Advice about campers (possible Scamp purchase) and towing capacity after lift

haha ... actually...that does sound a bit weird/stupid !!! ...WE have always been aware of proper loading of our toads....be it a vehicle or trailer....We have camped and have had RVs for many years....never claim to be an expert....as we feel there is always an opportunity to learn more in life....have a great day and stay safe !
 
So I just went out and inspected my door jamb sticker on my TJ.
Jeep doesn't do us any favors. All they give you is GVWR. No curb weight figure. So it's up to us to actually figure out what our REAL payload capacity is. Hint: it's not infinite.
Best thing you can do is go down to a local scale and get your jeep weighed in current trim, with yourself and full fuel. Compare that to the GVWR. The difference (if any) is the payload capacity you have left for: cargo, modifications/add-ons, trailer tongue weight (for most TT's it's upwards of 15% of loaded trailer weight), and passengers.
I suspect the number is abysmal, lol.

Literally the #1 most important factors people ignore when discussing towing is payload capacity. There's not a half-ton on the road with any sort of creature comforts that can max out trailer weight with a travel trailer before busting payload/GVWR. My F150 has 10,200lb towing capacity, but I only have 1950lbs payload. With my 8000lb loaded TT, 15% tongue weight is 1200lbs. That leaves me 700lbs for occupants, cargo, and weight distributing hitch weight in the truck! Makes the "max trailer weight" bragging rights virtually worthless. Especially since payload ratings are vehicle-specific (the online charts don't consider options and curb weight)
 
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chimmike said:
So I just went out and inspected my door jamb sticker on my TJ.
Jeep doesn't do us any favors. All they give you is GVWR. No curb weight figure. So it's up to us to actually figure out what our REAL payload capacity is. Hint: it's not infinite.
Best thing you can do is go down to a local scale and get your jeep weighed in current trim, with yourself and full fuel. Compare that to the GVWR. The difference (if any) is the payload capacity you have left for: cargo, modifications/add-ons, trailer tongue weight (for most TT's it's upwards of 15% of loaded trailer weight), and passengers.
I suspect the number is abysmal, lol.

Literally the #1 most important factors people ignore when discussing towing is payload capacity. There's not a half-ton on the road with any sort of creature comforts that can max out trailer weight with a travel trailer before busting payload/GVWR. My F150 has 10,200lb towing capacity, but I only have 1950lbs payload. With my 8000lb loaded TT, 15% tongue weight is 1200lbs. That leaves me 700lbs for occupants, cargo, and weight distributing hitch weight in the truck! Makes the "max trailer weight" bragging rights virtually worthless. Especially since payload ratings are vehicle-specific (the online charts don't consider options and curb weight)
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I started down this path, realized nothing would work behind my TJ and be within all ratings while fitting my needs. Besides if you camp and wheel, you risk breaking something you can't fix and now have two stranded vehicles (Jeep and trailer) to recover.

So I bought an LJ, a trailer / camper to pull behind my 1500, and ended up needing to trade up for a 2500.

Slippery slope here, lol.

I know a guy who tows a 3k camper behind his JL with a roof top tent and a gear. He's at least 1K or more over weight and goes out of state to wheel. Not safe or legal, but he does it.

IMG_6114.JPG
 
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Sweet setup! Gasser 3/4 ton?

Yeah the not safe part is the most scary aspect. Folks are all about "Do what you want" except for, ya know, we all share the road, and their negligence puts others in harms way. Campers are the worst about this. Half ton truck with a 1000lb golf cart in the bed and a 30 foot trailer plus 4 occupants. Way over GVWR, GCVWR, axle and probably tire limits on factory tires.
Gotta pay to play.
 
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AMS417 said:
I started down this path, realized nothing would work behind my TJ and be within all ratings while fitting my needs. Besides if you camp and wheel, you risk breaking something you can't fix and now have two stranded vehicles (Jeep and trailer) to recover.

So I bought an LJ, a trailer / camper to pull behind my 1500, and ended up needing to trade up for a 2500.

Slippery slope here, lol.

I know a guy who tows a 3k camper behind his JL with a roof top tent and a gear. He's at least 1K or more over weight and goes out of state to wheel. Not safe or legal, but he does it.

View attachment 278505
Click to expand...
I googled curb weight for Jeep Wrangler TJ and found this information....
Jeep Wrangler (TJ)
3333 lbs.

Used 2000 Jeep Wrangler Specs & Features
Dimensions
Cargo capacity, all seats in place11.5 cu.ft.
Curb weight3333 lbs.
Ground clearance8.5 in.
Height71.1 in.
I think what some people do not recognize or think about is ... with the TJ we have a very short wheel base...which comes in to play and this should be considered regarding whatever we tow....and how we load the rear of the Jeep and the tongue weight of the toad...
 
chimmike said:
Sweet setup! Gasser 3/4 ton?

Yeah the not safe part is the most scary aspect. Folks are all about "Do what you want" except for, ya know, we all share the road, and their negligence puts others in harms way. Campers are the worst about this. Half ton truck with a 1000lb golf cart in the bed and a 30 foot trailer plus 4 occupants. Way over GVWR, GCVWR, axle and probably tire limits on factory tires.
Gotta pay to play.
Click to expand...
Yep, 6.4 with 4.10 gears. Pulls great, better fuel mileage than a class C. Over 18k towing, and over 3k payload. I couldn't make a diesel make sense with the EPA cracking down, emissions garbage, and the $10k premium in price.
 
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Ron and Kay said:
I googled curb weight for Jeep Wrangler TJ and found this information....
Jeep Wrangler (TJ)
3333 lbs.

