Pulling a Camper/Trailer with a 2.3T 7-speed 2-door

[Rocketeer Rick]

Thank you for your insight. I literally just discovered/looked in detail today on the Winny Micro mini. That trailer seems to come in a few hundred pounds heavier than the Lance and Escape Mini that are in that 2,800-2,900 dry weight range. I hope there's an integrated brake controller on the Bronco, but I doubt it. I plan on getting a load stabilizer setup to help if I'm creeping up on the 3,500 limit loaded up.

Original thought was to get an off road tear drop style and pull it with a 2 door as my first camper. I still might get one close to the tow limit and fall back on the wife's Explorer if it's crazy unsafe.

I think I would put a weight distribution hitch on anything north of 3000 lb, maybe even 2500. That also makes a big difference. A stabilizer is less necessary, IMHO, but would possibly be helpful on the 2-door. Another thing that might help with towing stability that might be overlooked is a good mechanical LSD, which Bronco lacks. I emphasize mechanical; whereas BTC is good at limiting wheelspin, it doesn't offer continuous resistance to differentiation that a mLSD would. That's important because that resistance to wheelspin is also resistance to directional change in the vehicle. For that reason, GM (for example) has traditionally preloaded the crap out of their mLSDs in performance cars (like Corvette & Camaro) because that really stiff differential enhances stability at high speed. That can also be applied to trailer tow. But its a moot point until the aftermarket gifts us with mLSD options for the Bronco.

The only thing I would add from what you have been told is: When buying a new trailer, remember that that is dry weight, you can easily add another five hundred pounds in gear and accessories. May seem dumb, but I have seen others make the mistake.

Have fun

This is a good point - my Micro Mini is 3700 lb empty. The new ones are a couple hundred pounds heavier due to a change of fiberglass siding this year. Just add water - the fresh tank holds 31 gallons - and you've added about 250 pounds off the bat. Then you have to add your gear and equipment, clothes, etc. It all adds up. Unfortunately, the only Winnebagos light enough to consider towing with a 2-door Bronco are the smaller Mini Drops.

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[Metal_Horses]

BTC is good at limiting wheelspin

BTC?

 

[Rocketeer Rick]

Sorry, brake traction control. Pretty much every new vehicle has it; some play it off as a replacement for an LSD, or even as an e-LSD. But it is still a reactive system, so not truly a substitute for an actual LSD.

 

[DHH]

https://www.ranger5g.com/forum/threads/pulled-at-around-max-capacity-1-800-miles.8979/

 

[AZHUND]

It looks like the 3,500 pound towing capacity is more about vehicle dynamics instead of powertrain. Do you think there's a downside to pulling something near the capacity with a 2.3 manual?

Are there any Jeep owners who pull something like this? How does it perform?

Any thoughts if a manual would have a downside?

Mine doesn't pop-up like the Teton X hybrid, but is about the same (unpopped) dimensions and a bit lighter. I've towed it and an Aliner behind my Jeep and both are easy except in high wind (Jeeps and I assume Bronco due to shared boxlike shape are painful in wind regardless of whether they are pulling something).

My JLU is an auto, but I used to tow with a manual (Xterra and Chevy 1500 back when a manual was a choice in those) and the extra control is good and you don't need a fancy 'tow mode' to prevent it from shifting around too much at high speeds or hills. Major downside is the shifting dynamics if you need to do stop-n-go driving on a steep incline with a few thousand pounds behind you is not fun for you or the health of your clutch.

 

[Rocketeer Rick]

I'd sooner say that the 310 lb-ft is what'll yank 3500lb down the road just fine. But either way, its never really about the powertrain anyway...

 

[SpecOpsHippie]

Lots of experience towing for over forty years. The commonality has been boiled down to this in my mind. Vehicles do ok around the rated towing capacity. But the closer you get to that max, the steeper the curve of your gas mileage (inverted).

E.g. Had a 2002 Chevy Avalanche that gave me around 19mpg on the highway. When I pulled my camper right at the max (6500 lbs) I would get about 6mpg.

 

[HoosierDaddy]

The biggest concern I would have is wheelbase & mass, or the lack thereof on the 2-door.

suffice it to say that the F150 is much less susceptible to being sucked in/pushed out by passing semis, and almost never pushed around in cross winds.

