Some rambling reflections on towing

I recently returned from a 3400 mile journey from Toronto to Cape Cod, then to Nova Scotia, Quebec and back home.

This was our first major trip out with our new travel trailer.

I wanted to share some of my thoughts and experiences towing this trailer with my KJ.

The setup (picture below):

2005 Jeep Liberty Sport
- transmission cooler (came with)
- electric fan only (no mechanical fan)
- Mopar hitch reciever / 7 pin wiring
- Amsoil air filter
- Flowmaster 50 SUV muffler
- Reese weight distribution / Dual cam sway control hitch
- Powerstop+ brake controller

2007 Roadrunner 180 travel trailer
- 19.5'
- 2700 lbs dry weight, est. 3500 lbs loaded
- dual axle, electric brakes



During the few short trips I had taken, I found that the Liberty had little problem actually pulling this trailer, but if I encountered a cross-wind or passing trucks it could be a handful. I did have a friction sway control device installed but it seemed to have only a little improvement.

I decided to outfit the Jeep/trailer with a Reese weight distribution hitch, as well as Reese Dual-cam sway control.

This proved to be an excellent addition and well worth the expense in my opinion. Most of the time you would hardly know the trailer was there, and interstate cruising was a pleasure, even when passing or being passed by big rigs.

During times of high wind (which we encountered between Montreal and Ottawa on the way home - gusts up to 50 mph), the whole rig (Jeep and trailer) would seem to move sideways when hit by a gust, but it felt far more in control than previously, where the trailer would seem to be going one way while the Jeep went the other.

Someone recently said that while towing, "cruise control is your friend", and I couldn't agree more.

I ran with OD off, all the time. I generally kept my speed around the posted limit. When I first headed out of the Toronto area on city streets and country roads, I was not using cruise. When I encountered an incline I would give it the gas to maintain speed, invariably resulting in a downshift. This resulted in a lot of shifting and within the first 50 miles or so, the Trans Temp warning light came on. This really freaked me out since we'd hardly begun our journey.

We stopped for a bite to eat and to let it cool off, and by this time I was on the highway so we continued on our way, now using the cruise control.
What I discovered is that when encountering a hill, the cruise will accelerate in 3rd almost to the point of downshifting, but will allow the speed to drop about 5-7 mph before it actually downshifts.

Many hills of lesser incline did not induce a downshift at all, where previously I would be giving it the boots to maintain my speed and downshifting every time, sometimes multiple times as I adjusted the throttle.

This, I believe was key to minimizing the shifting of the transmission, and I never saw the Trans Temp light come on again - in spite of encountering some dandy hills along the way

The Cruise was also helpful in maintaining speed while going downhill, not building speed except on the largest of hills, and minimizing the use of brakes.

Another observation I made is that the temperature guage NEVER moved. Ever. I do not have the additional mechanically driven fan specified in the "towing group", so this was something I was watching carefully and was very happy to see this.

I did use the air conditioning occasionally, and didn't find it made a noticeable difference in power although if I was approaching a large hill I would often turn it off.

I added the Amsoil air filter and Flowmaster 50 SUV muffler shortly before this trip, hoping to maximize fuel economy and power. I do believe it feels slightly more powerful, and while I still have to crunch some numbers (and see how it compares on my daily commute), I feel I may have gained fuel economy as well, although during this trip it was all over the map.

Fuel economy really varied, depending on terrain and wind. In hilly areas and one long stretch with a straight-on headwind I was lucky to get 150 miles from a tank. At the best of times I would see about 220 miles. If I use 16 gallons as a rough estimate of a tank, I'm in the range of 9 - 14 mpg depending on conditions. I have been tracking it so will have some better numbers soon.

I carried a 5 gallon jerry can just in case, but never had to use it (came close a few times though!)

Overall, with the weight distribution and anti-sway setup installed, I am very happy with the performance of the Liberty towing this trailer - it took everything the roads could throw at it and just kept on truckin!

Dave

Glad the trip went well!

You said that the engine temp never moved, but do you think the engine driven fan would of kept the ****** cooler?

When going up those hills, its best to let the Jeep slow down then just lock it into 2nd gear(around 50mph or so?) when it shifts into 2nd. The up shifting and down shifting is was really heats the ****** up which may be the reason you saw the temp light.

