Amarony
Full Access Member
Hey Folks. I've seen a lot of posts regarding hitches and wiring and brake controllers for towing over the last month or two and figured I'd try and give back a little to the Jeep community by doing a writeup for all the issues involved. I'll get to some more pics maybe when I'm a little more motivated. So here goes and hope you all enjoy. And as I'll say later, this is all from my own personal research and experience. I'm not a mechanic and don't pretend to be one. This is just a view of the towing world from my point of view. Sorry it's so damn long....
HITCHES, WIRING, BRAKES & BRAKE CONTROLLERS FOR TOWING by Dave
Let me first say there are definitely three issues for people wanting to tow stuff:
1) Getting a hitch (easy one).
2) Getting a wiring harness for your Libby to whatever you'll be towing (fairly easy but sometimes confusing).
3) Trailer Brakes and Brake Controllers. (Yes even those with a tow package need to pay some attention to this)
GENERAL INTRODUCTORY INFORMATION (JEEP TOWING CAPABILITIES and COOLING)
Now let me first say I'm not an expert on towing stuff. I'm even less of an expert backing up trailers that I'm towing (Yes it's always an adventure for me). I bought my 2005 Renny this spring without a tow package and did a ton of reading and researching when I decided I needed a hitch to tow a travel trailer. There is plenty of info out there on the net about proper towing. A very good source for general towing information are the forums over at RV.net found here www.rv.net/forum. There are some nice faqs there about general towing concerns and safety. Towing campers/trailers with a Liberty is something that everyone should take a little time to prepare for with safety concerns. Yes the Jeep Libby is a great vehicle but we shouldn't be pulling massive campers or trailers despite how nice out Libby rides or how powerful the engine is. When it comes down to it the Libby is a small wheelbase vehicle and most of the people over at the RV.net forums will laugh at you when you say you want to pull something over a couple thousand pounds. The Libby's drawbacks are indeed it's wheelbase and stopping. Our 3.7 Liter or CRD are plenty tough to pull about anything within reason. Maintaining control of the tow vehicle and stopping is what really limits our capabilities. With that said lets take a look at the specification on towing that JEEP gives us. (Now this is just a summary, check your manual. Page 272 in my manual)
Fold Down and Low Profile up to 2,000 lbs. / 300 lb tongue weight = Class 1 Hitch with Manual or Auto ******
-This is the only category the 2.4 Liter is listed and for good reason.
Fold Down and Low Profile up to 3,500 lbs. / 525 lb tongue weight = Class 2 Hitch with Manual 5 Speed Only
-sorry Manual stick owners
Other Trailer Types and Weights up to Full Box Shape up to 5,000 lbs. / 750 tongue weight = Class 3 Hitch with Heavy Duty Cooling for the 3.7 Liter-no extra cooling needed for the diesel
-Towing Package "required" for 3.7 because of the heavy duty cooling
-I personally think you are crazy to push up anywhere near these limits at all, or least without a weight distribution hitch. And if you read the specs on the Mopar hitch, it actually says it is rated to 2,000 lbs without weight distribution and 5,000 with proper weight distribution. Please also note that under the hitch specs the tongue weight on your hitch is limited to 500 lbs., not 750 as listed above.
Now as you can see the Libby can tow some big stuff! There is quite a misconception out there about cooling and the tow package. From my own research I've concluded (as many others) that when it comes to cooling, the tow package only gives you really 2 things you wouldn't already have on any Jeep. Those are 1) A Larger Fan shroud and 2) a an extra smaller mechanical fan. (Edit: It appears now that a power steering cooler is only installed with the tow package for 05-06 models)Every Libby comes with a Transmission Cooler. Believe it... accept it... move on. (CRD NOTE: I've been told that the CRD comes with the 2nd mechanical fan also regardless of package) Transmission cooling is the primary concern when pulling larger weights. Let me preface the rest of this by saying I did not get the towing package on my Libby. Would I have liked it.. Yes. Should I have probably got one... Yes. Am I glad I don't have one... Probably Yes. Now why would I be glad not to have the larger fan shroud? The larger fan shroud make changing your own oil a real pain in the ****. It's almost impossible to reach down and get to your oil filter with the fan shroud and to be honest, that's probably the single reason why I didn't get the Mopar cooling package after I bought my Jeep. I've never been a car guy before but am enjoying working on my Jeep myself and really wanted to do my own oil changes with the whole synthetic oil etc. ( yes that's a different essay). Now getting back to cooling. I feel comfortable towing my 3,500 lb travel trailer because I have a Class 3 Hitch and I know my Jeep already has a ****** cooler. I would probably never tow this trailer accross the state of South Dakota where I live or tow it up into the mountains. But from the many comments I've seen, the ****** cooler really does a good job on the Libby and you would really have to push it to the limits to where the extra fan would be necessary. So unless you plan on towing something really massive, or towing something moderately massive up and down a lot of mountains, your Libby should be up to the task regardless of having an original tow package or not (assuming you pick the right hitch of course!) And as I've said, do you really think you should pull a 5,000 lb. travel trailer with your Libby? I'll leave that up to you to decide, but anything moderately smaller (boats, jet skis, popup campers, SMALL travel trailers) should work for the average Libby.
HITCHES
Ok before I really get going on hitches let me make some preliminary comments about the tow package. If you've got little patience, or little motivation, or little time, or some extra spending money, think about getting the towing package installed by the dealer. People like me (which would include a majority of Jeep owners) like working on their Jeep or like figuring stuff like this out. But if you've got a few extra bucks burning a hole in your pocket, just let the dealer do it and enjoy your warranty on your hitch and all the wiring. And for reasons stated later in this writeup, if you don't have the tow package OR the overhead console, you'll save a lot of installation time by letting the dealer do the install. ( I belonged to this group but I went ahead and did the install myself which is unfortunately why I'm able to do this writeup.) Since I'm one of the former people who enjoy screwing around with their Libby my next step was to find a hitch.
There are various classes of hitches (I, II & III) that can be installed on a Libby. But to be honest, I really don't know why anyone would install anything but a Class III hitch. The Class III has the standard 2" box receiver on it that fits most anything you will ever need to tow. Furthermore, of the major manufacturers, the Class III hitch is actually EASIER to install. You can tow more with a Class III, tow most anything you want, and you'll never need to upgrade to a bigger hitch receiver because you bought that new boat or camper. My research lead me to basically three different hitches to choose from for my Libby.
