T-139 Tows Fine Behind Jeep Liberty

LongFeltWant · 08-26-2009, 12:54 PM

Before my road trip this summer I posted asking whether a Jeep Liberty (3.7L engine) could tow a T-139 (15-foot Fun Finder). The responses were mixed, which gave me some worries, but my Liberty had no problem towing that trailer 11,000 miles all around North America. We went up and down the Rockies, across the southwest desert, across the plains, and around southern Canada.

The trip was not without any problems. I blew a water pump once, and often kept the Jeep in 4th gear. I drove slowly and carefully, but in the end I would say that a Liberty is definitely capable of towing a Fun Finder. If the towing capacity of the vehicle is greater than the weight of the trailer, then my two cents say that you can trust the safety of the setup. Good luck.

jb_bb · 08-26-2009, 02:21 PM

Thanks for posting your real world experience, it may help people in the future decide on a tow vehicle.

I think why people are worried about the Liberty as a tow vehicle is because it is a "jeep", and there's that mentality (reality??) that jeeps rollover easily.
But with the proper wd hitch & sway control, it should be a decent tow vehicle. The important thing is, that you can basically tow with any vehicle as long as you are within it's ratings & you realize it's weaknesses (ie.. drive accordingly).

LongFeltWant · 08-26-2009, 03:56 PM

Excellent point. I can't comment on how Jeeps roll over; I've never rolled one. But I absolutely agree with your emphasis on safe driving: I was one of the very, very slowest drivers on the road, even big trucks had to pass me. My other driver would sometimes take it up to 70, but I was comfortable at 65, often less than that. I took slow turns and kept way back from the next vehicle. Even with all that, I did have a couple panic stops during 7 weeks of driving, so people towing in this sort of configuration should take it real easy.

I also had nice, new tires on the Jeep. The trailer tires were in good condition. And my Jeep brakes did need to be turned (planed; flattened; to take the warp out) once over the summer. You are correct that I had a weight distributing hitch with two torsion bars ad a sway bar.

Oh, but I also successfully used an extra-long hitch shank, in order to clear the rear-mounted spare tire. That seemed to be no problem at all.

Still, I didn't feel out of control or in danger. The Jeep performed fine, and except on steep hills, had sufficient towing capacity.

kegbender · 05-31-2010, 10:32 PM

The Jeep Liberty is rated to tow 5,000 pounds which far supersedes the weight of the Liberty's towing limit. You're right that it should pull well. I pull a 2006 T-139 with an '04 Jeep Wrangler Unlimited with a 4.0L engine which is tow rated at 3,500 pounds. Since the T-139 is only about 2,250 pounds including the hitch weight, there's plenty of engine and transmission "room" to pull the the T-139. Our dealer even recommended pulling the trailer with the Wrangler Unlimited. You've got my vote!

elijah · 10-27-2010, 08:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by LongFeltWant

Before my road trip this summer I posted asking whether a Jeep Liberty (3.7L engine) could tow a T-139 (15-foot Fun Finder). The responses were mixed, which gave me some worries, but my Liberty had no problem towing that trailer 11,000 miles all around North America. We went up and down the Rockies, across the southwest desert, across the plains, and around southern Canada.

The trip was not without any problems. I blew a water pump once, and often kept the Jeep in 4th gear. I drove slowly and carefully, but in the end I would say that a Liberty is definitely capable of towing a Fun Finder. If the towing capacity of the vehicle is greater than the weight of the trailer, then my two cents say that you can trust the safety of the setup. Good luck.

That's a great story! Well, last week my uncle was wondering if the jeep is capable of towing a trailer because his kinda worried it would ruined his jeep liberty parts but having read this, I'm gonna tell my uncle about this so we can already go travel out of town. Thanks for sharing this.

KJcachers · 12-05-2010, 06:32 AM

yeah but will it tow a 160 WB? we looked at one yesterday and the wife fell in love. We have an 05 Liberty, automatic with the tow package. It's also lifted so the heavy duty coil springs should help too. guess ther eis only one way to find out!

**LJAZ** · 12-05-2010, 07:20 AM

Depends on how it's set up. The 160 WB fully loaded would be about 3400 lbs. The '05 liberty with a 2.4L is only rated at 2000 lbs which isn't going to work, but the 2.8L or 3.7L V6 are both rated at 5000 lbs which should be fine. See the tow rating guide here:
http://www.trailerlife.com/images/do...ngs_p12_15.pdf

indieaz · 12-30-2010, 08:33 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by KJcachers

yeah but will it tow a 160 WB? we looked at one yesterday and the wife fell in love. We have an 05 Liberty, automatic with the tow package. It's also lifted so the heavy duty coil springs should help too. guess ther eis only one way to find out!