I noticed something really cool the other day that I had never noticed before. I had the O/D off and had the ****** locked in 2nd gear. After awhile, the torque locked back up in 2nd gear just like it would if you let it go into 3rd gear. I thought that was neat and had never noticed it before. That helps to get the rpms alittle lower and also keeps the ****** alot cooler since the torque isnt slipping so much.

Looks like that WD system was really doing it job. You can tell the front wheels are getting alot more weight than they normally would.

jeepjeepster,

jeepjeepster said:

Glad the trip went well!

You said that the engine temp never moved, but do you think the engine driven fan would of kept the ****** cooler?

Click to expand...

Interesting question I hadn't thought of... although I think the temp light, as you say below was due to excessive down/upshifting due to my (poor, in retrospect) technique - when I let the cruise handle it it was once down, once up, no temp light

jeepjeepster said:

When going up those hills, its best to let the Jeep slow down then just lock it into 2nd gear(around 50mph or so?) when it shifts into 2nd. The up shifting and down shifting is was really heats the ****** up which may be the reason you saw the temp light.

Click to expand...

Pretty much what it was doing on it's own, although sometimes around 60-65 mph... was slightly disconcerting the first few times it downshifted to 4500 rpm...

jeepjeepster said:

I noticed something really cool the other day that I had never noticed before. I had the O/D off and had the ****** locked in 2nd gear. After awhile, the torque locked back up in 2nd gear just like it would if you let it go into 3rd gear. I thought that was neat and had never noticed it before. That helps to get the rpms alittle lower and also keeps the ****** alot cooler since the torque isnt slipping so much.?

Click to expand...

Interesting... I saw (very infrequently) what seemed like a 1/2 downshift from 3rd... perhaps the torque converter unlocking? Went up about 500 rpm. It did it only 2 or 3 times the whole trip though, usually it would kick straight down to second.

jeepjeepster said:

Looks like that WD system was really doing it job. You can tell the front wheels are getting alot more weight than they normally would.

Click to expand...

I got it put on the day before I left, was a bit of a panic as they ordered me the wrong draw bar (this one clears the spare right-side up!) so I haven't had a chance to do some measuring to see the difference it makes, but I would like to find a nice flat parking lot and measure the drop without the WD and how much it brings it back to level. The WD combined with the dual-cam anti-sway sure made a big difference in drivability though, and I would say safety as welll!

Dave

Yup, that was probably the torque unlocking.

4500rpms isnt that bad. Do you use Syn oil? You had a fairly big load with alot of wind resistance.

I am using synthetic, yes... I think it's Quaker State that the local place uses, although I plan to switch to Amsoil one of these days!

Keswick......nice towing observations write up. That type of trailer (box shape) is the hardest thing to tow I think because of the wind resistance. The KJ did good. Keeping o/d locked out is easier on the engine and ****** like you said.

I saw a KJ with Canadian plates pulling a similar sized camper on I-87 going towards Montreal a week or so ago. I wondered how well it pulled up the mountain to Warrensburg North of Lake George NY. A real serious long uphill grade. I didn't notice it was a KJ doing the pulling until I was passing him. I was surprised. I didn't get a real good look since I was moving much faster (no trailer).

Dave

Good day,
Excelent write-up.
I've been asking these questions to myself for quite some time.
Jennifer and I are looking into a slightly smaller trailer... But seeing you pull that commfy 18 footer, I think I'll tell Jen that I want to go that much bigger!

Cheers

Ry'

Thanks guys.

socks - The actual length of this trailer is 19.5'. Not sure why they call it the 180, although this type of numbering scheme seems common.

When we set out to buy a new trailer, I make the mistake of telling my fiance the Jeep was capable of towing 5000 lbs.

From that point on I had a struggle on my hands to keep her sights a little lower... "look honey, this 25-footer is only 4500 lbs"...

So I had to reign her in, haha, I said I was not going more than 20' and/or 3000 lbs.

We looked at a lot of trailers, and I knew the moment I saw this one, that it was the one. Our main criteria was that it had to have a dedicated bed, as our old trailer (13' Trillium) you had to fold up the table to go to sleep. And, 19.5', 2700 lbs... perfect

Ah yes Trillium... My sister and brother-in-law have a 13 foot Boller, so I understand fully.