1) Drawtite Class III Receiver. Model #75128 (I'm getting these numbers from http://www.etrailer.com. I think they are universal though)
I consider this to be the best option. Why? You'll find plenty of posts and questions on the various Jeep forums regarding hitches and a lot of people prefer the Drawtite hitch because it sticks out a little further behind your jeep. You get what I'd estimate to be maybe 3-4 inches of length on your receiver with the Drawtite. This is important because of the spare tire hanging just above your hitch. You'll find with the Mopar hitch and others that it's hard to connect various trailers, bike racks, etc. without a hitch extension because the hitch receiver stops at the bumper. The drawtite extends further to hopefully give you better access under the spare tire. I've got some pics of my drawtite on my corny cardomain page at the moment. http://www.cardomain.com/ride/855554/1
2) Hidden Hitch Receiver. Model #87006 Hidden hitch is a great manufacturere of hitches. Lots of people like them because they tend to be "Hidden". But for the Libby pretty much all the hitches i'm listing here are "hidden". I chose the Drawtite over this one for the sole reason of the extra length on the Drawtite.
3) Mopar Hitch Reciver. Model #82207535. Great hitch and if you have the dealer install it carries the warranty also. I didn't get one because it was a chunk of more money that the others listed above and I wanted the extra length of the drawtite.
All three of these hitches are a breeze to install. There are three holes on each side of the hitch that are home to a bolt that attaches to the frame of your Jeep. That's it, just six bolts and it's in. The bolt holes are already there in your frame. They are the same holes for your fuel tank skid if you have one. Also, if you have a tow hook on the rear of your Jeep plan on ditching that also. Besides with a hitch receiver you can get one of those nice receiver shackles from WARN to hook any tow straps to.
Now for the reasons stated above I bought the Drawtite. I'm not here to market for anyone on the web and am just speaking from my own experiences. There are probably more hitches you can buy locally and many more manufacturers. I found though, that I could get a hitch on the web and save some decent $ by doing so. Drawtite has their own website you can order from. I, however, ordered mine from Etrailers.com. I did this mainly because the shipping on the hitch was lowest there. I was impressed with their service also. I ordered it on a Tuesday, they shipped the same day and I got it on Thursday. Etrailer also carries a lot of other towing-related supplies which allowed me to order all together. If you order one from them try this discount code I got with my order XJJB7, which supposedly gives you a 5% discount. I didn't get to use it but it might work for you. Regardless, as long as your hitch is a Class III, this is probably the least senstive choice for you as far as which model/brand name you want to get.
WIRING HARNESS FOR YOUR LIBBY
Ok so you have your hitch now. Are you ready to tow? Not until you get some electrical to whatever you are towing. This is what is commonly known as a wiring harness. Now before you decide what wiring harness to get you need to know just a little info about what type of hookup you have on your trailer/camper. There are two prodominant types of connectors for your trailer/camper. These are what are referred to as the 1) Flat Four or 2) Round Seven blade hookups. Why are there two? Well that is primarily because some trailers will have their own brakes installed in them and some will not. Our Libby manual rightfully says that anything over 1,000 lbs. should have have trailer brakes. Stopping is the primary problem when towing larger weights with your Liberty and should not be overlooked. So take a look at whatever it is you want to tow and what type of hookup it has. If what you see is a flat little connector with four round connections (three positive and one ground for a total of four) then your trailer has no brakes and you can feel free to use a flat four harness for your Liberty. If what you see is a round plug with six flat "blade" connectors in a circle with another in the center then your trailer most likely has brakes and you're looking at a round seven connector. Check this page out on etrailer.com as it should give you a good idea of what we're dealing with. http://www.etrailer.com/faq/wiring.asp.
Now if the connector on whatever you want to tow is a flat four, then your life just became a lot easier. That's because these type of harnesses are much easier to install. But before you buy one just be sure that you "never" want to pull something with brakes, which would mean a heavier trailer. If you studied the wiring page I linked above you'll realize that the round seven connector carries a brake signal to your trailer. The flat four does not. You will never, and I mean never, be able to activate brakes on your trailer with a flat four connector. You can even buy adapters to convert from a flat four connector to a round seven and vice versa. Even with one of these adapters, you are without brakes unless the original plug on your Jeep is a round seven. Again, this is not a big deal unless you plan on towing something big enough to where brakes are necessary. So what are your options?
1) Flat Four Harness for your Liberty (Screw the brakes I'm just pulling a jet-ski!)
Option 1) Buy the official factory harness from Mopar part # 82207290. Price $89.00 ( or slightly better from other sites). This is a fairly easy install and I won't bother trying to go through the directions. To make it short you plug a few things together behind the tail lights and tuck it behind the right rear interior trim piece. Trust me it's pretty easy. Just remember to remove the torq screws on the rear lights before you try to pop each rear light off.
Option 2) Buy just about any after-market wiring harness from etrailer.com, hoppy, or pretty much anywhere else. I bought this one from etrailer (http://www.etrailer.com/Merchant2/m...e_Code=E&Product_Code=18382&Category_Code=VWH) but just about any will do as long as they have a vehicle specific application for your liberty. These installs are actually EASIER than the Mopar install mainly because you don't need to run any wires inside the rear of the jeep. All wiring is behind the tail lights or underneath/behind the bumper. Install is a piece of cake, as in 15 minutes easy! There are various posts around the Liberty sites that support/expand on this. And as you'll notice, these harnesses are alot cheaper than the Mopar harness.
2) Round Seven Hookup (Damn I need brakes!)
Ok things get a little more complicated here.... The round seven hookup in addition to carrying a brake signal to your trailer, also carries a positive power source to your trailer, hence the need for more connectors. Why this complicates things is that you really need/should get the power source from your battery, which is not that close to your hitch! Now since it's gets complicated here, the only real game out there as far as round seven harnesses is the Mopar harness. I've yet to see aftermarket round seven harnesses and probably for good reason. So bite the bullet and order the Mopar harness.
And no you can't just order the flat four harness listed just above and buy a flat four to round seven adapter. Why? Cuz even though the round seven connector will connect to your trailer, your Jeep is only utilizing the three leads in the connector. In other words, it's connected but you're not sending a signal to the brakes, nor providing a positive battery source to the trailer. All you're doing is running the lights on the trailer and that's about it.
