbs. The curb weight, according to Chrysler Jeep is 3785lbs- that should include the weight of a full tank of gas and all fluids.

So the Spree Escapre E196S has an Unloaded Vehicle Weight of 2915 lbs. I have to add to that the weight of the propane (20lbs), optional AC upgrade and furnace (50lbs) which brings my UVW to 2995 lbs. Add in a 40lb batter and I'm at 3035 lbs. The GVWR for the camper is 3500 lbs. Not a problem as the Jeep is only rated to 3500 lbs, so I know not to overload the trailer.

So... doing some math...
3785 (jeep curb weight) + 3035 (UVW trailer) = 6820lbs
8257 - 6820 = 1437 lbs that can be added to the Jeep and the trailer, making sure NOT to exceed the 3500 lb GVWR for the camper, nor the 7942 lb GVWR for the jeep. So... EVERYTHING that goes in either the Jeep or the Trailer cannot exceed a combined 1437 lbs, distributed with the above caveats in mind.

So with me at 220 (6' tall but i'm still a bit of a fatty), 140lbs for the wife, 30lbs for the wee-one, say 7 lbs for car seat leaves 1040 lbs for: clothes, food, cooking/eating gear, everything else. I'm pretty sure we can pack for a week with less than 500 lbs... so I should be good to go.

Now one issue I have is the max frontal area of the RV. The owner's manual says the jeep's max frontal area is 32 square feet. Going purely by height times width of the trailer, I'm at 58 square feet. However, the leading face is split horizontally, three feet from the bottom, with each sloped at 15 degrees back. Additionally, the top of the leading face is curved, further reducing the wind resistance. The main factor with frontal area is additional drag effectively increasing the felt "weight" by the towing vehicle. I'm not a physicist, but the split plus the angle plus the curved top should reduce the drag. I have "eWAGged" (educated-Wild-Assed-Guess) the drag to be roughly equivalent to a 30 square foot surface perpendicular to the direction of travel (and wind). So that should be good.

I am having a Jeep/MOPAR transmission cooler installed Monday which should mitigate the reports of HOTOIL I have been reading on this and similar forums for those who attempt to tow at or near max load.

I guess, bottom line, I'm hoping the forum can tell me that I'm good to go. If that's not the case, then I have to come to terms with it. Any feedback, advice, warnings, etc would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!

 

I have thought of getting a small camper as well. I'll be watching this thread to help in in choosing a trailer that is big enough but not too big.

 

Don't forget about the Gross Combined Weight Rating (GCWR). For the JKU auto GCWR is 7989 pounds.

Consider my JK auto - same year, transmission, gearing, and tow package as your JKU. My GCWR is 6099 pounds. My actual weight including mods, liquids, tools, recovery gear, and 2 passengers is about 4650. Subtract that from my GCWR (6099 - 4650 = 1449) and I have less than 1500 pounds of towing capacity even though the published maximum is 2000.

Pack your Jeep with people and stuff the way you expect to travel and have it weighed. Remember the published curb weight does not inlcude any fluids, tools, gear, etc. Don't be surprised if it comes up around 4900 pounds. (If its less, then great!) 7989 - 4900 = 3089 pounds of actual towing capacity.

Its really important to weigh the Jeep when your stuff is this close to the limit. Its worth noting that the factory only assumes only a 150 pound driver when they publish the towing limit.

 

You can search for one of my threads. The exact same gas powered JKU is rated for 4400 in france Germany England and Sweden and 4800 pounds in australia. Aside from legal ramifications I conclude the JKU is technically capable for your towing. And the liberty is rated for 5000 pounds. Still waiting for someone to explain with facts why the less capable liberty is rated higher. Make sure your trailer has brakes and you wire the jeep with a brake controller. Check out my toy hauler in my avatar.

 

That's a nice looking trailer. I have a 2007 Finfinder X160 with similar specs as yours but it's 16' long. We have pulled it all over the the country. We live in SE Michigan and have been to Bar Harbor Maine to the California coast. We usually head to Colorado, Wyoming, Montana and Utah areas always in the mountains. We go every year on a 2-3 week vacation someplace. We usually don't just go and sit in one place either. When we went to Colorado a few years ago we started in RMNP and ended up in Durango all in the mountains. Our normal vacations are between 4K to 7K miles round trip. It is slow in the mountians that little 3.8 works hard, but it will do it.

We pull that trailer with a 2007 JKU Sahara. The only difference is my Sahara has 4:10 axles. I would recommend a Superchips Flashpaq tuner with it set to "Tow tune" it makes the transmission shift points more reasonable. You can also monitor transmission temp with it (nice when its hot or heading up the "hill" out of Denver).

My Jeep is bone stock other than the Tuner. I don't even have a external trans cooler. I would recommend replacing the stock hitch with a Curt or similar class 3 receiveriver. The stock one is made of thinner material and is rated as a class 2

My biggest and most important recommendation is to look into a "Hensley Cub" hitch for your trailer. With that size trailer you will be white knuckling it all the way down the highway behind your Jeep. When a semi passes you it will scare the crap out of you. I speak from experience so trust me. We almost rolled it all a few years ago heading to Colorado. I had a Equalizer brand hitch installed, it was set up properly. I went to the scales took my weights and made adjustments to get it right. All it took was a big bounce in the highway and we about swapped ends and rolled it all.

