towing a boat with my KJ

KJKen · **Joined:** Sun Apr 27, 2008 9:13 pm **Posts:** 48

Has anyone been towing a boat with their KJ? I am purchasing a 20' Bowrider and plan on towing it with my Libby. The owners manual says that it can have a full class III hitch. As long as the boat trailor doesn't put to much weight on the back axel. Most towing will be done within 10-15 miles of where the boat is to be kept. Any information would be greatly appreciated.

sleeve84028 · **Posted:** Mon Aug 04, 2008 7:47 am

KJ with tow package = 5000 pound towing capacity

KJ without tow pacakge = 3500 pound towing capacity

Those are the factory ratings.

If you wanted to tow safely add in an auxillary transmission cooler and a brake controller if your boat + trailer weighs more than 3000 pounds. The brakes on the Liberty are not going to suffice in emergancy situations with a 20' bowrider.

Things you need to include in the towed weight of the boat:
1) Gear
2) Fuel

The KJ is fine for pulling loads. It just needs to be setup properly to keep everyone safe on the roads.

03kjsport · **Posted:** Mon Aug 04, 2008 8:43 am

ive got a 14 footer and have no prob's getting around..

Sir Sam · **Posted:** Mon Aug 04, 2008 9:14 am

03kjsport wrote:

ive got a 14 footer and have no prob's getting around..

Really? I would have thought that would hinder your mobility.

sleeve84028 · **Posted:** Mon Aug 04, 2008 9:27 am

Size is one thing... You don't want your brand new boat to go all "tail waging the dog" on you. But weight is the real killer. I think for short trips to and from the dock, the KJ will work fine. But you don't want to be at the ramp after a long day on the water only to realize that the KJ can not muster the power required to get you and your brand new boat out of the water.

Plus the more weight the more important trailer brakes become.

I haul a 15' sail boat all over the country just fine. But it pales in comparison to the weight of a power boat.

Jeepjeepster · **Posted:** Mon Aug 04, 2008 10:24 am

With 4low it would never be a problem pulling anything out of the water, even if it was more than 5k lbs.

The weight is the most important part of it, do you know what it is on that boat? I wouldnt care a bit to pull around 4k lbs with my Jeep on short trips but never on a long trip.

03kjsport · **Posted:** Mon Aug 04, 2008 10:43 am

sir sam,,Really? I would have thought that would hinder your mobility.

that took a sec to register, yeah my wife shoulders it behind me. thanks for the morning chuckle.

jsc7002 · **Posted:** Mon Aug 04, 2008 11:31 am

id be willing to bet that if you have the correct hitch and brake controller and aux cooler you will be fine Ive towed around our family boat and its about a 20 footer too

Hood297 · **Posted:** Mon Aug 04, 2008 12:18 pm

even with all my mods, I can jerk a 26' sea cat catamaran around with out a problem. I dont get about 45 though. and wouldn't recomend it. the KJ just isn't heavy enough.

Oh and 4low for sure pulling it out.

SoDakJeep · **Posted:** Mon Aug 04, 2008 12:38 pm

I have been taking my buddies boat out to the lake with no problems at all and hopefully next week we will take it to the river. No problems at all pulling out the boat in 2wd the jeep barely notices that the boat is there.

bighause · **Posted:** Mon Aug 04, 2008 1:05 pm

I tow this 21' boat on a regular basis in the summer, total weight is around 5000lbs. It has good trailer brakes and doesn't have a lot of tongue weight with the double axle trailer. The KJ tows it pretty well except for long steep hills.

bassman · **Posted:** Mon Aug 04, 2008 1:55 pm

I also tow a Crestliner 18.5 ft. aluminum boat. It weighs around 3000-3500 with boat, motor, and trailer. I've been towing it around as long as I've had my Liberty with no problems. I do agree that it does not like long hills though! And I can pretty much just watch my gas gauge drop as I'm driving!

jeepetorp · **Posted:** Mon Aug 04, 2008 2:33 pm

My KJ is registred whith a tow hook tha pulls 3500 kg, about 8000 lb. Is lb the same as pound???
And I think if the trailer is longer, it will not wobbel so mush. But it´s very important to have more weight in front of the trailer axel, otherwise it will never stop wobbling. At least 100 lb weight on the tow hook.

Jeepjeepster · **Posted:** Mon Aug 04, 2008 8:08 pm

Hood297 wrote:

even with all my mods, I can jerk a 26' sea cat catamaran around with out a problem. I dont get about 45 though. and wouldn't recomend it. the KJ just isn't heavy enough.

Oh and 4low for sure pulling it out.

Not heavy enough? That doesnt have near as much to do with it as the wheel base or the under powered engine.

The xj weighed around 500lbs less and had the same tow rating. I would probably rather tow with one of those than the kj since its center of gravity is lower and it has more torque at lower rpms.

KJKen · **Joined:** Sun Apr 27, 2008 9:13 pm **Posts:** 48

yet again thanks to everyone for the insight. I will be installing the hitch this weekend and I'm looking to get the brake controller very soon. I may add the cooler when I do my tranny service in a couple months. Oh one more question not really KJ related, and I haven't really thought about it until now: could I add brakes to the trailer? it's a single axel venture roller trailer, i believe (on the brand). and how much trouble is that to do, would it be worth doing? ok so one more question turned into three.

Thanks again everyone

Hood297 · **Posted:** Mon Aug 04, 2008 10:31 pm

Jeepjeepster wrote:

Hood297 wrote:

even with all my mods, I can jerk a 26' sea cat catamaran around with out a problem. I dont get about 45 though. and wouldn't recomend it. the KJ just isn't heavy enough.

Oh and 4low for sure pulling it out.

Not heavy enough? That doesnt have near as much to do with it as the wheel base or the under powered engine.

The xj weighed around 500lbs less and had the same tow rating. I would probably rather tow with one of those than the kj since its center of gravity is lower and it has more torque at lower rpms.

yes, my boat will jerk me around if I'm going in any kind of crosswind, which is usually the reason we pull it out is because of an incoming hurricane. All of the things you listed are also huge factors in the KJ's towing performance.
But this is one of the things I've noticed with my boat.

LIV42DY · **Posted:** Tue Aug 05, 2008 12:02 am

i agre as long as the kj is set up for it and you are gentle you should not have any issues. I tow my 1968 hemi cuda around and all is still good on the drivetrain side, with brakes on the trailer in total with trailer and car and tool box im edging a bit over 4500lb.

sleeve84028 · **Posted:** Tue Aug 05, 2008 7:52 am

KJKen wrote:

could I add brakes to the trailer? it's a single axel venture roller trailer, i believe (on the brand). and how much trouble is that to do, would it be worth doing? ok so one more question turned into three.

Thanks again everyone

You could add trailer brakes. You'd need a kit from a trailer store like http://www.easternmarine.com Adding brakes and a controller would really help you tow with confidence.

towing a boat with my KJ

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