So what Mopar Harness do you need? This is the main harness for the round seven hookup. 82207248 Trailer Tow Wiring Harness Kit, with 7-way round connector, plugs directly into the vehicle wiring, for vehicles without overhead console, also order PN 82207620 below. Now is when I pray that you have an overhead console because life is easier for you! As mentioned in the product description if you don't have the overhead console you also need to order the supplemental harness PN 82207620, like I did. (If you're in the this group, I'll refer to you as one of the "Chosen Few" for future reference. And being one of the "Chosen Few" is definitely not a bonus in this writeup). If you're like me, then get ready to become familiar with the removal of ALL the interior trim pieces on the right side of your Libby in addition to parts of your dash.
The two Mopar installs are the same, exept for the fact that those with the supplemental harness (The Chosen Few) just have an additional harness to install. Both will come with directions from Mopar.
Unfortunately "directions" as far as Mopar is concerned is a bunch of pictures with absolutely no descriptions/explanations. But fear not, it's not really that hard. Start with the common harness part #82207248. You'll have to remove some pieces of interior trim in the back of your libby but it's not really that hard. The pictures do a decent job. Most people will say if you are just doing the main harness install (82207248) you don't even have to remove the right rear seatbelt from the upper right rear door area. Although the directions tell you to, you can probably do without removing the belt and just slide the right rear interior trim far enough away from the frame to do what you have to do. Now with the install of the 82207248 harness, those of you with the overhead console are done. Congrats to you and please pass go to the section below regarding brake controllers. If you are one of The Chosen Few, you've got a lot more work to do.
The supplemental harness that The Chosen Few have to order is really where life becomes difficult. Basically you need to run that harness from the right rear interior, all the way up to the right front interior, behind the glove compartment, behind the radio (yep accept it now), and under the steering wheel and out through the firewall to the battery. This is really not that hard but it certainly is not that fun either. All the interior trim fairly easy to pop off and back on (don't really remember being any screws at all). The pictures with your harness do a decent job of explaining where to run the wires. And if you're not like me, it won't take you very long to realize you just slide the glove compartment door to the side after it's all the way down and it comes off completely! Removing the trim around the the radio/environment controls is not that hard either just remember to take out the one screw on your mini-storage area where your ashtray should be. And the trim piece just below the steering wheel also just pops off if you pull it toward you and then down. (take a little umph but it does pop out and down).
Now I'm not quite done with the section as the Chosen Few still need to go through the firewall, but I'm going to skip ahead for just a minute. Do you plan on putting a brake controller in your Jeep? If so you may want to decide now where to put it as you've already just removed a whole bunch of dash pieces that make at least the mount easier at this point. I decided to be really **** about my brake controller install and wanted to put it in the infamous "mini-good-for-nothing-storage area" underneath the environment controls. Since my Prodigy needed to be at a certain angle to the ground according to directions, I felt this was the best spot for it. The only tricky part to this was that I had to run my wiring harness for my brake controller through the back wall of the mini-storage area. The best time to do this is while you are removing all this trim for the adapter harness. What I did was completely pull off the front panel after removing the trim bezel. And when I say front panel, basically it's the only thing left after you pop off the trim piece and then remove the radio. It's really a pain to remove as you have to disconnect all the wire harnesses behind it for the environment controls, power outlet etc. I'm glad I did it this way but really paid my dues to do it. It's a super clean-looking install and was worth the extra work and time it cost me. Once the front panel was off, I just drilled about 6 consecutive holes with my cordless drill into the back of the mini-storage compartment. This gave me enough room to run the four wires of the brake controller harness back into the area under the steering wheel. You have to be a little careful routing the wires so the panel goes back on all the way without the wires "stuffing" it from behind, but it's doable and worth my effort at least. You'll have to decide if you want to waste that much extra time on it.
Ok so now back to our supplemental harness and the firewall. Once you've run your harness all the way through the inside of your Jeep, behind the dash and down by the base of your steering column, you're ready for your firewall breach. That is after you put all those damn trim pieces back where they belong... I certainly am not a pioneer on breaching the firewall to run wires to you battery. Many have done it before and one in particular (Corwyyn) has gone to the trouble of putting up a page showing you how. So here's the link ala Corwyyn. http://home.comcast.net/~corwyyn/firewall-penetration.html And thanks to you also Corwyn for saving me from figuring this out myself. However, don't get ready to seal that hole up just yet Mister! (or Miss!). Do you plan on putting a brake controller in? (Yes I've asked that before but it's important here!) If so, don't seal that hole up yet because you have two more wires that need to go through that hole up to your battery for your brake controller. See the section on brake controllers below! After you run the positive and negative leads through your firewall hole, feel free to seal it up. I'd also suggest that you get some real RTV sealant for this job. It's not quite as smelly as the normal silicone in my opinion which is a good thing given the mess that I made with mine down there.
So now that you as part of The Chosen Few have your adapter harness connected to the battery and fished all the way back to the main wiring harness in the rear, consider this step done. But don't just now don't forget about that little blue wire on your adapter harness! Keep an eye on that because if you plan on putting in a brake controller you're gonna need to find that puppy.
BRAKE CONTROLLER (Gotta stop that beast after you get going!)
Ok lets talk about brake controllers. And this also applies to you folks out there with the tow package already installed! What most people don't realize is that with your seven pin hookup on the back of your Jeep (whether you have the tow package or went to the trouble of installing it yourself) you still have no way to activate the brakes on your trailer! Hard to believe but true. Yes everything else works properly, and the brake "lights" on your trailer even work now. However, without a brake controller installed in your Liberty, there is no signal being sent to the brakes on your trailer. Unfortunately there are a lot of people out there with the tow package that probably think they are using the brakes on their trailer... But all they are doing is wearing out the brakes on their Jeep a whole lot quicker. Now it's up to you to decide if what you are towing is heavy enough to need trailer brakes. Do your research and choose for yourself. But know that most literature says once you get past 1,000 lbs, it's a good idea to have them connected and functional.
So now you need a brake controller. There are tons out there. I'm no expert at picking those either. It was pretty clear however, that what seems to be universally accepted as the best controller out there is the Tekonsha Prodigy. I found mine for $100 at http://www.rvwholesalers.com/ on sale. Since brakes are a necessity for the old beast of a travel trailer that I needed to move around, I spent a few extra bucks to get the best. Do your research and find one you like. But definitely get one if you plan on towing something hefty.