We have a 2006 189FBR and a '06 liberty with the 3.7L, and a 2004 Grand Cherokee with the 4.7L HO V8 (makes 325 lb-ft and rated for 6,500 lbs).

Here's my .02. When we bought our 189FBR (dry weight is only about 200 pounds more than the 160WB) we only had the liberty. We met the people we boguht it from about 2 miles from our house and towed it home on roads with only 40mph speed limits. The Liberty really struggled just going 40mph. I can't imagine going anywhere over 50mph with the trailer, and pulling it up any kind of incline would be interesting.

We immediately sold my car and picked up the WJ. The WJ has a slightly longer wheelbase, and 100 more lb-feet of torque thant he liberty. The WJ tows it no problem at 65mph and overall feels much safer.

You can probably tow it ok, but it's going to be slow going and I hope you stay on flat ground

Personally I'd stick with a pop-up trailer if keeping the liberty.

landshark27 · 04-30-2011, 12:24 PM

I am pulling Shadow Cruisr 260 bhs with a Dodge Nitro. Basicaly the same as the Liberty.
With anti sawy and a load leveling hitch and 4x4 the Nitro is rated for 5000 lbs.
I have no problems at all. It has a tranny cooler and added oil cooler and I almost always pull in "tow Haul" mode.
I ight think twice about pulling through mountains but all in all no trouble.

MyFrontier · 05-02-2011, 06:33 PM

A guy lives a few blocks from me and he pulls his 17' forest river rockwood trailer (http://www.rvguide.com/specs/forest-...od-roo/17.html)
with a Jeep wrangler 4.0L Similar to this one (http://www.rvguide.com/specs/forest-...od-roo/17.html) except he has a ARB bumper on the front and a winch.
He seems to be out a lot and that is his only tow vehicle.
It's an older jeep but it seems to be holding up pretty good

shadow2010 · 05-03-2011, 03:36 AM

We are towing our Shadow Cruiser with our Jeep Liberty, and we have no problems! When I read all the negative posts about towing with a Liberty, I too was concerned... after we got ours all set up, I was wondering if my jeep was different from everyone elses!! It tows fine, we have the Reese dual cam weight distribution with sway control, and it works great. We have driven up steep hills, and really haven't had a problem...

As a rule, we always drive slow when we are towing, no matter what. I see big trucks go screaming by with their 10,000 lb plus trailers, yes they have the power, but what if they need to stop suddenly? Anyway, the Liberty has enough power for what we do.

Glad to see another positive post on towing with a Liberty.

Canadian29 · 06-19-2011, 06:48 PM

We just got our Fun Finder 210UDS (3575Lbs Dry Weight) this spring & have been out the last 5 weekends. We find our Jeep Liberty 3.7L (Rated for 5000Lbs)is awesome & have no problems hauling it. We have been on 3 longer (300 - 500KM) & 2 short trips (100KM +) i way - we are in Canada. We usually Travel on the highway (most of the time). We drive with the over drive off. the dealer installed Reese Hookup, Swaybars, electric brakes - The Jeep already had a transmission coller. Not sure of all the specs

Hope that helps

Chuck & Byron

JeepGuy · 06-25-2011, 08:42 PM

just loaned my 160x to my parents to use fo rthe weekend and they towed it about 400mi round trip inmy mothers liberty with no problems at all, amd my dads the kind of guy who worrys about everything and it all needs to be perfect.

Ledets · 10-03-2013, 06:08 AM

We have a 139X 13'9" FunFinderX and are pulling it with a 3.7 vortec GMC Canyon. The tow capcity of the truck is 5,000 lbs and the hitch weight capacity is 500 lbs. Factory hitch matchs the specs in the book. It tows great and we also keep the trans in 3rd gear when towing because of the rediculus overdrive. I have to say the the 139 tows supper easy and now that you have posted your nation wide trip we are more excited than ever to be out and about. Thanks for sharing. I posted some pics on FaceBook if you want to see ours there. Phil

looking4fun · 10-06-2013, 09:52 AM

I posted a while ago asking about my towing setup. I have a 1998 Jeep Cherokee (the small one) and I'm towing a 2003 189fbd. I do need a WD hitch but other then that it pull and stops the trailer with no problem (with some modifications that I made). I'm very confident that I wont have any issues on my first long trip (once I get the trailer back together). Only thing I don't like is I have to keep it out of overdrive so its 55 or 60 mph and some more gas. But according my math the last trip it took I was getting 13mpg. My jeep gets around 20mpg when not towing, so it not horrible (A bronco I had got 6mpg when not towing).