Towing with a liberty?

xjpeex · **Posted:** Tue Sep 04, 2007 4:02 pm

I was wondering how many of you tow stuff with your liberty’s?
I was thinking about getting a boat and wasn’t sure if the liberty would handle it …also what is the max towing load they are rated for ?

Thanks jp

WoodysKJ · **Posted:** Tue Sep 04, 2007 4:12 pm

As with anything else in this world...,.

That depends on how it is configured.

Libby with "Tow Package" that includes ClassIII hitch, wiring harness, Tranny Cooler, Power Steering Cooler, Oil Coiler has a OEM rated capacity or 5,000 lbs.

Libby withj ust a Hitch and wiring harness is Rate by Chrysler as having a 2,000 lbs capacity

tommudd · **Posted:** Tue Sep 04, 2007 4:55 pm

Tow with mine all the time, have a 6X10 enclosed trailer and a 5X8 with 3 foot sides that I pile clear full of firewood. Longest haul was from Toledo to Boston and back with the enclosed , no problems at all!

SoDakJeep · **Posted:** Tue Sep 04, 2007 6:26 pm

I have towed a few trailers for some long distances. Once towed an old international pickup bed that was turned into a trailer about 2500lbs probally its a heavy built trailer, 600 miles one way empty and 600 mile back with a small load of cement forms that added maybe 200lbs. Down the interstate at 80mph o/d on and it towed fine. No down shifting at all as long as it was flat. Then I pulled a 8x15 camper that is also about 2 ft taller then the jeep and weighs probally round 3200lb loaded shaped like a brick no wind resistance there huh haha. Had the O/D turned off because the jeep couldnt keep speed through the wind. I think into the 20+mph head wind I got 9.4 mpg. With the pickup bed trailer I could cruise at 80mph no problem at all and still get 16-17 mpg. As long as you can keep the trailer a little bit shorter and not to wide the jeep will pull anything. As soon as you get a square 1972 camper that sits about 2 ft taller then the roof of the jeep kiss you mpg goodbye haha. Only problem I have ever had was with the camper I had to much weight in the rear on about 200lbs of firewood on a rack attached to the back....the camper would wobble and try to steer me if I went to fast. As long as you put weight over the tounge of the trailer you should be fine.

sleeve84028 · **Posted:** Tue Sep 04, 2007 6:53 pm

Towing anything under 5K pounds is great for the liberty! I like mine with the truck tranny because it'll take as much abuse as I can dish out and not complain.

I don't tow as often at Tommudd does, but I have towed about the same stuff.

Both large U-haul trailers 6x12 open & enclosed
used to dolly my Mustang around when it broke down
I also use it to tow my sail boat around (it's light @ under 700 pounds but you can't even tell it's there)

tommudd · **Posted:** Tue Sep 04, 2007 7:52 pm

yes the taller something is the worse it pulls, my enclosed is almost 18 inches higher than the Liberty and you can really tell it. Towed it about 250 miles this weekend, got about 14/15 maybe with it fully loaded! If the wife would choose one college to teach at and stay there, then I wouldnt have to tow her stuff around so much! :lol:

SoDakJeep · **Posted:** Tue Sep 04, 2007 8:57 pm

yea this pic you can see the camper and then the liberty sitting beside it.

as you can see the camper is a little bit taller and it really sucks away the mpg in a headwind haha

Skipperb · **Posted:** Tue Sep 04, 2007 9:14 pm

I have been towing my 22"CC and it is at 3600 with gas and ice from Atlanta to Mexico Beach FL next to Panama city FL for about 4 years and have not had any problems with the liberty. wish the boat trailer had better Brakes . My camper has electric and it stops a lot better. It also 3800 dry so we wait until we get there before we load it up, gas mpg it much worse with the camper . We use the overdrive lock out on the shifter most of the time.

SoDakJeep · **Posted:** Tue Sep 04, 2007 9:44 pm

what you get for gas mileage with the 22 footer haha

KeswickDave · **Posted:** Wed Sep 05, 2007 12:04 am

20', Roughly 3500 Lbs loaded, tows fine, mileage, yup, sucks ;-)

Highly recommend weight distribution / anti sway setup for something this size, made a huge difference in drivability.

ShoreRenegade · **Posted:** Wed Sep 05, 2007 2:23 pm

My manual transmission KJ tows my 2500 lb boat + trailer with no problems at all

dog_party · **Posted:** Wed Sep 05, 2007 3:01 pm

There are a couple normally accepted guidelines for towing. The first is that, the first 110" of wheelbase allows 20' of trailer. For each additional 4" of wheelbase, you get 1' more of trailer.

The second guideline is that the distance from the coupler to the rear trailer axle should be no more than twice the wheelbase of the tow vehicle.

The Liberty's wheelbase is listed as 104.3, so we don't even pop up on the first guideline (there's a chart on RV.org). But, using the second guideline, we are well within the bounds of reason to tow a trailer that has 208.6" (17.38') distance between the coupler and rear trailer axle.

Definitely get antisway/distribution setup.

I would suggest trailer brakes on anything over 10' long, or weighing over 1500lbs.

A class III hitch can handle between 3500 and 6000 lbs gross trailer weight (GTW) and 350 to 600 lbs tongue weight (TW). The highest rating on any Liberty ever produced is 5000 GTW, so I would stay under 5000 lbs GTW and 500 lbs TW. There is a great little method for measuring TW.

None of these guidelines are written in stone, nor are they law. But I would be wary of exceeding 500 lbs TW, or hauling anything over 26' long for any length of time.

Towing with a liberty?

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