Now you would think that hooking up a brake controller is easy. Well you're wrong! If you buy a Ford, Chevy or Dodge pickup, this install is probably a whole 10 minutes because those manufacturers preinstall a wiring harness under your dash for a brake controller. Jeep doesn't have one, trust me. I've looked, looked twice, grumbled and moaned to no avail, we don't have one. So now is the fun part. If you have any hesitation in splicing wires under your dash just take your Libby to an RV dealer and have them do the install for you. My Prodigy manual suggested that you do the wiring connections by soldering them together, or at a minimum splice them with connectors. Since I really only wanted to do this once, I went with the soldering. Having never soldered anything period, ever, I went to Sears and bought a little $9 soldering iron and some soldering wire. There were directions on the back of my cheapy soldering iron which were good enough for me. I'll probably never use the thing again but was "sorta fun" figuring out how to do this.
Ok, you have a brake controller and four wires on your brake controller harness. Those wires are for 1) Positive power source 2) Negative Ground 3) Brake Controller signal in your Liberty and 4) Brake Lamp Switch. Lets take these in steps.
1 & 2) Positive and Negative Leads. For this you need to go through the firewall. If you're one of The Chosen Few, you've already done this. If not, just check Corwyyn's site on how to do this. http://home.comcast.net/~corwyyn/firewall-penetration.html Now for my Prodigy I also had to put in a mini circuit breaker for the positive lead. You just can't connect it directly to the battery. These little breakers can be found for a few bucks at all the major auto chains (Advance, Checker, Autozone, etc.) Here's a pic of one http://www.etrailer.com/Merchant2/m...tore_Code=E&Product_Code=38630&Category_Code= Mine did have a mark on what end to connect to your power source (i.e. battery) so make sure you look for it. Here's a pic of where I installed mine. http://www.cardomain.com/ride/855554/1 (bottom pic).
3) The "Brake Controller" Wire. This is the wire that connects to your round seven wiring harness that send the brake signal to the brakes on your trailer. Now although this wire is not a pot of gold at the end of a rainbow, many have struggled to find the little guy. If you are one of The Chosen Few as identified above, you've already found it. It's the blue wire with no label that's on your adapter harness PN 82207620. I spent an hour looking for this thing where everyone else said it was, but since I did not have the tow package or the overhead console, it was not to be found! Low and behold you just installed it with your adapter harness and already know where it is.
Now if you have the tow package or if you have the overhead console, your brake controller wire is already in your jeep. It's just hidden out of plain sight. If you remove the side kick panel (interior trim running from your hood latch forward under the dash on the left driver's side) you're going to see a whole crap lot of wires. Look behind the two big looms of wires and you're gonna see a white plastic "cover" over some additional wires. Check the 2nd and 3rd to last pics on this page http://www.cardomain.com/ride/855554/1 or the 2nd pic on Corwyn's Firewall page http://home.comcast.net/~corwyyn/firewall-penetration.html. Your brake controller wire is supposed to be behind this plastic cover which is about 3 inches wide and maybe 6 inches long. It's a little bit difficult to get the cover off, but your wire is supposed to be clearly labeled and under here. For newer models the wire is supposedly red, for older models it's blue. But everyone i've seen post says it's clearly labeled.
4) "Brake Lamp" Wire. Now this is totally different obviously from #3 above. This wire is the one that tells your brake controller that you've activated your vehicle's brakes. Your brake controller then forwards that signal to your trailer through #3 above. There are various supposed places to tap into this wire. I used the point closest to it's source, which is the Brake Control Switch. The Brake Control Switch is a little box connected to your brake pedal which tells your Libby's computer that you've stepped on the brake pedal. The best way to find it is to first pull out the wide trim piece just below your steering wheel. Yes it does pull out and down. I also found it beneficial to unscrew the black "sorta trim" piece under the dash which covers the bottom of the dash. This allows you a good view up inside the dash from below and from accross. Follow your brake pedal up until you see a white box with a little plunger behind it. This is your brake control switch. Now this next part is very important! Do not under and cicrumstances remove, move, or screw around with this box in general. Because of that plunger on the back it's a one-time install and if you remove it you're screwed and will have to buy a new one. That's what the manual says so be real careful around this thing. Supposedly you have to rotate it to remove it, but i'd just pretend it has the plague to avoid any negative results. There is a wire harness on the top of this swich that contains the wire you're looking for. In my service manual there is a picture and explanation on page 8L-19.
I have a 2005 Liberty Renegade and my service manual lists the wiring for the brake control switch on page 8W-33-2. According to that diagram my wire is WHITE/TAN. Please do your own checking to be sure that your wire is the same color. Anyways what I did was CAREFULLY remove the wire harness from the brake lamp switch. (This harness like most in your jeep has a small tab you have to slide over before you can remove the harness.) You don't get a lot of extra slack in that wire to do your wire connection to the prodigy so that is why I took the harness off the switch to do the soldering. I stripped a small portion of plastic off the white/tan wire and then soldered my prodigy brake wire to it. Covered with electrical tape and then CAREFULLY reattached the wire harness to the brake lamp switch.
Well, that' should be it. If you've done everything right, you've just connected all the wires to your brake controller and are ready to tow. The first thing I did after my install, because I had no idea what I was doing, was take my Liberty to a local RV dealer. I walked in, asked some questions and then politely asked if they had something to test my Prodigy quick. Well this dealer, as probably most decent sized ones do, had a portable unit that tested all Tekonsha brake controllers. The service guy was nice enough to grab it, walk over to my jeep and plug it into the tow connector on the back of my jeep and test it quick. To my suprise he could tell in about 1 min that everything was functioning properly and didn't charge me for it. Your mileage may vary on getting a freebie like I did but it was sure worthwhile to know I did it all right. There are also some little adapter/testers you can buy that plug into your tow connecter that will also do this type of testing, but you might as well try to get a freebie or expert opinion like I did.
CONCLUSION
Well now you have everything as far as equipment you need to tow. As I said I'm not an expert in this area. You know as much as I do now. But from everything i've learned, it's real important to be careful and safe when towing. Get a weight distributing hitch if you're towing heavy stuff. Get some towing mirrors if you're towing something wide. And get a brake controller if you're towing something with brakes. I've provided this all as just a reference to get you started. There's probably stuff I've missed but after seeing the same questions asked many times on the various forums, I thought I would at least give everyone a starting point. Good luck and happy towing!
