Towing travel trailer

Braxtonsag

Braxtonsag

Member
We’re getting ready to buy a small travel trailer that’s about 3400lbs. I know the jk can pull it but I want to do some things to help it out. My jk is a 3.6 auto on 37s and I was planning to gear to 4.88 but now I am considering 5.13s.

Also planning on the dynatrac progrip setup as well. Do any of you tow a travel trailer and have any input?


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If you're buying from a dealer, most will not go over recommended limits of your vehicle. Jk stock is rated 2000lbs (maybe 2500), jku is higher. We had a dealer tell us he wouldn't sell us the unit we were looking at bc of rating. Just fyi.

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I recently purchased gears and I chose 5.13s over 4.88s just for the towing aspect.

If you can afford Pro grips, that’s an excellent upgrade. If not, the trailer brakes should suffice.

One thing to keep in mind is; at 3400# dry, you are going to be over the max towing capacity. I’m not mentioning that because I think a JK can’t or shouldn’t tow that much weight but it’s something to be aware of from a liability perspective.

I went with a 2700# camper because a wife, 2 kids, & a dog seem to require a lot of luggage....

IMG_6832.JPG


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Great looking setup! Unfortunately in Indiana we don’t have a whole lot to choose from. All of the campers I can find are atleast 3000 lbs in our price range. I’m going to pull it to the local grainery and find out what it really weighs, and then go from there on saving some extra weight on it. I drive like a grandma since the jeep gets such bad mileage to begin with so shouldn’t be an issue.

How do you like the 5.13s?


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Even though I haven't done so yet, I set mine up to tow a travel trailer. I highly suggest the 5:13's and also the Pro-grips. SU's right on with the trailer brakes ^^, but even without pulling the trailer the upgrade in the brakes is well worth it being that you are running 37's. I went out late one night on a deserted interstate and tried a panic stop. It's eye-opening how long the stopping distances are. Ordered up the Dynatrac brakes the next morning.

Edit: tried looking in your profile bit didn't see it - you running a D30 or D44 up front? That's a consideration on 4:88 vs 5:13's. The pinion is pretty small on the 5:13's on the D30....
 
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Also not recommeded to pull at the published maximum towing rate. Towing at the maximum for extended periods is not good for transmission, suspension and brakes.

Keep it as light as possible. Cheaper to wait and get something lighter than to buy something cheap now and put out a bunch to make repairs.
 
Braxtonsag said:
I have a Dana 30 up front still, 4.88 probably the better choice then?


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Click to expand...

Big part of that is how you wheel. If you get after it offroad a lot you may want to stick with the 4:88's. If not you may be able to get away with the 5:13. Just be aware that on the 5:13 pinion the shaft size gets pretty small & would be subject to breakage

Here's the difference in gear & pinion sizes of a D30 vs a D44


D44vsD30.jpg
 
Hope your towing on flat ground.... my 37's and 5.13 with a 3.6 auto dont like my 15ft travel trailer that weighs 2300lbs dry. Load it down with 5 days of gear, water, food, wife, dog, child, toys, aftermarket parts and im WAY WAY over weight. It sucks towing. I tend to just use my V8 WJ because its tows it so much easier.
 
My travel trailer is 3200lbs, I have a JKU 3.8 with 3.73 gears and 35’s. I tow at 65 to 70 mph at 3,000 rpm’s. Hills I drop down to 55 to 60 mph. I have driven mine from Maryland to New York to Indiana. Then Indiana to New Mexico to San Diego. San Diego back to New Mexico and then to San Antonio back to New Mexico. Then I went from New Mexico to where I am now in Montana. So, I have put a lot of miles on mine. I do recommend a transmission cooler, if you do not have one and a brake controller. Here is my set up.
 

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monstrousmac said:
My travel trailer is 3200lbs, I have a JKU 3.8 with 3.73 gears and 35’s. I tow at 65 to 70 mph at 3,000 rpm’s. Hills I drop down to 55 to 60 mph. I have driven mine from Maryland to New York to Indiana. Then Indiana to New Mexico to San Diego. San Diego back to New Mexico and then to San Antonio back to New Mexico. Then I went from New Mexico to where I am now in Montana. So, I have put a lot of miles on mine. I do recommend a transmission cooler, if you do not have one and a brake controller. Here is my set up.
Click to expand...
Well hell. Mine is a freaking dog when I put my loaded to about 1500lb utility trailer behind mine. Ive got a 3.8, 4.10's, and 35's and I have to use my boat oar to help row my ass down the hwy at speed haha. Not sure how you do it but thats awesome. I can do 65ish flat but its game over on any hills or headwind. Thats impressive with 3200lbs and 3.73's for sure
 
monstrousmac said:
My travel trailer is 3200lbs, I have a JKU 3.8 with 3.73 gears and 35’s. I tow at 65 to 70 mph at 3,000 rpm’s. Hills I drop down to 55 to 60 mph. I have driven mine from Maryland to New York to Indiana. Then Indiana to New Mexico to San Diego. San Diego back to New Mexico and then to San Antonio back to New Mexico. Then I went from New Mexico to where I am now in Montana. So, I have put a lot of miles on mine. I do recommend a transmission cooler, if you do not have one and a brake controller. Here is my set up.
Click to expand...

Man, I thought I was pushing the limit at 1200lbs with my pop up. I’d be scared as hell to pull that behemoth around with my JK. Do you have a weight distribution hitch on it? Does it ever get squirrelly on you?


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I do have a weight distribution hitch also have the anti sway bar on the towing package. So it look like this. My trailer is also a double axle with its own brakes, I have a brake controller in my Jeep. My hitch and setup looks like the first picture.
 

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Frontal area effects you more than weight when on the highway. I think the JKU is limited to 36 square feet, or something like that. An 8' wide stick built trailer will be much harder to tow. We went with a 17' Casita. It's all fiberglass, and much more aerodynamic. An R-pod is also 7' wide.

I'm on 37's, 4.88's, and pro-grips, with a T3 brake controller. It tows well, but holding 68-70mph is tough. If the wind is blowing head on or I'm going up any sort of incline, I'm in 4th gear at 3300rpm. Any steeper and I"m in 3rd at 4500rpm. The 3.6 is a revver and handles it okay, but it sucks gas. I fell no need for a weight distribution hitch. My tongue weight is around 400 pounds, but I run a gen right aluminum bumper and aluminum corner armor to get weight off the back of rig.

Fiberglass trailers: Casita, Scamp, Escape
Stick built, but smaller: R-pod
Rigid pop up- A-liner, rock wood
or pop-ups.

We like the Casita because it's around 3000 pounds loaded, has bathroom, shower, hot water, A/C, heat, kitchen, and our layout has bunks for the kids. We sleep on the dinette.

You can see how little of the casita sticks up above my jeep:

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