Used 2000 Jeep Wrangler Specs & Features
Dimensions
Cargo capacity, all seats in place11.5 cu.ft.
Curb weight3333 lbs.
Ground clearance8.5 in.
Height71.1 in.
I think what some people do not recognize or think about is ... with the TJ we have a very short wheel base...which comes in to play and this should be considered regarding whatever we tow....and how we load the rear of the Jeep and the tongue weight of the toad...
Click to expand...
My TJ is pretty light by most standards and it tips the scale at 4k lb with my ass in it.
 
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SkylinesSuck said:
My TJ is pretty light by standards and it tips the scale at 4k lb with my ass in it.
Click to expand...
My LJ is close to 5k with gear and me inside. I wouldn't want to tow anything with it. I don't even like to drive it very far on the highway. I have better options.
 
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AMS417 said:
Yep, 6.4 with 4.10 gears. Pulls great, better fuel mileage than a class C. Over 18k towing, and over 3k payload. I couldn't make a diesel make sense with the EPA cracking down, emissions garbage, and the $10k premium in price.
Click to expand...
yep, gasser 3/4 tons are the way to go for payload. The diesel takes about 800-1000lbs away! Plus like you said, emissions crap and cost of entry. For sure you're getting better mpg than a C and more utility overall.
 
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chimmike said:
yep, gasser 3/4 tons are the way to go for payload. The diesel takes about 800-1000lbs away! Plus like you said, emissions crap and cost of entry. For sure you're getting better mpg than a C and more utility overall.
Click to expand...
I got 19.8mpg empty to St Louis and back, about 400 miles. I got 7.7mpg loaded to Hot Springs AR and back about 540 miles of hills being in a hurry. My buddies diesel got 9mpg towing similar weight on the same trip.
 
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randy328 said:
I finally bought a Bushwhacker, really like it. Rear galley. Just me and the dog so plenty of room.

I did install a Redarc brake controller on the TJ, tows it great. Empty weight is only around 1200.

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I like the Bushwhackers. We're leaving at this time tomorrow morning to camp with our teardrop trailer group (The Tear Jerkers) for the weekend. At this meet last year we had a tour of about 15 trailers and one was a Bushwhacker. It was well liked.

We'll be taking our Clipper. I've made a lot of modifications to it and it suits our needs well. It's more of a "tear pop" and provides us with plenty of room to stand up in it.

I'm also resto-modding a 1986 Cadet fibreglass trailer, same idea as a Scamp but different. I'm building a semi off road frame for it and using as many Jeep parts, mostly TJ, on it as I can. I have it all planned out ... I Just need to do it! When the Cadet is done the Clipper will go.

I tow these and my expedition trailer with my LJ and XJ and it's all good. (y)

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PCO6 said:
I like the Bushwhackers. We're leaving at this time tomorrow morning to camp with our teardrop trailer group (The Tear Jerkers) for the weekend. At this meet last year we had a tour of about 15 trailers and one was a Bushwhacker. It was well liked.

We'll be taking our Clipper. I've made a lot of modifications to it and it suits our needs well. It's more of a "tear pop" and provides us with plenty of room to stand up in it.

I'm also resto-modding a 1986 Cadet fibreglass trailer, same idea as a Scamp but different. I'm building a semi off road frame for it and using as many Jeep parts, mostly TJ, on it as I can. I have it all planned out ... I Just need to do it! When the Cadet is done the Clipper will go.

I tow these and my expedition trailer with my LJ and XJ and it's all good. (y)

View attachment 278678

View attachment 278679

View attachment 278680
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Clipper looks cool! I have a kayak rack on the Bushwhacker also, but looks like you can load much easier!
 
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randy328 said:
Clipper looks cool! I have a kayak rack on the Bushwhacker also, but looks like you can load much easier!
Click to expand...

Thanks. I built roof racks for my Clipper, XJ and LJ so that I can load kayaks on each one as simply as possible. I used chain link fence gates and top rails (cheap at Home Depot) for most of the steel. I buy galvanized / black powder coated pieces which are easy to repaint after I weld them.

For the kayak cross rails, I insert a 1" pipe that can be pulled out of the tube. I basically lift the bow on to the pipe and then lift and walk the stern over onto the rear of the rack. The pipe stays in the tube until I need it. Here's how it works on my XJ and it's the same for the others. It only takes a few minutes for each kayak.

I built the Clipper rack so that no part of it touches the pop up lid. I have no idea how much weight it would support and I didn't want to find out the hard way!

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When dealing with towing capacity, suspension and brakes come to mind. You mentioned HD suspension work, but have you considered better brakes? @mrblaine has a Big Brake Kit that looks awesome. I am planning to put it on mine.
 
I want to tow this behind my 2004 4.0l TJ
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Empty weight is 840#, tongue weight 105# and I plan to put less than 300# of stuff in there. It does not have trailer breaks. I have not towed anything before, but drive like the old lady I am. I do live in the Cascade foothills, so mountain passes are likely. Any advice? Would an anti-sway hitch be necessary?
 
We tow a Scamp 13' behind our 2000 TJ 4.0..5 speed manual..due to the short wheel base of the Jeep...we installed an anti sway bar...bought it at Harbor Freight...very affordable and not too difficult to install...depends on the tongue of your trailer. We make sure we have ample weight up front on our Scamp and also, have a propane tank mounted on the tongue....if you dont have one...you should buy a Pin locking device. We are seniors...I drive the TJ and tow the Scamp without issues...just make sure you have plenty forward weight...but not so much that you are making the front end of your Jeep light ....
 
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