HITCHES, WIRING, BRAKES & BRAKE CONTROLLERS FOR TOWING by Dave
Let me first say there are definitely three issues for people wanting to tow stuff:
1) Getting a hitch (easy one).
2) Getting a wiring harness for your Libby to whatever you'll be towing (fairly easy but sometimes confusing).
3) Trailer Brakes and Brake Controllers. (Yes even those with a tow package need to pay some attention to this)
GENERAL INTRODUCTORY INFORMATION (JEEP TOWING CAPABILITIES and COOLING)
Now let me first say I'm not an expert on towing stuff. I'm even less of an expert backing up trailers that I'm towing (Yes it's always an adventure for me). I bought my 2005 Renny this spring without a tow package and did a ton of reading and researching when I decided I needed a hitch to tow a travel trailer. There is plenty of info out there on the net about proper towing. A very good source for general towing information are the forums over at RV.net found here www.rv.net/forum. There are some nice faqs there about general towing concerns and safety. Towing campers/trailers with a Liberty is something that everyone should take a little time to prepare for with safety concerns. Yes the Jeep Libby is a great vehicle but we shouldn't be pulling massive campers or trailers despite how nice out Libby rides or how powerful the engine is. When it comes down to it the Libby is a small wheelbase vehicle and most of the people over at the RV.net forums will laugh at you when you say you want to pull something over a couple thousand pounds. The Libby's drawbacks are indeed it's wheelbase and stopping. Our 3.7 Liter or CRD are plenty tough to pull about anything within reason. Maintaining control of the tow vehicle and stopping is what really limits our capabilities. With that said lets take a look at the specification on towing that JEEP gives us. (Now this is just a summary, check your manual. Page 272 in my manual)
Fold Down and Low Profile up to 2,000 lbs. / 300 lb tongue weight = Class 1 Hitch with Manual or Auto ******
-This is the only category the 2.4 Liter is listed and for good reason.
Fold Down and Low Profile up to 3,500 lbs. / 525 lb tongue weight = Class 2 Hitch with Manual 5 Speed Only
-sorry Manual stick owners
Other Trailer Types and Weights up to Full Box Shape up to 5,000 lbs. / 750 tongue weight = Class 3 Hitch with Heavy Duty Cooling for the 3.7 Liter-no extra cooling needed for the diesel
-Towing Package "required" for 3.7 because of the heavy duty cooling
-I personally think you are crazy to push up anywhere near these limits at all, or least without a weight distribution hitch. And if you read the specs on the Mopar hitch, it actually says it is rated to 2,000 lbs without weight distribution and 5,000 with proper weight distribution. Please also note that under the hitch specs the tongue weight on your hitch is limited to 500 lbs., not 750 as listed above.
Now as you can see the Libby can tow some big stuff! There is quite a misconception out there about cooling and the tow package. From my own research I've concluded (as many others) that when it comes to cooling, the tow package only gives you really 2 things you wouldn't already have on any Jeep. Those are 1) A Larger Fan shroud and 2) a an extra smaller mechanical fan. (Edit: It appears now that a power steering cooler is only installed with the tow package for 05-06 models)Every Libby comes with a Transmission Cooler. Believe it... accept it... move on. (CRD NOTE: I've been told that the CRD comes with the 2nd mechanical fan also regardless of package) Transmission cooling is the primary concern when pulling larger weights. Let me preface the rest of this by saying I did not get the towing package on my Libby. Would I have liked it.. Yes. Should I have probably got one... Yes. Am I glad I don't have one... Probably Yes. Now why would I be glad not to have the larger fan shroud? The larger fan shroud make changing your own oil a real pain in the ****. It's almost impossible to reach down and get to your oil filter with the fan shroud and to be honest, that's probably the single reason why I didn't get the Mopar cooling package after I bought my Jeep. I've never been a car guy before but am enjoying working on my Jeep myself and really wanted to do my own oil changes with the whole synthetic oil etc. ( yes that's a different essay). Now getting back to cooling. I feel comfortable towing my 3,500 lb travel trailer because I have a Class 3 Hitch and I know my Jeep already has a ****** cooler. I would probably never tow this trailer accross the state of South Dakota where I live or tow it up into the mountains. But from the many comments I've seen, the ****** cooler really does a good job on the Libby and you would really have to push it to the limits to where the extra fan would be necessary. So unless you plan on towing something really massive, or towing something moderately massive up and down a lot of mountains, your Libby should be up to the task regardless of having an original tow package or not (assuming you pick the right hitch of course!) And as I've said, do you really think you should pull a 5,000 lb. travel trailer with your Libby? I'll leave that up to you to decide, but anything moderately smaller (boats, jet skis, popup campers, SMALL travel trailers) should work for the average Libby.
HITCHES
Ok before I really get going on hitches let me make some preliminary comments about the tow package. If you've got little patience, or little motivation, or little time, or some extra spending money, think about getting the towing package installed by the dealer. People like me (which would include a majority of Jeep owners) like working on their Jeep or like figuring stuff like this out. But if you've got a few extra bucks burning a hole in your pocket, just let the dealer do it and enjoy your warranty on your hitch and all the wiring. And for reasons stated later in this writeup, if you don't have the tow package OR the overhead console, you'll save a lot of installation time by letting the dealer do the install. ( I belonged to this group but I went ahead and did the install myself which is unfortunately why I'm able to do this writeup.) Since I'm one of the former people who enjoy screwing around with their Libby my next step was to find a hitch.
There are various classes of hitches (I, II & III) that can be installed on a Libby. But to be honest, I really don't know why anyone would install anything but a Class III hitch. The Class III has the standard 2" box receiver on it that fits most anything you will ever need to tow. Furthermore, of the major manufacturers, the Class III hitch is actually EASIER to install. You can tow more with a Class III, tow most anything you want, and you'll never need to upgrade to a bigger hitch receiver because you bought that new boat or camper. My research lead me to basically three different hitches to choose from for my Libby.
