tongue weight

[knotwerk]

the Drawtite seems to be highly recommended due to the extended hitch arm.... but wont that decrease tongue capacity.... unless its secured....

... i only ask because i wanted to get a motorcycle/dirtbike carrier to put on it... has anyone done this?

..its a light bike 300lbs i think

thanks,
Mike

 

[Dave]

I do believe you are correct about the length of the drawbar. The longer it is, the more it affects weight distrubution. But if you are only talking about 300 # it should be fine.

The KJ is rated to tow 5000# properly equipped. A rule of thumb is that tongue weight should be about 10% or so of trailer weight for towing. So the KJ should handle 500# tongue weight with no problem and you are talking about 300#. I have been using a 14" drawbar to clear the spare tire when coupling up. I have towed trailers but never used a dirtbike carrier though.

Dave

 

[JeepJeepster]

The liberty can handle 750lbs of tongue weight according to the OM.

If you have problems with sagging, get some air bags from summit. They are cheap and work great.

 

[knotwerk]

I've just got a lot of time into the bike and i'd hate for the hitch to give out... i doubt the lib will notice it much. I'm sure hitches are designed with a decent "safety factor" so when they tell you 500lbs its prolly more like 1k... but i thought i'd ask....

heres the bike i wanna put ont he back.. as you can see she's not an all day driver so i'd like to taker her with me...

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thanks guys

 

[JeepJeepster]

Ohh, the hitch wont fail. My draw-tite hitch says it can handle 7500/750lbs(WD) so you will be good if you get the same one I have.

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[knotwerk]

Ohh, the hitch wont fail. My draw-tite hitch says it can handle 7500/750lbs(WD) so you will be good if you get the same one I have.

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thats the class three drawtite from etrailer right?

thanks

 

[LibertyFever]

Do I understand this posting right?
If I use a "weight distributing" hitch I can increase my vehicle's pulling capacity from 5,000 to 7,500 lbs? Or does this apply only to the hitch?

 

[Marlon_JB2]

Do I understand this posting right?
If I use a "weight distributing" hitch I can increase my vehicle's pulling capacity from 5,000 to 7,500 lbs? Or does this apply only to the hitch?

That ONLY applies to the hitch. The Liberty's MAX towing capacity is 5k lbs.

 

[JeepJeepster]

Correct, the Jeep can only pull so much, which is 5000lbs.

If you have a hitch that will carry more than the Jeep then you will never have to worry about the hitch will ya?

Yes, thats the class 3 hitch from etrailer.

 

[tjkj2002]

Correct, the Jeep can only pull so much, which is 7500lbs.

Not correct,the max tow is 5000lbs(auto ****** only,3500lbs manual ******).I wouldn't even try close to that with the 42RLE ****** though,now with the 45REFE ****** I wouldn't sweat pulling over 5000lbs.

The hitch is rated for 7500lbs,not the rating of the KJ.


Oh and if you use a hitch extender it lowers the rating for the tongue wieght,by moving the pivit point further from the vehicle will reduce the capacity.Easy fix though,don't use a hitch extender,get a reciever with a farther drop.I never had a problem pulling a trailer with the OEM hitch and a 2" drop reciever with a 32" tire on the rear swing gate.

 

[AbsoluteRenegade]

I've just got a lot of time into the bike and i'd hate for the hitch to give out... i doubt the lib will notice it much. I'm sure hitches are designed with a decent "safety factor" so when they tell you 500lbs its prolly more like 1k... but i thought i'd ask....

heres the bike i wanna put ont he back.. as you can see she's not an all day driver so i'd like to taker her with me...

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thanks guys

that engine from a late 70's early 80's yamaha xs or the likes?

 

[tjkj2002]

Oh I forgot to say the rated tow lbs is limited due to the fact that the KJ is a unibody vehicle,the hitch mount points are strong but not as strong as a full frame thus limiting the rated towing lbs.Heck the CRD which could easily tow 9000lbs is limited to 5000lbs for safety.

Just remember that only 6 bolts hold the hitch on(seen some that only use 4 on the KJ,not class III rated) and where the bolts thread through is less then 1/8" thick metal unlike the 3/16"(standard thickness) steel that full frame on body vehicles have.And the OEM hitch is rated as a class IV/V hitch,at least mine was.

 

[Marlon_JB2]

Granted I don't tow with my Liberty, but um.. I don't give the diesel 9000lbs. Just from feeling what the engine is capable of... maybe 7000, but no, not 9000. Just a bit of a reach, lol. But yes, the KJ's capacity is limited to its unibody frame (which is quite strong!) and wheelbase.

and btw: I think jeepjeepster just got confused.

 

[JeepJeepster]

ahh heck, my bad. I was looking at the pic of my hitch and typed the wrong thing.

Now whats this and the liberty towing 7500lbs? What idiot said that?

 

[tjkj2002]

ahh heck, my bad. I was looking at the pic of my hitch and typed the wrong thing.

Now whats this and the liberty towing 7500lbs? What idiot said that?

$hi! happens ,you should see how many typo's I make then spend a few min retyping them .

 

[Prest989]

I've used a hitch mounted carrier to haul my dirtbike around with zero problems. The biggest problem is prevent the bike from rubbing againt the tire. I had to turn to rubber matting material to act as a buffer between my bike and the spare.

 

[rdonn]

My $.02:

I tow a 3800# pop-up camper... I bought the Curt hitch because the receiver is shorter and does not affect the departure angle as much. If you are not worried about that, the Draw-Tite is about 4-5 inches longer and items like bike racks will clear the spare tire better. The difference is minimal and has little or no effect on weight distribution.

Whatever suits your needs.

 

[Dave]

I want to correct my prior post. I said 500 pound tongue wt. I was wrong and it is 750 as per the manual and as someone previously noted. So you should be ok as long as the bike weighs less than half of that as you say.

Dave

 

[knotwerk]

I've used a hitch mounted carrier to haul my dirtbike around with zero problems. The biggest problem is prevent the bike from rubbing againt the tire. I had to turn to rubber matting material to act as a buffer between my bike and the spare.

Thanks i was looking for someone with some experience!

 

[knotwerk]

that engine from a late 70's early 80's yamaha xs or the likes?

yup!... its an 81 xs650... got it 2 years ago on ebay for 150... it hadnt run since 84. still had 1984 gas in the tank.... cool little bar hopper, not so much a highway cruiser tho!