2004 Liberty Towing Question

[Pronkness48]

Hello all, I am new to the board, and have a question regarding towing with my 2004 Liberty. It is the 4x4 Sport Automatic. We do not have any towing packing on the Jeep, but plan to add a Draw-Tite or similar brand hitch installed. We are looking at a 1,000 lb Dry Weight Pop-Up camper to tow around for some late summer & fall camping. Could our Liberty handle this camper as-is?

Any help would be greatly appreciated, as we need to make a decision on the camper.

Thanks!

 

[Cardhu]

http://www.jeepkj.com/forum/f196/towing-capacity-34021/

http://www.jeepkj.com/forum/f196/towing-capacity-5-speed-27316/

Its 3500 lbs rated for yours, Some have towed more, some say less. If your still with stock gearing and tire size you shouldn't have issues to 3500 but you won't have an abundance of passing power or brakes.

with HD cooling option (mech fan, electric fan, transcooler, power steering cooler) its rated for 5K.

make sure you buy the appropriate rated hitch for your load, or heavier. Class 3 - 2 inch receiver would be best. you may need a bit of drop (2 inchs or more) to hook up below your spare tire.

i bought my curt hitch from hitchweb due to no duty, brokerage or shipping but i'm happy with it. Most just try Uhaul. ~150 bucks.

 

[adamkrz]

Your 2004 with auto transmission will handle 5000 lbs, I tow a 2500lb pop up without any brakes on the camper very easy..

 

[TwoBobsKJ]

FYI - your 2004 does have transmission and power steering coolers. Look behind the grille; along the bottom of the radiator and AC condenser is the ****** cooler. A vertical finned cooler is on the driver's side - that's the power steering cooler.

That ****** cooler helps with towing as it will steady the trans fluid temps. With your camper's weight you should be fine. Those who tow 5000lbs have more trouble stopping their trailer than getting it moving or burning up their transmissions.

Get a good, high quality wire harness for the trailer lights. I recommend the factory harness; it obviously connects to your Jeep's wiring with no cutting and you won't have problems with frustrating electrical gremlins.

Bob