1) Drawtite Class III Receiver. Model #75128 (I'm getting these numbers from http://www.etrailer.com. I think they are universal though)
I consider this to be the best option. Why? You'll find plenty of posts and questions on the various Jeep forums regarding hitches and a lot of people prefer the Drawtite hitch because it sticks out a little further behind your jeep. You get what I'd estimate to be maybe 3-4 inches of length on your receiver with the Drawtite. This is important because of the spare tire hanging just above your hitch. You'll find with the Mopar hitch and others that it's hard to connect various trailers, bike racks, etc. without a hitch extension because the hitch receiver stops at the bumper. The drawtite extends further to hopefully give you better access under the spare tire. I've got some pics of my drawtite on my corny cardomain page at the moment. http://www.cardomain.com/ride/855554/1
2) Hidden Hitch Receiver. Model #87006 Hidden hitch is a great manufacturere of hitches. Lots of people like them because they tend to be "Hidden". But for the Libby pretty much all the hitches i'm listing here are "hidden". I chose the Drawtite over this one for the sole reason of the extra length on the Drawtite.
3) Mopar Hitch Reciver. Model #82207535. Great hitch and if you have the dealer install it carries the warranty also. I didn't get one because it was a chunk of more money that the others listed above and I wanted the extra length of the drawtite.
All three of these hitches are a breeze to install. There are three holes on each side of the hitch that are home to a bolt that attaches to the frame of your Jeep. That's it, just six bolts and it's in. The bolt holes are already there in your frame. They are the same holes for your fuel tank skid if you have one. Also, if you have a tow hook on the rear of your Jeep plan on ditching that also. Besides with a hitch receiver you can get one of those nice receiver shackles from WARN to hook any tow straps to.
Now for the reasons stated above I bought the Drawtite. I'm not here to market for anyone on the web and am just speaking from my own experiences. There are probably more hitches you can buy locally and many more manufacturers. I found though, that I could get a hitch on the web and save some decent $ by doing so. Drawtite has their own website you can order from. I, however, ordered mine from Etrailers.com. I did this mainly because the shipping on the hitch was lowest there. I was impressed with their service also. I ordered it on a Tuesday, they shipped the same day and I got it on Thursday. Etrailer also carries a lot of other towing-related supplies which allowed me to order all together. If you order one from them try this discount code I got with my order XJJB7, which supposedly gives you a 5% discount. I didn't get to use it but it might work for you. Regardless, as long as your hitch is a Class III, this is probably the least senstive choice for you as far as which model/brand name you want to get.
WIRING HARNESS FOR YOUR LIBBY
Ok so you have your hitch now. Are you ready to tow? Not until you get some electrical to whatever you are towing. This is what is commonly known as a wiring harness. Now before you decide what wiring harness to get you need to know just a little info about what type of hookup you have on your trailer/camper. There are two prodominant types of connectors for your trailer/camper. These are what are referred to as the 1) Flat Four or 2) Round Seven blade hookups. Why are there two? Well that is primarily because some trailers will have their own brakes installed in them and some will not. Our Libby manual rightfully says that anything over 1,000 lbs. should have have trailer brakes. Stopping is the primary problem when towing larger weights with your Liberty and should not be overlooked. So take a look at whatever it is you want to tow and what type of hookup it has. If what you see is a flat little connector with four round connections (three positive and one ground for a total of four) then your trailer has no brakes and you can feel free to use a flat four harness for your Liberty. If what you see is a round plug with six flat "blade" connectors in a circle with another in the center then your trailer most likely has brakes and you're looking at a round seven connector. Check this page out on etrailer.com as it should give you a good idea of what we're dealing with. http://www.etrailer.com/faq/wiring.asp.
Now if the connector on whatever you want to tow is a flat four, then your life just became a lot easier. That's because these type of harnesses are much easier to install. But before you buy one just be sure that you "never" want to pull something with brakes, which would mean a heavier trailer. If you studied the wiring page I linked above you'll realize that the round seven connector carries a brake signal to your trailer. The flat four does not. You will never, and I mean never, be able to activate brakes on your trailer with a flat four connector. You can even buy adapters to convert from a flat four connector to a round seven and vice versa. Even with one of these adapters, you are without brakes unless the original plug on your Jeep is a round seven. Again, this is not a big deal unless you plan on towing something big enough to where brakes are necessary. So what are your options?
1) Flat Four Harness for your Liberty (Screw the brakes I'm just pulling a jet-ski!)
Option 1) Buy the official factory harness from Mopar part # 82207290. Price $89.00 ( or slightly better from other sites). This is a fairly easy install and I won't bother trying to go through the directions. To make it short you plug a few things together behind the tail lights and tuck it behind the right rear interior trim piece. Trust me it's pretty easy. Just remember to remove the torq screws on the rear lights before you try to pop each rear light off.
Option 2) Buy just about any after-market wiring harness from etrailer.com, hoppy, or pretty much anywhere else. I bought this one from etrailer (http://www.etrailer.com/Merchant2/m...e_Code=E&Product_Code=18382&Category_Code=VWH) but just about any will do as long as they have a vehicle specific application for your liberty. These installs are actually EASIER than the Mopar install mainly because you don't need to run any wires inside the rear of the jeep. All wiring is behind the tail lights or underneath/behind the bumper. Install is a piece of cake, as in 15 minutes easy! There are various posts around the Liberty sites that support/expand on this. And as you'll notice, these harnesses are alot cheaper than the Mopar harness.
2) Round Seven Hookup (Damn I need brakes!)
Ok things get a little more complicated here.... The round seven hookup in addition to carrying a brake signal to your trailer, also carries a positive power source to your trailer, hence the need for more connectors. Why this complicates things is that you really need/should get the power source from your battery, which is not that close to your hitch! Now since it's gets complicated here, the only real game out there as far as round seven harnesses is the Mopar harness. I've yet to see aftermarket round seven harnesses and probably for good reason. So bite the bullet and order the Mopar harness.
And no you can't just order the flat four harness listed just above and buy a flat four to round seven adapter. Why? Cuz even though the round seven connector will connect to your trailer, your Jeep is only utilizing the three leads in the connector. In other words, it's connected but you're not sending a signal to the brakes, nor providing a positive battery source to the trailer. All you're doing is running the lights on the trailer and that's about it.
