Towing tent camper - about 1,500 lbs?

Planning on borrowing my parents tent camper weekend after next. It's got a gross weight of around 1,500 pounds, and i will be adding another 300 pounds or so of additional gear to it. That's 1,800 pounds. I've never towed anything with my libby (got a hitch on order right now). Just wondering what other experiences have been with this sort of load. The trailer is fairly aerodynamic - and i suspect with such a low center of gravity it won't be as problematic as towing a couple quads around for example. Also wondering what to expect mileage wise on the highway...typically i get 21-24mpg on the highway (depending on wind and such). I guess i should expect like 15-17 with the additional load?

Can't speak to the gas mileage, but I assume you ordered a 7 pin harness, and are planning on installing a brake controller? I think you would be best advised using one for that much weight.

The only problem you may have is noticing its back there. You will probably notice it on the hills though. It will slow you down alittle. Just be sure to leave plenty of room to stop if you dont have brakes and lock O/D out if you need it.

I got 16-17mpg at speeds around 55-65mph with a boat that weighs around 2500lbs. I had some mighty big hills to go up and down though. Got down to around 45mph on some of them.

1800 lbs. is no big deal. Just leave the overdrive off, and don't try to take off or slow down too fast. I've pulled snowmobiles all over Michigan with no problem on some very poor roads at times. My 2-place trailer is about the same weight, but my 4-place with 3 sleds on it comes in at about 3,000+ lbs. That trailer has electric brakes and I've been glad it does at times. My guess on mileage would be about 14 mpg. Remember, gas is cheaper than trannys, O/D off!

i pulled a 8x15 ft camper that weigh about 3000 lbs and its tall and no where close to being aerodynamic haha its a 1972 camper....old heavy, no e-brakes. I didnt really have any problems except when I 1st loaded it I didnt load it right. Make sure to get some weight near the tounge of the trailer and try not to pack all the weight on the back of the camper. Should pull pretty fine tho from the sounds of it. You can turn your OD off if the ****** keeps trying to change gears all the time. If its flat and doesnt weigh to much you could proablly leave OD on and save the gas mileage....just watch the rpms....also if you didnt have the towing package im not sure if you have a ****** cooler or not so you might want to check into that.

Im fairly sure all 2006 liberty have the ****** cooler. You need to check and be sure though.

Transmission yes, Power Steering no

the_titan said:

Can't speak to the gas mileage, but I assume you ordered a 7 pin harness, and are planning on installing a brake controller? I think you would be best advised using one for that much weight.

Click to expand...

Just to clarify, a brake controller is only good if the trailer has brakes... If it does or if you plan to tow other trailers in the future, get the brake controller for sure.

I tow a 3000 lb travel trailer which the Libby handles reasonably well although you really know it's there going uphill. It has brakes and I have no problem with stopping. 11 MPG though... ouch.

Dave

I have been thinking about resurecting my old coleman pop up I used to pull with my cherokee chief. I need to get a hitch and a wiring harness for the libby. Any reccomendations??

Also another question: I know my 03 renny came with a ****** cooler via the off road group I paid for when I bought the beast but did this include a steering fluid cooler as well???

Thanks for the info!

I got the Mopar reciever and 7-pin wiring harness installed by the dealer. I'm happy with it... they had to order me a specific draw bar "for the liberty", which is quite long and got it out beyond the spare tire if using it in the dropped position which was fine with my old trailer.

With my new trailer the draw bar needed to be flipped over to a raised position, this required that the spare tire bracket be flipped over, raising the tire for additional clearance.

I would suggest getting the 7-pin wiring even if your trailer doesn't specifically need it, it is easy to get an adapter to other sizes and will give you the most flexibility to pull other trailers if needed down the road.

Not sure about your PS cooler question, have a look in front of the rad

Dave

I have two Liberty's an 03 and an 05. (I get them cheap after my company car lease is up.) The 03 has a power steering cooler and the 05 does not. Anyone know what the issue is with that? No trailer tow package on either, both with exactly the same options.

Ok, let me see if I got this, my 2006 should have the ****** cooler correct? No towing pkg. how much can I tow, I am looking at a smaller tent trailer.



Thanks

I thought no towing package, 2000 lbs. Towing package 5000. That's what the '07's are supposedly rated at. For the record, there's no way in hell I'd feel comfortable towing 5000 in a Liberty. I'd do 3000 or 3500 without worry.

I just towed one up the hill to Heber from Phoenix with the Libby CRD. Engine heat was my biggest problem. No air dam installed on the front due to clearance issues. Other than that, nice ride and the round trip average for 300 miles was 18 m.p.g. I was very happy with this number. The Libby was LOADED and the trailer was a heavier one than I normally pull. It was about half loaded. See attachment. The coolers are HUGE, there are 3 of them and they are full! Weight? Not sure, but with the Libby loaded that way it was, I was glad it had the diesel engine instead of gas.

azmotoman said:

I just towed one up the hill to Heber from Phoenix with the Libby CRD. Engine heat was my biggest problem. No air dam installed on the front due to clearance issues. Other than that, nice ride and the round trip average for 300 miles was 18 m.p.g. I was very happy with this number. The Libby was LOADED and the trailer was a heavier one than I normally pull. It was about half loaded. See attachment. The coolers are HUGE, there are 3 of them and they are full! Weight? Not sure, but with the Libby loaded that way it was, I was glad it had the diesel engine instead of gas.

Click to expand...

Very nice! Did you go up I-17 or through Payson? If it did that well through Sunset Point, I'm very impressed.

Went through Payson. Seemed best from Mesa. Only had to back off on a couple of hills. Planning to build an aluminum air dam with hinges to drop for highway stretches and fold up when off road. It would make a difference in the engine cooling, I have no doubt.
Another nice feature was the "speed control". It auto shifts the ****** on downhill runs to use the engine compression for braking. VERY COOL!

indieaz said:

Planning on borrowing my parents tent camper weekend after next. It's got a gross weight of around 1,500 pounds, and i will be adding another 300 pounds or so of additional gear to it. That's 1,800 pounds. I've never towed anything with my libby (got a hitch on order right now). Just wondering what other experiences have been with this sort of load. The trailer is fairly aerodynamic - and i suspect with such a low center of gravity it won't be as problematic as towing a couple quads around for example. Also wondering what to expect mileage wise on the highway...typically i get 21-24mpg on the highway (depending on wind and such). I guess i should expect like 15-17 with the additional load?

Click to expand...

I've got a pop-up in that weight range, and you won't even know it's back there until you look in the mirror.

Thanks for all the info guys...i think i am mainly concerned witht he short wheelbase of hte libby. We didn't end up goingthat weekend stuff came up. But i might be taking it out in a few more weeks. The only time i've ever towed stuff is with full size trucks.