I installed a Hensley hitch and I can tell you it is the most amazing experience pulling that trailer now. We were in a huge storm on I80 in Nebraska last year 50-60mph crosswinds. With that hitch there was no sway or anything. It is expensive but worth evey penny. I can be in 4 lanes of traffic in Salt Lake City and not be afraid to change lanes in a hurry. They do give you 60 day money back guarentee if you don't like it. I can also tell you that when I installed mine it was able to maintain a better speed due to the fact that the Hensley adds about 12" in lenght to the hitch hook up area. So it moves the trailer further into a draft position behind the Jeep so the frontal area of the trailer you were asking about is less of a problem. I even got 2-3 mpg better with the hitch (so eventually it will pay for it's self)

The trailer dealer will most likely tell you its overkill if they have even heard of them. But they are real popular with Airstream owners and you can get a lot of information on RV forums and such.

You will not be sorry I promise you. Drive safe.

 

Also, the 150 lb driver isn't factored into tow weight, just the jeep's GVWR.

Per the manual, GCWR is 8257 lbs. Also, confirmed by the manual and Jeep customer service, published curb weight includes the weight of all fluids, including a full tak of gas (180 lbs with a 22.5 gas tank at 8 lbs per gal).

 

Got any more info on that Superchips Flashpaq ? Is it pricey? Easy to install? I'm getting a 2 pt weight distribution bar on the trailer... should I nix that and get something else?

Thanks for the feedback.

EDIT TO ADD: ACK! Just did 10 seconds of research and discovered the 2011 JKU is NOT supported by the Superchips Flashpaq.

 

Sorry about that I didnt' know that about the tuner.

As for the hitch, I think you can guess what my opinion is about that. You can either spend your money once or you can do it twice. I would call Hensley on Monday and get a quote. In the mean time do some research, go to their web site, watch some You Tube videos. It is not something you can install in their parking lot when you pick up your trailer. Drive real slow home with it and set aside about 2-5 hours depending on your skill level. All you need is a few wrenches and a drill motor, I think the hitch came with the drill bit required.

Another nice thing about the hitch you never have to pick up those heavy weight dist. bars again. They stay on the trailer all the time so no greasy hands anymore. It is a little tricky to hitch up but I can do it alone in one shot with those long magnetic things with a ball on the end to line up the trailer. Just make sure they are long enough to go above your spare tire and 3rd brake light.

Also get the Mopar 7 wire harness # 82210214AB and a good trailer brake controller if you don't have one. Install it all BEFORE you pick up your trailer. I use a Prodigy P2 brake controller it has a "Boost" feature that you can adjust the amount of initial braking to the trailer. It's so when you just touch the brakes on the Jeep the trailer brakes activate immediately before the inertia control takes over.

There is a good forum called RVfourm dot com that has a shit ton of information about all things RV related.

Keep in mind the more comfortable you are pulling your trailer the more you will use it. Most of all, you will drive further with it. I have a lot of friends with huge trailers and 5th wheels that go to the same campground 30min from their house and never leave the state. Our first trip with our trailer was to Glaicer NP in Montana. That was our shake down run we had zero problems. When we told people what we were doing they thought we were crazy. Perhaps, but 6 years later and about 40k miles on the trailer we put a huge dent in the USA.

Do you have kids? if so ages?

 

Already had a 7pt installed. Pretty sure it's not MOPAR. I got it at Camping World, but same functionality. Also had a Primus IQ brake controller installed, with "boost" feature as well. Already a member of RVforum. com too... so I got that covered. Looks like I'm on the right track. I think the hitch is a little pricey for now. I'm looking at the Equal-I-Zer E2 2 Point Sway Control Weight Distributing Hitch. It has pretty good reviews and is half the price. I haven't made up my mind but money is quickly becoming a limfac.

How's this for a first trip- We're driving the JK up to Coloma, MI to pick up the RV (saves us $2400 on shipping), then taking it to Cedar Point for a few days, then drive, trailer in tow, back to South Carolina. It's going to be interesting. I've driven 5 tons, duece and a halfs, LMTV's, and HMMWVs with 9000lb generators behind them, but only in training. So this is my first "long haul". I plan on taking it easy, especially through KY and TN.

I got a 16 month old- precious cargo!

 

Not to get you worried or anything. We used to have a Equalizer hitch before the Hensley. If you are keeping score that was the hitch we had when we about rolled it in Nebraska.

As luck would have it Hensley Mfg. is also in Michigan it's across the state but it would also save you on shipping. You also may be able to get them to install it if they do that. They at least may direct you to someone near them that can for you.

At the very least you will get a good feel for the trailer on that nice long trip. Take some tools with you to make adjustments to the Equalizer while you are on the road. Read on RV forum on how to properly use CAT scales to get your hitch set correctly and take a tape measure with you for when you are at the dealer for your initial setup. MAKE SURE YOUR TONGUE WEIGHT IS CORRECT!!! The Equalizer hitch depends on proper tongue weight to properly control sway. The biggest problem with that hitch is it needs alot of tongue weight to create enough friction to control sway. With light weight trailers it is hard to get enough and keep it within the Jeeps 350-400lb max. The Hensley doesn't use tongue weight to control sway like most hitches like the Equalizer and Dual Cam hitches do. Also keep in mind when you hit a bump/dip in the road like I did ( I was in a construction zone at the time) the tongue weight is lifted for a short time and all sway control is gone for that time. That is all it takes, a few seconds can ruin your day and make your wife scared to ride in it while you are towing (then you have real problems LOL).

Not sure how long you have you might want to check out Silver Lake State park it is a bit north of Coloma about 2.5 hrs. You would like it with the Jeep for sure. There is another amusement park in Muskegon (not far from Silver Lake) called Michigan's Adventure park it is owned by the same company as Cedar Point but the crowds are MUCH smaller. I has a nice water park for the little one as well.