So what Mopar Harness do you need? This is the main harness for the round seven hookup. 82207248 Trailer Tow Wiring Harness Kit, with 7-way round connector, plugs directly into the vehicle wiring, for vehicles without overhead console, also order PN 82207620 below. Now is when I pray that you have an overhead console because life is easier for you! As mentioned in the product description if you don't have the overhead console you also need to order the supplemental harness PN 82207620, like I did. (If you're in the this group, I'll refer to you as one of the "Chosen Few" for future reference. And being one of the "Chosen Few" is definitely not a bonus in this writeup). If you're like me, then get ready to become familiar with the removal of ALL the interior trim pieces on the right side of your Libby in addition to parts of your dash.
The two Mopar installs are the same, exept for the fact that those with the supplemental harness (The Chosen Few) just have an additional harness to install. Both will come with directions from Mopar.
Unfortunately "directions" as far as Mopar is concerned is a bunch of pictures with absolutely no descriptions/explanations. But fear not, it's not really that hard. Start with the common harness part #82207248. You'll have to remove some pieces of interior trim in the back of your libby but it's not really that hard. The pictures do a decent job. Most people will say if you are just doing the main harness install (82207248) you don't even have to remove the right rear seatbelt from the upper right rear door area. Although the directions tell you to, you can probably do without removing the belt and just slide the right rear interior trim far enough away from the frame to do what you have to do. Now with the install of the 82207248 harness, those of you with the overhead console are done. Congrats to you and please pass go to the section below regarding brake controllers. If you are one of The Chosen Few, you've got a lot more work to do.
The supplemental harness that The Chosen Few have to order is really where life becomes difficult. Basically you need to run that harness from the right rear interior, all the way up to the right front interior, behind the glove compartment, behind the radio (yep accept it now), and under the steering wheel and out through the firewall to the battery. This is really not that hard but it certainly is not that fun either. All the interior trim fairly easy to pop off and back on (don't really remember being any screws at all). The pictures with your harness do a decent job of explaining where to run the wires. And if you're not like me, it won't take you very long to realize you just slide the glove compartment door to the side after it's all the way down and it comes off completely! Removing the trim around the the radio/environment controls is not that hard either just remember to take out the one screw on your mini-storage area where your ashtray should be. And the trim piece just below the steering wheel also just pops off if you pull it toward you and then down. (take a little umph but it does pop out and down).
Now I'm not quite done with the section as the Chosen Few still need to go through the firewall, but I'm going to skip ahead for just a minute. Do you plan on putting a brake controller in your Jeep? If so you may want to decide now where to put it as you've already just removed a whole bunch of dash pieces that make at least the mount easier at this point. I decided to be really **** about my brake controller install and wanted to put it in the infamous "mini-good-for-nothing-storage area" underneath the environment controls. Since my Prodigy needed to be at a certain angle to the ground according to directions, I felt this was the best spot for it. The only tricky part to this was that I had to run my wiring harness for my brake controller through the back wall of the mini-storage area. The best time to do this is while you are removing all this trim for the adapter harness. What I did was completely pull off the front panel after removing the trim bezel. And when I say front panel, basically it's the only thing left after you pop off the trim piece and then remove the radio. It's really a pain to remove as you have to disconnect all the wire harnesses behind it for the environment controls, power outlet etc. I'm glad I did it this way but really paid my dues to do it. It's a super clean-looking install and was worth the extra work and time it cost me. Once the front panel was off, I just drilled about 6 consecutive holes with my cordless drill into the back of the mini-storage compartment. This gave me enough room to run the four wires of the brake controller harness back into the area under the steering wheel. You have to be a little careful routing the wires so the panel goes back on all the way without the wires "stuffing" it from behind, but it's doable and worth my effort at least. You'll have to decide if you want to waste that much extra time on it.
Ok so now back to our supplemental harness and the firewall. Once you've run your harness all the way through the inside of your Jeep, behind the dash and down by the base of your steering column, you're ready for your firewall breach. That is after you put all those damn trim pieces back where they belong... I certainly am not a pioneer on breaching the firewall to run wires to you battery. Many have done it before and one in particular (Corwyyn) has gone to the trouble of putting up a page showing you how. So here's the link ala Corwyyn. http://home.comcast.net/~corwyyn/firewall-penetration.html And thanks to you also Corwyn for saving me from figuring this out myself. However, don't get ready to seal that hole up just yet Mister! (or Miss!). Do you plan on putting a brake controller in? (Yes I've asked that before but it's important here!) If so, don't seal that hole up yet because you have two more wires that need to go through that hole up to your battery for your brake controller. See the section on brake controllers below! After you run the positive and negative leads through your firewall hole, feel free to seal it up. I'd also suggest that you get some real RTV sealant for this job. It's not quite as smelly as the normal silicone in my opinion which is a good thing given the mess that I made with mine down there.
So now that you as part of The Chosen Few have your adapter harness connected to the battery and fished all the way back to the main wiring harness in the rear, consider this step done. But don't just now don't forget about that little blue wire on your adapter harness! Keep an eye on that because if you plan on putting in a brake controller you're gonna need to find that puppy.
BRAKE CONTROLLER (Gotta stop that beast after you get going!)
Ok lets talk about brake controllers. And this also applies to you folks out there with the tow package already installed! What most people don't realize is that with your seven pin hookup on the back of your Jeep (whether you have the tow package or went to the trouble of installing it yourself) you still have no way to activate the brakes on your trailer! Hard to believe but true. Yes everything else works properly, and the brake "lights" on your trailer even work now. However, without a brake controller installed in your Liberty, there is no signal being sent to the brakes on your trailer. Unfortunately there are a lot of people out there with the tow package that probably think they are using the brakes on their trailer... But all they are doing is wearing out the brakes on their Jeep a whole lot quicker. Now it's up to you to decide if what you are towing is heavy enough to need trailer brakes. Do your research and choose for yourself. But know that most literature says once you get past 1,000 lbs, it's a good idea to have them connected and functional.
So now you need a brake controller. There are tons out there. I'm no expert at picking those either. It was pretty clear however, that what seems to be universally accepted as the best controller out there is the Tekonsha Prodigy. I found mine for $100 at http://www.rvwholesalers.com/ on sale. Since brakes are a necessity for the old beast of a travel trailer that I needed to move around, I spent a few extra bucks to get the best. Do your research and find one you like. But definitely get one if you plan on towing something hefty.