The mass is important too. Taken together, these two factors are a big part of what resists the trailer trying to wag the dog. By the same token, inserting an extra set of doors and back seat into my truck (going to SCrew cab) adds enough stability that the tow rating is bumped by almost 4000 additional pounds.

All of that assumes trailer brakes and a good controller. I haven't seen if Ford will offer an integrated BTC like they do on pickups. Even compared to a high end aftermarket unit, the OEM integrated BTC has a functionality and can do things that the aftermarket can't match. In my experience, they are an order of magnitude better performing.

When I was a kid, my Grandparents totalled a Chevy Caprice AND the trailer they were towing when a passing semi caused the push-pull "harmonic" which sent the whole rig into a spin and toppled the trailer off of its frame...bent the frame on the Caprice.
We're talking about HUGE, HEAVY, full size, full frame 70's era Caprices here.

So, everybody, be careful towing with this softly sprung, boxy, top heavy off-road centric vehicle.

I hope there's an integrated brake controller on the Bronco, but I doubt it. I

I swear I thought I read somewhere the tow package would include that..... now I have a mission.

 

[Rocketeer Rick]

Lots of experience towing for over forty years. The commonality has been boiled down to this in my mind. Vehicles do ok around the rated towing capacity. But the closer you get to that max, the steeper the curve of your gas mileage (inverted).

E.g. Had a 2002 Chevy Avalanche that gave me around 19mpg on the highway. When I pulled my camper right at the max (6500 lbs) I would get about 6mpg.

I would think trailer frontal area and shape have more to do with fuel economy than weight, especially with regards to highway mileage. It doesn't take a lot of work to keep a rolling object moving, so mass is a lot less significant here.

FWIW, both my Jeep and my F150 were/are rated around 7500 tow. They both had similar power outputs (though the Coyote has a slight advantage, even though the Hemi had .7L more displacement). And I ran BFG M/T tires on both, though taller and wider on the F150. But I get 10-15% better towing mileage with the F150 with the same trailer. It is worth noting that the truck is wider than the Jeep, and approximately matches the trailer width. The trailer stuck out on the sides compare to the Jeep. Both F150 and the GC got around 15 mpg in daily driving the way I had them equipped, so the truck was less impacted by the trailer. It also, as described above, pulls it more confidently.

 

[SpecOpsHippie]

I would think trailer frontal area and shape have more to do with fuel economy than weight, especially with regards to highway mileage. It doesn't take a lot of work to keep a rolling object moving, so mass is a lot less significant here.

FWIW, both my Jeep and my F150 were/are rated around 7500 tow. They both had similar power outputs (though the Coyote has a slight advantage, even though the Hemi had .7L more displacement). And I ran BFG M/T tires on both, though taller and wider on the F150. But I get 10-15% better towing mileage with the F150 with the same trailer. It is worth noting that the truck is wider than the Jeep, and approximately matches the trailer width. The trailer stuck out on the sides compare to the Jeep. Both F150 and the GC got around 15 mpg in daily driving the way I had them equipped, so the truck was less impacted by the trailer. It also, as described above, pulls it more confidently.

Correct, just trying to nutshell it. I could compute flat plate drag for different trailer configs but I’m not an instructor pilot anymore And Not sure where all my performance planning charts are
Weight is still a considerable Factor though.

 

[Metal_Horses]

I know there's a lot of variables when towing, but one common complaint on all these camper pages are how bad the gas mileage is when the tow vehicle is a Toyota Tacoma. Lack of power? Gearing? Don't know what it is, but there's something about the Tacoma.

 

[Rocketeer Rick]

Well, no matter what, towing a 10-foot tall box at highway speeds is a recipe for poor fuel economy regardless of tow vehicle.

I was as low as 6mpg with my Jeep when pulling into strong headwinds on I-80 in Wyoming. It sucks when you only have 20 gallons of tank space, and gas stations may be 100 miles apart. I took to carrying two 5-gallon cans on my camper rear bumper...

With the smaller tank size of the 2-door, that's another thing you'd have to consider. I'd stick with towing around populated areas where there's lots of gas stations

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