Looking for Advice/Help

glide driver · 05-10-2011, 10:03 AM

Here we go!

I am new to the camping experiance. We purchased a 2011 Keystone Bullet 230BHS. Shipping weight of 4473 lbs. ( I now know that info is useless!) with a Cargo capacity of 2002 lbs.
My tow vehicle is a 2006 Jeep Commander with a 4.7L, 3.73 gears and a factory tow package. (dealer said it would tow fine) After doing some more research, my GCWR is 11665 lbs.
I now know I can't carry mych cargo or I will be up against the limits of my tow vehicle. What are my options at this point? I have a WD hitch and sway control from eaz-lift. I am thinking of upgrading that to an equalizer or Reese.
Any other advice or options would be GREATLY appreciated!

Thanks!

jq1031 · 05-10-2011, 11:14 AM

Towing with your three holding tanks empty should help some. Carry a couple gallons of bottle water while on the road to flush toilet & wash hands. Also, you may want to look into the Hensley Arrow Hitch. They are expensive but if you plan on any long distance trips, that hitch may be the answer to your needs. Good Luck..Joe

Festus2 · 05-10-2011, 11:29 AM

As a rule of thumb, you should not exceed 80% of your capacity. After you look at all the ratings, weights, capacities, etc., and do all the math, anything beyond that 80% "safe" level, you are pushing the limits. It seems that adding various air bags, equalizers, and other devices that might soften your ride, may not do much, if anything, to take away from the fact that you still might be overloaded.
We have heard "the dealer said it would be fine" song many times before. Some dealers know next to nothing about this topic. Some will tell you anything to sell you an RV.
And there just may be some who really know what they are talking about.
I would pay more attention to what you hear and read from our members here on the forum. They will, I am sure , chime in and offer you some advice and options based on their experience and knowledge.

rturriff7 · 05-10-2011, 01:04 PM

Go to this link and enter as many of the numbers that you can. You may find that you will be looking for a bigger tow vehicle. As for the dealer...I wouldn't trust an auto dealer that says you can tow with a particular vehicle nor would I trust an RV dealer that says your tow vehicle will to that particular trailer. They are often misinformed or outright dishonest (not all of them of course). Good luck.

changingears.com/rv-sec-calc-trailer-weight-tt.shtml

Paddler · 05-10-2011, 01:12 PM

Hi Glide Driver,
Welcome to the forum and congrats on your new rig! From my limited experiences with towing the one factor in your rig that stands out is the short wheel base of the Jeep verses the length of the trailer.

Ideally, a TV wheelbase of 110" is required to safely tow a 20ft trailer. For every additional foot of trailer you need an additional 4" of tow vehicle wheelbase. Using a quality hitch like the Equal-i-zer or the Reese Dual Cam you can add about 3 more feet of trailer than the TV wheelbase would support on its own.

I've been told by other forum members that the Hensley Arrow will allow a short wheelbase vehicle tow a considerably longer trailer. Unfortunately the Hensley is a bit on the expensive side, $3K but that is still cheaper than buying a new truck.

Personally I have towed a 26ft trailer with a 114" wheelbase using an Equal-i-zer hitch. You have to be very careful to not overload the trailer and to insure you keep around 15% of total trailer weight on the tongue of the trailer. Minimizing sway is the goal. Drive under 60MPH.

My suggestions in order of expense:
1) Buy a truck that is big enough to pull your next trailer.
2) Buy the Hensley Arrow Hitch
3) Buy an Equal-i-zer (tm) or Reese Dual-Cam hitch (10k/1K so you can grow.)
4) Buy a Prodigy brake controller...because it is the best there is.
5) Get out and enjoy your new rig!

glide driver · 05-10-2011, 01:34 PM

Thanks for all the good advice guys!
This has been an education I will not soon forget.
I am going to upgrade my hitch to a Reese or Equalizer. I have the prodigy controller now. we won't be taking any long trips until I can work a new truck into the budget.

Thanks again for all the knowledge and advice here! The wife and I are so frustrated and angry we didn't know where to turn!

Thanks again!

jq1031 · 05-10-2011, 04:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by glide driver

Thanks for all the good advice guys!
This has been an education I will not soon forget.
I am going to upgrade my hitch to a Reese or Equalizer. I have the prodigy controller now. we won't be taking any long trips until I can work a new truck into the budget.

Thanks again for all the knowledge and advice here! The wife and I are so frustrated and angry we didn't know where to turn!

Thanks again!

Glad to here your trips will be short, some of my posts regarding short wheel base tow vehicles have caused some what of a stir, to put it mild. Safety for your family & the other family going down the road is always a major concern of mine. Enjoy your new RV & when the time comes, upgrade to a truck REALLY meant to tow! JOE

DEW · 05-10-2011, 05:00 PM

Glide Driver,
You have noted that you were considering a Reese or Equalizer WD hitch. Couple of things to note/consider. If your trailer has the new front cap design, like my Laredo 291TG, ensure:

-the Equalizer will actually mount without interferences
-if you go with a Reese Dual Cam setup you may need to do some mods like I need to (move battery as the dual cam cannot mount to the A frame without this change)

I ended up going with the standard Reese Trunnion WD setup with a friction sway control (so the mod to the battery mounting can be delayed). This does allow me to upgrade when desired though...

glide driver · 05-13-2011, 02:30 AM

Dew,

Thanks for the insight.
I don't have the new fascia on my trailer. I know this is my first camper, but we will want to move up at some point.
I am leaning toward the equalizer hitch as a couple of buddies of mine are using them and love them. I don't know anything (obviously HA!) about the Reese models other than what I have read here.

Thanks again to everyone for all the advice!

chuck&gail · 05-13-2011, 08:01 PM

You might check to see what the tongue weight spec is on your Jeep. Usually 10% of the tow rating. Since you want 13% of the LOADED TT weight on the tongue, that is usually the limiting factor.

FYI our new trailer is the first we've had where we didn't tow at near 100% of TV ratings. Done ok for near 200,000 miles so far.

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