Now you would think that hooking up a brake controller is easy. Well you're wrong! If you buy a Ford, Chevy or Dodge pickup, this install is probably a whole 10 minutes because those manufacturers preinstall a wiring harness under your dash for a brake controller. Jeep doesn't have one, trust me. I've looked, looked twice, grumbled and moaned to no avail, we don't have one. So now is the fun part. If you have any hesitation in splicing wires under your dash just take your Libby to an RV dealer and have them do the install for you. My Prodigy manual suggested that you do the wiring connections by soldering them together, or at a minimum splice them with connectors. Since I really only wanted to do this once, I went with the soldering. Having never soldered anything period, ever, I went to Sears and bought a little $9 soldering iron and some soldering wire. There were directions on the back of my cheapy soldering iron which were good enough for me. I'll probably never use the thing again but was "sorta fun" figuring out how to do this.
Ok, you have a brake controller and four wires on your brake controller harness. Those wires are for 1) Positive power source 2) Negative Ground 3) Brake Controller signal in your Liberty and 4) Brake Lamp Switch. Lets take these in steps.
1 & 2) Positive and Negative Leads. For this you need to go through the firewall. If you're one of The Chosen Few, you've already done this. If not, just check Corwyyn's site on how to do this. http://home.comcast.net/~corwyyn/firewall-penetration.html Now for my Prodigy I also had to put in a mini circuit breaker for the positive lead. You just can't connect it directly to the battery. These little breakers can be found for a few bucks at all the major auto chains (Advance, Checker, Autozone, etc.) Here's a pic of one http://www.etrailer.com/Merchant2/m...tore_Code=E&Product_Code=38630&Category_Code= Mine did have a mark on what end to connect to your power source (i.e. battery) so make sure you look for it. Here's a pic of where I installed mine. http://www.cardomain.com/ride/855554/1 (bottom pic).
3) The "Brake Controller" Wire. This is the wire that connects to your round seven wiring harness that send the brake signal to the brakes on your trailer. Now although this wire is not a pot of gold at the end of a rainbow, many have struggled to find the little guy. If you are one of The Chosen Few as identified above, you've already found it. It's the blue wire with no label that's on your adapter harness PN 82207620. I spent an hour looking for this thing where everyone else said it was, but since I did not have the tow package or the overhead console, it was not to be found! Low and behold you just installed it with your adapter harness and already know where it is.
Now if you have the tow package or if you have the overhead console, your brake controller wire is already in your jeep. It's just hidden out of plain sight. If you remove the side kick panel (interior trim running from your hood latch forward under the dash on the left driver's side) you're going to see a whole crap lot of wires. Look behind the two big looms of wires and you're gonna see a white plastic "cover" over some additional wires. Check the 2nd and 3rd to last pics on this page http://www.cardomain.com/ride/855554/1 or the 2nd pic on Corwyn's Firewall page http://home.comcast.net/~corwyyn/firewall-penetration.html. Your brake controller wire is supposed to be behind this plastic cover which is about 3 inches wide and maybe 6 inches long. It's a little bit difficult to get the cover off, but your wire is supposed to be clearly labeled and under here. For newer models the wire is supposedly red, for older models it's blue. But everyone i've seen post says it's clearly labeled.
4) "Brake Lamp" Wire. Now this is totally different obviously from #3 above. This wire is the one that tells your brake controller that you've activated your vehicle's brakes. Your brake controller then forwards that signal to your trailer through #3 above. There are various supposed places to tap into this wire. I used the point closest to it's source, which is the Brake Control Switch. The Brake Control Switch is a little box connected to your brake pedal which tells your Libby's computer that you've stepped on the brake pedal. The best way to find it is to first pull out the wide trim piece just below your steering wheel. Yes it does pull out and down. I also found it beneficial to unscrew the black "sorta trim" piece under the dash which covers the bottom of the dash. This allows you a good view up inside the dash from below and from accross. Follow your brake pedal up until you see a white box with a little plunger behind it. This is your brake control switch. Now this next part is very important! Do not under and cicrumstances remove, move, or screw around with this box in general. Because of that plunger on the back it's a one-time install and if you remove it you're screwed and will have to buy a new one. That's what the manual says so be real careful around this thing. Supposedly you have to rotate it to remove it, but i'd just pretend it has the plague to avoid any negative results. There is a wire harness on the top of this swich that contains the wire you're looking for. In my service manual there is a picture and explanation on page 8L-19.
I have a 2005 Liberty Renegade and my service manual lists the wiring for the brake control switch on page 8W-33-2. According to that diagram my wire is WHITE/TAN. Please do your own checking to be sure that your wire is the same color. Anyways what I did was CAREFULLY remove the wire harness from the brake lamp switch. (This harness like most in your jeep has a small tab you have to slide over before you can remove the harness.) You don't get a lot of extra slack in that wire to do your wire connection to the prodigy so that is why I took the harness off the switch to do the soldering. I stripped a small portion of plastic off the white/tan wire and then soldered my prodigy brake wire to it. Covered with electrical tape and then CAREFULLY reattached the wire harness to the brake lamp switch.
Well, that' should be it. If you've done everything right, you've just connected all the wires to your brake controller and are ready to tow. The first thing I did after my install, because I had no idea what I was doing, was take my Liberty to a local RV dealer. I walked in, asked some questions and then politely asked if they had something to test my Prodigy quick. Well this dealer, as probably most decent sized ones do, had a portable unit that tested all Tekonsha brake controllers. The service guy was nice enough to grab it, walk over to my jeep and plug it into the tow connector on the back of my jeep and test it quick. To my suprise he could tell in about 1 min that everything was functioning properly and didn't charge me for it. Your mileage may vary on getting a freebie like I did but it was sure worthwhile to know I did it all right. There are also some little adapter/testers you can buy that plug into your tow connecter that will also do this type of testing, but you might as well try to get a freebie or expert opinion like I did.
CONCLUSION
Well now you have everything as far as equipment you need to tow. As I said I'm not an expert in this area. You know as much as I do now. But from everything i've learned, it's real important to be careful and safe when towing. Get a weight distributing hitch if you're towing heavy stuff. Get some towing mirrors if you're towing something wide. And get a brake controller if you're towing something with brakes. I've provided this all as just a reference to get you started. There's probably stuff I've missed but after seeing the same questions asked many times on the various forums, I thought I would at least give everyone a starting point. Good luck and happy towing!
I just ordered the drawtite hitch, a wiring harness, lock and of course a Red Sox plug! 
